Drakes

A treatise on the great lesser dragonic creatures of the world.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Quadrupedal, with varrying amounts of fur, scales, skeletal structures, and horns. Generally gollow a similar base 4 limbed shape however. Also possesses a long tail for balance.

Biological Traits

Drakes are magnificent creatures, even as lesser dragonic kin. They lack the wings and intelligent grace of their ancestors, but they are no doubt majestique in their more, brutal, bestial way. Typically inheriting traits of the many chromatic types of dragons, they have since spread across the world and adapted to their natural enviorments. They are cunning and lethal predators, and all still possess a breathe weapon that changes based on the enviorment. What follows is only a small portion of their many diffrent sub types:

• Brine Drake: Brine drakes are aquatic beasts with more unique phsyical features as opposed to their other kin. They are far more sleek in body, with piscine heads with sharp, needle like teeth. Their body is perfectly adapted to swimming, and their scales shimmer in shades of deep blue, and teal with a hint of iridesencse. they possess a vibrant, orange crested fin, hiding highly venemous spines. They are patient ambush predators, and have powerful shocking bursts akin to electric eels.
• Deep Drake: Deep drakes are a now unforunately rare type of drake, some even believing that they have gone extinct since the Underdark Cataclysm. Almost entirely blind, they rely on echolocation to navigate the underdark and dark cave systems of the world. They are typically adorned in scales or scutes similar to a crocidiles, but with a more stone like texture. They are typically a dark black in coloring, which helps camoflauge them in the dark caverns. They are experts at climbing, and possess an ability to release a deafiningly loud sonic shriek. This sonic blast creates sudden intense compression, able to rupture a creatures internal organs, shatter bones, concuss, and rupture eardrums. primarily ambush predators, their diet consits of giant bats, insects, reptiles, worms, and other vermin. However, they also occasionally tend to hunt larger prey, espically humanoids. However they are able to suppliment its diet by biting and licking salt deposits and crystals, which help maintain its hide.
• Desert Drake: Desert drakes are large creatures with thick, golden brown hides that resemble overlapping plates of armor. They sport large horns similar to a blue dragons, and tails that end in a large club like shape. They are curuious in that while ambush predators, they are perfectly capable of short bouts of chase for their prey. They seem to constantly be swallowing small amounts of sand, which they store in a second acidic belly within them. When facing a foe or group of enemies, they disgorge the now corrosive sand, capable of burning through metal and melting flesh, eyes, and other more unsavory effects. Solitary in nature, they are highly territorial and are known to slam their clubed tail on the ground to warn others from entering near them. These tails are also commonly used to club and bludgeoning their prey to death.
• Forest Drakes: Fprest drakes are one of the more common types of drake found across the world, and prowl timberlands, thickets, and taigas. They sport large antler like horns, and sport fur running down their spines. They typically sport green hues of coloration upon their body, and are fiercly cunning predators. While hunting local wildlife, they also favor hunting humanoids. What makes them dangerous is their ability to mimic elk, moose, and deer, using this to taunt and lure unsuspecting hunters to their doom. While they eat meat, they also eat various wild, posionous mushrooms. When ingested, the toxins do not harm the drake, but instead can alter the already posionous breathe by having it produce hallucinogenic effects. While dangerous to be exposed to in the wild, if harvested and purified these hallugenic effects are popular in more expensive types of recreational drugs. Forest drakes are the most social, pack oriented drakes of all.
• Ice Drakes: Similar to white dragons, the ice drakes possess thick, ice like and jagged scales like spikes of ice from their back, shoulders, and limbs. Their eyes gleam icy white while bluish frost emanantes from its inner maw. They favor the absolute coldest areas of the planet, playing an important role within the ecosystems by hunting not just the fish and small animals but also the larger animals that might over hunt the area. Their breathe is highly cold, able to encase targets in ice in moments. Their bite also causes rapid and intense freezing, with sevre frost bite being a common injury for people surviving Ice Drake bites.
• Magma Drake: Magma drakes are native to volcanic regions of the world, resembling large and sleek salamanders. They are unique in that they possess vestigial wings, which while not able to provide flight, aid in manuvering through magma. They prefer to lurke beneath the surface of molten lava, with their smoldering ember like scales. Once prey approcahes, they jump out and strike akin to a crocidile. Their bodies radiate intense heat, and even being nearby them can result in sevre burns, not to mention the scorching jet of magma they can let out of their maw. However they are highly averse to water, and typically are pained when exposed to large amounts of water.
• Mountain Drake: Mountain drakes are creatures with crag-like bony spikes jutting from their upper areas of its body, even the skull. Its head is shaped similar to a goat, with a draconic snout and curving ram like horns. While seemingly slow at first, mountain drakes are shockingly surefooted, able to scale cliffs and slopes with ease. It preys primarily on goats and other creatures near the peaks, though will at times descend the mountain to hunt nearby prey. Its breathe can be unleashed as searing hot goats of ash and sulfur, able to choke most creatures quickly. Most victims of Mountain Drake attacks need to worry primarily of suffocation rather than the claws, though their claws are indeed formidable.
• Swamp Drake: Swamp drakes tend to live in swamps, marshes, and lakes, and bear alot of similarities to crocidiles.  With wide, U-shaped snouts, tail, and scute-covered hide, their heads are similar to a black dragon, and they prefer to spend their day in the water primarily. Not only to keep cool, but also to use to hide from prey and ambush prey, primarily large mammmals. Once they lock prey in their jaws, they drag them in the water before preforming a "death roll" which allows them to tear and dismember their prey while also confusing it. They share acidic breathe similar to black dragons, and are mostly active at night suprisingly. They tend to lie at the waters edge to catch the sun, and form packs to congregate near water to hunt during sundown.
• Tundra Drakes: Tundra drakes are similar to wooly rhinos or yetis, with their bodies sporting ivory white scales, shaggy grayish-white fur, and a large singular horn potruding from the front of its draconic head. Its two front arms are slightly larger than their back limbs, similar to an ape or yeti. They are unusual in being the only drake species to walk with an apish gait, some even finding the near walk they do rather unsettling or unnerving. They prefer to ram their prey and then use their horn to stab at prey or use their arms to crush and rend limbs from bodies. Their breathe can be used to mkae a crippling cloud of freezing air, able to slow down their prey as well as cause sevre frost related injuries.

