Post by simon darkshade on Jul 29, 2018 11:19:43 GMT
Dragons
Kingdom - Animalia
Phylum - Chordata
Class - Reptilia
Order - Dracoformes
Family - Draconidae
Genus - Draconis
Of all the fell creatures on Earth, the most powerful is arguably the dragon. Their combination of flight, intelligence, magic, physical attributes, age and sheer size make them an apex predator beyond compare. There are several different geographical groups of draconic sub-species, with Draconis Occidentalis, Draconis Orientalis, Draconis Africanus, Draconis Australis, Draconis Meridionalis and Draconis Americanus being the currently known variations, with the oldest fossils coming from China. There are further sub-species within each major continent, often named after their colour or other attributes.
Modern dragons are huge creatures, with a fully grown great wyrm over 100ft long, sporting a wingspan of almost 250ft and weighing more than an adult blue whale. Their bone structure and dense flesh provides considerable resistance to damage from a variety of natural causes and is thought to contribute to their resistance against certain kinds of sorcery. Dragons can fly at an ordinary speed of over 80mph and have been recorded reaching diving speeds of over 150mph. All known adult dragons have arcane abilities equivalent to a fully fledged mage, with their long lifespan giving much time for study and reflection. Dragon scales are harder than solid steel armour and their hides are oft embedded with gemstones and diamonds from their hoards. This outer protection combines with the dense nature of their flesh to make them highly resistant to damage from natural or manmade means. Their other natural defences variously include razor sharp fangs and claws up to 6ft long, great horns, barbed tails, a deafening roar and highly acidic saliva; even the blood of a dragon is highly toxic to most living creatures.. Their most potent natural offensive capability comes in the form of their breath weapons, which is in the case of many species takes the form of a great cone of flame, but ice, electricity, poisonous gas and enormous gouts of highly corrosive acid are produced by others. Dragonologists have concluded that this particular attribute is the result of exhalation of combustible gas in the case of fire-breathing, but close examination of this phenomenon has proved somewhat hazardous.
The precise origins of dragons are unclear. There are several schools of thought among learned sages and scientists, with the largest factions believing that dragons evolved from either pterosaurs or archosaurs some 125 million years ago. Exactly how the ancestors of the modern Draconis survived the Cretaceous extinction event that wiped out the majority of the dinosaurs is a mystery, with a number of strange gaps in the fossil record and out of place remains and artefacts proving profoundly inexplicable. Dragons continued to develop and evolve through the Age of Mammals, with their peculiar life cycle and hibernation patterns becoming more distinct. Even at this early stage of draonic evolution, they would hunt and feed heavily and then sleep for decades at a time, a cycle based on some strange conjunction of the moons, stars and burgeoning arcane field of the Earth. Their numbers remained low due to low breeding rates and ferocious aggression towards others of the same species outside of rare mating periods.
The development of distinct subspecies of draconis can be traced back to the Early Pleistocene period around 1,000,000 BC, some time after the formation of the land bridge between North and South America. The largest and most powerful creatures are the Draconis Orientalis, noteworthy for their sinuous and bearded appearance and cultured outlook and have a variety of colours. African dragons are large and aggressive and tend to shades of green, yellow and brown. Most Australian dragons are flightless and have colours reminiscent of their environment, save for the rainbow serpents of the tropical north. The feathered dragons of South America are found mainly in the Amazon and the snow-capped peaks of the Andes and have the brightest hues of any earthly wyrms. North American dragons range from the smaller forest dwelling varieties of the east to the huge reds, whites and blues of the Rockies. The dragons of Europe are the most classically familiar and come in a host of different shades and sizes and include the flightless worms and armless wyverns.
