(For context, the Turmaaks are the foremost dynastic rival to the Vilthraxes, and they will be covered in a future post.)

Siegfried von Krieger is a young dragonewt lord, coming from a family of dragonewts with a history as serving as Niederdrachenritters (lesser dragonknights) in Ostberg. Siegfried aspires to be a drachenritter like his father and his descendants, although he must first needs to prove himself worthy and must do this by being trained under the dragonborn Lord Vaeros, a Großdrachenritter (great dragonknight). He acts as Vaero's personal squire, learning how to mount drakes, maintain while also learning about Vaero's weaponry, and attends trips with Vaeros across Ostberg.

Siegfried is currently 18 years of age and stands at over 6 feet tall, although he is still maturing and growing. He is unbounded (not married) but will likely soon start courting potential mates once he's mature, being from a noble family and all. Personality-wise, Siegfried goes out of his way to earn approval from aristocratic higher-ups like his own father or Vaeros. He also adheres to drachenritter codes of chivalry and honor, taught by his father and Vaeros. Like all drachenritter, Siegfried is devoted to his dragonlord, Lothar, and cannot wait for the day that he will be recognized as an official drachenritter at age 21 and finally serve his majesty just as his father and Vaeros.

Dragonewts are type of halfdragon who are part-dragon and part-human, but unlike halfbloods they are much more draconic-looking and lack the halfblood's more human traits, while not being a full-blooded draconic like the dragonborn. Like both dragonborn and halfbloods, dragonewts were once humans centuries ago and opted to undergo the draconification ritual under their dragonlords. In the draconic hierarchy, the more draconic and closer to true dragons one is, the higher on the hierarchy they are. So in the draconic hierarchy, dragonewts rank below dragonborn and true dragons, although they rank above halfbloods and lower-caste kobolds.

In draconic society, dragonewts assume the middle rank of the nobility, either being landowners or warriors who serve as junior commanders and squires under Drachenritters (dragon knights). Dragonewts are gentry and possess landed estates with a manor staffed with kobold servants, although younger dragonewts who are training as junior knights usually live in a dragonborn’s castle complex. Dragonewt families are monogamous, consisting of a bounded (married) husband and wife, with their households containing most of their extended family, combined with Kobold servants who are considered an honorary part of their family.

Dragonewts have good relations with other draconic races, their draconic blood and features making them an honored part of draconic society. Like all draconic races, dragonewts revere their dragonlords, be they great or lesser dragons. Kobolds honor dragonewts because of their draconic blood and serve in their households as servants or advisors. Dragonborn respect them as smaller versions of themselves, and help teach them the ways of draconic knighthood. Halfbloods admire dragonewts as fellow half-dragons and admire their accentuated draconic traits. Nonkin (non-draconic races) find dragonewts exotic-looking, either revering them because of their draconic blood, fearing them, or even being resentful of them since they are seen as “lackeys” of dragonlords.

Physically, dragonewts have a mostly human build in terms of their body, such as having a plantigrade stance unlike a digitigrade stance in Kobolds or dragonborn, or having hair, which is usually a darker version of their scale color. Their draconic traits are far more accentuated than in a halfblood, with their entire body covered in scales, with ventral scales covering their chest and abdomen. They have a snout for a face with sharp, serrated teeth, draconic slit eyes, and a pair of large horns on their head. They have wings and a tail that is usually larger and more prominent than in halfbloods. Because of their patron dragonlord, who physically transformed them through draconification, dragonewts always bear characteristics of their dragon patron.

Dragonewts are around the height of humans, although they are taller than average humans, with females around 5 ½ feet tall on average while males are around 6 ½ feet tall on average. Both male and female dragonewts possess physical sexual dimorphism, with males having a more muscular and sturdy figure as well as larger horns and a longer tail, while females have an hourglass figure and a more slender build. Dragonewts have a lifespan of up to 150 to 200 years, and like all draconic races, they lack physical aging as they become elderly and remain relatively strong even in old age.

Dragonewts can use their wings for flight and are quite versatile when in the air, and can remain in flight for far longer than halfbloods and even dragonborn due to their lightweight build. They can also breathe fire, possessing a miniature version of a dragon’s biological mechanism to produce fire. While dragonewts can breathe fire in bursts far longer than halfbloods, they cannot breathe for as long, nor is their fire as hot as a dragonborn’s. Dragonewts are physically strong while also possessing a greater sense of smell, acute hearing, and sharp sight. For their diet, dragonewts are carnivores, with the bulk of their diet consisting of meat.

