Dragons

Type: Powerful Beings of Superior Magic
Population: ~18 on Tiraan continent, ~100 worldwide
Status: Rare, Solitary, Formally Diplomatic (Conclave)

Overview

Dragons are beings of superior power who can shift between humanoid form and a traditional large scaly reptilian form capable of flight. Originally engineered by the Elder Gods, dragons are beings of great magic, with each color representing a form of magic. They are a small species that maintains a unique position in the world—powerful enough to shape events but few enough in number that each individual matters. Dragons are biologically male, but they have completely decoupled gender and sex, taking whatever gender expression suits them.

Physical Description

Dragon Form

In their traditional form, dragons are massive, scaly reptilian creatures capable of flight. Their size, appearance, and coloration vary based on their stage of development and magical specialization. Dragons in their base form may have varied appearances, but as they mature and choose their magical specialization, their coloration becomes more distinct and aligned with their chosen school of magic.

Humanoid Form

Dragons can shift into a humanoid form that appears to run the full gamut of mortal races—some appearing as dwarves, gnomes, orcs, goliath, elves, and humans. The humanoid form is always peculiarly marked by overall featureless eyes and monochrome metallic hair which match the color of the dragon. This distinctive feature—featureless eyes that reflect their dragon color—is an unmistakable sign of draconic nature, making it difficult for dragons to fully pass as mortals even when in humanoid form.

The humanoid form allows dragons to interact with mortal societies more easily, though they rarely do so except to seek mates or, in the case of more social dragons, to participate in mortal affairs. The form is completely functional, allowing dragons to move, speak, and interact normally, but the featureless eyes remain a constant reminder of their true nature.

The Three Stages of Draconic Existence

Dragons exist in three distinct stages, each representing greater power and specialization:

Base Stage (First Form)

All dragons begin at the base stage. At this stage, they are already beings of great power and many can wield magics outside of their specialization at a level superior to many mortal casters. Dragons at this stage may have varied appearances and colors, as they have not yet chosen their magical specialization.

Colored Stage (Second Form)

As dragons mature to the second stage, they pick one of the four schools of magic and take on that color. The transition is visible in their physical features—their scales, eyes, and magical aura all shift to reflect their chosen school. The color correspondences are:

Gold: Represents the Divine schools of magic. Gold dragons specialize in divine power and often serve or work with deities.
Red: Represents the Infernal schools of magic. Red dragons specialize in infernal power and hellfire.
Blue: Represents the Arcane schools of magic. Blue dragons specialize in arcane magic and traditional wizardry.
Green: Represents the Fae schools of magic. Green dragons specialize in fae magic and nature.

Once a dragon chooses their color and specialization, they become deeply connected to that magic system, though they may still wield other forms of magic at impressive levels.

Elevated Stage (Third Form)

The third form of draconic existence is the elevated. Currently, the only elevated colors known are Silver and Black. A dragon is elevated to the third form when a god formally invests them with a particular measure of their power and favor.

Silver: The elevation of a dragon of the divine school (Gold). Silver dragons are elevated Gold dragons who have been formally invested with divine power by a deity.
Black: The color of elevation of those connected to the infernal school (Red). Black dragons are elevated Red dragons who have been formally invested with infernal power by a deity.

It is understood that other schools could be elevated if the relevant patron god were so inclined, but: - Green dragons: Naiya's inattentiveness combines with her inclination to invest in avatars who are her own children (like dryads, kitsune, and valkyries), making the elevation of a green dragon highly unlikely. It is unknown what color such an elevation would take. - Blue dragons: There is no known patron of the arcane to make such an elevation for blue dragons.

The History of Elevation

Elevating dragons has proven to be a strategy of spotty success for gods:

Scylith's Experiment: Scylith was a pioneer of the technique but apparently abandoned it some 2000 years before her fall. Scylith abandoned the technique of elevating dragon champions after her last champion, Belosiphon, tinkered with forces beyond his control and became tainted by chaos. Scylith was obliged to recruit an alliance of dragons of all colors to hunt and end Belosiphon—a testament to how dangerous an elevated dragon gone wrong can be.

Elilial's Experiment: Elilial, once enshrined as the ruler of Hell following her ouster of Scylith, also experimented with elevating her own black dragons. However, the experiment was a failure and has not been repeated in the last 800 years.