The modern dragon began to emerge in the Lower Paleolithic, with increasing levels of intelligence indicated by tool use and carvings. Competition amongst different dragon species and tribes reduced their numbers and heightened general traits of aggression and suspicion. As elves, dwarves, halflings, gnomes, giants, goblinoids and primitive humans began to emerge in the Middle and Lower Paleolithic, encounters with dragons began to make their mark in recorded history and cultural memory. The ancestral memories of the threat of serpents are strongly linked to early human-dragon interactions. Draconic ‘civilisation’ predated that of the humanoid species, but the few remains discovered by arcano-archaelogical means are so alien as to prove incomprehensible to modern man. The general consensus is that tribes were collected together in specific territories larger hosts ruled by particularly large and powerful great wyrms, which in turn were subject to the rule of councils of elders. As yet, efforts to translate the ancient language of dragons have proved unsuccessful, so any true insight to the nature of those primeval days remains elusive to modern scholars.
The rise of the ancient civilizations of the elves and dwarves ended the Age of the Dragons, with many hunted down and destroyed by great heroes and kings and others subdued to the purposes of particular kingdoms and empires. The advance of the ice sheets in the last glacial maximum put an end to their greatness, with the elves falling back to the forests and the realm of faerie and the dwarves descending into their great underground realms beneath the hills and mountains. Atlantis rose and fell, scattering its vestiges on both sides of the ocean that bears its name and disappearing beyond memory. The first true human civilizations emerged around 6000 BC in Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, China, Mesoamerica and Peru and all were marked by the scourge of dragons. Periods of draconic activity have occurred regularly throughout human history and are thought to be due to a combination of astronomical cycles and arcane fluctuations. Legends abound of the terror of dragons and their deeds of evil and good.
In the Far East, dragons cemented a clear niche within the society and culture of Imperial China over 5000 years and were generally accepted in India as great sages and yogis. The history of China is replete with tales of dragon kings and wise councillors of the early Emperors and the tremendous Great Wall was ensorcelled by mighty magics woven by ancient wyrms. Many of the greatest dynasties in Chinese history based their military might around draconic forces long before the West and dozens of venerable dragons were worshipped as demigods and deities across the Oriental world. The great rivers of India were home to many aquatic serpents in days of yore and their legacy is preserved in countless works of Hindoo mythology; it is thought that the modern Nagas are descended from these primordial species. In the soaring heights of the Himalayas, some of the greatest dragons the world has seen made their lairs and served as benevolent guardians and advisors to an array of the mightiest rulers of the sub-continent. The elder silver Vishtariyna proved to be a significant factor in the rise of the Vedic Period following the chaos of the Aryan invasions.
Dragons in the New World can be divided into two broad strains - the feathered serpents of Central and South America and the larger drakes of North America. Draconic populations in both continents underwent a considerable decline following the Fall of Atlantis, but still play a large role in Indian mythology and folk legends. South American dragons were greatly associated with the rise of ancient civilizations in Mesoamerica, the Amazon and the Andes Highlands and a number of ancient creatures were worshipped as gods by the Maya, Incas and Aztecs; Quetzalcoatl proved to be particularly significant in the history of the latter. Fossil records indicate the sudden extinction of particular variants of North American dragon approximately 6000 B.C., coinciding with the sudden draining of Lake Agassiz. The largest wyrms in Pre-Columbian America could be found in the heights of the Rocky Mountains, but their lack of activity over hundreds of years confined them to the stuff of legend. The Indians of the Woodland Period hunted the small forest dragons of the eastern forests and reduced the population considerably. The fall of the great civilization of the Valsar, most notable for their grand pyramids at Cohakia, has been ascribed to the wrath of an awakened great wyrm, finishing the work started by the changing climate and newly arrived plagues.
The history of European dragons in recorded times is well enough known and their terrible role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the Dark Ages the stuff of legend. Over the next thousand years, the Middle Ages would see the lives and deaths of many dragons and dragonslayers, with St. George, King Arthur, Sir Lancelot, Roland, Tristan, Beowulf, Belisarius, Sigurd, Harald Hadrada, Dobrynya Nikitich, Isaac of Rome, Sinbad and Robin Hood all featuring in grand tales of battle against vile wyrms. This period also saw the re-emergence of good dragons from their long sleep and the terrible Dragon Strike of the 14th century, when wyrms ravaged much of Western Europe in a series of frenzied attacks. Several small kingdoms were briefly established in the Caucasus and Carpathians by particularly ambitious dragons who imposed their will upon mankind and humanoids alike before falling beneath the blades of heroes. Those noble beasts that threw their lot in with the cause of good and Christendom did much to establish a new pattern of relations between dragons and humans and several specific bloodlines have been closely associated with the fortunes of several kingdoms of man in the subsequent centuries.
