Dragon

Dragons, the children of Bahamut, are feared or revered by many of the world's cultures.
Broadly, there are three types of dragons. The metallic breeds (brass, bronze, copper, gold, iron, mercury, silver, and steel) are the original dragons as they were made by Bahamut, and are usually good. Chromatic dragons (black, blue, brown, green, orange, red, white, and yellow) are descended from those who were corrupted by Tiamat, and are usually evil, though some have managed to break free of her influence. Gem dragons (amethyst, citrine, crystal, emerald, garnet, ruby, sapphire, and obsidian) are a neutral-aligned subtype who transformed themselves through the study of psionics.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Dragons have four legs and a pair of webbed wings. Their bodies are covered in scales, with larger scutes to protect their underside, and they have a row of spikes or fins down their top from neck to tail. Most subspecies have a pair of horns or a bony crest atop their head. Their limbs end in five digits tipped with talons. Some types of dragon are able to swim and breathe underwater, while others can burrow.

Genetics and Reproduction

Dragons are oviparous. They lay an exceptionally tough egg three months after mating, usually in clutches of two to five. The eggs hatch roughly one to two years later, depending on the subspecies. They can produce a clutch as often as once a year, but more typically go as long as a century between them.
The conditions for incubation vary depending on the type of dragon.

Black dragons keep their eggs buried under decomposing plant matter in a swamp or bog. The acidic conditions keep the shell strong, and the decomposition generates warmth.
Blue dragons need twelve hours at 90-120 degrees (F), followed by twelve hours at 40-60 degrees, mimicking the natural conditions of the desert.
Brass, gold, and red dragons must incubate their eggs in an open flame, or at least in an environment 140 degrees or higher.
Bronze eggs need to be immersed in seawater several times per day.
Coppers bury their eggs in soft sand or clay to maintain a temperature of 40-60 degrees.
Greens dig a pit and line it with dead leaves, then cover the eggs with more dead leaves. The nest must be periodically moistened so that the shells don't dry out; the compost also keeps them warm.
Silver and white eggs can only incubate in below-freezing temperatures. They usually bury their clutch in a snow drift.

Growth Rate & Stages

Dragons go through five distinct phases of growth. They spend their first five years as a wyrmling, barely the size of a pony. From there they spend youth and adolescence growing bigger until their hundredth birthday, at which point they are considered an adult. Those who live to be eight hundred or older become "ancients", and they may live to be 4200 years old at the most.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Dragons have limited blindsight granted by their keen hearing.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Draconic names are long and elaborate, full of complex phonemes that humanoid mouths can barely pronounce, and they only grow longer as the dragon gets older. Those who frequently deal with humans may take on a nickname, or translate their name into Common. An example would be Corleneth the Radiant, whose proper Draconic name is Clethtinthiallor. She received the name Corleneth from elven friends, but is also called Northstar by her human allies back in Io.
In Cathay, where dragons run most of the government and are fully integrated with society, they have Cathayan names in addition to Draconic name. They use a one-character surname based on their subspecies, and a two-character personal name with a theme that's also related to their type. Siblings from the same clutch often have names starting with the same character.

Cathayan Dragon Surnames: Jin (Gold), Yin (Silver), Qing (Bronze), Tong (Copper), Huang (Brass), Hong (Red), Lan (Blue), Lu (Green), Bai (White), Hei (Black)
Example full name: Viceroy Qing Mingzhu is a bronze dragon. His personal name literally means "bright pearl". He has two siblings whose names start with the same character: Mingshan ("bright coral") and Mingyao ("bright seashell").

History

Dragons were among the first beings created in the early days of the world. Bahamut made the metallic dragons from pure elemental force to serve as stewards of the smaller races who would follow. For many centuries, they carried out their roles just as intended.

But as time went by and the world matured, some dragons, including the draconic goddess of wealth, began to grow proud and greedy. They were created to be the ultimate lifeforms, so, they reasoned, why shouldn't they rule this world? So these dragons were permanently corrupted by their evil deeds, and lost their metallic scales. Even the goddess they followed, Tiamat, became an ugly thing with five huge mouths that grasped for more, more, more. The tyranny of these dragons was one of many things that led to the Dawn War.
In Io, this tyranny did not end with Tiamat's sealing. Centuries later, the continent came to be divided up into territories ruled by dragons, collectively known as the Draconic Dominions. Some metallic dragons held territory here, but it was mostly chromatics, and they were cruel masters. They imposed a caste system on the humanoid races beneath them, with dragonborn and their own half-dragon bastard children at the top. Every other race was treated as cheap labor at best.
Meanwhile, in the eastern lands of Rodinia, the Cathayan Empire was established by an alliance of humans and metallic dragons. The Golden Emperor (a gold dragon) led his people into a golden age under the guidance of himself and a court of draconic nobles. A few hundred years later, Cathay allied with the metallic dragons of Io and the humanoids' resistance movements to overthrow the Dominions. Io came under the control of humans, rallying behind the resistance leader Remus.

In the first few centuries of the Reman Empire, there was a period where lasting enmity caused many humans to revile all dragons and dragonkin. Even metallic dragons learned to stay away during this time, and large numbers of chromatic dragons were killed by dragon hunters. It wasn't until the reforms of Emperor Theophilus that worship of Bahamut was restored, and dragonkin came to be accepted by society again.
The discovery of Vesperia was another milestone for dragonkind. Many dragons made the long flight across the ocean to the "new world", and they played a major role in the early phases of colonization. Dragons from Cathay likewise explored the continent from the other side, where they established the province of Penglai on the west coast in the name of the fifth Golden Emperor. More have since settled in remote areas, where they either mind their own business or terrorize settlers depending on their personal morals.