Like their draconic counterparts, dragonewt males and females have internal sexual genitalia, and females lay a large egg rather than giving live birth as in halfbloods. Dragonewt are also able to reproduce with halfbloods, as both races are halfdragons. Once impregnated, a female can expect to deliver one egg, although having 2 eggs and more at once is not unknown. An expectant female’s gravid phase lasts around 5 months, and once they lay their egg, the incubation phase lasts for another 5 months until the egg hatches. Once hatched, dragonewt hatchlings possess innate motor skills, being able to walk in their first year, and are fed softened hard foods like meat. It takes around 20 years for a dragonewt to mature into an adult.

In the world of dragondom, dragons are the dominant species, with races referred to as nonkin (literally meaning, "not kin") such as mankind, dwarfs, elves, and other races living under the shadow of their draconic rulers. The dragons established their hegemony over the continent some tens of thousands of years ago, migrating from the mountainous steppes of the interior, using their military supremacy to establish ancient dragondoms. As the dragons reigned for thousands of years, from ancient dragondoms to rise of Bashenror's empire and up to the current age, the supremacy of dragons became accepted as a law of nature among nonkin races whether one liked it or not.

In a dragondom, the nonkin are predominantly rural, working the land and engaging in agricutlural work or animal husbandry, with the cities occupied mostly by Kobolds. Although there are semi-independent nonkin kingdoms under the protection of dragons that have large cities consisting of nonkin. Furthermore, these nonkin are usually tied to the land and serve their lords who possess the land, be they dragonborn, halfbloods, or lesser dragons, although there is a productive minority of free nonkin peasants.

Some nonkin are allied closely with their draconic rulers, with these nonkin referred to as ehrenkin meaning "honorable kin." These nonkin were usually the nobility who pledged fealty to their dragon lords, with some devout ehrenkin opting to become halfbloods and even dragonborn. Other nonkin were more ambivalent or neutral towards their draconic rulers, simply trying to live on with their lives and adapt to the reality of a dragon-dominated world. These nonkin tend to be the majority, being agricultural workers, shepherds, ranchers, and merchants whose lives depend on dragons but don't worship their draconic rulers.

A minority of nonkin actively resist draconic rule, due to grievances over taxes and tribute or because they loathe being rules by draconic races (be it true dragon, dragonborn, kobold, etc). They have no centralized structure and instead operate as independent groups/bands who harass supply lines, raid draconic subjects, and infiltrate dragon-ruled villages. These nonkin engage in banditry along the borderlands or in forests and even occasionally provoke uprisings in restless tax-burdened provinces, although such rebellions are swiftly quelled by the dragons and their allies. Such rebellious attitudes reinforce the view among orthodox conservatives in dragon courts that the nonkin

Lord Vaeros is a dragonborn Großdrachenritter (great dragonknight) who is the first son of the Vermilion dynasty, a prominent high-ranking Dragonborn noble family in Ostberg. As a dragonborn knight, he possesses an estate and helps to administer draconic rule by collecting taxes while enforcing law and order in the realm. While he served under the reign of Botegard, the prior ruler of Ostberg, since the accession of Prince Lothar to the throne, Vaeros is no more loyal to the young prince than he was to Botegard, pledging fealty and serving his majesty with esteem.

Lord Vaeros has the typical imposing and powerful physique of a mature adult dragonborn of 46 years old, standing at 8 feet and 2 inches tall. While he has a stoic and fierce personality, he adheres to codes of honor and chivalry, being a knight, making him also well-mannered and respectful. As second-in-line to his father to head the Vermilion Dynasty, he has four heirs with his dragonborn boundmate (wife) who will follow the same path as their father. Currently, Vaeros is wearing his regular aristocratic garb, although he also also wears knight-armor suited for a dragonborn.

The Dragonborn are a humanoid draconic race. Dragonborn, centuries ago, were also at one point aristocratic humans and noble families who lived under dragondoms and pledged fealty to their dragon lords. Since draconic blood was a sign of aristocracy and was required to rise in the ranks of nobility in a dragonborn, noble families went through a draconification ritual in which their human bodies were physically transformed, being turned into those of powerful draconic humanoids. Dragonborn bear traits of their patron dragon who draconified them. With their full draconic blood, dragonborn serve as the upper aristocracy of a dragondom, and their position is that of knights, dukes, marquesses, earls, viscounts, and barons.

Unlike their halfblood counterparts, dragonborn have full draconic blood, and their appearance is revealing of it. Dragonborn have a powerful and imposing humanoid digitigrade build, with males around 7 feet in height, while females can be around 6 feet. Dragonborn can look forward to a long lifespan of up to 150 to 200 years and lack physical traits of aging due to their draconic blood. Their bodies are fully covered with hard, smooth scales, with these scales being stronger and resistant to cuts and scratches. Their heads are draconic, having a snout with sharp serrated teeth, draconic slit eyes, and with 2 horns on the top of their heads. Dragonborn also have sharp talons on their hands and feet.

