Earth Dragons

Earth Dragons are the youngest of the dragonkind. They came into being after a Fire Dragon and Winged Dragon fell in love. After the dragons arrived on Grandel. They live on an island called Greelant. They are close to the life energy that flows through us all. It is their relationship with plants that makes their connection so strong. The trees that grow on their island connect to all trees, and through them, the dragons can see far. Some Earth Dragons can move into that plane and see as the trees do. They observe the energy that flows the light and the dark.
The dragon's connection with plant life has become so great that they no longer eat them. They are now obligate carnivores, and their bodies are unable to process plant life anymore. They honor the life they must take and bid their life energy a safe journey back to the life tree awaiting their return.
Like all dragons, the Earth Dragon possesses magic it is concealed in a hard, bony compartment near their hearts. Their ability is to grow and heal plant life. They can speak to them and have plants, and the earth do things that no other can.
They are a gentle, caring, and nurturing dragonkind. Earth Mothers are honored and are helped in the raising of their little ones.

Basic Information

Anatomy

They are large and slender with four legs. Their tail is not as long as some dragons but they are strong and have four spikes on the ends of them to strike their enemies. Their skin is smooth but thick and hard to puncture. Four Horns sit on top of their heads. They sweep behind the head then curve back up and the points come above their jade-colored eyes. They have sharp white teeth for eating flesh. On their backs are leather wings. They are the the various shades of the soil that they hold so dear.

Biological Traits

Earth Dragons are the youngest species of dragons.

Genetics and Reproduction

Earth Dragons have a unique way of reproducing where traditional relationships are not involved. The Earth Dragon Mother takes on the sole responsibility of raising her offspring. When she finds a suitable male partner, both the dragons fertilize an Earth Dragon flower which, within a few hours, transforms into an egg. The individual eggs sit in a nest of twigs, grass, and leaves. Where they grow for two months.

Growth Rate & Stages

Once a little one has hatched from their egg, they are ready to start their carnivore diet. Their eyes are open and can see and hear as well on that day as the day they pass on. It takes a week for the horns on their head and the spikes on their tails to start growing. They will be a year old before the horns are grown in. The spikes are finished a few months quicker. An Earth Dragon's ability to use its magic doesn't start until they are a year and a half. Once they reach their second season, they are prepared to engage in reproduction.

Ecology and Habitats

Most of the Earth Dragons live on an island called Greelant. The island is filled with vegetation of all kinds. The island hosts an array of ecosystems ranging from woodland forests to rainforests. The Earth Dragons are the caretakers of the plants that house the animal life that feeds the dragons. Small and large caves riddle the island that houses some of the dragons. Others find homes in the large root systems of the great trees that grow there. There is a meadow in the center of the island where the dragons go to heal their sick. In the meadow is a giant Earth Dragon flower around it is a pond where the water rises in droplets to form rain clouds that feed the rainforests and streams.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Earth Dragons hold plant life in such high regard that they do not eat them. Not even the fruit and seeds they bear. They are a carnivorous species. The dragons' skins are a variety of shades of brown that help them blend in with the forest floor. Their slender bodies make them quick and agile and can climb large trees.

Biological Cycle

The Earth Dragons grow old slowly like all dragonkind. They become fully grown in two years and stay at their peak age for many seasons. The passage of time is not something that they concern themselves with. When they have reached the time of their ending, they wander off into the great forest that they have loved and cared for. They give it the last thing that they can. The dragon gives it their body to feed on and their life energy returns to the flow in which it came.

Behaviour

Earth Dragons are social. They are a clan, but each has their sleeping den. They do not have life mates and once little ones are grown they find their sleeping den. Offspring always hold their Earth Mother in high regard but never know who their mother's mate is. There is a clan leader usually the eldest of them, but the leader must be one that can move into what they call the Plant Plane.  When called to fight, dragons use the spikes on their tails. They summon plants to aid them and overwhelm their enemies as a group.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Clan Clan Leader Earth Mothers

Domestication

They are highly intelligent therefore they have not been domesticated, but some choose to help in the Low-lands. They help with the tiling of the earth and the growing of crops, but they do not help with the harvest. The Earth Dragons do not eat plant life but they respect the decisions of others that do.

Facial characteristics

The muzzle is narrow and long, with nostril holes on the end of the muzzle, eyes set in front

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Greelant is the dragon's home. It is a large island that is filled to capacity with all manner of plant life. They have all types of trees from ones that reach above all the rest and spread their branches wide to ones that are close to the ground and have thrones and berries. Flowers of many shapes and shades the most important being the Earth Dragon flower. Vines hang, crawl, and intertwine throughout the island. Within all the plant life is more life mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, fish and insects.

Average Intelligence

Earth Dragons are highly intelligent in the ways of their magic and life energy.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Earth Dragons have slender bodies, which allows them to move easily through the heavily forested jungles of their island. They have keen eyes and hearing for hunting. Their love for plant life comes from their connection with it. The magic that they have is used to grow plants and heal them. They can connect with the life energy that flows through them. Only a rare few dragons can step into that plane and see the life energy that flows through every living being, both the pure and the dark.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Naming one's child with a plant in it is common place. Everlyn  Oakton

Beauty Ideals

The ones that have the riches of earth tons.

Gender Ideals

Males Fmales

Courtship Ideals

There are no courtships or mating rituals. Females watch and choose the males that are strong and healthy.

Relationship Ideals

They do not have relationships. Earth Dragon Mothers choose their mates and after fertilizing a flower that is the end of the male's role. The male may go on to fertilize other flowers.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Their culture revolves around plants. In the center of the island is the Sacred Meadow. The Earth Dragons use this meadow for many things. They take their sick and wounded there to speed their healing. The ones that can move to the plant plane at the Earth Dragon flower that is taller than any dragon. It grows in the pond in the center of the meadow. The Earth Dragons do their celebrating there, but mostly it is to help those who have lost their way in life who have lost their connection to the life energy and the plant life around them.

History

The Winged Dragons were separated from the other Dragon Clans by the creation of the Earth Dragons, resulting from an ill-fated relationship. A Fire Dragon and Winged Dragon fell in love, and when their children were born, they looked nothing like either parent. They had no icy breath and no pouch to hold lava. The little ones were not red like their mother nor white like their father. They were the color of rich earth and could make plants grow. 
One of the flowers looked different than the others. It had three different colors within its petals gold, red, and white mixed. When this one bloomed, what looked like a necklace came out. It was three vines intertwined with small tear-dropped golden leaves. One vine was a tint of red the other looked frosted. It rose into the air, spun, and sparks flying everywhere. Where they landed a new flower gre
The flower would become known as the Earth Dragon flower. The flowers grew with heavy blossoms. When they opened, round rich brown balls fell from them. The balls grew into Earth Dragon newlings.

Historical Figures

Emberous Iceson

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Grandelites

Grandel the Battleground for all Earths.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Winged and Fire Dragons

Scientific Name

Dragon

Origin/Ancestry

Earth

Lifespan

Time is not a concept for them. As best as outsiders can tell these dragons as all others live for thousands of years.

Average Height

12 feet

Average Weight

690 lbs.

Average Length

From nose to tail 16 feet long

Average Physique

Slender, tall, muscular. On top of their head are four horns that swoop back behind their heads and then back up. The points stop just before their eyes. They also have four spikes on their tails.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Various shades of the soil they hold so dear.