A Note on Dragons

There is a common misconception that dragons are living creatures. Oversized reptiles that are magical and long-lived with varying degrees of intelligence, but ultimately just reptiles. They are not. Dragons are not alive in any way we would recognize. They're walking calamities, natural disasters incarnated and loosed on the world.

The mere presence of a dragon warps reality around it, causing unpredictable and unnatural changes in the physical world and any creatures unfortunate enough to be exposed. At this time the exact mode of action of a dragon's destructive field is unknown. The prevailing thought is that the extreme mutagenic and corrosive effects are caused by the hyper-concentrated zones of arcane energy dragons radiate. Unfortunately there are no solid studies to support the hypothesis yet since none of the research teams who have attempted entering dragon wastes have survived long enough to collect significant amounts of data.

What we do know from the few successful dissections we have on record is that dragons are anatomically very similar to lighter-than-air vehicles like ornithopters. Their wings are only used for propulsion and steering while the lift for their flight is generated by dozens of helium bladders distributed throughout their bodies. The helium itself is a byproduct of the internal fusion reaction that dragons use to sustain themselves and generate the energy for their destructive breath.

This lighter-than-air method of locomotion is key to dragons' ability to effortlessly fly long distances. In theory they could stay aloft forever since they don't actually need to eat and can subsist off atmospheric hydrogen and carbon dioxide alone. Unfortunately dragons enjoy eating so we'll continue to encounter them for the foreseeable future.

We also know that dragons don't reproduce. They don't lay or hatch from eggs and don't birth offspring. Eyewitness accounts of draconic generation, known as apodracosis, confirm that every dragon was once another creature which was transformed into a dragon. The exact form of the nascent dragon depends on several factors: What the creature was before the curse took hold, the strength of any nearby thaumaturgic fields, and most critically their emotional state at the moment of transformation. Greed is the usual catalyst of an apodraconic event, but all-consuming rage, pride, hatred, defiance, and betrayal are common instigators as well. In rare instances dragons can form from emotions that are generally considered positive, such as love, loyalty, curiosity, determination, and selflessness. The resulting dragons are just as terrible as the more common specimens, exhibiting a twisted form of their inciting emotion and an even greater drive to seek out living things.

It's always preferable to prevent the creation of a new dragon rather than slay one that has already developed. Should you encounter something or someone displaying the early symptoms of dracosis, don't hesitate.