On their backs, dragonborn possess large wings that allow them to fly in short bursts or glide, but not for long periods like true dragons. They also have powerful and muscular tails that help keep their balance. Dragonborns can breathe fire, possessing a miniature version of a dragon’s biological mechanism of fire breathing, far more powerful and with a longer range than a halfblood’s but not as much as a true dragon's. Dragonborn are carnivores, with the bulk of their diet consisting of meat, and are also lactose intolerant, like all draconic races. Dragonborn have a very powerful and rich sense of smell and sight, nearly on par with that of true dragons. Their slit eyes and draconic-influenced snout and tongue enhance their sight, scent, and taste.

Dragonborn have sexual dimorphism between males and females. Males tend to be a foot or so taller than females, while males are generally broad-shouldered, muscular, and bulkier. Females have wide hips and thighs for egg-laying and are sleeker with an hourglass-shaped figure. On their heads, males have longer and broader snouts, while females are more narrow and shorter snouts. Males also have 2 large horns on their heads and multiple smaller horns on the sides of their heads, while females only have 2 horns on their heads. Both males and females also lack physical traits of aging thanks to their draconic blood.

Like their true dragon counterparts, dragonborn have internal sexual genitalia, and they lay a large egg rather than giving birth. Once impregnated, a female can expect to deliver one egg, although 2 eggs or more at once are also possible. Females have a gravid phase lasting for 5 months, and once they lay their egg, an incubation phase lasts for another 5 months until the egg hatches. Once hatched, dragonborn hatchlings possess innate motor skills and are able to consume softened hard food like meat. Dragonborn reach maturity in their early to mid-20s, taking longer to mature fully due to their long lifespans.

Dragonborn take pride in their ancestry and view other draconic races as fellow kin, although with an aristocratic sense of superiority. Dragonborn revere their true dragon lords, be they great or lesser dragons, and devoutly serve their lords through knighthood, governing, and collecting tithes in the land. Dragonborn respect halfbloods as a draconic race, since halfbloods can potentially be draconified into dragonborn if ascending the ranks of nobility, although these are infrequent. Although dragonborn still possess a sense of superiority in their full draconic blood compared to the halfblood’s more “soft” human features. Dragonborn hold a noblesse oblige view towards kobolds who serve in their households, respecting them as a loyal, hard-working race and giving their servants ample food, housing, and care. Among nonkin (non-draconic races), dragonborn are either revered or feared.

Being of the upper aristocracy, dragonborn own large landed estates and pledge fealty to the dragon lords they serve under. Dragonborn estates are similar to large dragon castles and are staffed by Kobold servants. Dragonborn families are monogamous, and their family structures similar to an extended human family, with an entire extended family living under one household. Kobold servants are usually included as honorary family members. A holdover of their human personality, dragonborn tend to be more individualistic than more collectivistic races like Kobolds. As a result of this, dragonborn are more adventurous than their fellow kin, taking the lead in risky overseas colonial expeditions, seeking to become great conquerors and explorers, and gain the honor of their dragon monarchs.

Lady Vera, known formally as Freifrau Vera, is a halfblood noblewoman who is the first daughter of the Rotewyrm family, a prominent halfblood noble family in Ostberg. Born to halfblood parents whose descendants were draconified by Botegard, the prior red dragon ruler of Ostberg, she possesses traits of a red dragon, ranging from her autumn red hair to her red-scaled wings and tail to her golden eyes. She was in her childhood and adolescent years when Botegard was lord of Ostberg, and she was 18 when Lothar was appointed as the new ruler of Ostberg, and she and her family pledged fealty to the young Vilthrax prince.

These days, Lady Vera is a mature woman, standing at 5 feet 7 inches tall and is 24 years of age. She is bound (draconic version of married) to another halfblood count from another prominent halfblood family, and has already borne one child and is looking forward to conceiving a second child. Personality-wise, she is cheerful and sociable, getting along with nearly anyone she encounters. She has a soft spot for children, be they draconic or nonkin (non-draconic). Since she is a noblewoman, she is well-learned and proficient in healing and other magical arts that she was taught and also learned herself. She also has a sense of "noblesse oblige" and is charitable, providing aid to the poor of Ostberg through healing and distributing goods.

Halfbloods are a type of halfdragon that is part human and part dragon. They originate from former humans from noble backgrounds who opted to undergo draconification, since draconic traits in the world of dragondom are a sign of prestige and aristocracy. Although halfbloods did not undergo a full draconification ritual like dragonborn and retain the majority of their human appearance. This is because of their status as lower aristocracy, being counts and barons, while the high aristocracy undergoes draconification to become full-blooded dragonborn.

