Dragon

"When the Old Ones first crafted their Gates from the substance of stars, I was there to assist their labour. Down the long ages I have come, watching the rise and fall of you lesser races and your civilizations. I’ve laid waste to knights and cities, burned fields and routed armies in my years. I could tell you much of the world that you have forgotten and more that you never knew, but I think not. You and yours are suited for nothing more than to provide me with amusement and the occasional graceful bauble for my lair. I see little else worthwhile about you."

- Brinrairdih, also known as the "The Storm that Roars", Ancient Wyrm



Dragons are a race of large, flying, fire-breathing reptiles that had at one time populated the entire world, with many variants currently living within many regions of the world. Dragons are an incredibly ancient race whose forefathers lived many thousands of years before even the Elves set foot in the Old World. Today, they are few in number compared to the times of old, when they dominated the world and the air was full of soaring Dragons, tussling for supremacy in the primeval skies. Those Dragons who remain today are of a lesser, reclusive breed that spend much of their time asleep in hidden mountainside lairs or sunken caverns. Although fewer in numbers, Dragons are still creatures of vast power and when they are roused from their deep slumber, their deeds and actions are the stuff of legends.

Dragons are a diverse species, apt to display enormous variations in color and abilites. These differences depend little on the creature's breeding, for the father of all dragons was the fabled Kalgalanos the Black, and his spawn were all the colours of the sun. The hue of a Dragons scale goes beyond mere pigments — it is an indicator of the Dragon's nature. Red, or Fire Dragons, are impatient and wrathful creatures that breathe roaring flame, Forest Dragons are elusive, deepwood creatures that belch noxious fumes, whilst Storm Dragons spit lightning bolts and are whimsical, almost flighty, in temperament.

A Dragon's size is proportional to its age. They continue to grow throughout their lives, and Dragons of any colour can reach huge proportions if they live for long enough. Few Dragons today can rival the size Kalgalanos the Black, whose vast scaly body was bigger than an Empire greatship, and whose head was bigger than a house. Even so, Dragons remain amongst the largest of all creatures, and powerful servants to those that can tame one.

Overview
The Dragons are ancient creatures who roamed the skies of the frigid world long before the Old Ones arrived. In this, they are akin to Dragon Ogres and other primeval creatures that have existed since the dawn of time.

Alas, the days of dragons are slowly fading. Many of them have been hunted down and killed by adventurous Humans or Dwarfs. The Blood Dragon Vampires also hunt Dragons, desperately seeking an end to their curse by drinking dragon blood. Most of the remaining dragons have taken refuge in distant mountains and caverns beneath the earth, where they spend their time in deep slumber and dream of days long past. This again, is a trait they share with the Dragon Ogres. As time has moved forward, Dragons have slept for longer periods, and have proven more and more difficult to rouse. There is some speculation this may be due to the ending of the ice age and change in climate caused by the Old Ones.

At the dawn of time a dying Dragon would fly to the Plain of Bones to die. This created a huge cemetery filled with skeletons of enormous proportions. With the Coming of Chaos some of the skeletons were re-animated as Undead monsters and the disgusted Dragons no longer go there.

Dragons are greatly feared on the battlefield. Even the least powerful Dragons are quite capable of crushing entire armies, and of setting fleets and cities aflame. In the past, the Dragon Princes of Caledor each rode a Dragon into battle, making them an extremely formidable force. However due to the fading and slumber of the Dragons, those days are long past. The Dragon Princes now ride sturdy Elven warhorses. However some worthy champions are still able to ride a Dragon into war. These include High Elf Princes, Dark Elf Nobles, Dragon Mages, Chaos Lords and the Glade Lords of the Wood Elves. Indeed it seems the Elves have a great affinity for the race of Dragons, in contrast to the Dwarfs who are instead famous for despising and slaying the creatures.

Types of Dragons

 * Black Dragon - A species of Dragons bred by the Dark Elves of Naggaroth.
 * Carmine Dragon - Dragons imbued with the magic of Shyish, the Wind of Death.
 * Chaos Dragon - A dragon mutated by the powers of Chaos.
 * Emperor Dragon - May be another name for star dragons or they could be an older, even more powerful generation of dragon.
 * Forest Dragon - Dragons that are known to live mostly in forested regions of the world (Athel Loren in particular) and to breathe poisonous fumes instead of fire.
 * Frost Dragon - A species of dragon that prefers the cold.
 * Gold Dragon - Tales of such species of dragons originating from the far east.
 * Ice Dragon - A lazier but also deadlier variant of the Frost Dragon.
 * Magma Dragon - A sub-species of Dragons known to live in volcanic regions of the world.
 * Moon Dragon - An older and rare variant of Dragon.
 * Nightmare Dragon - Pseudo-dragons said to be made of Shyish.
 * Sea Dragon - An aquatic species of Dragon known to be used by the Dark Elves to pull their dreaded ships.
 * Shard Dragon - A degenerate subterranean off-shoot of the Dragon race.
 * Star Dragon - The most ancient and mightiest of all Dragons.
 * Storm Dragon - A species of Dragons who breathe lightning.
 * Sun Dragon - The most common Dragon, best known for their red scales and breathing fire.
 * Toad Dragon - A mutated off-shoot of Dragons which lives in the otherworldy fens of Cold Mire.
 * Warpfire Dragon - A mutated variant of Dragons that feeds off warpstone.
 * Zombie Dragon - A skeletal Dragon resurrected from the Plain of Bones.

Famous Dragons

 * Amanar - Fabled Sea Dragon beneath Lothern.
 * Baudros - Chaos Dragon of Egrimm van Horstmann.
 * Bracchus - Black Dragon of Beastlord Rakarth
 * Ceithin-Har - Dragon of the Sisters of Twilight, Naestra and Arahan.
 * Draugnir - the World Dragon, fabled father of Dragonkind according to the Elves.
 * Galrauch - First of the Chaos Dragons.
 * Indraugnir - Dragon of Aenarion, deceased.
 * The Imperial Dragon - Unnamed Dragon kept in the Imperial Zoo at Altdorf and mount of Karl Franz.
 * Kalgalanos the Black - Disputed Father of Dragons. May or may not be related to Krakanrok the Black.
 * Maedrethnir - Mount of Caledor I, deceased
 * Malathrax the Mighty - Slain by Markus Wulfhart.
 * Mauledekorr - Sea Dragon slain by King Byrnoth Gundadrakk of Barak Varr.
 * Minaithnir - Star Dragon of Imrik
 * Nightfang - mount of Mentheus of Caledor
 * Omdra - A Nightmare Dragon who rules a part of the Plain of Bones
 * Ostermark Ice Dragon - Slain by Markus Wulfhart.
 * Seraphon - Second Black Dragon of Malekith.
 * Smearghus - Red Dragon slain by Gilles le Breton.
 * Sulekh - First Dragon of Malekith, slain by Caledor I
 * Urmskaladrak - Disputed Father of Dragons that was killed by Grimnir. May be related to Kalgalanos or Draugnir