Genetics and Reproduction

Sexual reproduction, with heat cycles occuring after reaching maturity. Lay eggs after mating, which roughly take about 6 months to hatch.

Growth Rate & Stages

Drakes live for roughly 80 years. They are broadly broken down into 3 age groups. 

• Young drakes are those drakes ranging from just born to about 12 years old. They are roughly the size of about a large mule.
• Adult drakes are those from 13 to 55 years of age. Fully matured, they are extremly formidable in battle and numerous in number. They are roughly the size of some of the larger horse breeds in the world, or large crocidiles.
• Ancient drakes are the oldest of their kind, going from 56 to the rest of their natural life. Though old, they are incredibly strong, and can reach the size of the largest mammoths or elephants.

Ecology and Habitats

Being related to dragons, they are highly mutative, and seem to naturally optimize themselves for their enviorment after only two generations. Due to also sometimes being created by other dragons, they are also prone to being altered while in their egg to better fit the needs and wants of the dragon.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Primarily predatory in nature, they actually are quite varried in how they foarge and hunt for food. While primarily prusuit predators, many of their sub species have shown tendencies toward ambush hunting, social/solitary predation, camoflauge/ambush predation, etc.

Behaviour

Being great predators of their enviorments, they are as varried as their dragonic ancestors in many ways. Most drakes display a tendency to stay by their parents up until they reach adulthood, in which they then typically go out to form their own packs. Some show a tendency toward more solitary lifestyles, only joining other drakes to mate during heat. However it has been observed that occasionaly large packs of adult drakes band together to hunt in packs. However, even the most social of drake sub species tend to isolate themselves when reaching the ancient age group.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

While wild and feral by nature, they can be more easily tamed as opposed to full dragons. The process is lengthy and time consuming, but magic can be used to assit in speeding up the process. This makes them not too common but by no means rare war mounts of beasts of burden (though many would decry the waste of a drake on moving wagons when it can breathe fire or acid and such). Aside from taming for use as war mounts of guard animals, they also have become a popular culinary resource, with steaks and stews being the most common products of drake meat. Drake blood is typically acidic, and needs to be boiled to be safe for consumption, though the blood can be used in various tonics, potions, and poisons.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Being born of dragons, the drakes are scatterted across the world. They can be found in virtually any enviorment and location, and form a quite common sight in natural ecosystems across the world. Be it land or sea (and according to some rumors even the sky), the drake is found in nearly every place of the world.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Drakes possess exceptional low light vision, a hold over from their draconic ancestry no doubt.

Lifespan

About 80 years, but due to the latent magical nature of their draconic blood, it is not unknown for some to live far longer when exposed to massive arcane energies.