Advances in sorcery and technology and changes in the climate cooled the medieval ardour of dragons and they have been less prevalent since the late 1400s, many disappearing to sleep on their underground hoards for centuries. They have been used in warfare throughout history to great effect, with only a great hero or mighty wizard able to oppose them until recently. The introduction of anti-dragon cannons in the mid 19th century did not prove a fully capable countermeasure until the 1880s, but since then the guns of a fortress or battleship have often been able to ward off a dragon. Their comparative rarity has limited their use in combat over the last five hundred years, with the 25 dragons of the Royal Flying Corps in 1869 being the largest number in service in a Western nation. They saw some employment in the First World War and more decisive use in World War II in both defensive and offensive roles; rare was the occasion when a nation would risk a priceless dragon unless the need was incredibly dire. Fully-grown British and American dragons were capable of independent flight across the Atlantic and it was generally considered that a single adult wyrm was the equivalent of a capital ship or bomber division in terms of their broad impact and relative military worth.
Dragons are generally solitary creatures, with there only being a few recorded circumstances of small groups cooperating with each other beyond immediate family relations. Rogue dragons come in many forms, ranging from those forgotten wyrms awaking from the sleep of centuries to newly hatched wildlings rampaging instinctively. One of the last terrible deeds of Nazi Germany before its fall was the loosing of multiple maddened dragons upon the world. Taming a dragon is not regarded as practical, although some species can be persuaded to cooperate with human societies when raised from hatchlings among men. Breeding in captivity has only taken place over the last 500 years and is yet to produce any comparable beasts to those who have grown naturally in the wild. The mating habits of dragons have not been closely observed by naturalists, at least not by any who survived to record the experience, but females produce clutches of between one and four eggs after mating at particular times, apparently linked to lengthy astronomical and astrological cycles.
The personality of dragons does vary depending on their age and breed, but certain common traits are apparent across the species – a long memory for slights, injuries and boons, hoarding of treasure, intense territoriality and a terrible wrath when aroused. Some are highly tolerant of humanoid species, whereas other regard them as something between a bemusing joke and a delightful snack. All dragons, be they benign servants of goodness or the vilest champions of the dark regard themselves as superior to all smaller animals. Highly intelligent, dragons love knowledge and seek it out when given the opportunity; several noteworthy beasts have displayed a particular love of riddles and clever conundrums. Draconic diets are primarily based around the consumption of meat or fish in vast amounts and older wyrms can devastate a region when engaged in hunting. Linked to this is the fascinating ability of draconic hibernation, whereby a dragon can rest and sleep for years or indeed decades at a time after consumption of a heavy meal. Draconic religious beliefs remain something of an enigma, with some sources indicating a form of ancestor worship and others supporting the veneration of archetypal deities.
The maximum lifespan of a dragon is unknown and inquiries of the beasts themselves have resulted in responses ranging from the coolly impolite to fatal violence; the oldest known dragon, Aurancardius the Golden, recalls flying over the Great Pyramid whilst it was under construction when he was a hatchling. After hatching, dragons typically take 100-150 years to progress to the juvenile stage, which is characterized by increased independence, growing appetite and acquisition of their own lair. Adulthood is reached at some point after 250 years, followed by growth through a number of size and age categories – maturity, elder, venerable, ancient and the most formidable beasts being great wyrms of over 800 years of age. Observations of ancient dragons have shown clear signs of senility and decrepitude, but no clear pattern as to when or why this occurs.
Standing at the apex of the natural world, dragons lack any true predators save the intelligent humanoid species and their numbers have declined over the last five millennia to the point where they are regarded as extremely rare creatures of semi-legendary status. The contemporary world is one of rapid development of technology and thought and many of the niches filled by the dragon are being replaced by the relentless march of the machine. It is unclear what the future of the dragon is in this modern epoch of science and the atom, but their formidable physical and mental capabilities are unquestioned; the key factor in their survival in the age of men will be their capacity to change and adapt.