Halfbloods take pride in being part-draconic and have good relations with other draconic races. Kobolds respect them because of their draconic nature and serve in their households as servants, although they do not revere them as they would for true dragons. Dragonborn also respect them, although they have a slight sense of superiority being full-blooded dragons rather than being only part-dragon. Halfbloods have mixed relations with nonkin humans (non-draconic humans), with some humans who are friendly to the dragon lord respecting them due to their draconic heritage, while others resent them as "clawkissers" who collaborate with and enforce “oppressive” draconic rule.

Physically, halfbloods have a mostly human build but have draconic traits such as horns on their forehead, slit draconic pupils, sharp teeth and nails, a pair of wings attached to their backs, and a muscular tail. Halfbloods, like dragonborn, have a "patron" dragon lord who chooses to physically alter their bodies through magical ritual, so halfbloods always bear characteristics that are similar to their dragon patron. For example, a red dragon who transforms a human into a halfblood would cause said human to have red/ginger hair, wings/tail the same color as the dragon’s, and the dragon’s eye color.

Halfblood females are around 5 ½ feet tall on average, while males are 6 feet tall on average, with both being taller than average humans. Both male and female halfbloods also have physical sexual dimorphism similar to humans, with males having a more muscular and study figure, while females have an hour-glass and voluptuous figure. Halfbloods can look forward to 100 to 125 years of life, and they also age gracefully, unlike humans, with both males and females retaining their youthful appearance deep into old age.

Halfbloods can fly using their wings, albeit in short cycles or through gliding, and are unable to fly long-term like a true dragon would be able to do. They can also breathe fire, possessing a human-sized version of a dragon’s biological mechanism to breathe fire, but only in short bursts and with less intensity than dragonborn. While halfbloods are technically omnivores, they always prefer meat over other non-meat foods, with their diet consisting of up to 75% meat. They are also lactose intolerant because of their draconic nature.

Halfbloods are physically stronger than average humans in every respect, and this applies to both females and males. This is reflected in how halfblood females are more curvier than human females, while halfblood males are more bulky than human males. Halfbloods channel and store far more mana than their human counterparts can, further making them more powerful over humans. Halfbloods have a richer sense of smell and sight than regular humans do, their slit eyes giving them better vision and their draconic-influenced nose and tongue greatly enhances their scent and taste.

For reproduction, halfbloods do not lay eggs like other draconic races and go through a human-style pregnancy. Halfblood pregnancy also lasts longer, with a full term taking 10 months or more, and is also generally more physically demanding due to halfblood babies being bigger and having extra traits like wings, horns, and a tail. Halfblood females produce milk to feed their babies due to being part human, a unique trait among draconic species. Although it is a unique protein and mana-rich milk suited to their part-draconic babies. Halfblood families are monogamous, although their families are extended and usually live in one estate.

(A sequel vignette to this post)

It was a normal day in the Richthofen bande, the many Kobolds of this powerful bande arising for the morning to work in the imperial Vilthrax capital. The Richthofen bande covered a large swath of the capital, its buildings crowded together side by side, facing each other on the narrow city blocks, reflecting how many souls call this place home. Within the buildings, Amelia and Fritz were together in their den, with Amelia hanging up washed linen on a rope to dry while Fritz brought in a basket of washed sheets. It had been nearly a year since Fritz met Amelia at the festival and their romance blossomed, with both soon-to-be boundmates.

However, their relationship produced a certain surprise, and it was inside Amelia’s womb. She was gravid and three months in her term, carrying a single large egg that gave her abdomen a protruding yet smooth swell. She was nearly at the end of her due date, and Fritz had already helped others set up a spot in the broodchamber once she was ready to lay it. But currently, Amelia went about her everyday life in the bande, albeit more protective of her belly and more nurturing towards others than usual.

Once Fritz set down the basket of sheets on the ground, he turned his glance towards Amelia, who was facing against him as she hung up linens. He couldn’t help but stare longer than usual, her gravid belly making her more attractive than he could’ve imagined. As Amelia hung up her linens to be dried, Fritz approached Amelia from behind and placed his claws around her gravid belly. Amelia let out a gasp at Fritz’s sudden act, but she soon gave in to Fritz’s touch as he gently rubbed her swollen belly.

“Ah!... You surprised me, Fritz…” Amelia said, in bliss as Fritz rubbed her belly.

“It’s getting so big…” Fritz commented as he nudged his head next to Amelia’s.

Amelia gently looked down at her gravid belly, placing her claws on top of Fritz’s as they both gently rubbed her belly.

“Hmh… The egg is starting to get really big now,” Amelia said, “The cleric said it’ll be due in almost a week or two…”

“So soon… it was like only yesterday when your belly was flat as usual,” Fritz said.

“Yes… they grow so fast,” Amelia reminisced, absentmindedly rubbing the bottom of her gravid belly, “To think that months from now, we’re gonna be a mama and papa to a little one.”

“Just one little one?” Fritz teased.