These failures have made gods cautious about elevating dragons, though the technique remains theoretically possible.

Reproduction and Mating

Dragons are biologically male, which scholars believe was a population control measure bred into them by the Elder Gods. This engineered limitation ensures that dragons remain rare and powerful, preventing them from becoming too numerous. However, dragons have completely decoupled gender and sex, taking whatever gender expression suits them—a dragon may express as male, female, non-binary, or any other gender identity regardless of their biological sex.

Reproduction and Offspring

When dragons mate with humanoids, they produce either: - A humanoid of the mate's race (normal offspring of that race, with no draconic traits) - A dragon (a full dragon, not a half-dragon)

Crucially, there are no half-dragons in this setting. A given partner can ONLY produce one or the other: - If a partner bears a child of their own race rather than a dragon, they will never produce a dragon. They are marked as a humanoid-producer and will only ever produce humanoid children. - If a partner produces a dragon, they will only ever produce that one dragon. Draconic mothers cannot have more than one offspring—the birth of a dragon is a singular, life-changing event that marks the mother as one who can birth dragons, but she will never produce another child, whether dragon or humanoid.

This system ensures that dragons remain extremely rare, as only a tiny fraction of humanoid partners have the capacity to birth dragons, and each such partner can only produce a single dragon in their lifetime.

Mate Choice

In terms of mate choice, Dragons prefer partners of: - Youth: Young, vital partners - Vitality: Strong, healthy individuals - Beauty: Physical attractiveness - Most of all: Strong spirit and ability—the most important factor is a partner with a powerful will, great capability, and indomitable spirit

This preference for strong-willed, capable partners reflects the dragons' own nature as beings of power. They seek mates who can match their strength of character, even if not their physical or magical power. Additionally, dragons seek young and strong mates partially because it increases the odds that if they find one of the incredibly rare individuals who can birth a new dragon, they will be young and healthy enough to do so. The rarity of dragon-birth-capable partners means that dragons must search widely, and finding such a partner when they are still young and healthy enough to safely bear a dragon is crucial.

Dragon-Kin and Family Bonds

Dragons maintain a sharp respect and fatherly affection for all dragon-kin. This includes: - Actual dragon offspring: The dragons born from unions with humanoid partners - Mortal offspring of dragon mates: The humanoid children produced by partners who have also borne dragons (siblings of dragons) - Mothers of dragons: The rare humanoid partners who have successfully birthed a dragon

This respect extends beyond their own children—dragons will respect dragon-kin of other dragons even if not related to themselves. This includes the mortal siblings and mothers of other dragons, recognizing the bond that comes from being part of a dragon's family.

However, this respect is suspended or abandoned in the face of attack by the protected party. Dragons will not tolerate being attacked by those they protect, and such actions will result in the loss of their protective status.

This system of dragon-kin respect helps explain why the mortal families of dragons (mothers, siblings, and other relatives) are relatively safe in the world, despite their connection to these powerful beings. It also ensures that actual dragons—the extremely rare offspring born from these unions—are protected and respected by all dragons, regardless of their parentage.

Lairs and Hoards

Dragons do, habitually, maintain lairs with which they hoard treasures of value to them. It appears that the contents of a dragon's hoard, while always valuable, reflects the personality and taste of the individual dragon. Some choose to populate their lair with: - Art and statuary: Beautiful works of artistic value - Powerful or valuable artifacts: Magical items and relics - Traditional treasures: Gold, jewels, and precious materials (the stereotype, though not universal) - Unique collections: Items that reflect the dragon's personal interests and values

Dragons do try to keep their lairs away from other dragon lairs, maintaining distance and privacy. It appears that they do prefer to have their lair and hoard in mountainous surrounds, reflecting their connection to high places and their need for isolation and security.

Flight and Movement

Dragons are capable of incredibly fast flight, even crossing over the horizon in mere seconds. This speed makes them among the fastest beings in the world, capable of traveling vast distances in moments.

However, when approaching each other or other entities of power worthy of respect, dragons normally approach by zig-zagging to make their approach slow and obvious. This zig-zag pattern is a sign of respect and non-aggressive intent—a way of saying "I am coming, but I am not attacking." This custom reflects the dragons' sense of honor and decorum, as well as their understanding that sudden approaches from such powerful beings could be seen as threatening.