Kingdom - Animalia
Phylum - Chordata
Class - Reptilia
Order - Dracoformes
Family - Draconidae
Genus - Draconis
Of all the fell creatures on Earth, the most powerful is arguably the dragon. Their combination of flight, intelligence, magic, physical attributes, age and sheer size make them an apex predator beyond compare. There are several different geographical groups of draconic sub-species, with Draconis Occidentalis, Draconis Orientalis, Draconis Africanus, Draconis Australis, Draconis Meridionalis and Draconis Americanus being the currently known variations, with the oldest fossils coming from China. There are further sub-species within each major continent, often named after their colour or other attributes.
Modern dragons are huge creatures, with a fully grown great wyrm over 100ft long, sporting a wingspan of almost 250ft and weighing more than an adult blue whale. Their bone structure and dense flesh provides considerable resistance to damage from a variety of natural causes and is thought to contribute to their resistance against certain kinds of sorcery. Dragons can fly at an ordinary speed of over 80mph and have been recorded reaching diving speeds of over 150mph. All known adult dragons have arcane abilities equivalent to a fully fledged mage, with their long lifespan giving much time for study and reflection. Dragon scales are harder than solid steel armour and their hides are oft embedded with gemstones and diamonds from their hoards. This outer protection combines with the dense nature of their flesh to make them highly resistant to damage from natural or manmade means. Their other natural defences variously include razor sharp fangs and claws up to 6ft long, great horns, barbed tails, a deafening roar and highly acidic saliva; even the blood of a dragon is highly toxic to most living creatures.. Their most potent natural offensive capability comes in the form of their breath weapons, which is in the case of many species takes the form of a great cone of flame, but ice, electricity, poisonous gas and enormous gouts of highly corrosive acid are produced by others. Dragonologists have concluded that this particular attribute is the result of exhalation of combustible gas in the case of fire-breathing, but close examination of this phenomenon has proved somewhat hazardous.
The precise origins of dragons are unclear. There are several schools of thought among learned sages and scientists, with the largest factions believing that dragons evolved from either pterosaurs or archosaurs some 125 million years ago. Exactly how the ancestors of the modern Draconis survived the Cretaceous extinction event that wiped out the majority of the dinosaurs is a mystery, with a number of strange gaps in the fossil record and out of place remains and artefacts proving profoundly inexplicable. Dragons continued to develop and evolve through the Age of Mammals, with their peculiar life cycle and hibernation patterns becoming more distinct. Even at this early stage of draonic evolution, they would hunt and feed heavily and then sleep for decades at a time, a cycle based on some strange conjunction of the moons, stars and burgeoning arcane field of the Earth. Their numbers remained low due to low breeding rates and ferocious aggression towards others of the same species outside of rare mating periods.
The development of distinct subspecies of draconis can be traced back to the Early Pleistocene period around 1,000,000 BC, some time after the formation of the land bridge between North and South America. The largest and most powerful creatures are the Draconis Orientalis, noteworthy for their sinuous and bearded appearance and cultured outlook and have a variety of colours. African dragons are large and aggressive and tend to shades of green, yellow and brown. Most Australian dragons are flightless and have colours reminiscent of their environment, save for the rainbow serpents of the tropical north. The feathered dragons of South America are found mainly in the Amazon and the snow-capped peaks of the Andes and have the brightest hues of any earthly wyrms. North American dragons range from the smaller forest dwelling varieties of the east to the huge reds, whites and blues of the Rockies. The dragons of Europe are the most classically familiar and come in a host of different shades and sizes and include the flightless worms and armless wyverns.
The modern dragon began to emerge in the Lower Paleolithic, with increasing levels of intelligence indicated by tool use and carvings. Competition amongst different dragon species and tribes reduced their numbers and heightened general traits of aggression and suspicion. As elves, dwarves, halflings, gnomes, giants, goblinoids and primitive humans began to emerge in the Middle and Lower Paleolithic, encounters with dragons began to make their mark in recorded history and cultural memory. The ancestral memories of the threat of serpents are strongly linked to early human-dragon interactions. Draconic ‘civilisation’ predated that of the humanoid species, but the few remains discovered by arcano-archaelogical means are so alien as to prove incomprehensible to modern man. The general consensus is that tribes were collected together in specific territories larger hosts ruled by particularly large and powerful great wyrms, which in turn were subject to the rule of councils of elders. As yet, efforts to translate the ancient language of dragons have proved unsuccessful, so any true insight to the nature of those primeval days remains elusive to modern scholars.
