Overview
With the exception of the
Gods themselves, Dragons were the first thinking and speaking creatures placed on Mernac, as documented in
Onas Brushstoke's work
The First Dragon. Though the exact date is hidden in the mist, the scholars specializing in Dragon Lore at The Great Library of Hob feel it was sometime between 10,000 and 5,000 BM.
Dragons are the closest of any of the creatures or beasts to the 20 Races of Mernac. Though many can speak and are sentient, they do not have a soul as defined in the well-known treatise on
Classes, The Division of Man and Beast. They do have an opportunity to gain a soul if they can ever answer certain questions posed by The One when they were created as documented in The First Dragon Scroll.
Appearance
Common Dragons are range in hue from light olive green to dark burnt brown and have limited magical powers. There are, however, a great variety of sub-species, just as there are many varieties of Elf, Fae, Man, or any of the Races. Many of these subspecise have varying degrees of magical powers, The most common of these are Fire Dragons, Ice Dragons, and Gray Dragons, all of which can be found, though sparsely, on all continents and most of the large islands of Mernac.
In general, Dragons are four-legged creatures and typically range in size from the height of two men and 3-4 paces in length to four times those dimensions as seen with both Fire Dragons and the massive Ice Dragons of the Northern Wastelands. Though Dragons have been described and painted countless time probably the most accurate is from Siberlee, The Mother of Nature, when she and her sister Sola went about creating the First Dragon.
Siberlee's Drscription of Dragons
It should be like those lovely Fitz Lizards you created sister,"
Siberlee, The Mother of Nature replied. "You remember, it was the day we also created the reflections that lay across still water,” she told Sola. “This creature should be smooth of skin and cool of blood if I recollect my dreams of childhood correctly. Unlike your lizards, they will have teeth, massive teeth as they hunt for their food. Yes, I definitely remember as a girl my mother telling me they ate meat. Mind you, they were still quite gentle of nature, so there will be naught to fear. Their tongue is black and rough like fieldstone, that I am sure of. I remember it tickling me. Oh, and it is forked.”
“They will have a tail, and that tail will be long - very long... with tassels of hair at the end. Of color, I think they can have a range, any hue from Green to Brown is good… or even red on rare occasions. Four legs I think… and wings. Leathery like those of a bat. Yes, this creature should certainly be able to fly.”
So with all this in mind, with the incantation, and the secret spell, Sola created Dragons that very day.
Read: The Legend of
The First Dragon
Smaller Dragons
The Faerie Dragon by Rick Merriman
he notable exception to the typical large size of the species is the
Faerie Dragon found on the continent of Ooloo and the
Tian Islands. These minuscule creatures rarely exceed the size of a small bird or large butterfly. The minature Dragons are thought to be the inspiration to
Sola, The Mother of Light and Life, when she created the insects 'Dragonflies' for
Airianna Glowstar during the
Faerie Wars in the 2nd millennia AM.
Today most Dragons are heavily scaled, though this has not always been the case. On rare occasions some Dragons are born with the smooth silky skin their ancestral Dragons were born with. These throwbacks often die young because of the lack of protective armor. It is said by the Scribes and Sages who know of such thing Dragon's learn to grow scales after The First Dragon, Kellium was murdered by Barak, The Father of Darkness
Dragons, to a one, all have large leathery wings, typically half again the length of their body, and all have the ability to fly. If they are born without wings, or their wings are deformed at birth, they will be pushed out of their parent's lair to fend for themselves. Most die within a few days. A few have survived and are known as Broken Dragons. The most notable of these is Gaarg, the Broken Dragon who in the mid 2600s led The Mask, the thieves guild that operates in the Waterworks below the city of Traddlebow.
Defenses
Defenses
Today most Dragons' bodies and almost completely covered with rigid scales the are typically about the size of an elves outstretched hand and one to two-finger thick. These scales cover most of their body and make them almost impervious to most melee weapons and attacks.
The exception would be mid-way down their underbelly just below the chest. Here a small area, about the size of a young girl's fist where scales simply will not grow. It is in the exact same spot Barak, the Father of Darkness drove his dagger into the heart of Kellium, The First Dragon. It is thought when he did, he also cast a spell of vulnerability to ensure he would hit his mark, and all Dragons born after this have this vulnerability area.
Their scales are only slightly less effective at protecting Dragons from ranged weapons. Unless massive larger bows or Balista, most ranged weapons are all but useless against Dragons. However, small-scale bows or lightweight crossbows with slender bolts will often find their mark if enough projectiles are shot - some will find their way between the Dragon's scales. Though this will not bring the Dragon down, the dragon can not properly extract these slender bolts and arrows and the ared beneath the scales becomes infected and the Dragon often dies of sepsis several days later.
In some cases, professional Dragon Bounty Hunters will tip their small arrows with acid or various poultices in the hope of driving the creature into an uncontrollable frenzy or to sleep if the right potion is used.
Offenses
Offenses.
Though inherently gentle in nature, Dragons are well equipped and extremely dangerous. Their sheer size and bulk is a devastating force to contend with. They have oversized teeth designed for ripping and slashing and can shed a plate armored warrior and his horse within seconds.. The claws on their feet, and up their shins, are as sharp as even the finest bluesteel razors and can gut a man or beast with even the slightest twitch of their legs.
Dragons Breath
Dragon's Breath
Of all the Dragon's offenses, the most feared is Dragon's Breath - their ability to breathe or shoot fire from their mouth. Though all Dragons have at least a limited ability to produce fire in their larynx and spit it out their mouth and nostril, the Fire Dragons are most known for this. Some accounts report that flame from a Fire Dragon can be projected 30 paces or more. The fire produced is of a magical quality, and producing it depletes the Dragons GA or magic essence. Being of a magical nature, the flames are mor searing than even the hottest of blacksmith's forges, and will instantly ignite any flammable object it touches. Dragons have also been known to direct Dragon’s Breath on non-flammable objects such as rock or city walls and often the structures will crack or crumble from the heat.
As the fire is produced in the larynx it explains why many Dragons have a raspy voice when they speak, as the heat damages the vocal cords. Dragons who go on long rampages breathing fire will sometimes lose the ability to speak for several Seasons or More.
Dragons do not gain the ability to breast fire until they become enraged for the first time. An uncontrollable rage dramatically increases the Dragons usually cool body temperature and the increased heat is thought to trigger their fire breathing ability initially.
Some dragons who live a very sedentary life and never go into a rage never gain the ability to Breathe fire.
Lore
Abilities/Spells
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Traits
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Quirks
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Checks
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The Dragon Bounty
by
Rick Merriman
In 665 AM as Kalos, the Fire Dragon,
Sara Dragonmist, The Leader of the Fae Race, and
Onas Brushstoke, The First Disciple were finishing
The One Book Barak took out the first Bounty on Dragons. It is said by the Scribes and Sages who know of such things that
The Fathers showered Kalos with over 100 arrows dipped in poison. One found their mark and dropped the
Dragon to the Ground.
Sara Dragonmist spent seven days searching for his body... but found him close Death. For the Dragon to live The
Faerie knew she must...
Read: The Dragon Bounty
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