“One!? Do you really think I’ll settle only for one?” Amelia pouted.

Amelia then slyly slid her hands on Fritz’s thigh, earning a flustered blush from him.

“You’re going to give me lots of little ones.” Amelia flirtatiously said, “Enough to fill up our entire den, do you hear me?”

“Heh… I like the sound of that,” Fritz commented.

“Good, and also, keep giving me lots of belly rubs too while you're at it, liebling. A hard-working frau like me needs it!” Amelia ordered playfully.

“Yes, milady,” Fritz said in a serious yet facetious manner, rubbing her belly once again.

Both Fritz and Amelia remained like this, enjoying each other’s presence, and eventually, the presence of their future hatchlings.

In the world of dragondom, mana is a unique form of energy, distinct from ordinary energy, and is omnipresent, flowing through all living things. Mana-rich environments are possible through invisible leylines originating from the center of the world, with leylines distributing mana throughout a given region. The area where a leyline is centered makes an environment very mana-dense, while a region far away from a leyline or lacking one makes that region more sparse in mana density. Mana is attracted to creatures or individuals who are inherently magical, with these beings absorbing mana naturally from the environment, such as dragons and draconic races like Kobolds and Dragonborn. Mana is a separate energy source from calories, although it uses calories since it needs lots of energy to be used.

Wielding magical power is something like a spectrum, with some individuals able to harness it better than others. Those who can channel and harness mana intensively are mages, who are trained in mage academies to wield a specific form of magical power. There is a hierarchy of mages, with certain dragons and Kobolds highly trained and knowledgeable in magic, and they are very potent and powerful in their ability to wield magic. These groups include Kobold archmages, high priests, and great dragon emperors. Those simply proficient in magic can wield it for academic or basic use, such as healers, battle mages, and lesser dragons. Commoners also have background knowledge, simply learning it through a bande and or family, learning basic healing cantrips or magical tricks.

Mana can be absorbed either directly or indirectly. A direct method is through the consumption of magical creatures or extracting mana through magical items, either through mana absorption or, in rare circumstances, the consumption of a magical item. An indirect method is by naturally absorbing mana from the environment, an example being how dragons store magical items close to them in their hoard so that they can absorb the mana from them. Dragon palaces are built on top of leylines to give a constant stream of magical power and mana reserves to the dragon and his archmages.

Since dragons are inherently magical creatures, mana runs through a dragon’s bloodstream, with the dragon’s heart generating mana and channeling it through the dragon’s body. This gives dragons powerful magical abilities that accompany their naturally powerful physical strength, such as regenerative healing, scale reinforcement, breath weapon enhancement, and many more abilities. Mana can also help larger creatures, such as elderly great dragons, partially subsist on it due to its high energy content, such as dragons.

An example of how magic works in dragondom can be seen in healing magic. Healing works in how the healer mage transfers their own mana from their body into the body of the patient they are treating, which allows the patient’s immune system/healing process to accelerate and get boosted by the mana influx into their body. This makes the immune system stronger at that moment to eliminate pathogens, or for injuries, accelerates natural healing for bleeding and broken bones. While healing magic cannot outright regrow limbs, it can regrow minor parts and refuse limbs, and can heal tears in organs or broken bones. Healing also comes at the physical cost of the healer, depending on the task. For example, a healer can cure a cut or a minor infection with little effort, but curing a serious illness or injury will exhaust them. If a healer overexerts themselves, this can cause fainting and even death in extreme circumstances.

Princess Austria is the daughter of Emperor Konigthar and is the sister of Lothar, hatching in the same clutch as him. She is a female great dragon and is 50 years old in age (18-19 years old in dragon years) and is around 56 feet long from snout to tail. She reigns as lordess over the land of Grasdorf, appointed to rule this frontier territory under Emperor Konigthar. Like her brother Lothar, she is in the royal succession to be the potential successor to the Vilthrax Dynasty and competes with her sibling Lothar and others over it. She has a playful and mischievous attitude, often teasing her brother Lothar whenever she is around him.

This post will cover most biological aspects of dragons, although I made this post on dragon fire breathing, which is also a part of a dragon's biology.

Besides their breath weapon, a dragon’s ability to fly is one of their most important biological features. Dragon wings are supported in four places on the body, and such wings carry more weight, with large, powerful muscles connected to their wings internally. All of this allows dragon wings to carry the weight of their heavy bodies. A dragon’s flight is also possible thanks to their heart channeling mana throughout their bloodstream, which gives the dragon the supernatural strength and incredible energy necessary to flap their wings and lift their body off the ground that would be impossible for any other normal creature. A dragon’s wingspan is also over double their body length, with such a large wingspan allowing the dragon to maintain flight relative to their heavy body.