The rise of the ancient civilizations of the elves and dwarves ended the Age of the Dragons, with many hunted down and destroyed by great heroes and kings and others subdued to the purposes of particular kingdoms and empires. The advance of the ice sheets in the last glacial maximum put an end to their greatness, with the elves falling back to the forests and the realm of faerie and the dwarves descending into their great underground realms beneath the hills and mountains. Atlantis rose and fell, scattering its vestiges on both sides of the ocean that bears its name and disappearing beyond memory. The first true human civilizations emerged around 6000 BC in Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, China, Mesoamerica and Peru and all were marked by the scourge of dragons. Periods of draconic activity have occurred regularly throughout human history and are thought to be due to a combination of astronomical cycles and arcane fluctuations. Legends abound of the terror of dragons and their deeds of evil and good.
In the Far East, dragons cemented a clear niche within the society and culture of Imperial China over 5000 years and were generally accepted in India as great sages and yogis. The history of China is replete with tales of dragon kings and wise councillors of the early Emperors and the tremendous Great Wall was ensorcelled by mighty magics woven by ancient wyrms. Many of the greatest dynasties in Chinese history based their military might around draconic forces long before the West and dozens of venerable dragons were worshipped as demigods and deities across the Oriental world. The great rivers of India were home to many aquatic serpents in days of yore and their legacy is preserved in countless works of Hindoo mythology; it is thought that the modern Nagas are descended from these primordial species. In the soaring heights of the Himalayas, some of the greatest dragons the world has seen made their lairs and served as benevolent guardians and advisors to an array of the mightiest rulers of the sub-continent. The elder silver Vishtariyna proved to be a significant factor in the rise of the Vedic Period following the chaos of the Aryan invasions.
Dragons in the New World can be divided into two broad strains - the feathered serpents of Central and South America and the larger drakes of North America. Draconic populations in both continents underwent a considerable decline following the Fall of Atlantis, but still play a large role in Indian mythology and folk legends. South American dragons were greatly associated with the rise of ancient civilizations in Mesoamerica, the Amazon and the Andes Highlands and a number of ancient creatures were worshipped as gods by the Maya, Incas and Aztecs; Quetzalcoatl proved to be particularly significant in the history of the latter. Fossil records indicate the sudden extinction of particular variants of North American dragon approximately 6000 B.C., coinciding with the sudden draining of Lake Agassiz. The largest wyrms in Pre-Columbian America could be found in the heights of the Rocky Mountains, but their lack of activity over hundreds of years confined them to the stuff of legend. The Indians of the Woodland Period hunted the small forest dragons of the eastern forests and reduced the population considerably. The fall of the great civilization of the Valsar, most notable for their grand pyramids at Cohakia, has been ascribed to the wrath of an awakened great wyrm, finishing the work started by the changing climate and newly arrived plagues.
The history of European dragons in recorded times is well enough known and their terrible role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the Dark Ages the stuff of legend. Over the next thousand years, the Middle Ages would see the lives and deaths of many dragons and dragonslayers, with St. George, King Arthur, Sir Lancelot, Roland, Tristan, Beowulf, Belisarius, Sigurd, Harald Hadrada, Dobrynya Nikitich, Isaac of Rome, Sinbad and Robin Hood all featuring in grand tales of battle against vile wyrms. This period also saw the re-emergence of good dragons from their long sleep and the terrible Dragon Strike of the 14th century, when wyrms ravaged much of Western Europe in a series of frenzied attacks. Several small kingdoms were briefly established in the Caucasus and Carpathians by particularly ambitious dragons who imposed their will upon mankind and humanoids alike before falling beneath the blades of heroes. Those noble beasts that threw their lot in with the cause of good and Christendom did much to establish a new pattern of relations between dragons and humans and several specific bloodlines have been closely associated with the fortunes of several kingdoms of man in the subsequent centuries.
