Dragons
Dragons, and draconids, are umbrella terms used to describe a vast range of different creatures and beasts found all over the world. Many of the different subspecies of dragons and draconids can be extremely different from one another, from small draconids no bigger than a domestic cat to massive dragons as big as castles, ones that are more serpentine, or quadrupedal, ones that fly and ones that are land-bound. Some are fully sapient, capable of speech and possessing of keen intelligence that surpasses that of most other sapient beings. These ones are considered 'true' dragons, though the level of speech and coherence may vary depending on the actual subspecies and power of the dragon. The difference between true dragons and draconids, are that true dragons are capable of speech and intelligent, coherent thought, and draconids are not. Rather, draconids are more bestial, asapient creatures-- what sets them apart from other wild animals is that they still obey their draconic rulers, though it is more like the obedience of a trained animal than that of a wilful servant.
What unites all these different creatures are their origin. Once, in the era of the Ancient World, before the War of Nine, there lived the ancient draconic god Ide, the mother and ruler of all the world's dragons. Though she perished in the War of Nine, her legacy lives on in her subjects, and it is said that all dragons in the world are still descended from her, and are loyal to and worship her still, awaiting the day that she will rise once again and unleash on the world a new era of pure draconic might.
Draconic Hierarchy
Though the world's dragons are no longer all united under one draconic god-queen, they are still divided into what are considered dragon kingdoms. The monarch dragons are the rulers of these kingdoms, at the high peak of the authority-subject hierarchy of dragons. They are the most powerful among the dragons, and are even considered by some the most powerful mortal creatures in the entire world. They can live for many centuries. Being true dragons, they are extremely intelligent-- a human would have to be no less than outrageously exceptional to outsmart a monarch dragon, and even then, it might not be feasible without a blessing from the gods themselves.
Below the monarch dragons in the hierarchy are a class of dragons called bishops. They are also very large and ferocious, and directly serve their monarchs. Below them are the hunter dragons-- these dragons are the kind usually described in fairytales of fearsome dragons slain by valiant knights, and are the most common major dragon to be found outside of a specific dragon kingdom, as they are the ones who will be sent out to expand the monarch dragon's territory. Next are the cavalry dragons, which are the last named class of true dragons and also the most numerous. All other, lesser dragons or draconids after that are simply called pawns.
These classes aren't based off the actual physical characteristics of the dragons, they relate specifically to the dragon's place in the greater draconic hierarchy. There are thousands of different species of dragons, and a great number of them could belong to any one of the various hierarchical classes.
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