Drakes

Drakes are a kind of lesser Dragons known for their brute strength and endurance.

Description

Drakes are wingless, quadrupedal dragons, comparable to large lizards. They are less intelligent than true dragons but are of comparable size, strength and though they cannot use magic they have powerful breath weapons.

Taming

Drakes can be hatched in captivity. However they are very temperamental and hard to control, becoming more and more unruly as they grow up. Eventually they inevitably grow too powerful to control and either have to be released or put down.
While they can make for exceptionally powerful mounts for a while, attempts to domesticate drakes are doomed to failure.

Life cycle

Drakes grow to the same or even greater size than true dragons. They reach adolescence at around 10 years and never fully stop growing as they age, with some living for many centuries. They live mostly in isolation and meet others of their kind only in order to raise young.

Hunting strategy

Drakes are brute creatures. They are not very mobile and mostly rely on their size, strength and toughness to win any fights. They are even more resilient and physically strong than true dragons, though they are much easier to trick or outwit.
Drakes can use their breath weapons only rarely, though with devestating power. The spaces in-between uses of their breath weapons should be exploited as much as possible.
Drakes are likely to avoid any fights they are not sure they can win, but if threatened they will fight to the death. They will take any opportunity to retreat that they see, but they are not good at escaping and they know it.

Appearance

Drakes are quadrupedal lizards with a broad, heavy build. They have sharp claws and teeth and their scales are of rather vibrant colour which usually gives indication to their elemental breath weapon.
As such frost drakes have white scales, fire drakes red scales and earth drakes black scales, among others.

Adult drakes are around 10m long, though they never fully stop growing and can be many centuries old. Some drakes are so old that they are better described as walking hills.