Advances in sorcery and technology and changes in the climate cooled the medieval ardour of dragons and they have been less prevalent since the late 1400s, many disappearing to sleep on their underground hoards for centuries. They have been used in warfare throughout history to great effect, with only a great hero or mighty wizard able to oppose them until recently. The introduction of anti-dragon cannons in the mid 19th century did not prove a fully capable countermeasure until the 1880s, but since then the guns of a fortress or battleship have often been able to ward off a dragon. Their comparative rarity has limited their use in combat over the last five hundred years, with the 25 dragons of the Royal Flying Corps in 1869 being the largest number in service in a Western nation. They saw some employment in the First World War and more decisive use in World War II in both defensive and offensive roles; rare was the occasion when a nation would risk a priceless dragon unless the need was incredibly dire. Fully-grown British and American dragons were capable of independent flight across the Atlantic and it was generally considered that a single adult wyrm was the equivalent of a capital ship or bomber division in terms of their broad impact and relative military worth.
Dragons are generally solitary creatures, with there only being a few recorded circumstances of small groups cooperating with each other beyond immediate family relations. Rogue dragons come in many forms, ranging from those forgotten wyrms awaking from the sleep of centuries to newly hatched wildlings rampaging instinctively. One of the last terrible deeds of Nazi Germany before its fall was the loosing of multiple maddened dragons upon the world. Taming a dragon is not regarded as practical, although some species can be persuaded to cooperate with human societies when raised from hatchlings among men. Breeding in captivity has only taken place over the last 500 years and is yet to produce any comparable beasts to those who have grown naturally in the wild. The mating habits of dragons have not been closely observed by naturalists, at least not by any who survived to record the experience, but females produce clutches of between one and four eggs after mating at particular times, apparently linked to lengthy astronomical and astrological cycles.
The personality of dragons does vary depending on their age and breed, but certain common traits are apparent across the species – a long memory for slights, injuries and boons, hoarding of treasure, intense territoriality and a terrible wrath when aroused. Some are highly tolerant of humanoid species, whereas other regard them as something between a bemusing joke and a delightful snack. All dragons, be they benign servants of goodness or the vilest champions of the dark regard themselves as superior to all smaller animals. Highly intelligent, dragons love knowledge and seek it out when given the opportunity; several noteworthy beasts have displayed a particular love of riddles and clever conundrums. Draconic diets are primarily based around the consumption of meat or fish in vast amounts and older wyrms can devastate a region when engaged in hunting. Linked to this is the fascinating ability of draconic hibernation, whereby a dragon can rest and sleep for years or indeed decades at a time after consumption of a heavy meal. Draconic religious beliefs remain something of an enigma, with some sources indicating a form of ancestor worship and others supporting the veneration of archetypal deities.
The maximum lifespan of a dragon is unknown and inquiries of the beasts themselves have resulted in responses ranging from the coolly impolite to fatal violence; the oldest known dragon, Aurancardius the Golden, recalls flying over the Great Pyramid whilst it was under construction when he was a hatchling. After hatching, dragons typically take 100-150 years to progress to the juvenile stage, which is characterized by increased independence, growing appetite and acquisition of their own lair. Adulthood is reached at some point after 250 years, followed by growth through a number of size and age categories – maturity, elder, venerable, ancient and the most formidable beasts being great wyrms of over 800 years of age. Observations of ancient dragons have shown clear signs of senility and decrepitude, but no clear pattern as to when or why this occurs.
Standing at the apex of the natural world, dragons lack any true predators save the intelligent humanoid species and their numbers have declined over the last five millennia to the point where they are regarded as extremely rare creatures of semi-legendary status. The contemporary world is one of rapid development of technology and thought and many of the niches filled by the dragon are being replaced by the relentless march of the machine. It is unclear what the future of the dragon is in this modern epoch of science and the atom, but their formidable physical and mental capabilities are unquestioned; the key factor in their survival in the age of men will be their capacity to change and adapt.
