Drakes

"Sure, those scholars studying their books and papers say the creatures can't fly; 'It's only gliding,' they'll say. I'd like to see one of them say that after seeing a drake dropping in on them from above out of the setting sun."

-Verus Melar, Professional Drake Hunter(since vanished, presumed deceased and eaten)

Basic Information

Anatomy

Drakes obviously hearken back to their ancient dinosaur cousins, as well as to their now also-extinct cousins the dragons. While they only sport four limbs for motion, and stay on all fours during movement, the astonishing range of rotation on their shoulders and hips allow them to perform several kinds of locomotion on land. The extendable ribbed skin flaps under their arms don't allow for true powered flight; rather, they use them to glide dexterously after launching themselves into the air with their powerful hind legs, or after dropping off a cliff or other high perch point.
Although individual subspecies can vary widely in length of the cranial bridge or other aspects of skull structure, and also in total size and weight, every version of drake sports the same proportionate size of powerful tail, which nearly doubles their body length on its own. Surprisingly dextrous, the limb is used in a snapping motion to help add momentum during leaps, and twists and turns during lengthy glides and while sprinting on the ground for steering purposes. Victims of the creatures also quickly find the tail used as a deadly weapon to those who attempt to approach a drake carelessly.

Biological Traits

Any listing of drakes would be incomplete without mentioning their most devastating abilities: their frightful breath weapons. Varying in specific nature between sub-species, each drake can expel a sudden cone of destructive elemental or chemical makeup against targets in close range. While there seems to be some sort of delay between uses, multiple accounts from survivors indicate anyone in combat with a drake should expect the weapon to come into play more than once in an encounter, unless they are very quick to kill or escape the creature.
Recorded breath weapons range from sprays of poison or corrosive biologically-combined acids to more unbelievable bursts of fire or shard-filled icy frost. Originally believed to be connected to the elemental planes somehow, a growing trend of researchers and hunters have agreed that there has never yet been one sighted as using electricity, nor spitting gouts of earth, crystal, or the like; this suggests a different origin for the adaptation, though what that might be, no one is certain.

Genetics and Reproduction

Confirmed reproductive behavior is impossible to come by (see Perception for obvious issues with observing the creatures in the wild), but based on abandoned nests, dissected corpses, and hunter testimonials, some conclusions can be guessed at. Remains of egg shells left behind lead scholars and hunters to conclude that the creatures lay eggs, much as their dinosaur cousins are assumed to have done. Only on three recorded occasions have youthful drakes been discovered, always after being captured; this suggests the young immediately leave the nest, having never been found in one. Mating rituals are more certain, hunters of drakes attesting that during every other spring (the bi-yearly nature is unexplained) the creatures pair off in loud and violent displays of breath weapons and destroyed trees and other terrains before vanishing. Drake hunters claim that only single drakes can be found, far and few between, for a month afterward, the mated pairs having vanished to well-hidden nests.

Growth Rate & Stages

While early life is unknown for certain, the three drakes ever captured at what is guessed to be near-infancy displayed an ability to blend with their surroundings, their scale coloration and patterning shifting from moment to moment. As adult drakes have never been noted to make use of this ability, they either feel they have no need of it as apex predators or lose the ability as they mature; if indeed it is universal to all drake sub-species.

Ecology and Habitats

Drakes are found in every conceivable environment on land, their coloration and sizes changing between sub-species to better match their surroundings. Those found in high mountain passes have shorter snouts, smaller eyes, and almost-deformed muscles and claws on their forelimbs; these are used to plunge their climbing claws almost effortlessly into dense stone and frozen earth, to better maintain their preferred methods of ambushing prey from above. As a counter-example, drakes in the heavy jungles of the southern continent are the smallest of their species, but have the largest proportional jaw-bones and muscles; they will seize their prey's neck with a fatal crunching bite, lock their jaw, and then swiftly carry the corpse away to be eaten in peace.
Whatever the case, a drake's roar or scent, or signs of its breath weapon, will scatter most wildlife; they are undisputed apex predators in each environment, barring something even more fantastical moving into an area.

Dietary Needs and Habits

All drake sub-species are uncontested carnivorous kings of their environments. They will settle for stealing or scavenging meat that is already dead, as no animal in the wild can afford to pass up free food when it presents itself, but will quickly abandon a rotting carcass for the opportunity to hunt a moving target for fresh meat instead. Even when not hungry some sub-species of drakes, particularly those in the high mountains where the cold and harsh environment limits available food sources, will still attack creatures, dragging the corpses away for storage in nests. Such stored meat is not kept in any particular fashion, the drakes' stomachs apparently having no issues digesting rotted or frozen meat.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Drakes cannot be tamed. Whenever captured and kept successfully caged (there are two well-recorded instances of attempts), drakes fly into a rage, literally dying of the emotion as their blood pressure skyrockets until internal bleeding occurs in the brain and heart.
A dead drake, however, can be harvested for a variety of uses. Their claws, teeth, and bones are near to their dragon cousins' in density and durability, easily bettering most metal weapons and tools if properly shaped by a craftsman with the tools to do so. Their hides, if harvested with the scales still attached, can curiously be treated and tanned without losing the additional protection of the flexible scales; armor made of drake hide can be crafted in almost any 'light' or 'medium' variety and offers superior protection.
The guts, tendons, and ligaments of drakes are also always in high demand among both those who produce stringed instruments and those who craft or maintain bows and crossbows. Depending on how they are treated, the materials can be used to make uniquely-beautiful-sounding pianos, violins, and other instruments; they can also be turned into bowstrings that need no protection from rain nor elements and can support all but the strongest of draws.
There are, of course, more insidious uses for the parts of a drake, as well. For most creatures, drake meat is poisonous, no matter how it is prepared. Alchemists across the known world have attempted to analyze it, but none have succeeded in neutralizing nor reproducing it. The only known cure to having ingested even the smallest amount of protein from a drake is to imbibe a drink consisting of drake bone powder and powdered charcoal. The resulting process of cleaning one's bloodstream and digestive tract is arguably worse than death, but that is the choice remaining for one who has consumed any amount of drake, intentional or otherwise.
A recurring rumor among drake hunters suggests that the heart of the drake alone is, in fact, edible, and will grant the person who eats it the use of the drake's breath weapon. How one is supposed to ensure they eat only the heart, and not a single speck of any other portion of the drake, the hunters who spread the rumor are unclear on.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Dissected drakes show large organs dedicated to processing sight, sound, and smell. This implicit mastery of sensing the smallest details of their surroundings is borne out by testimonials from survivors of drake attacks, who universally attest the creatures can sniff out or hear the slightest of clues to hiding morsels of food. Those who hunt the creatures professionally (and survive) confirm the need to completely mask one's scent and appearance while tracking or waiting in ambush for one.

Scientific Name

Dinosauria Drakis

Conservation Status

Drakes are currently under protection in Echelion on the northern continent, but only with regard to any planned hunting. Naturally aggressive and carnivorous, self-defense measures which kill the creature allow for harvesting of their bodies without ramifications.