Dragons

The strange and magical species of sapient monsters who posses a history and culture of their own

Dragons are immensely complex and powerful creatures. They are few in number, but posses both a power and culture unlike any other. There are many types of dragons, each with its own unique traits and dispositions. The presence of Dragons shaped Zol in its early days after The Awakening, and their influence continues to this day.

Dragons come in many shapes and sizes. Most commonly they are known for their large scaled bodies, giant wings, toothy maws, and magical influence. Most are known for their intelligence and capacity for speech. However, not all dragons fit into this categorization. Some have strange physiology like massive turtle shells, smooth skin or serpent like bodies. Others do not posses the high intelligence or speech commonly associated with Dragons.

Their species itself is actually made up of a wide range of many unique subspecies. Plenty have been categorized and documented, but there is still much to be learned about Dragons. Most fit into the species that academia has indexed, but others are referred to as Dracis Obscura, as they possess unique, poorly understood characteristics.

Dragons relate to each other in strange ways. Most are solitary, however they do interact with each other more than one would expect. Each has their own unique name, and place in dragon society. Those who have spoken with dragons have discovered that they surprisingly know many of their peers. Most dragons have friends, rivals, and love interests. Dragons largely view the people of Zol as lesser, however they pay quite a bit of attention to the world’s civilizations. Most see them as prey, others see them as friends, some merely find them entertaining. Some ignore mortals entirely.

Some traits are shared amongst all Dragons. The first is an affinity for Magic. The degree with which this occurs varies greatly based on the type of dragon, however all seem to exude and influence over Magic not seen in other creatures. The other is increased power with age. Most Dragons are thought to be immortal, and if they are not they typically live for hundreds of years. As they age, both their magical and physical power increases. Ancient Dragons are typically around 1000 years old, and their magic is so powerful that it can actually effect the environment near to their lair.

Spawned from the body of Zelatt, Chromatic Dragons are the most common type of Dragon. They are known for their evil and chaotic nature, as well as their connection to Energy and tell tale colors.

Chromatic Dragons are infamous for hoarding treasure, and sewing chaos. They are the offspring of Zelatt, the Void God of Chaos. From her form she is able to create powerful Chromatic Dragons. These dragons go on to reproduce on their own, but they all connect back to her essence. They do not serve her directly, but their behavior tends to serve Zelatt well. The dark being is said to feed off of chaos, and Chromatic Dragons are usually well entertained by this concept. However not all Chromatic Dragons are evil, some take on very unique personalities.

Chromatic Dragons are categorized by color, and corresponding energetic affinity. Offspring are known to take on only a single color of their parentage at random.

• Red Dragons - Fire Energy
• White Dragons - Frost Energy
• Blue Dragons - Lightning Energy
• Grey Dragons - Necrotic Energy
• Yellow Dragons - Radiant Energy
• Green Dragons - Poisonous Energy
• Black Dragons - Acidic Energy
• Purple Dragons - Cognitive Energy

Chromatic Dragons which are born directly from Zelatt are called Fractal Dragons. They are extremely powerful, and have unique powers.

Chromatic Dragons are known for their hate towards Metallic Dragons

Metallic Dragons are the acolytes of Ayamot. They are the rare, good-willed counterpart to Chromatic Dragons. No one truly knows if Metallic Dragons were created to defend the people of Zol from Chromatic Dragons, but many believe that this is the case. They first appeared to the people of The Three Corners during The Dragon War. Some say they manifested from light, others claim they broke free of their slumber from deep within The Underdark. Regardless of their origin, they are a very rare cast of dragons who largely seem concerned with the concept of order and justice. However some have strayed from this, and act on their own accord. Some even live more similarly to their evil cousins, the Chromatic Dragons.

The Draconic names for their various subspecies are long complicated phrases, but academics categorized them based on the metallic content of their scales. The latter names stuck better than the former. The types of Metallic Dragons are:

• Gold Dragons
• Silver Dragons
• Bronze Dragons
• Copper Dragons
• Brass Dragons
• Mercury Dragons
• Steel Dragons
• Platinum Dragons

Metallic Dragons are rivals with Chromatic Dragons, however they do not seek their destruction. They only seem concerned with enacting justice when a line is crossed.

