Skelerent Hunter
One of the largest dragons on Dracosei, skelerents were once an abundant species in the continent Maerkhor. Unfortunately, due to overhunting thanks to bounties placed on the species, skelerents went extinct and therefore the specialised profession was rendered obselete.
In the past, these hunters were praised for their valor and bravery. Skelerents weren't very understood animals, as people looked at their size and ran the other way, and so they were always viewed as dangerous animals. Unfortunately, skelerents were the exact opposite, and were docile animals. Their meat was used for food, scales for armour, weapons and defences, and their bones and organs used for medicinal purposes. The last skelerent to have ever existed forms as part of the Dragonbone Tavern, its skeleton serving as the infrastructural base to the building.
History
The first people to explore Maerkhor were the moroll, one of two "dominant" sophonts on the planet, the other being the terani. Unsurprisingly, the moroll encountered skelerents but avoided them, constructing their first settlements several thousand years ago after discovering parts of the continent that these dragons did not set foot in.
Some of these settlements still stand today, some people with old-fashioned views believing it to be because most dragons don't come near them. The truth is, geographical and climate stability, plus excellent trade routes have kept these settlements running. When the terani discovered Maerkhor for themselves they immediately hunted these dragons, as they were a perfect source of food.
To improve their status, hunters told false tales of these dragons fighting back and the hunters engaging in horrific battles with the skelerents, of course all battles ending in the hunters winning. Skelerent hunting became a profession in itself quite quickly once terani had established populations across the mainland.
Hunters would go out to slaughter a dragon, bringing it back home for hundreds of people to literally dig into, using every single scrap of the corpse that they could.
Quite quickly the dragon population dwindled down to a few hundred. Some skelerents had fled the mainland and established small populations on small islands, which revealed them to be a hyper-adaptive species, and they had adapted so much they could be classified as new species. As the number of skelerents dropped, so did the number of specialised skelerent hunters.
The last few hunters grew desperate, spending years on end searching for just one dragon they could. It was around this time, a hundred years ago, did people start to wonder why skelerents were so viciously hunted. The Dragon Harmony Association had a lot to do with this, encouraging people to view dragons as allies rather than enemies. The last skelerent was killed thirty years ago by a hunter, Merrin Aladox. This man transformed the corpse of the dragon into the Dragonbone Tavern, ran by himself as a front for illegal trade.
Skelerent Remains
While most of the skelerent corpses were used immediately, such as the flesh, the other body parts were packaged and sent to other civilisations for a high price. Different parts of the bodies had vastly different uses, making a single slaughter extremely valuable.
Bones
Skelerent bones had many uses. The marrow was hollowed out and separated to be used in tea, while some bones were also carved into small teacups. Tea was drank as a special treat by hunters, as its high fat content helped store energy in their bodies, which was burnt off during their arduous hunts.
The spongy parts of the bones were ground up and used in medicines, as it aided in the production of red and white blood cells, which help transport oxygen around the body and protects the body from infections respectively.
Scales
The largest scales of these dragons reach three inches in diameter, which can be found along their bellies as extra protection. The scales are fireproof and absorb heat, which circulates around the body, keeping the cold-blooded animals warm. After hunters killed one of these dragons the scales were all picked off, shipped to armourers who would utilise these items best.
A single skelerent scale also features on Maerkhor's continental flag, as a symbol of the species.
Organs
The most expensive item of the list, skelerent organs would go for insane prices nowadays. While the scales and bones can still be found on occasion, the organs don't last as long. The most valuable organ from these dragons are the flame sacs - only dragons have these organs, and skelerents have an enormous one compared to their skull size.
Flame Sac
In dragons, a flame sac can always be found in the upper snout. Some species have glands that loop down into the throat, fire being ejected from the mouth, and some have a pair of nostril-like openings above their actual nostrils which eject fire. Some dragons have fire sacs in other parts of their bodies, such as their tails or feet.
Flame sacs can be harvested and preserved perfectly, giving the user the ability to eject fire assuming the organ is utilised correctly. The cells that make up the flame sac superheat the climate inside, and when squeezed will eject fire from its opening.
The difficult part comes in trying to keep the flame sac alive. All cells can die, and flame sac cells are no exception. People have mastered the art of keeping these organs alive, many still surviving in the present. To preserve these organs, they are wrapped in ruthenium-tarsarium alloys, two decently common metals found in Dracosei's crust. This combination of metals in the alloy is able to absorb oxygen and give it to the organ inside. The sacs used to be dipped in dragon blood daily to absorb any nutrients, but modern day technologies allow for the organ to absorb a precise amount of nutrients needed.
Poor skelerents. :( I feel so bad for them. At least all parts of the body were used for things, I guess.
Yeees! Tis sad for the dragons but they didn't go to waste :D