Dragons of Natheria

Dragons are the creatures of legends. Scales harder than steel, devastating firebreath, size beyond measure. Not mere beasts content to roam through the forests of the world, these gargantuan predators are walking myths and legends, surrounded by mystery and fear.

Dragons in Natheria come in five major types, distinguished by the color of their scales. Dragons in Northern Skentu are adorned in white and shining silver scales, and claim the Crawling Mountains as their home. Dragons in Southern Skentu are oftentimes green and brown in hue, lurking in deep forests and in shallow dens. The dragons of Glodeat are fiery red, orange and brown, taking to the Tyranton or Dragonspine Mountains. Dragons of Raychan are blue and teal, rarely taking flight and prowling wherever there is adequate food supply. And, while it is unsubtantiated, there are rumors of black dragons living far into the north of Glodeat, in the Frozen Wastes.

The Dragon Lifeline
Dragons are the second Immortal Race to grace Natheria's landscape, created only after the failure that was the Titans. While the Five Dragon Exemplars were created at the very state they currently reside, every dragon born into Natheria goes through a very distinctive growth cycle, with each stage showing a new level of maturity, turning it into more of a creature to be feared and respected over all other life on Natheria.

Eggs
Eggs are the unborn state of all dragons. Every dragon in existence, other than the five Dragon Exemplars, started out as mere eggs. The most defenseless and simple form the dragon will ever take is when it is within the shell of its egg. Eggs are generally laid by female dragons in early spring, and the egg will be watched over by the dragon mother for its one to two year-long stage before it hatches.

Hatchlings
Hatchlings are the Dragon state from when the Dragon first breathes natural air to when it is about one year old. Dragon Hatchlings are an extremely rare sight, as all members of all Dragonlines protect their young with extreme ferocity. While Hatchlings possess wings, they are unable to take flight, and their fire glands haven't developed enough to spout flame yet. However, by the end of their Hatchling state, the dragons will be exhaling steam and smoke when agitated or excited. This smoke breath is very prevelant during the final month of the dragon's first year, and it signals the development of the fire glands in its mouth.

Wyrmlings
Wyrmlings, or Fledglings, are the second longest maturity state for a dragon. Young Wyrmlings are almost always shrouded in smoke and steam as their fire glands reach completion. After another four months of development, the fire glands open, and the Wyrmlings are able to spew their fire breath, even if it is in small amounts. The most physical growth of a dragon's life takes place during the Wyrmling years, which generally take up about fifteen to twenty years of the dragon's life. By the end of the Wyrmling stage, the dragon is capable of some flight and also capable of laying eggs.

Drakes
Drakes are the young and aggressive form of the dragon. Now capable of full flight and enjoying its firebreath, whenever people speak of a dragon attack on caravans, cattle, villages or castles, it is often by a Drake. The longest stage of life for a dragon (other than it's full maturity), a dragon will exist as a Drake for a full thirty-five to forty years before its age and bulk will reach the point for it to be classified as a Dragon.

Dragons
Dragons are the standard when considering these beasts. A Dragon is the adult form of the Drake, but not yet reaching its full potential for age and power. Dragons possess much more raw power than a Drake, with greater size and strength, and more control over their firebreath and other abilities. However, Dragons are not as aggressive as their younger counterparts, preferring to find a lair or a den to remain in, venturing out to hunt but not to antagonize. A dragon will remain in this adult stage for about thirty years.

Wyrms
Wyrms are the final stage for dragons. Wyrms live from roughly the dragon's 90-95th year of life until the dragon meets its end. Being an immortal race, the Wyrm stage is one for extremely large and powerful dragons. Very few dragons exist to the Wyrm stage, and those that do generally don't last too long. Wyrm scales are the hardest scales of all the dragonkin, and a Wyrm's breath attack is when it is at its most powerful. However, the physical strength of a Wyrm, and its nimbleness and dexterity, does not get any better than when it was a Dragon, making Wyrms, in general, slower than their younger kin.