The extremely rare offspring of Metallic Dragons and Chromatic Dragons. These Dragons are known to be quite powerful, and exceptionally rare. They are easily distinguished by their crystalline scales. So little is known about these dragons that academics hesitate to define their behavior. However from what is known, it seems that their disposition varies greatly amongst the specimens recorded. The recorded types of Gem Dragons are:

• Amethyst Dragons
• Emerald Dragons
• Sapphire Dragons
• Topaz Dragons
• Obsidian Dragons

Their rarity is likely a product based on the divide between Chromatic and Metallic Dragons.

Many species exist that have some of the physical and magical characteristics of greater dragons like Chromatic Dragons, or Metallic Dragons. Some of them exhibit high intelligence, but few posses the capacity for speech. As a whole, Lesser Dragons are not nearly as powerful as some of their more magically inclined cousins. Some examples of Lesser Dragons are:

• Drakes
• Wyverns
• Pseudodragons
• Faerie Dragons

The Strange, and obscure dragon specimens academics have made note of over the years which do not match up with other Dragons. They are exceedingly rare, and thought to be exceptionally powerful. Many believe that some members of this category are entirely unique manifestations of magic, and not part of a greater species. Some examples of these creatures are:

• Dragon Turtles
  • Colossal sea dragons who posses shells as large as small islands.
• Pink Dragons
  • Strange dragons some believe to be a type of Chromatic Dragon, however they are said to have a unique, dumb appearance. Those who claim to have encountered them say that they are unconcerned with the concept of violence and greed, and are much more interested in having fun and telling jokes.
• Sea Wyrms
  • Wicked and powerful sea monsters who are frequent mentions in the stories of sailors. Said to have long, serpent like bodies, and seek pirate treasure.
• Brain Dragons
  • A folk legend dating all the way back to The Illithid Invasion. It is said that the parasitic nature of Illithids was able to take over the bodies of dragons, converting them into unimaginable horrors.
• Dracolich
  • Said to be dragons who have willingly undergone the effects of powerful necromancy, making them fearsome and undead.
• The Draxolotl
  • A legend of The Witchlands. A supposed legendary dragon who lives within the lakes of the regions, and appears similarly to an axolotl or salamander. A benevolent being who grants wishes to those who find him.

Dragons increase in power as they age. Lesser Dragons experience this on a much smaller scale, but Chromatic, Metallic, and Gem Dragons move through quite the range of power.

• Hatchling - 1 to 5 years
  • Small and very influenceable creatures. A hatchling would be a fairly dangerous threat to a commoner. However one encountering one should be more concerned with their mother who would likely be nearby.
• Young Dragon - 5 to 100 years
  • Proud temperamental beings. Young dragons are quite dangerous, but they lack the wisdom, size, and magic of their elders.
• Adult Dragon - 100 to 800 years
  • Powerful, and fearsome creatures. An attack from an adult dragon would spell many casualties for a city. In their advanced age, they posses a wisdom that is rarely seen in most beings.
• Ancient Dragon - 800 to 1200 years
  • Some of the most dangerous, and awe inspiring beings in Zol. Ancient dragons posses an understanding of the world that many academics would give their right leg to document. An attack from an Ancient Dragon would leave permanent scars on a city.
• Wyrm - 1200 to 1600 years
  • Extremely rare, and spectacularly powerful beings. Few Wyrms have even been documented. Their power would be great enough to possibly destroy a small city on their own. However beings of this capacity would likely not trouble themselves with the pitiful world of mortals.
• Great Wyrm - 1600+ years
  • There are no records of encounters with Great Wyrms, however some Dragons have spoken of these beings. It is not know what power they hold, but they are understood to essentially be small Gods.

The most notable impact of Dragons in Zol’s history is The Dragon War.

In modern day, Dragons are often feared and revered in Zol’s stories. Few dragon sightings occur, and even fewer attacks. It is thought that most dragons spend their time in hibernation. It is not known why this is, and Dragons asked of it refuse to answer.

Two races bear charactristics, and by extension the prejudice of Dragons. These Races are Dragonborn and Kobolds. The connection between Dragons and these races are not understood, however it is known that neither race possesses the strength and magic that greater dragons do.

Some believe that the Greater Dragons are a dying thing of the past. Other say they walk amongst the people of Zol in magical person-like forms.