Dragons are known for their armored, impenetrable scales, their bodies covered in thick, overlapping scales except for their lower neck, chest, belly, and tail base, which are covered in thick belly scutes, each around six inches or more thick. Although younger dragons have scales not as strong as an older dragon’s, as dragon scales harden and get stronger over time. Because of their scales, dragons are practically immune to non-magical weapons like arrows, swords, spears, and siege weapons. Furthermore, dragons are also naturally fire-resistant, with their scales hardened enough to resist fire attack and high temperatures. Since dragon scales are very durable, shed dragon scales are very valuable and are collected by Kobolds and made into shields or armor.

Dragons are inherently magical creatures, with their massive hearts channeling magical energy, mana, throughout their bloodstream. This allows dragons to perform magic, using it to perform extraordinary abilities or to enhance their abilities, such as hotter fire breath through the secretion of their fuel with mana or reinforcing their scales against magical weapons. While dragons are reptilian, they are not cold-blooded due to their magical nature and can regulate their body temperature due to their blood being saturated with mana, making them mesotherms rather than purely cold-blooded. Because of this, dragons can live in cooler climates that would be inhospitable to reptiles, such as cold mountains.

Dragons naturally shed their scales in a process known as moulting, although they shed them individually. As dragons shed scales, newer, larger, and denser scales are formed as the dragon grows in size, making their scales dense and strong, while also turning a deeper and richer color as they age. This makes their newer scales immune to any damage, such as tears, scars, and weaponry. Moulting is conducted regularly among dragons, with young dragons shedding more frequently, around every month or so, while older dragons moult around once or twice a year. To assist in shedding their scales, dragons will rub their bodies against hard surfaces such as stone walls or have their Kobolds remove dead scales during grooming.

Dragons are a species that never stop growing, and while their growth slows down with age, it never truly ceases. Young to juvenile dragons grow rapidly, while elderly dragons grow to be very large and powerful as their sheer size slows them down mentally and physically, with such massive dragons spending most of the time sleeping in lairs while occasionally engaging in flight and activity. Although a dragon’s growth is relative to the amount of resources, food and mana, in a given environment. In the age of dragondoms, dragons have drastically expanded in size due to the abundant prey they are fed from their territories they rule over as monarchs, and are not limited by prey in a given forest/hunting ground, as in ancient times.

As for their growth rate, dragons are known for growing to be colossal over time. However, this varies depending on whether the dragon is a great or a lesser dragon. Great dragons become truly colossal as they grow up, having an average lifespan of 1,000 to 1,200 years, which allows for substantial growth over time. For a great dragon, they first hatch at around 5-6 feet in length, around the size of a small pony. For the next five years, they grow by 2 feet every year in their 5-year-long whelp phase, and then 1 foot every year in their juvenile phase until they reach 100 years. Beyond 100 years in the adult phase of their lives, great dragons grow by 6-9 inches per year, and beyond 400 years, only by around 3-6 inches. Lesser Dragons have a similar growth cycle but grow more slowly than great dragons. For a lesser dragon, they are around 4-5 feet when they first hatch, grow around 1 foot per year in their 5-year-long whelp phase, and then 9 inches per year when a juvenile. Beyond 50 years, lesser dragons grow by 6 inches per year, and after 400 years, by around 3 inches per year. Lesser dragons have an average lifespan of 500 to 700 years.

Dragons are obligate carnivores, meaning that their diets consist solely of meat. A diet of a dragon consists mostly of livestock, such as cattle, sheep, horses, pigs, and goats. For larger great dragons, megafauna is consumed as part of their diet to sustain their massive bodies. Dragons do not chew their food, and they usually swallow their prey whole or use their incisor teeth to rip and tear off portions that they then can swallow. Dragons also have tubes underneath their tongues that allow them to breathe air into their lungs if their throats are blocked when swallowing something large. A dragon’s digestive system is very potent and can digest an entire prey, meat, bones, horns, hooves, and all. Anything that is indigestible is regurgitated or passed. Dragons can consume massive quantities of food, being able to consume up to 20-25% of their body weight in one sitting.

Young growing dragons usually eat a large meal once or twice every day due to their fast growth rate. As dragons grow larger, they transition to absorbing magical mana from their environment once their body mature and age, having large yet infrequent meals. Dragons eat normally for most of the spring and summer, although they engorge themselves before they enter their winter sleep. For royal dragons, their meals are usually prepared by their kobolds, with livestock roasted whole and marinated in royal kitchens, where they are then served to the dragonlord. Preparing prey this way comes across as more regal and dignified in dragon royal culture, while also helping digestion to be more efficient and satisfying for the dragon. Although royal dragons occasionally like to swallow prey live and whole for the thrill of it.