The Five Dragonlines
Considered the oldest living beings in Natheria other than the Titans themselves, the Dragons were created by the Elven deity Danlinel, known to the Aldrian as The One. Danlinel created five great wyrms, creatures of immense size and power, blessed with the Knowledge of the World. Each wyrm bearing a different color of scales, they were extremely wise and intelligent beings even early in their lives. Iskalinas was given bright blue and shining silver scales, Duthalinas bore fiery red and orange, Foredarias took on greens and browns, Pelinarias adopted the shining white, and Astharias was created with deep black and crimson as his colors. These five wyrms, called the Dragonline Progenitors, Exemplars or the Fatherwyrms and Motherwyrms. Danlinel created other dragons, but any others he made were done so in the image of one of the Dragonline Progenitors, forming a strong bond with the Exemplars and granting each of them pureblood offspring of their specific Dragonline.

While the dragons were misguided and brought to war by Danfarsel of the east, they will often choose more neutral roles in the conflicts of the mortal races. After the War of the Gods, Danaristhu and Danutilen each split up the Progenitors, giving each of them a different part of Natheria to watch over. Some volumes claim that Astharias, the Darkfather, was the cruelest of the Progenitors during the War of the Gods, and such he was given the Frozen Wastes of Glodeat as his sovereign lands, kept far away from the rest of the civilized world.

Dragonline Breakdown
Each Dragonline started the same way, and each one has its stages, separated by generations, that all lead down from the same Progenitor. Listed below are the generational stages of each Dragonline, and what a traveler can come to expect from each stage.

Palewings
Palewing is the term for all dragons who are born over thirty generations down from their Exemplar. Palewings are nothing more than animalistic dragons, beasts with wings and firebreath and extremely strong scales. A Palewing cannot speak any form of language, however some have been known to understand Drakonis, the language of Dragons, when they reach the Wyrm stage of maturity. Palewings have no control over their Mana other than the innate form that all Dragons have, which protects them from other magics.

Firewings
Firewings are dragons who are born between twenty and thirty generations down from their Exemplar. Firewings possess more knoweldge of the world than their Palewing offspring, and can understand Drakonis, and even Common-Speech, at the Dragon and Wyrm stages. Firewings have been known to be tamed and trained by very select groups of Rangers in eastern Skentu.

Starwings
Starwings are born between ten and twenty generations down from their Exemplar. Starwings are extremely conscious of the world around them, and can understand a wider variety of languages (based upon where they live), and can even speak Common when they reach the Wyrm stage in life. Starwings cannot be tamed due to their high intelligence, but have offered their allegiances to some people throughout history.

Elderwings
Elderwing is the term for all dragons who are born between one and ten generations down from their Exemplar. Elderwyrms can understand a speak all known languages from whichever area of Natheria they come from. Edlerwings are very intelligent and wise beings, and can compose and utilize their mana to verying degrees. Also called Elderwyrms, because there is no Elderwing in existence who isn't a wyrm. Each Elderwing also has a humanoid form, and is able to change to and from their Dragon form to their humanoid form at will.

Exemplar
Exemplar, or Progenitor is the head of one of the five Dragonlines. There are only five Exemplar in the entire existence of Natheria, as they are the five original dragons, created by Danlinel. Pleinarius, Astharias, Duthalinas, Iskalinas, and Foredarias are the five Exemplar, and they are capable of every form of speech known on Natheria. Also, each Dragon Exemplar can change forms to that of any of the mortal races. Pelinarias and Foredarias prefer the forms of Elves, Duthalinas and Iskalinas often take the forms of Humans, and Astharias's preferred humanoid form is unknown.

The White Dragonline
Ruled and cared for by Motherwyrm Pelinarias, the White Dragonline watches over the northern-most reaches of Skentu, in the North Eastern hemisphere of Natheria. Claiming the Crawling Mountains as their home, the White Dragonline rarely ventures into sight of civilized lands. Some people living in the most remote villages of Nothern Skentu even believe that seeing a White Dragon in flight is a sign of good fortune.

