The Dragons of Nitor · 6:29pm Jul 4th, 2023
“Of all of Harmony’s creations, the most ancient yet enigmatic are the dragons. We know very little about these creatures, and what is known raises more questions. Why did the Empress create them? When did she create them? Why are they so different from all the other creatures born of her will? How is it that, among all of Harmony’s creations, they are not static in which aspect they wield, but rather have the ability to choose if they wish to bear flame, gloaming or shadow?
“They seem Chaotic, are firmly allied to Harmony, honor the Empress, yet only offer their allegiance if it suits their own whims. They are, without a doubt, among the most abominable mysteries on all of Nitor.”
- Professor Focal Lens, Dept. of Zoology of the Arcanis Research Academy of Harmonia, 300 A.S. (Ante Splintering)
Legendary for their power, greed, ferocity and indomitable will, the dragons of Nitor are both awe inspiring, and terrifying beyond words. Few creatures have confounded Nitoran scholars as much as the dragons. A phenomenon not helped by their notorious tempers and extreme territoriality. In the past, the dragons would ally with the siblings when it suited their inexplicable whims. Today, they rarely if ever side with the sisters, and have mostly thrown their lot in with The King of Shadows. But even then, such alliances are rarely more than a convenience that end the moment the dragon no longer feels it is to their benefit.
Dragon Types
Nitoran dragons can be broadly broken up into five distinct clades: the wyverns, the hydras, the wyrms, the linnorms and the longs. Of these, only the latter three are fully sapient and capable of using magic, with the former two being clever, cunning predators.
Male dragons are known as drakes, female dragons are known as drakianas.
Wyverns: the most common dragon type, wyverns are also considered the weakest individually. Physically, wyverns mostly resemble birds in general body structure, only with scales instead of feathers, large bat-wings, reptilian heads and long tails equipped with a bladed stinger that carries a potent venom. Drakes are significantly larger than the drakianas, but are also much rarer. Like all dragons, wyverns possess a breath-weapon, which takes the form of either a cloud of poison or fire. The exception are the bronze wyverns, which are those domesticated by Queen Celestia. Imbued with some of her power, bronze wyverns are slightly smarter than the typical wild wyvern, and possess a breath-weapon that takes the form of a beam of searing light. While distinct species exist, the differences are largely cosmetic. Most wyverns live for a century at most.
Wyvern colonies, called rookeries, are similar in social structure to lion prides. Individual rookeries will occupy a tall, rocky structure such as a mountain or mesa. The drakianas make up the permanent residents of the rookery, while drakes are impermanent. A drake retains his position within the rookery so long as he is able to defend it. Should a challenger depose him, he is driven off or killed by the triumphant drake. At this point, the new drake will kill any hatchlings and eggs. Bachelor drakes are solitary or hunt in pairs, which are always siblings.
Wyverns can be found across Impraecordia.
Hydras: the oddest looking of the dragons, hydras best known feature is their multiple heads. Like wyverns, hydras are bipedal, but possess trunk-like bodies topped with a crown of five to eight long necks with a reptilian head like that of a monitor lizard. A pair of tails act as a counterbalance when the creature walks or runs, but are rarely used in combat. Unlike other dragons, hydras lack breath weapons. Instead, their fangs are capable of delivering a potent venom to aid in hunting prey or figthing off predators. Like wyverns, different species exist, but aside from venom composition, prey and habitat preferences, and appearance, there is little difference between them. Most can live around a century.
Hydras prefer living in areas with abundant fresh-water, such as lakes, rivers, marshes and swamps. They are largely solitary, only coming together during the mating season. Courtship involves gifts from the drake to the drakiana, usually in the form of food. Drakes will also fight to earn the right to mate with a drakiana, though these rarely lead to death. Depending on the species, the drake will either remain with the drakiana to help in tending to the eggs, or immediately go their separate ways.
Like wyverns, hydras can be found across Impraecordia.
Wyrms: proud and imperious, wyrms are both beautiful and deadly. At hatching, a wyrmling is a bipedal reptilian creature with roughly humanoid proportions, but can easily be identified by their scales, claws, heads and tails. As they mature, their necks and tails lengthen and they lose the ability to stand upright and assume a quadrupedal stance, but retain their forelimb dexterity. They are born wingless, but eventually develop a pair of the flight appendages as they age, which often coincides with the loss of their bipedalism. Wyrms are quite variable in appearance, with numerous “types,” each with its own distinct breath weapon. They possess the ability to wield magic, but can choose which of the three they wish to use. Once chosen, that type is permanent. Wyrms can live for over a thousand years if not killed by external forces, and grow more powerful with age.