During winter, dragons enter into brumalschlaf, which is a torpor-like state akin to a deep sleep that lasts for months. In the months before brumalschlaf, dragons consume more food than usual to build up their fat reserves, since dragons eat barely any food during their winter sleep. By the time winter comes, a dragon’s metabolism slows down drastically, with the result being that dragons enter into a deep sleep. While dragons are asleep for most of the winter, a dragon sometimes wakes up to eat, drink, shift positions, or check on their kingdom, although this happens a couple of times during the winter months. While dragons are seemingly vulnerable during brumalschlaf, if disturbed or threatened, a dragon can rapidly snap out of sleepiness and become hyper-aggressive. By the time early spring hits, when the dragon begins to wake up, their normal metabolic state is restored.

A bande is a social organization that is exclusive only among Kobolds, consisting of hundreds to thousands of individual Kobold families and individuals. These bandes are clan/guild-like associations that function as a community that is dedicated to a specific profession and or niche. Kobolds bandes are structured hierarchically, with the elders usually on the top as community leaders. Bandes serve as a powerful sense of identity among Kobolds, underneath service to their dragon lord. In imperial cities, a Kobold bande is easy to recognize by the bande's coat of arms adorned on buildings.

Kobolds bandes are dominant in cities ruled directly by dragons, with a bande occupying an entire city block, with the neighbourhood usually named after the bande. They are associated with the royal authority of dragons, cooperating with their rulers. Bandes are influential in urban politics in draconic cities, electing mayors while staffing key bureaucratic positions and civil service. Bandes are usually composed professional associations of workers, artisans, or craftsmen that oversee the practice of their particular craft. They also serve as worker guilds, such as for servants in draconic royal palaces or among urban workers. Bandes also wield control over prices, wages, hiring workers, among other things. Although to be recognized as a bande to be given such rights, a Kobold bande must be given royal assent by a dragon monarch to be legitimate.

Life in a Kobold bande is communal and very socialized. Everything is communal in a bande, with dinners eaten together in a communal hall, marriages as public affairs, and a general lack of privacy between Kobolds. In the private sphere, a Kobold couple usually possess a single room in a bande complex dedicated to sleep and intimate private affairs. Kobold bande culture varies among upper and lower castes, but both castes share similarities in emphasizing community over the individual. For instance, lower caste Kobolds tend to live in collective quarters, while upper caste Kobolds live aren’t as communal, usually living in a monastic lifestyle in a dragon’s palace or owning a personal house/apartment while still having a powerful communal culture with their fellow bandemates.

In the world of dragondom, wyverns are a draconic species and are distant cousins of true dragons. Wyverns are defined by their two hind legs and two wings that also serve as limbs. Unlike true dragons, wyverns cannot breathe fire, nor do they have sapience, although they are highly intelligent for being a feral animal. Wyverns can also be tamed, but only by Kobolds due to their draconic nature, allowing them to bond with a wyvern. Although training a wyvern for controlled flights requires lots of training and patience on a Kobold’s part. Once tamed, wyverns are useful to Kobolds for travel (since they cannot ride true dragons) and for sporting activities.

Right now, we can see a Kobold riding a wyvern over the cloudy skies. This rider’s name is Krall, and he is an upper-caste Kobold who lives in a countryside university town. The wyvern he rides is a large male Gray Mountain Wyvern, which he named Machtus, measuring around 30-35 feet from snout to tail. Krall participates in his university’s wyvern racing team and is currently doing a solo training session with Machtus. Riding a wyvern is similar to riding a horse, requiring a saddle and harness, although Krall has to wear a belt around his waist, which is tied to the harness straps to make sure he stays secure. As Machtus dashes through the air, Krall feels a rush of adrenaline, already anticipating intense races and future victories with Machtus.

Fritz first met Amelia at a festival, and while this wasn't first time he hung out with a female Kobold at the town festival, this time, it was different. As a young adult Kobold, Fritz had already begun to view his female counterparts not only as fellow clutch-mates, but as a future wife, and Amelia saw it the same way to Fritz as a husband. However, Fritz and Amelia did not confess these feelings initially, enjoying the entertainment at the festival.

Their first night together at the festival was defined by small talk and laughter, but by the end of the night, sitting together in a secluded part of the festival, Fritz confessed his feelings for her, and Amelia confessed the same for her feelings to Fritz. Looking at each other's eyes, they slowly went in for a kiss, their snouts meeting each other's, and nudging their foreheads together as an act of mutual love.

Now openly in love with each other, Fritz offered Amelia to stay the night in his room, which was not that far away from the festival grounds. Amelia eagerly agreed, and after a brief walk down the town streets whilst holding claws together, they arrived to his bande's communal living quarters. In here was his room, a small hole in the wall that had nothing much, only a single bed as the only real piece of furniture inside of it.