Masters of balance and life, the White Dragonline rarely step directly into the lives of the mortal races. However, the virtues and wisdom of Pleinarias the White Motherwyrm fade with each generation of her offspringe. As with all Dragonlines, within twenty to twenty-five generations, the White Dragons become nothing more than mythical beasts of great power, having lost all of their wisdom and intelligence, degenerating down to natural predators. These, the furthest children of Pelinarias, are the dragons that the people of Northern Skentu encounter the most. Even through age these dragons cannot gain the blessings of wisdom bestowed upon their Progenitors, and so the more common a dragon, the more likely it is to be aggressive and animalistic.

Possessing the trademark firebreath and heavy-armored scales of all dragons, the White Dragonline also have an affinity for life and creation. It is rumored that simply being in the presence of a White Dragon will grant cures and remedies not found anywhere else, and many believe that the blood of a White Dragon will grant greater healing to any gravely wounded individual. The higher up the Dragonline you go, the stronger these supposed powers become. It is said that the Edlerwyrms of the White Dragonline possess the abilities to return the lost spirit to lifeless bodies, bringing them back to life.

An old myth amongst the Men of Northern Skentu tells the story of a man who's wife died from a horrible disease, and so he brought her body to a White Elderwing. The White Elderwing had the powers to restore her spirit and life, but the Elderwing would only do so if it received something in return. The man made a deal with the wyrm, and the wyrm gave part of its lifeblood to the woman, restoring her to her former self. However, once a year for one cycle of the moon, the man would turn into an aspect of Pelinarias. Unable to show his hideous new self to his wife, he left his village for the full month of his transformation. As such, eleven months out of the year, the man was normal and enjoyed his life. Yet during the twelfth month, he stalked the wilderness around his village, serving it as a silent, hidden protector, until he was returned to human form.

The Blue Dragonline
Fathered by the Blue Progenitor Iskalinas, the Blue Dragonline oversees the continent and surrounding islands of Raychan, in the South Western hemisphere of Natheria. Considered the most secretive of all the Dragonlines, the Blue Dragonline is one rarely seen by mortal races, and some consider its existence more of legend, believing any 'Blue' dragons spotted by travelers are in fact Green Dragons.

When Natheria was divided for the Progenitors, Iskalinas assumed the mantel of Preserver of Mana. As such, the Blue Dragonline is the line of wyrms who are the most adept at using their natural magical energies. Blue Wyrms utilize their firebreath just like any other dragon, yet when the members of the Blue Dragonline reach a certain age, they are oftentimes able to use their natural magic for other abilities. The only accounts the mortal races have of these abilities are those such as magical shockwaves eminating out from the dragon, camoflauge abilities to render the dragon nearly invisible, and of the Blue Dragon ability named Truesight. Truesight allows the dragon to see everything for exactly what it is. As such, it is considered impossible to try and deceive a Blue Dragon. However, just like with the White Dragonline, the further down the Dragonline you tread, the less potent these powers become. The most common Blue Dragons will be unable to utilize their magical energies like those who are closer in relation to the Fatherwyrm.

Being the protectors and guardians of Mana, the Blue Dragonline has a natural tendency to loathe and despise consumers of Mana. Sorcerers and Mystics are considered the enemies of the Blue Dragonline, since they siphon, steal and consume Mana from other living things. In the days of the Preages, it is said that Iskalinas sent his Blue Dragonline Wyrms to hunt down Sorcerers who were destroying life and consuming Mana. With more and more of the civilized world turning towards such destructive arts, the Blue Dragonline has since become more secretive, observing the acts of the mortal races but not dealing with their transgressions directly.

The Red Dragonline
Duthalinas the Motherwyrm has given Natheria some of her most dangerous inhabitants. The Red Dragonline of Glodeat are fearsome, aggressive creatures who are hungry for power and wealth. Considered to be the most powerful of the Dragonlines, the Red Dragons are loyal only to themselves. The few times that Duthalinas pledged the loyalty of her offspring to the rest of the Dragonlines was only when the fate of Natheria as a whole was at stake. Ranging in hue from bright red to orange, brown and occasionally yellow, the Red Dragonline is the sole reason for the Aldrian's hatred of wyrms.

