Wyrm

Basic Information

Anatomy

Wyrms have long, flexible bodies with one set of limbs in the first third.

Genetics and Reproduction

Wyrms have no known genitalia, instead reproducing purely through magical means. Through hard thought and an elaborate mating ritual two wyrms are able to will an egg into existence. Oddly enough, the resulting hatchling will still carry on the genes of its parents.

Mating Rituals and the Ouroboros

Wyrm mating rituals can occur between any two individuals. The process can last several days, so the wyrms involved will normally seek out an isolated location to mate. After a period of settling in, the process begins in proper with the wyrms vocalizing their intent and entering an almost trance-like state of concentration.
Together they begin an exchange of the best poems, riddles, and other literature each has collected in their life.¹ The wyrms will respond to each other with either an answer, if they too know the piece being referenced, or another piece. A "good" ritual has no breaks in the conversation and should be continually get deeper and more obscure to outsiders. At this point the wyrms will begin to snake around each other. The most common formation is the individuals circling each other with plenty of overlap. The tangle resembles the image of a snake eating its own tail, hence the name ouroboros.
After anywhere from twelve hours to five days an egg will fully materialize between the two wyrms. The two will take the egg back with them, where incubation can take roughly a month before the baby wyrm within is ready to hatch.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Names are usually whole phrases taken from riddles, poems, or superstitions. They may hold significance to the parents, but the name's sound and ability to roll off the tongue is often more important. Family names don't exist in wyrm culture. They are seen as a crutch for wyrms who can't remember their family line like they should.

Beauty Ideals

Practices and Products

Across almost every wyrm community, the ideal hide is smooth and slightly shiny without looking wet. Wyrm scales have a similar high turnover rate to human skin, so the average wyrm naturally sheds any dead or scraggly scales. In most, however, this is not enough to attain that perfect sheen.
Beauty regiments involve scrubbing one's entire length with a pumice stone or similar surface. Some families will make or claim a large "scale stone," or a rough surface long enough to run one's body along and quickly clean off dead scales. In regions where individual rock formations or surfaces aren't as readily available and, for example, a cliff face exists instead, communal baths are built for the same purpose. These combine scrubbing with another important wyrm practice: moisturizing.
Wyrms will smear lotions, glosses, or anything vaguely gel-like along their bodies to buff their scales and bring out their shine. High-quality wyrm body cream is like a human lotion with a slight grit. The goal is to make the scales appear soft and smooth while still providing a heavier polish. Wyrm scales naturally become more matte with time and while perfectly normal, it's not as appealing as fresh (or seemingly fresh) scales.
Shimmer powders exist for wyrms to pat onto their hides for a fresher look. Since it takes time to rub anything on more than ten feet of skin, wyrm makeup is usually only applied around the top third of the body from the head to the arms. Recently, inspired by human makeup, pigmented powders have hit the market with the goal of enhancing one's natural scale color, like a highlighter. It is still not as widely used as shimmer powder or just a strict beauty regiment however.

Hair Care

Hair is not as important as skin to wyrms, in part because the amount can vary from a few stray whiskers to a full mane. Unless a wyrm has hair that is easily tangled, like an especially unruly mane, they are not expected to do anything to it. It's perfectly acceptable for one to never brush or wash their hair. The activity is seen as frivolous. Wyrm hair grows slowly and comes in patchy if disrupted, so cutting one's hair is almost unheard of.

Views on Markings

Patchy hide, patchy mind

— Traditional saying

The body is seen as a direct reflection of the mind in traditional wyrm culture. Variations like piebaldism, freckles, and stripes can occur, but when they do they are met with disdain. The belief is that a child with abnormal markings either has unfit parents who were unable to speak a "perfect" hatchling into being or is themselves mentally lacking.
This belief has begun to be challenged in some communities. Advocates work to remove the stigma around body markings. There's also been a recent rise in research on wyrm genetics both within and outside of wyrm communities, most of which furthers the belief that markings are not tied to mental deficiencies.

Table of Thirteen, a wyrm with piebaldism

Major Language Groups and Dialects

They have similar vocal tracts to humans, though obviously wyrms have much larger oral and nasal cavities. They also have a longer, freer-moving tongue that allows for intense retroflexion.
Wyrms are quick to pick up on the language(s) around them. Any unified wyrm language has become less of its own language and more of a pidgin at this point. In some isolated communities it's arguably a distinct language, either a surviving wyrm-only language or a new creole, but in places with lots of interaction with non-wyrms the spoken language is all but dead.
A written language survives and is regularly used instead of the common script.

The wyrm vocal tract

Common Dress Code

Wyrms do not wear clothing. Not only is it difficult to clothe 10+ foot-long creatures, but wyrms tend to take pride in their shimmery hides. Any decoration is limited to light accessories around the horns and claws. It's considered tacky to wear large pieces of fabric or jewelry over one's body.

¹The wyrm equivalent of sexual maturity is considered to be when an individual has enough worldly experience to be able to comfortably spout off and respond to such content for at least a full day. With that said, repeating poetry or riddles is not inherently sexual in wyrm society.

Genetic Descendants

• Jester Wyrm

Lifespan

125 years

Average Length

10 - 30 ft

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Coloration ranges from almost white to candy-colored. Within the range wyrms can be almost any color. Hair is typically a different color than the skin but still roughly within the same saturation (i.e. a pastel wyrm will not have a highly pigmented tail).