Wyrms, despite their sapience, are largely solitary creatures. As hyper apex predators, they need large territories to support their metabolic needs. Such territories are guarded fiercely. The only time wyrms will tolerate another sapient dragon is during the summer mating season. At this time, drakes will leave their territory to find a drakiana. Courtship is an elaborate affair, with the drake seeking to prove his worth as a mate through elaborate displays of strength and magical power, as well as gifts of prey and treasure. Should the drakiana approve of the drake, they will mate and go their separate ways. Drakianas are superfecund, and can mate with multiple drakes to produce their clutch, and in fact often do. After the mating season has ended, the drakiana will choose a nest site on the edge of her territory. She will then produce a clutch of eight to twelve eggs, which she will bury and abandon. When the eggs hatch, the wyrmlings must fend for themselves.
Despite their varied appearances, all wyrms are technically the same species. Their variance in types arises from an unusual property of their eggs. When a drakiana lays her eggs, the habitat where they are laid determines the type of wyrm that will be produced. Thus, if a desert drake and mountain drakiana were to mate and produce a clutch that were deposited in a forest, the wyrmlings produced would be forest wyrms.
Wyrms are only found in northern Impraecordia, and do not pass south of the Shattered Bays for fear of drawing the ire of their hated cousins, the linnorms.
Linnorms: even among a family notorious for their tempers, territoriality and ferocity, linnorms stand out as some of the worst of a bad lot. This ferocity, however, belies a keen intelligence on par with their slightly less belligerent wyrm and long cousins. Linnorms start life as large, quadrupedal lizard-like creatures. As they age, their bodies and necks begin to elongate, while their hind-limbs wither, eventually atrophying and falling off completely by the time they reach adolescence, while their forelimbs grow stronger to aid in movement. Like their cousins the wyrms, linnorms are highly variable in appearance, and possess breath-weapons that vary by their type. Despite lacking wings, linnorms are capable of magical flight. Like wyrms, they possess the ability to wield magic, but can choose which of the three they wish to use. Once chosen, that type is permanent. Linnorms can live for over a thousand years if not killed by external forces, and grow more powerful with age.
Like wyrms, linnorms are hyper apex predators and lead solitary lives, defending large territories, only coming together during the breeding season. One of the key differences between wyrm and linnorm reproduction comes to how they rear their young. During the breeding season, a linnorm drakiana will leave her territory to approach a drake, challenging him to a fight. Should the drake prove himself by besting her, they will mate. The drakiana eventually produces a clutch of 3-4 eggs. She will lay them in the drake’s territory and leave, whereupon he will guard the nest until the eggs hatch. Upon hatching, the drake protects the linnlings until they are able to fend for themselves, then drives them from his territory.
Like wyrms, a linnorm’s type depends on the habitat where they are laid. Because linnorm drakianas lay their eggs in a drake’s territory, they are usually the same type as the drake, though this is not always the case with drakes that have ecologically variable homes.
Linnorms are only found in southern Impraecordia, and do not pass north of the Shattered Bays lest they draw the ire of the wyrms.
Longs: the most enigmatic of the dragons, longs don’t live on Impraecordia, but in the oceans around it. The only fully aquatic group of dragons, few have contact with these majestic creatures. At birth, longs resemble snakes in overall appearance. As they age, they develop a pair of fore and hind limbs as their necks elongate. Most longs have sleek, streamlined bodies with fin like projections from their heads, limbs, backs and tails. Like the other sapient, magic wielding dragons, longs come in a variety of forms. Longs can live for over a millenia unless killed, and grow more powerful with age.
Among the dragons, longs are unusual in that they are not strict predators, but omnivores. Still, they are highly territorial and will defend their preferred hunting grounds from other longs. They are, however, some of the least aggressive dragons towards other sapients, and are more willing to converse with others. They are still dragons, so they can and will turn violent if they feel the need. Longs form permanent mated pairs. The process by which young longs chose their mates is not well understood, but is known to consist of contests of strength, and long debates to prove their intellectual capacity. Once a mate is chosen, they will remain together for the rest of their lives. Long drakianas are ovoviviporous, retaining their eggs within their body until they’ve hatched, whereupon she gives birth to one or two longlings. Longlings remain with their parents for around a decade before leaving to find a mate and establish their own territory. Longs are at their most dangerous when there are longlings present, as both parents are violently protective of their offspring.
Like other sapient dragons, long types are determined by place of hatching. Because long drakianas and drakes live in the same territories, they are unusual among dragons for making their permanent lairs in areas that differ from their type. For example, a pair consisting of a coral reef long and kelp-forest long are more likely to take to a mangrove estuary or move to the open ocean when establishing a territory than they are to remain in the habitat type of their birth.
Because they live in the ocean, longs have almost no contact with other dragons. This suits the longs, as they dislike their more “savage,” land-dwelling cousins.
