On the Continent of Reptiliad, Dragons are king.

Dragons

The Dragons of the land come in many shapes, sizes and designs; depending on where they live. Sea Dragons lack wings and have clawed flippers instead of talons, forest Dragons have short, broad wings and long fingers so that they can fly unhindered between trees and grasp branches firmly and mountain Dragons have long wings built for soaring and soaking up the heat of the sun. What is common amongst them is the fact that they have thick scales, are reptile in appearance and make dangerous opponents. They are clever and cunning creatures with a deadly hunting skill and natural weapons to back up their speed, strength and agility. Generally speaking, Dragons are solitary and territorial. They are as likely to fight one another as they are to attack anyone else and as a result, male and female Dragons will only put up with each other’s company for long enough to mate. There are no couples-for-life. Usually, they will only take wild animals and livestock to eat but there have been lots of occasions where a hungry Dragon will risk invading a settlement to feast on those dwelling within and they count hunters that they find in the woods as easy prey. Dragons tend to be camouflaged in line with their territories so tend to have lots of greys, greens, browns and blues in their colouration.

It is commonly known that Dragons hoard shiny things. What isn’t so widely known is that these items are not specifically gold or jewels but also armour, weaponry, pieces of mirror, glass, fish scales etc… so many mercenaries looking for wealth have often been disappointed by the hoards that they uncover. Another well known fact is that Dragons cannot be tamed and will die in captivity (if suitably strong containment can be built) so no one will ever attempt to capture them.

When a Dragon dies, its carcass dissolves over a period of a couple of weeks; leaving nothing but a single stone that comes from its fire-gland. Why this happens is a mystery but there are wives-tales that speak of demons and dark powers at work; this keeps children away from the carcass and prevents them from bringing home body parts that smell horrendously before they disappear. Once the Dragon has dissolved the stone that remains is unremarkable in almost every way except that it is polished to a glossy sheen and is jet black. Dragon slayers collect the ‘fire-stones’, which are no bigger than a musket ball, from the dragons they kill. It is thought that the dragons can sense when too many fire-stones are kept together because the most successful dragon slayers are often beset by more dragons than anyone else… although it could just be that dragons are hateful towards slayers and will kill them in preference to beasts and livestock if they get the opportunity.

Throughout the land there is only a single fire-breathing dragon; the White Dragon. He is the largest and most feared of all Dragons and is an albino of great age and wisdom. Many have tried to best him and their armour sits amongst the finery of his hoard. He dwells in the northern territories and is the most territorial of all the dragons. The Dhurni are all too familiar with the fire-trails of the White Dragon and are sometimes forced to flee their caravans for the protection of the mountains; only to return to find one or two beasts of burden missing.