War Dragon
The last of the True dragons, the Raithar Empire's War Dragons helped their masters to conquer the known world... and helped ensure their downfall.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Being True dragons, the War Dragons had long, serpentine necks and tails, enormous wings, and both front and back legs. They were said to be proportionally shorter, but larger over-all than any of the True dragons that came before. By the time they finished their growth spurt, they were the size of a temple, and they never stopped growing.
They had broad, hard scales that functioned essentially as armor. For natural weapons, they had a particularly long thorn (more of a scimitar) on their tails, but shorter, blunter talons--they never had need of sharper ones. Their primary weapon, and by extension, a primary weapon of the empire itself, was dragonfire.
Sources relating to the internal anatomy of the War Dragons--particularly their means of producing dragonfire and of sustaining flight despite their size--are wildly conflicting. Though university scholars have their theories, it is still considered unknown.
Biological Traits
A War Dragon's natural life span is unknown. Under the empire, aging War Dragons were inevitably killed in battle or slain by younger dragons, either in a battle for dominance or at the direction of their masters. Accordingly, the upper limits of their size is also unmeasured.
The colossal beast called Nyx was the oldest (and largest) of the War Dragons, said to be 120 years old and the size of a village when she was slain by Valor Ascendant at the fall of Raitharis.
Genetics and Reproduction
The War Dragons had large clutches, usually around a dozen eggs. Of these, however, the mother would generally eat at least half during incubation, no matter how much other food the empire provided for her. Once hatched, the young dragons were in danger not only from her, but from each other. Typically, only two or three hatchlings survived from each clutch. Female dragons were able to lay a clutch each year, starting as soon as her growth spurt ended, even when she had been kept apart from any males.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Though all True dragons had immense appetites, the War Dragons were particularly insatiable. This was a primary factor in the belief that they were extinct--it was considered obvious that no creature of that size could keep itself fed while confined only to the Forsworn Lands. Sating the appetites of its dragons was one of the driving factors in the Raithar Empire's unsustainable consumption of resources, so surely the ruined land they left behind would be unable to support feral dragons.
The War Dragon defeated in the Battle of Arlickson's Field was, by all reports, immensely hungry. Things that it was reported to have eaten whole included: a team of horses with the wagon they pulled and all associated rigging; a cornered herd of cattle along with several bites of the fence containing them; a grain silo; and several unfortunate gryphons, usually along with their knights.
Additional Information
Domestication
The War Dragons were domesticated, in that the breed was purposefully developed for human use, though many struggled to think of them as anything but monsters in harnesses. Though the details have been lost, they were likely the result of crossbreeding various breeds of True dragon which had been stolen as eggs or hatchlings. If the surviving representations are accurate, they were most similar to the Fire Dragons and Storm Dragons. In particular, their ability to breathe dragonfire--similar to but definitely not typical fire--marks them as likely Fire Dragon hybrids.
The Raitharans trained the dragons to strict standards while they were young, knowing that they would quickly outgrow the humans' capacity to physically control them. A key part of that training was teaching them to work cooperatively at killing, not something that easily meshed with their solitary hunter ancestors' instincts. The method that seemed to teach it most effectively was to set a group of small, young dragons against a larger one, turning their territorial and competitive instinct against a common foe that could not be defeated alone. This training method, even more than the stated goal of public safety, resulted in the eradication of the wild breeds of True dragons; after which, it was used against any War Dragons that had started to forget their training.
Through the generations, they were bred for ferocity, strength, size, and an imposing, dark color. Of course, any that were outright untrainable and uncontrollable were culled, but personality was less and less a considered trait in breeding. The history of the empire was mirrored in the rise of its unstoppable air force, finally checked and hindered by its own wrath and gluttony.
Facial characteristics
The scales on a War Dragons face were plate-like, particularly hard, and pale compared to their bodies, leading many to the misapprehension that they wore armored helms. Both male and females boasted four long horns, and the females additionally had four shorter horns along their jaw bones. They did not have the long whiskers present on the other True dragons.
The War Dragons' teeth were perhaps shorter than expected for the size of the jaw, but very numerous and very sharp. Most of the teeth also had backwards serration to keep anything from pulling away. They did not seem to ever chew their food, instead only using their bites offensively.
Average Intelligence
Beastial. According to legend, the other True dragons were very intelligent, possibly even sentient--if that were true, much of their intellect was bred out of the War Dragons. They were intelligent enough to be trained, and that was about it.
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