The Red Dragonline is oftentimes jealous of its brethren, the Red Elderwings feeling as if they are not given a specific aspect of life to govern merely because of their violent nature. In truth, Red Dragons mark the balance of war and bloodshed, of death and glory through battle. The antithesis of the White Dragonline, the Red Dragons know the need for conflict in Natheria, as it fuels inventive, forward-thinking attitudes from all people involved. In wars that reach the grander scales, it is not uncommon to see a rogue Red Dragon taking to the skies above the armies, but to which side it will apply its might is never certain.

Some people have seen Red Dragons in the skies, and called them out as bronze, orange, or brown dragons. They are, in fact, Red Dragons, however over the centuries different offspring have produced different colored scales. This is greatly apparent when Red Dragons take mates from the other Dragonlines, as has happened many times in the past. The most reknowned case of this is when the Red Edlerwing, Selidanias, forced Pelinarias the White Motherwyrm to bear him offspring. Pelinarias laid six eggs that were sired by Selidanias, however, when the Red Motherwyrm learned of Selidanias's greedy and traitorious ways, Duthalinas sought out and destroyed the eggs.

Yet not all of them were lost. Unknown to Duthalinas and Selidanias, Pelinarius, guardian and preserver of life, hid one of the eggs far from all life. Where exactly it was hidden nobody knows for certain, yet many believe that Pelinarias brought the egg to the Astral Plane, a plane that exists outside of the timeline of the Material Plane. The egg hatched and born from it was Melychronos, the Golden Elderwyrm, also called the Lost Elderwyrm. His existence remained a mystery to everyone on the Material Plance, including Pelinarias, until he grew old enough to learn how to transcend not only planar boundaries, but time itself.

The Green Dragonline
The Green Dragonline is one of the most hidden, unknown Dragonlines in all of Natheria. Foredarias the Green Motherwyrm is said to reside somewhere deep in Southern Skentu, and her offspring are often sighted in the thick jungles and woods of the surrounding countryside. Believed to be protectors of nature and the natural flow of mana through all living things, the Green Dragonline rarely steps forward to interact in the ways of the mortal races. It is rumored that some Onbaggian tribes who live in the deep forests of the south, days from even the nearest road, have established an extremely minute, yet undeniably present, connection with the Green Dragonline. A mutual understanding of the world around them, and a desire to work together to keep nature on a course of balance and preservation.

Other than power over Natheria's verdant plant life, nothing else is known about the Green Dragonline. Many have ventured forth to learn from them, yet very few of those have returned, and those who have returned have shown no desire to share information of their travels.

The Black Dragonline
The Black Dragonline once saw Central Skentu, now the Manish Lands, as their domain. Fathered by Astharias the Black Progenitor, the Black Dragonline was a malicious and treachorous lot, whose true intentions to rule over all of Natheria and her mortal races were made clear in the War of the Gods. Many Black Dragons were banished from the Material Plane after the War of the Gods was finished, some say by Pelinarias and Iskalinas, some say by the Elven gods of Danaristhu and Danutilen. Legends say that Astharias, while not directly participating in the War, was removed from his domain by the other four Exemplars, and so he flew to the west, across the Great Ocean, Tinuthiel Deep, to reside in exile in the Frozen Wastes of Glodeat.

No one knows what Astharias has done in the centuries since his exile. All that is known is that he has not been seen nor heard of since he left Skentu in the early days of the Preages, and no soul on Natheria, mortal or immortal alike, has shown much of an interest in braving the Frozen Norths to find him. For all that the rest of the world knows, Astharias has perished in the cold north, finally finding a resting place for his once tumultous soul.

The Lost Dragonline
More legends surround Dragons other than those of the five Dragonlines and the Exemplars. Many believe that Melychronos, the Lost Golden Wyrm, has fathered his own line of Dragons on the Astral Plane, far removed from the Material Plane and the other Dragons. Believed to be composed of more knowledge than any of the Exemplars, if Melychronos did indeed sire a Dragonline of his own, they would be a force of immense capabilities for mana, and a wider array of experience concerning the Planes of Existence than even the Exemplars themselves. Yet Melychronos fathering his own Line is all heresay and rumors, since none have yet found a way to traverse the Nether to the Astral Plane, let alone find a way back.