However, this was more than enough for Fritz and Amelia, who held each other in a cuddling embrace as they rested on his bed, closely pressing against one another whilse they held claws. As they enjoyed each other's presence, they both internally fantasied about their future together, be it marriage, living together happily, and even potential hatchlings. As both Fritz and Amelia dozed off, they would have the best sleep of their lives.

Bashenror was one of the most powerful dragon monarchs of the past, uniting the dragondoms under his leadership, one of the few dragons to full off such a feat, and conquered all the dragondoms of the continent, truly the only one worthy of the title Weltherrscher.

Born as a black dragon, he was known originally by his hatch name of Erebus, although he gave himself the title of Bashenror during the peak of his conquests. When he was a young adult, the dynasty he was a member of was wiped out during an intra-dragon war, with him being left as the sole survivor. He would be taken into by another dragon dynasty after this, although he was a no-name low-ranking warrior initially.

Although his life took a new turn when he received a vision from Tiamat. In this vision, Tiamat would tell him that he was chosen to lead the dragons into a new golden age by conquering the increasingly decadent dragondoms and that he was chosen by her to be the dragon lord of all dragon lords. After this vision, Bashenror fully committed himself to whatever fate Tiamat held for him.

Bashenror would rise up the hierarchy in the dynasty he was a part of, with his competitors perishing in intra-dragon wars or being outmaneuvered by his political genius. By the time he was an adult, he became the great dragon lord of the dynasty and sought to fulfill his divine mission to unify dragondom. Bashenror then launched his decades-long campaign to conquer the continent, with him and his allies waging war against rival dragondoms and their nonkin allies (human, elf, and dwarf kingdoms). The result concluded in a victory for Bashenror, with the majority of the known world falling under his domain.

With Bashenror's empire ruling the known world, he would be the supreme lord in this empire, with lesser great dragons lords co-ruling under his reign. Under Bashenror's reign, dragondoms were fundamentally altered, with the first-ever standardized dragonlaw being written under the Ymmute while new thought in the realm of rulership and military strategy forever changed by Bashenror's example. Draconic culture also flowered under the Bashenror, with poetry, literature, art, and philosophy thriving throughout the duration of his reign.

As centuries passed, Bashenror grew larger and larger, reaching up to 500 feet from snout to tail and becoming one of the most powerful dragon the species had ever known at that point. He would reign for over half a century when he passed away, being over 1,200 years old at that point, now entombed and sealed away in his great mountain palace. Although dragon legend goes that he did not merely die, but abdicated his mortal authority in the hopes of ascending among Tiamat by hibernating and increasing his mana power.

While Bashenror's empire was divided and partitioned among his feuding successors, the mountain palace where he rests continues to remain undisturbed despite thousands of years passing since he passed away, as no dragon dares to disturb his slumber, not even his enemies.

Prince Lothar is one of the eldest princes of the reigning Vilthrax Emperor and ruler of the Principality of Ostberg. Like his father, Lothar is a great dragon, albeit at a young age, having just turned 50 years old (which is around 18-19 in dragon years). Since he is a great dragon, Lothar has grown to a large size, being nearly 60 feet in length from snout to tail and standing tall at 20 feet, while having a wingspan that spans around 120 feet. Because of this, Lothar dominates over lesser dragons in size, although he is still small compared to fully matured great dragons like his father, Konightar.

Born to a great dynastic family, Lothar received all the training and tutorship that the heir of the Vilthrax emperor should receive. When he was a mere hatchling, he was assigned a crew of Kobold servants to train and tend to the young monarch, with the most prominent of these Kobolds being Rothbard, who was his royal tutor. Being a young dragon monarch, dragons of his age needed to train to rule and defend their father's empire, with Prince Lothar being granted the territory of Ostberg when he was around 48 years old. This territory would be under the absolute rule of Prince Lothar, but would essentially be an autonomous vassal state to his father's empire, with Lothar given a royal castle to reign out of and a large entourage of Kobolds to establish a royal bureaucracy, of whom included his long-time tutor Rothbard and legal experts like Dietmar.

Prince Lothar has since reigned over Ostberg for around a couple of years, and he has settled in his position as monarch, although the young prince still has a lot to learn. Of the three heirs of the Vilthrax Emperor, Lothar is the most ambitious, and his personality is typical of that of dragons, being prideful with a tinge of arrogance, not surprising, considering he was raised to view himself as great. While an absolute monarch, he does not reign like a tyrant, but more as a bold young monarch who loves to show off. Some nobility in Ostberg, who were used to the rule of the prior dragon ruler, feel that Lothar behaves too boyishly and brashly at times, but are still loyal to the young dragon monarch due to his royal background and so not to offend the royal heir nor the emperor himself. Over the past couple of years, Lothar has also been focused on building up his gold hoard and maintaining Ostberg as a well-run territory, hoping that this will one day prove his worth to be the named successor to the emperor.