The Perlins

Introduction

The Perlins are a dragon-like species residing in the south of the Francalian continent.
They live in the vast temperate jungles between The Ormonts Mountains  and The Ocean , south of the Lac Mignon.

They arrived in Francalia at the same time as mankind three millennia ago.
However, the Perlins did not colonise other parts of the continent as they depend very much on the jungle ecosystem to survive.

They also do not reproduce at the same rate as humans and will only have two or three offsprings during their long life.
The Perlins are not truly magical creatures.
Like humans, they have very few magic wielders among their ranks, though they also have acquired a few rods of power.


It is unclear if they know how to wield them or not. Humans have not tried to find out.

The Perlins are highly territorial creatures and will fight fiercely to defend their territories and hunting grounds from other colonies or tribes. 
To these days, we can count nearly 20 Perlins colonies spread out throughout the Narbonnan jungles.

The Perlins only answer to one supreme leader - The Dragon Thane is the dragon who will best his opponents in ritualised one to one combats.
The combats can be extremely dangerous, and sometimes a Perlin pretendant will lose his life trying to gain the title of Thane.

Not only will the Dragon Thane become the most feared and powerful Perlin until he or she is in turn challenged, but his or her clan will also become the dominant clan for that time being.
Other clans will have to give tribute to the Thane and follow him/her in battle if necessary.

Perlins live in elaborate and impenatrable tree fortresses.
They use a mixture of stones and vegetals to create formidable dens and fortified keeps within the dense jungles. 

Anatomy and Morphology

Perlins are not giant dragon-like creatures, but will be twice the size of a human when adult.
Their skin are made up of grey coloured skales that they like to paint with clan colours and symbols.

They  are bipeds and have prehensile short, strong front paws and tail.
The Perlins are very good, fast climbers, and have thin, nearly transparent membranes in between their arms and main body which they use to glide from one tree top to another.

Some membranes can be highly coloured, but usually they are green to keep the Perlin camouflaged within the lush jungle vegetation.

Face

Perlins have a short scaly snout that they use to sniff out their preys and enemies  with - their sense of smell is highly developped.
Their teeth are small and pointy, not unlike those of humans.

They also share the ability to smile and laugh with humans and other sentient bipeds of Francalia.
However, in Perlins' society, smiling and laughing can be use to intimidate an opponent: the dragons call it 'riling'.

The Perlins' cranium has a rather triangular shape that is topped by a membranous crest very similar to their underarm membranes.
Perlins are very proud of their crest - as humans would of their ears or hair.

They often adorn and pierce their crest with all sorts of jewelry.
Some Perlins have been known to die their crest into bright colours such as reds, yellows and blues.

The Perlins' hearing is as good as their sense of smell as they also rely on this ability to hunt their preys down.
Perlins sport cat-like ears that can move left to right and twitch to better catch where sounds are coming from.


 

Eyes

A Perlins' eyes are huge and their stare can become piercing and direct.
They have heavy eyelids that cover their golden lizzard-like eyes.

When resting, their eyes are often half-closed or closed.
They only open their eyes fully when alert: hunting or engaging  in conversations with others.

Height and Weight

A Perlins' weight will differ greatly from one brood to another.
That difference of height and weight will exist both in males and females - it is not genter specific.

In general, Perlins are very tall and agile and will carry little fat. Their tail is prehensile and very long - they use their tail as humans would use an extra arm.
To help them move throughout the jungle, their tail is usually not fully extented - maybe tucked round their waist or draped over their arms.

Not all Perlins are warriors and destined to fight in the arena to become clan leader or even Thane.
Many Perlins, usually born with a lighter frame, will turn to other occupations: artisans, jeweller, artists, bards, cooks etc.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

The Perlins' main strength lies in its keen sense of smell and hearing. 
Coupled with their innate ability for fighting and organisation, the dragon-like people are fearful apex predators.

They are nearly always successful in hunting down their preys.
Their only 'weaker' sense is sight.
Perlins can see well in the dark, but their long range vision is not that great.

Their sense of touch is also limited by the scales on their hands (only four fingers). 
They will know if something is cold or hot, but might not be aware of textures as well as other pibeds. 

On the other hand, their sense of taste is highly developped, and Perlins have a great appreciation for their cooks.
They highly value this skill, especially if it relates to meat. 

Perlins are omnivores, but will favour meat above all else.

Life Cycle

Perlins are very long lived people.
They can be 200 years old before the end of their life.

They start life as part of a brood of three or four eggs.
The female Perlin will lay the eggs in a secret place in the jungle, called a nid.

She will be covering the eggs with her body most of the time to keep them safe until they hatch three months after there were laid.
There is nothing more dangerous than going near a female Perlin while she is incubating or rearing her brood.

A female Perlin will have a  maximum of two broods in her lifetime.
She will become fertile only when much older, not before the age of 60 or so.

It is a Perlin saying that nothing can come between a mother and her brood.
After the little dragons have hatched, she will keep them safe in the jungle with her for another three to six  months, sometimes up to a year.

She will feed them mashed food and slowly but surely introduced bigger pieces of meat into their diet.
When she feels that the dragonnets are strong enough to stand up by themselves, she will bring them back to the clan where they will be formally greeted into the clan and join the tribes' children. 
It is at that time that they will be assigend a tutor and start their training to become a productive member of the Perlin society.

Between the age of 20 and 21, they will take part in their first hunt and will become truly adults.
Thereafter, they will be able to choose a mate.
The Perlins call their mate their Intended.

Perlins will usually mate with someone from their tribe.
However, it is not unusual for relationships to develop between Perlins from close neighbouring clans.

Perlins value loyalty and will usually stay with their Intended for a long time.
Mated pairs will live together in separate accommodation within the clan keeps.
During hunts and on the battlefields, Perlins often fight side by side with their Intended.

Habitat

Click on Narbonnan and Temperate Jungles to know more about the Perlins' habitat.