Dragons
Dragons congregate in clans. These groups can range from a small group of five dragons to as many as a hundred. Each clan is controlled by the strongest dragon, be it by physical strength, magical prowess, or intelligence. Dragons have loose ties with each other, even within clans, as dragons require a good deal of land in which to hunt over. They tend to live solitary lives although the possession of a Dragon-Bound will often cause a dragon to seek out others to socialize with as the influence of a human’s social tendencies will seep into a dragon’s personality.
Dragons are powerful creatures. Their muscles are like steel wire and their scales are thickened leather that may not stop a direct blow but can deflect most others. When they are old enough they can breathe fire. This ability is used sparingly though as it damages the dragon’s throat and they must spend some time recuperating after. Dragon wings are shrunk from their original state and are little more than some bone and membrane. Dragons decorate these with ornaments to make up for their shabby appearance.
There is no central governing agency of the dragons. Each clan takes care of its own affairs in its own way and may come into conflict with neighboring tribes. There are skirmishes but no outright wars, as dragons simply do not have the patriotism that humans do. They are generally indifferent to anything that does not concern them. History is important to dragons, however, and they will remember events from eons ago, even if they were not alive when this even occurred. The theft of their flight is the strongest of all these events and many dragons still harbor hatred and a thirst for vengeance because of this.
Dragon Biology
Aging
Dragons age in much the way animals do. Despite their long lifespan, which can last up to two hundred years or more, dragons age in a relatively short amount of time. Their growth is that of a human child and they will reach adolescence by about their 15th year and will be searching for a human to bind sometime in that period. Once a dragon reaches full adulthood its growth slows and stops and from that point on a dragon's maturity is measured by their actions rather than their physical age.
Diet
Dragons are omnivores but largely prefer to be carnivores. A dragon will consume meat, both cooked and raw, while adding vegetation into their diet as a supplement and no more except in times of starvation. Due to the toughness of a dragon's internal systems a dragon can eat just about anything that is vegetable or animal.
Fire
A dragon's fire is created as a halfway point between their digestive and respiratory. Where a human has two tracts a dragon has a third that leads to the glands that create fire and they can then spit this out in the form of a single fireball. However, this damages the cells of the dragon's throat and sustained use could cause severe trauma to the dragon's internal organs. As a result, dragons have to rest between each fire blast.
Speech
Dragons can manage basic human speech with their vocal cords. This speech is guttural and slurred by the lack of flexible lips so dragons will supplement this when speaking to humans. Mind-to-mind conversation is limited but a dragon can implant enough of the words into a human's mind to make up for what they cannot say on their own. A human, unless versed in dragon biology, will not notice.
Dragons communicate with others verbally and mentally, using the mental to supplement what their verbal cannot transfer. It put the impressions of speech into the person's mind so that it sounds like what they are saying is what they mean to say even if their lips cannot form it. Like any learning child a dragon has to learn these so they'll have the same difficulties in learning to talk that a normal child would.
Dragons communicate with their Dragon-Bound on a deeper level as since their very souls are connected they can transfer thoughts and emotions like they were their own.
Mental speech is a form of a magic and so it has its limitations. Both distance and complexity will make a mental message difficult to perform. The best an adult dragon can manage is a very simple message (ex: "come *location*") over a distance of up to a mile to a single dragon they already know. Younger dragons are even more limited.
Courtship, Breeding, & Young
The dragon community is lenient in regards to its couplings. Dragons do not have to be paired for life nor do they have to be of opposite genders to be together. For same-sex couples who do not have the physical ability to have young together, adoption is acceptable though it can be difficult to find young to adopt as dragons can be territorial of their eggs whether the ability to take care of the eggs is there or not.
Dragon gestation time is 9 rp months until the eggs are layed and another 2-4 months before the eggs begin to hatch. Dragons on average lay about 5-6 eggs per nest, but only 1 or 2 of those eggs are viable and will actually hatch. Dragons have a very high death-rate in egg stage.
Dragon Stages of Growth
Egg (2-4 months rp time) – Dragons start their life as an egg. This is fiercely guarded by the mother and father both, each taking turns. The egg is very fragile and has to be kept warm so many dragons make their nests near hot springs or other sources of warmth to keep the dragon inside alive.
Hatchling (1-6 years rp time) – Dragons are awkward and curious at this stage. They require a lot of supervision but thankfully any nearby dragon will care for it, regardless of whether it’s theirs or not. The mother and father start to distance themselves at this stage.
Youngling (7-12 years rp time) – At this stage dragons start to learn about their people and why there are humans living among them. They are solemn and start to form their basic personalities and how they will treat a bond-human when they are old enough. Their magic starts to develop at this time as well and they can now breathe fire. By now, the dragons are on their own and require only minimal help from other dragons and rarely have contact with their parents.
Adolescent (12-18 years rp time) – A dragon is considered an adult in all but one aspect at this stage. This is when a dragon must go out into the world and claim a human as their bond one. It is the most dangerous time for dragons and humans both as the young dragon may become destructive with anger of having its flight kept from it or it may improperly bind a human and kill or destroy the unlucky soul’s mind. Dragon-hunters who resent what the dragons do to the humans may also come across the young dragon and try to kill it.
Adult (18+ or bonded) – Once the human is bound a dragon is considered a full adult. It must now learn how to control and live with its bound one. It is overwhelming at first as it feels the emotions and hears the thoughts of the human and both spend a good deal of time recuperating from the traumatic event. However, the dragon can now fly. And the human – if it is lucky – may receive powers it could never have on its own by way of its draconic master.
Fairy Dragons