Diet
All dragons are predators, with meat being a universal component of their diet. Dragons can subsist on an amount of food equal to half that a creature of their size would normally require, and can metabolize the entirety of their prey when consuming it. In addition, the three sapient dragon types have additional dietary requirements unique to their genus.
Wyrms require a steady diet of mineral crystals, with precious gems being a particular favorite. They do not require many at a time, with one or two large gems able to sustain them for at least a month at a time. Naturally formed crystals are also preferable to magically grown ones, but the latter will suffice in a pinch.
Linnorms, conversely, “feed” on the ambient properties of their environment type. This includes things like hot desert winds, molten rock, stagnant water or snow flurries. Linnorms that cannot feed on their environment type for more than a month begin to weaken and starve.
Finally, longs require intellectual stimulus in the form of riddles and debate. A long that goes for a protracted period of time without these mental stimuli will begin to grow weaker and weaker until they starve. It is for this reason that longs value intellect when choosing their mates, as they can provide each other with their intellectual needs in addition to their biological ones.
Hoarding
All dragons, by their very nature, are greedy. Even the relatively placid longs have strong hoarding instincts, and will react violently if their collections are disturbed. Aside from their love of treasure, dragons often use their hoards as bait to lure in potential prey.
Wyverns like to collect shiny objects made of metal, be they common steel or rare materials like gold and silver. Such items are usually placed strategically around the rookery for both the pride to enjoy, and be highly visible to the surrounding landscape in order to lure in potential prey.
Hydras like gems and crystals above metallic treasure, and will usually stash their hoards in the shallow parts of their watery homes to enjoy the effects the gems produce with the light. Like with wyverns, these hoards can also act as bait.
Wyrm hoards are primarily composed of valuable metals, as they are more prone to eating any gems or crystals they collect. They also enjoy art objects, particularly statues and well produced ceramics like vases and urns. Such things will be placed around their lair to be admired. Unlike wyverns and hydras, wyrms do not leave their hoards in the open, but will keep them protected underground in their lairs.
A linnorm’s hoard is often comprised of valuables taken from worthy prey and conquests. Thus, one is as liable to find gold coins and gems as they are to find broken weapons, damaged armor or even the bones of different creatures. These trophies are kept in a secure area of the linnorm’s lair, and are guarded fiercely.
Long hoards consist primarily of precious gems and pearls, as well as shells and bones. But the main prize for a long are rare and esoteric books. Many longs eventually learn magic in order to preserve their precious texts in their aquatic environment, or have them transcribed onto materials that can survive in an aquatic environment.
Spike definitely seems like he’d be a Wyrm. However, I remember somewhere it was said Spike was gonna be a Wolf Pup, so would Twilight have another Wyrm like Spike in the show or two Spikes or something?
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remember that this is leaning more towords eqg in the charicter designs, where spike was a dog, so spike being a wolf actualy makes sense.
wonderfull work as always voice, been awhile since we had a little bit of lore for this interesting world you have made, glad to hear more from it!
I found the choices in diet to be quite interesting. I love background information.
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Prysmkitsune is right: Splintered Sky's Twilight is mostly based on her EqG incarnation, so Spike's going to be a wolf. Specifically a moon wolf. However I'm thinking of including some draconic traits in moon wolves, but I haven't decided yet.
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Thank you. Doing these helps me get my creativity flowing.
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There is more than a little method to the madness. Consider the aspect triangle (mind<body<spirit<mind). Now, look at the diets. What aspect does each of them sound like. Then, consider where the different dragons live, and which centaur is in control of that region, and their associated subordination/dominance.
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but...none of the centaurs control the oceans (directly anyway the moon controls the tides but not what goes on beneath the surface), even sombra wasn't in charge there, so where does that leave the Long in that....
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Cryptic response: Consider the second paragraph of the opening quote. Specifically who the dragons serve. And if Sombra's situation differs from his sisters'.
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considering he either no longer has a physical form, or his physical body is sealed away somewhere limiting his ability to interact with the physical world, then yes, he has a very significant difference to the other two, this was not always the case of course
i have my thoughts on those 3 as well and what largely lead to how things currently are but not related to the topic at hoof.
The physical appearance and living locations of the Longs gives me strong Siren vibes, so I wouldn’t be shocked if Adagio or Aria or Sonata showed up in dragon-form
Truly fascinating stuff, especially given the logic behind the different diets. Thank you for another fascinating look at the wider world outside of Celestia's control (and oh, how the dragons must vex her...)
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If and when I finally do get to introduce the sirens, I'm not sure if they're going to be longs, or something else. But, yea, having them be longs has crossed my mind.
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She's got mixed feelings about dragons (especially linnorms), to say the least.