Dragon

Name	Dragon
Race	Monster
Type	Elemental
Faction	Independent
Premiere	Desideratum: Blood Bonds
Relative(s)	None Applicable

A dragon is a large, serpentine legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures around the world. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as winged, horned, four-legged, and capable of breathing fire. Dragons in eastern cultures are usually depicted as wingless, four-legged, serpentine creatures with above-average intelligence. In reality, dragons are massive, sentient reptilian beasts from the Age of Myths. Dragons have much to do with nature and the elements, and generally have interesting magical abilities: breathing fire, ice, and smoke for some examples. They generally have massive wings and can create huge windstorms.

Dragons have different personalities, just like people, and originally, they lived in peace with humanity. However, over time, in many cultures, dragons became seen as enemies of mankind. This was due to two factors. One was on the side of humans. As Christianity spread, it consumed much of the old knowledge and cultures of the world, and the church deemed dragons the servants of the so-called devil. On the side of dragons, many of them lashed out in revenge as their kin were hunted and slain, and this perpetuated the cycle. Slowly, their numbers became painfully low. But, humans were not the only enemy this ancient race faced.

Towards the end of the Age of Myths, the dragons suffered another blow when the snake god, Ophion, managed to corrupted several of the dragons into his own minions. These became monstrosities like air serpents, hydras, and wyverns. In turn, these creatures wreaked havoc around the world, which only caused dragons to become synonymous with evil. Dragons, themselves, tried to hunt those beasts, even as the humans hunted the dragons. By present day, dragons number merely in the hundreds around the entire globe. They try to live in inhospitable, distant places as to avoid humans as much as possible. Still, some do manage to be found. One notable example is the dragon that killed the husband and children of Rosaline Vaas. She destroyed the dragon’s eggs and it retaliated. After that, she saw dragons as evil creatures, and she has personally killed over a dozen of the once revered beasts.