From the article archive
Walking With Dragons (Part Three)
Interlude Six
It is quiet in the glade, yet he awakens. He listens. By the sound there are three elves headed his way, all male. Three elves who think they're being quiet. They whisper among themselves, believing they can't be overheard. They seek a rapacious dragon, one who's despoiling the forest. He smiles to himself, a secret smile that does not show on his face.
One elf stops but twenty feet from his head. The others continue on past.
"Where could the monster be?" one inquires.
His breath billows over them. A thick, cloying, green breath. A poisonous breath. One of the three manages to escape the cloud, the other two are felled, to writhe on the ground gasping for air. He chants a quick verse and the lone escapee is entangled by writhing ground cover.
It takes two flaps of his great wings to disperse the gas, for chlorine is heavy, and the day is humid.
Seeing that one elf is still in distress the dragon tells the other -a priest by his garb, "Tend to him. I need you all healthy."
The entrapped elf blurts out, "Aren't you a..."
"...dragon?" the great male interrupts. "We have common cause.
"This is my forest. This is my home. I was here before your tribe came to settle the land. Came after the hate crimes against elves in Seattle, America. I tolerate you because you respect the forest, though you remain ignorant of it."
The priest tries to interject, but is stopped by the dragon's icy glare.
"Ignorant." The adult green repeats, "You have a feel for the woods, but lack the knowledge and experience necessary to tend it properly. But that is irrelevant right now."
Having their attention he continues, saying, "A hobgoblin warband is coming from the mountains. They mean to despoil the forest. I could, and ordinarily would, destroy them myself. But I do tend to kill and eat all who threaten my home. I need information.
"That is your task, and the task of your people. Take prisoners. Question them. learn of where they live so that I may hunt them down and kill them."
The three have become deathly pale, and it's not only the presence of the dragon that affects them so.
With a word and an odd movement of the wrist the entangled elf is freed.
"Go, tell your people what I have told you. And tell them that they do my bidding in all things having to do with this forest. There is nothing to negotiate."
The three make their stumbling way out of the glade, watched by the dragon. He knows they will do as he bid, regarding the information he passed on. The other matter is, well, another matter. But elves tend to be a wise people. They may send their chief to negotiate with him. But that would be more entertaining than having to fight a long series of dreary battles against fools, heroes, and the stray paladin. It's been years since he's had any news of Seattle, and a first hand account of Mt. Rainer's eruption would be entertaining.
Dragons Todayb
The dragon is an apex predator. On most worlds the apex predator. As noted before, he is (provisionally) a diapsid reptile, closely related to dinosaurs and crocodiles.Depending on species they can be as large as 100 feet in length and weigh over 200 tons.
Like most dinosaurs, the dragon is warm blooded, an endotherm. Unlike most dinosaurs the dragon is highly intelligent. While the white dragon sometimes has a limited intellect, his draconic relations are most intelligent indeed. This combination of great size and great intelligence makes for a creature parlous indeed to face in any encounter.
Skin and Scale
The hide of the typical dragon closely resembles that of the typical small dinosaur, a supple covering that can be made into an excellent leather. Depending on the dragon's species and age it can be as much as six inches thick. Unlike the the scaly hides of lizards and snakes (and much like the skin of birds and dinosaurs), a dragon's hide grows with him. While the skin is shed, it is shed more as mammals shed theirs, in bits and pieces. From this skin grow the scales.
A dragon's scale arose from the same structure that gave raise to the feathers of dinosaurs and birds. Only in the case a dragon's scales are shaped plates of keratin that sometimes reach the hardness of tooth enamel. The exact shape of the scale varies according to species, and sometimes age. The color of the dragon is determined by the dragon's scales. In most species scale color will change with age.
Together with the skin, the insulating fat, and the muscle beneath it all, a dragon's scales give him protection proof against almost anything that can be brought against him. Except for another dragon.
Interlude Seven
Michael is now a mature adult. Some three hundred years old, he measures 24 feet in length and weighs around 13 tons. Mountain goats no longer present a challenge.
He hunts other prey now. Frost giants. One is roving perilously close to his lair. A young man, eager to find adventure, and any stray treasure that might happen to be lying about.
Michael soars above him. Like most people, the young frost giant does not think about looking up. A trait that will prove fatal.
Even a stocky, twelve foot tall giant can't withstand something Michael's size dropping on him. Claws rend, teeth bite. The dragon hops back and speaks a charm. A charm that produces a sparkling ball of energy.
As the adolescent rises to his feet the ball streaks towards him. It strikes, producing a globe of fire that engulfs the giant. He is dead before he reaches the ground.