Although individual dragons have their own taste, there does appear to be a mainstream of value preferences and taste among them. For example, Zanzayed the Blue is regarded as particularly self-indulgent. In like turn, draconic norms such as monogamy can provoke a sharp disdain from their fellows if broken.

All dragons do maintain a strong sense of honor and a sense of decorum, although they may individually disagree on what the demands of honor and decorum dictate in a particular situation. This shared sense of honor helps maintain order within the small dragon community, even as individual dragons may have different interpretations of what honor requires.

Dragons are normally reticent from participating in mortal societies, the more reclusive doing so only to seek mates. Even the more social of them still maintain strong instincts toward their lair, making them fundamentally solitary creatures who prefer their own company and territory.

Interaction with Other Dragons

Dragons are a small community and normally quite solitary creatures vis-à-vis their own kind, preferring their own color even when they must interact. This color preference means that gold dragons prefer to interact with other gold dragons, blue with blue, etc., though they will interact with other colors when necessary.

This preference for their own color reflects the deep connection dragons have to their chosen magical specialization and the sense of kinship that comes from sharing the same magical focus.

Population and Distribution

There are only 18 or so dragons left on the continent in which Tiraas is situated and roughly a hundred or so worldwide. This extremely small population makes each dragon a significant entity, and the loss of even one dragon is a major event in the world.

The small population reflects both the engineered limitations placed on dragons (all-male species, need for humanoid mates) and the dangers they face. Dragons are powerful, but they are not invincible, and their small numbers mean that any conflict or disaster can have a significant impact on the draconic population.

The Conclave and Diplomatic Relations

In the last few years dragons formed a government and opened an embassy and formal diplomatic relations with the Tiraan Empire. This marks a significant shift in dragon behavior, as they move from complete isolation to formal political engagement.

The Conclave of the Winds represents the dragons as a unified political entity, allowing them to interact with mortal governments on equal footing. This diplomatic engagement shows that dragons, despite their power and isolation, recognize the value of formal relationships with mortal powers.

The opening of diplomatic relations also reflects changes in the world—dragons may have realized that isolation is no longer sustainable, or that the benefits of engagement outweigh the costs of remaining aloof.

Notable Dragons

The following dragons are known in the world:

Name	Color	Observations
Almophriscor	Red	Had a great affection for art. Once tangled with Arachne Tellwyrn, allowing her to heal in his lair after she unsuccessfully fought him.
Ampophrenon	Gold	Order of Light Leader. Conclave representative
Belosiphon	Black	Historical, corrupted by Chaos. Elevated by Scylith 2000 years before her fall. Belosiphon rebelled against her and she recruited an alliance of Dragons to put him down.
Elivathrined	Red	Historical, killed by the Empire
Ilvassirnil	Silver	Historical, last silver dragon, deceased
Khadizroth	Green
Philamorn	Gold	After unknown misbehavior, Archpope Sairelle bound him.
Ramandiloth	Blue	Very old
Razzavinax	Red	Teaches Warlocks. Conclave representative
Semathildon	Black	Historical, last black dragon, deceased
Syranorn	Green
Telithamilon	Blue	Residing in the Wyrnrange
Varsinostro	Green	Residing in the Wyrnrange. Conclave Representative
Zanzayed	Blue	Regarded as particularly self-indulgent. Conclave representative
Zyndirax	Blue	Paramour of Duchess Tamira Madouri

Role in the World

Dragons occupy a unique position in the world. They are powerful enough to shape major events, but few enough in number that each individual matters. They are solitary by nature but capable of forming alliances and working together when necessary. They are engineered beings with a specific purpose, but they have developed their own culture, customs, and sense of honor over millennia.

Dragons serve as: - Guardians of knowledge: Their long lifespans and great power make them repositories of ancient knowledge - Mentors and teachers: Some dragons, like Razzavinax, teach mortal practitioners (in his case, warlocks) - Political entities: Through the Conclave, dragons engage in formal diplomacy - Symbols of power: Their very existence represents the pinnacle of magical power and achievement

Their engineered origins and unique nature make them fundamentally different from other beings, but their development of culture, honor, and social bonds shows that they are more than mere tools—they are a people with their own identity, values, and place in the world.