Daedrothan Mountain Dragons

Physiology

Daedrothan Mountain Dragons are a large species, their average size falling between that of the Nightspinners and the Thunderblacks. Males and females are generally about the same size, sitting 17-18 feet tall. The exception to this is the royal bloodline, which always produces dragons bigger than the rest of the Daedrotha.

Their scales come in all colors, but the colors are muted and soft rather than the sparkling bright colors of the Crystal-backs.

Their most unique feature is the runes on their wings, which give them their magic abilities and increase their speed to the point where most Daedrotha can out-fly even bigger dragons of other species. Royal Daedrotha also have runes that run down the sides of their necks to their shoulders.

Temperament

The Daedrotha are generally a peaceful species, unless threatened. They welcome visitors to their colony, although they rarely receive any. They pretty much just stick to their own business and don’t get in anybody’s way. That is, unless the colony is threatened. If the colony is threatened there will suddenly be an entire species of dragons formed into an army, out for blood.

Diet

They are omnivorous, but eat mostly meat. If they are sick or weak, they will eat coal and granite out of the sides of the mountains to regain their strength.

Special Abilities

The Daedrotha have a few different special abilities, the key one being a “community consciousness” of sorts. The Daedrotha are very connected to each other and are often able to know immediately, even thousands of miles away, if a member of their immediate family is killed or seriously injured. On a broader scale, though, their community consciousness allows them to know immediately if the colony is under attack, no matter how far away they are. As a result, if the colony was ever threatened, every Daedrothan dragon on the planet would know it immediately, and it wouldn’t be long before the entire species was there and ready to fight!

Another interesting, though slightly odd, ability is that every single Daedrotha is born with the ability to instantly recognize Daedrotha of royal blood, even if they’ve never seen them before. They might not know who they are, their name, rank, or which member of the royal family they are, but they’ll detect the royal blood immediately.

In terms of magical abilities, not all Daedrotha have them but the ones that do usually have abilities in the areas of wind or earth magic. A common ability among the Daedrotha is the ability to carve stone by channeling magic through their fire to melt the rocks the way they want them. As a result, the Daedrothan colony has many complex cave systems, and even sculptures and art carved into the sides of the mountains.

Lifespan

The Daedrothan dragons, like other dragons, are essentially immortal, living many thousands of years until they are killed or die of disease. Their life stages are very similar to those of the Thunderblacks.

During Stage 1, the hatchling stage, they are taught to fly, speak both Common and what’s left of the ancient Daedrothan language, and are educated on the history of their species and culture. At this stage the runes on their wings haven’t developed yet, so once they have learned to fly they are relatively slow fliers. Due to their lack of runes they are also unable to “tune in” to the community consciousness that is the Daedrotha’s birthright. Due to the amount they have to learn, this stage usually lasts about 5 years.

Stage 2 is the Daetorr stage. Daetorr is an ancient Daedrothan word that has no translation to Common, but essentially means the stage where the young learn to be part of the community. The beginning of this stage is marked by the appearance of runes on the hatchling’s wings. These runes grow in visibility and magical strength during this stage. As the runes appear, the young dragon is taught to control his or her access to the “community consciousness”, and how to “tune in” only if there is something wrong. As their runes become more discernable, any magic abilities they have begin to develop as well, and they are trained how to use these talents. This stage usually lasts around 10 years.

Stage 3 is the Explorer stage. The young dragon, now a teenager of around 15 years old and almost fully grown, is encouraged to go explore the world on their own, visit new places, and meet all kinds of people. The Daedrotha value culture and variety, so there are very few interests a young dragon could have that are considered inappropriate. Unlike most species, the Daedrothan’s sex drive doesn’t kick in until he or she is a fully grown adult. The explorer stage lasts around 20 years.

The Adult stage begins around age 35, and continues through the rest of the dragon’s life. At this point, the dragon is fully grown and matured. He or she develops a sex drive, and is encouraged to find a mate and settle down in the colony, using their interests and skills to contribute to the community. The Daedrotha have a natural inclination to prefer to remain together, so most teenagers do return to live in the colony in adulthood, although there is no shame about choosing another path.

Social structure

The Daedrotha have an odd view when it comes to society. They are a monarchal, and have a royal family, but aside from the royal family they consider each other equals in every way. They have no concept of “peasants” or “nobles”, or of any Daedrotha being less or more than any other. Even the royals are treated with a combination of respect and affection, like a parent or guardian rather than a separate social class.

Although they have a king and queen, the Daedrotha actually don’t require much ruling-over. They are a community-centered species who love each other like family and generally just get along. The king and queen are mostly in place to represent them to the rest of the world, and to make big decisions if they are ever threatened.

Colony

The Daedrothan colony is located in the far depths of the mountains where several mountain ranges meet northwest of Connlaoth, north of the Niahi woods. It is as much a dragon-sized city as a colony, with caves, caverns, and intricate tunnel systems running through the rocks. It is centered around a rocky valley, and is truly an impressive sight for mortal eyes. Thousands of years of architecture and rock-molding result in a valley surrounded by sheer rock walls, into which are carved cave-buildings of all sizes. The walls between the caves have been carved into a history of the species, stories and legends etched into the rock in truly incredible detail. At the top of the valley there is an extra large “building” which is the royal palace. It is the highest living spot in the colony, with massive, carved stone columns guarding its huge entrance.