Welcome to the another edition of Chord’s World Tour. As always, I, Chord the Ivory Bard, am your humble host and tour guide to the world of Duir’Aion. I have traveled a great many places in this wondrous world of ours, and still have yet to scratch the surface. There are so many stories to tell. Cultures, locales, magic, monsters, music, dances.
For today’s edition I thought I’d go back to our favorites. Favorite things to fear or respect depending on one’s perspective I suppose. Dragons. Once they ruled every corner of the globe. Great clans empires dotted the landscape. Descended from the original gods, they epitomize magic and strength. To fight one unprepared is simply suicide. To fight one prepared, is only marginally better.
The rise of elf and dwarf civilizations marked the decline of the dragon empires. When humans began their inexorable but rapid climb, it was marked the end. The dragons who were already engaged in wars with the elves and dwarves could not fight on a third front. When the humans learned the magic of Dragonslaying, it was final blow. By the end of the Empire Wars, most of the great dragon clans were destroyed. With them were lost a great many dragons that haven’t been seen in millennia.
Today there are two main branches of dragons left in the world: Elemental dragons and Celestial dragons. Elemental dragons are your more savage versions. The kind that likes to rampage and pillage and destroy settlements for no good reason. They actually have a good reason. They haven’t forgotten all they have lost. And on occasion it makes them crazy. Without the great clans to determine territories, elemental dragons (and celestial dragons) tend to stake a claim wherever their wings take them. While you won’t find scores of ice dragons living in the desert, it isn’t unheard of. Lissynax the Frost that Burns made her lair in the northern part of Ne’Harada, the great desert in south of the Jadelands, and has successfully subjugated the surrounding area. The denizens had learned to survive and protect themselves from massive heat, not blistering cold. Her lair is impossible to miss, a massive iceberg sticking out of the desert.
All dragons are magical, and all can cast spells. This is in addition to the innate magic they may possess. It is important to remember, hunting a dragon means hunting the apex of the food chain. They didn’t stop becoming the top predator because their empires fell. The five main types of elemental dragons are as follows:
- Ice dragons – Also called snow, frost or white dragons, they have scales the color of snow, they are typically found in the extreme north or south of the worlds, where the ice never melts. On occasion they can be found further south on top of mountain peaks. It is rare they venture into warmer climate regions. Considered the least intelligent of the dragons (not to their face I assure you), Ice dragons are still much smarter than the average intelligent humanoid. They are the most cunning however, and are capable ambushers. Their lairs are crafted to take full advantage of their abilities. Many an adventure met their end while trying to destroy Lissynax simply because they never looked up. An ice dragon’s ability to stick to ice, enables even the largest ice dragon to dangle from an icy roof, to blend in with the stalactites. Like all dragons, they have a breath weapon. In the ice dragon’s case it is a blast of frigid air and ice, as likely to freeze you solid as slice you to bits. The air around them is also bone chilling. Standing next to them without protection is ill advised.
- Earth dragons – Also called wood or green dragons, earth dragons have the most color variations of the elemental dragons. They can be mud brown, to bright green and anything in between. Their scales color depends on the land they claim. An earth dragon living in the mud flats would have brown scales, while one living in a deep forest would have variations of green scales. Earth dragons are excellent swimmers, and many swamp dwelling earth dragons make their lair in the deepest lakes. Hunting an earth dragon is tricky, because one has to learn where they lair. Many earth dragons hunt far outside their lair to confuse would be dragon slayers. They breath a toxic poison gas that kills all in its path. Their claws and teeth drip the same deadly venom.
- Storm dragons – Also called sky dragons, come in variations of blue. The older the dragon, the deeper the blue is. Ancient dragons, are almost black in color. Storm dragons love to fly, bringing powerful storms with them. They are the hardest dragons to track, since they are the only ones that can create a lair on clouds. On occasion they will ally or subjugate cloud or storm giants to build them wondrous flying lairs. When not in the sky, they seek tall mountains or deserts for terrain, where their view of the sky, and terrain is unobstructed. The power of the storm lives inside of them, and they can breath a powerful bolt of lighting from their jaws. Lightning arcs across their bodies, shocking those foolish enough to strike them.
- Fire dragons – Also called lava, or red dragons, these are the most powerful of all the elemental dragons. Not only do they harness the power of fire – they radiate enough heat to set things on fire – they are accomplished magic wielders. Only the sun dragons rival them in terms of arcane might. It is also not uncommon for a fire dragon to adopt a different casting ability. Most cast spells like a sorcerer, but Cynder the Magnificent made a pact with a fire elemental lord and has become a warlock. According to Cynder, these fundamental changes to their arcane ability is not without effort, and all require the blessing of the goddess of dragons (who also happens to be goddess of magic). One never knows if they have the blessing until they complete the ritual. And survive. Those that don’t survive have been known to rise as a dracolich. As expected, the fire dragons breathe dragonfire, the most explosive and hottest fire mortals have ever witnessed.
- Shadow dragons – Also called night dragons, these dragons are rarely encountered because they live underground. On very rare instances one that lives near the surface will hunt on the surface. These are almost always young shadow dragons. Adults and older dragons actually weaken in areas of light, so they travel deeper into the ground to avoid having to deal with any sources of light. They often come into conflict with the shadow elves and ash dwarves who call the Lightless Reach home (the inhabited section underneath the surface). They breath an inky black substance that sucks the very light out of whatever it hits. Victims of this breath appear to age instantly, crumbling to bone and dust eventually.
Next time we shall tackle the celestial dragons.
– Chord, the Ivory Bard
A Darkness Rising 