Dracon

Dracons are a race of dragonkin native to the continent of Mithros.

Biology

Dracons are humanoids who resemble dragons in appearance. They stand on average at 180-195 cm tall, making them on the tall side among the various peoples of Zairis. Dracon feet are plantigrade, possesssing four toes each with talon-like claws. Their hands are shaped the same as human hands, but with long, sharp, and claw-like nails. A dracon's head features a short, blunt snout with a single white horn upon it, long ears, eyes with slit shaped pupils which can be in almost any color, though it sometimes depends on the individual dracon's subspecies, and hair on top of their heads as humans have. Dracons, however, do not grow facial or body hair regardless of sex. As humanoid cousins to dragons, dracons exhibit many dragon-like traits, like a scaly, resilient hide, albeit subtly so, as compared to their greater cousins, dracon scales are tiny and indistinguishable from smooth skin at a distance.

Reproduction and life cycle

Dracons are neither reptiles nor mammals - rather, they exhibit some characteristics of both. Their females give birth to live young, but do not nurse them. Rather, their young are equipped as omnivores from birth. Their young grow at a similar rate to humans, reaching adulthood just shy of twenty years old, but are incapable of reproduction until roughly a decade after reaching otherwise full maturity. Their natural lifespan ranges from 150 to 300 years.

Subspecies

Aquatic dracon

Aquatic dracons are, as their designation suggests, uniquely suited for life in water. As such, they always align to the Water element.

As they were created to serve the Blue Dragonflight, a large majority of them serves under the Aquantis Dominion. They are considered an oddity among dracons since they were the only race that did not collectively revolt against their dragon masters. As a servitor race, they had always been treated relatively well compared to the other dracon races or kobolds, and this has only improved with time as aquatic dracons were swiftly granted vastly increased freedom and rights following the numerous outbreaks of slave revolts in other dragons' lairs.

Black dracon

Black dracons came to be as servants of the Black Dragonflight. They are adapted to the gloom of locations such as Blackwood and the Gray Marsh, which have historically been popular places for black dragon lairs. They are always aligned to the Darkness element.

The beauty ideals of black dracons are based on contrast in coloration. Black dracon scales range in color from a middling dark gray to pitch black rivaling that of the scales of Shra herself - the darker the scales, the more attractive they are considered among their fellow black dracons. Conversely, very high vibrancy in hair and eye color is a prized trait even beyond that of the darkest scales.

Jungle dracon

Jungle dracons live in tropical regions like the Aquantean Archipelago or Jangara.They were created to serve the Brown and Green Dragonflights, and always align to either the Earth or Grass elements.

The largest faction predominantly composed of jungle dracons is the Mahogany Tribe, the ruling faction of the Mahogany Isles, the largest sub-cluster of the Aquantean Archipelago.

White dracon

White dracons are the most common among their kind, and are mostly found in Mithros, though they can be found in small populations almost anywhere in Zairis. They were created by the White Dragonflight, though they lack the specialization of the other dracon subraces due to an oversight in their hybridization process, and as such, even though they were intended to possess the Ice element by default, it does not manifest in white dracons beyond other elements by any margin. Thus, while white dracons remained in the service of the White Dragonflight, those white dracons who did indeed possess the Ice element regardless were popular, and even fought over, by their white dragon masters.

Culture

Language

Most dracons speak Neodraconic as their first language, which was both the official language of the Kingdom of Mithros, and maintains its position as such under the management of the Coalition. It is derived from Old Draconic, allegedly having roots in the slang of dracon servants of their greater cousins.

Arts

Ancient dracon art is heavily influenced by dragons, both in style and preferred subjects. The oldest work of art confirmed to have been created by a dracon is a series of wall paintings depicting a tribe of dracons in servitude to a dragon, which moves to rise against and defeat their master.

Religion

Historically, dracons initially worshiped the draconic deity of their tribe's dragon master (usually the Shard whose master was descended from). As dracon society started shunning dragons, most initially kept up their tribe's former patron, but after it became clear the dracons had lost the favor of their masters' progenitors, most turned to worship the Primordials or local Kami. In current times, the Primordials, in particular Iris, Morik, and Randegosa remain the most widely followed deities among religious dracons.

Traditions of dress

Dracon dress traditions are heavily influenced by the circumstances of their origins and introduction to the civilized peoples. In the Draconic Era, their dragon masters would leave their servants entirely unclothed, and that was how they first met the vulpines of Mithros. In respect of this, some dracon-only communities choose to uphold this 'tradition', using modesty tape to maintain a sense of decency in modern times.

As dracons started integrating into vulpine societies and forming petty kingdoms of their own in Mithros, they started adopting their manner of dress for themselves, though, given the anatomical differences between the two races, this was not without its difficulties. Due to dracons' considerably thicker tailbase, any vulpine clothing meant to be worn below the waist would need to be altered significantly to accommodate this, and early on, most dracons did not have the skill or other means to perform such alterations, and as such, they were limited to crude ones such as a simple slit cut into the rear of a skirt that would allow the tail to stick out comfortably, or a front-only loincloth held up by the tail.

In modern times, the most popular style of bottomwear worn by dracons employs low-cut designs that only go up as far as to where the bottom of the tailbase meets the rear.

History

Origins

Dracons first came into being as minions to dragons, created artificially through experimentation on captive felines, Fenrans, and vulpines through Shape magic, blending dragon characteristics into their physiology to appear pleasing for dragon sensibilities while suitable for labor. This project was a collaboration between the Black, Blue, Brown, Green, and White Dragonflights.

Rebellion

Due to early dracons' similarity to dragons in not merely physique, but also temperament, it did not take long for them to start resenting their masters, and many tribes revolted. Some were successful and managed to strike out and found their own civilizations, of which the early ones are collectively known as the Free Dracon States.