Michael picks the corpse up and flies with it to another location. There he will wait until it cools enough to eat. Even with the charring there's still enough meat on the carcass to fill his belly.
Learning that fire magic turned out to be a good idea.
Muscles and Skeleton
A dragon's skeleton is a sturdy one, robust. This allows for stronger muscles than one would expect even for a creature of its size. Even hatchlings are stronger than they look, capable of doing more damage than an equivalent lizard or mammal of the same dimensions. A dragon's sheer bloody mindedness in combat helps a lot, but that is another subject.
The western dragons (with one exception) are winged. The oriental dragons (with one exception) are not. Dragons (with one exception) can fly. Those with wings fly assisted by magic. Even as powerful as the muscles are, they cannot support any dragon heavier than 40 pounds or so. The wingless dragons fly entirely by means of magic. Even so, they do use serpentine movements to propel themselves through the air. They are, accordingly, well muscled indeed.
While technically reptiles, a dragon's metabolism is endothermic, warmblooded as with mammals, birds, and dinosaurs. It is thanks to this metabolism that dragons can be active, intelligent, and why they require the insulation afforded by their scales.
It is also why the typical dragon needs to eat so much, ingesting his body weight in the course of a week. This diet requiring a sizable hunting territory for sustenance. A dragon's digestion allows him to eat almost anything organic. It even allows him to "process" certain inorganic substances, which ones depending on species. Dragons largely prefer animals of substantial size -cuts down on the need to hunt. With the aid of their great strength, breath weapon, and magical skills the dragon can often hunt and kill prey larger than himself. Assuming he remembers to use any magical talents he may have. White and black dragons are the most likely to forget they actually have magical talents and knowledge.
A dragon's wastes take the form of crystallized urea mixed with feces. Most often the droppings are deposited far away from the dragon's lair, to lead treasure hunters astray. A mother dragon will devour her young's droppings, much as a mother cat does, and for much the same reason.
In Closing
So there you have a brief (and quite incomplete) look at dragon anatomy and physiology. With part four we'll take a look at dragon behavior, psychology, and child rearing, plus more interludes. Till then
Alan Kellogg
It is quiet in the glade, yet he awakens. He listens. By the sound there are three elves headed his way, all male. Three elves who think they're being quiet. They whisper among themselves, believing they can't be overheard. They seek a rapacious dragon, one who's despoiling the forest. He smiles to himself, a secret smile that does not show on his face.
One elf stops but twenty feet from his head. The others continue on past.
"Where could the monster be?" one inquires.
His breath billows over them. A thick, cloying, green breath. A poisonous breath. One of the three manages to escape the cloud, the other two are felled, to writhe on the ground gasping for air. He chants a quick verse and the lone escapee is entangled by writhing ground cover.
It takes two flaps of his great wings to disperse the gas, for chlorine is heavy, and the day is humid.
Seeing that one elf is still in distress the dragon tells the other -a priest by his garb, "Tend to him. I need you all healthy."
The entrapped elf blurts out, "Aren't you a..."
"...dragon?" the great male interrupts. "We have common cause.
"This is my forest. This is my home. I was here before your tribe came to settle the land. Came after the hate crimes against elves in Seattle, America. I tolerate you because you respect the forest, though you remain ignorant of it."
The priest tries to interject, but is stopped by the dragon's icy glare.
"Ignorant." The adult green repeats, "You have a feel for the woods, but lack the knowledge and experience necessary to tend it properly. But that is irrelevant right now."
Having their attention he continues, saying, "A hobgoblin warband is coming from the mountains. They mean to despoil the forest. I could, and ordinarily would, destroy them myself. But I do tend to kill and eat all who threaten my home. I need information.
"That is your task, and the task of your people. Take prisoners. Question them. learn of where they live so that I may hunt them down and kill them."
The three have become deathly pale, and it's not only the presence of the dragon that affects them so.
With a word and an odd movement of the wrist the entangled elf is freed.
"Go, tell your people what I have told you. And tell them that they do my bidding in all things having to do with this forest. There is nothing to negotiate."
The three make their stumbling way out of the glade, watched by the dragon. He knows they will do as he bid, regarding the information he passed on. The other matter is, well, another matter. But elves tend to be a wise people. They may send their chief to negotiate with him. But that would be more entertaining than having to fight a long series of dreary battles against fools, heroes, and the stray paladin. It's been years since he's had any news of Seattle, and a first hand account of Mt. Rainer's eruption would be entertaining.
Dragons Todayb
The dragon is an apex predator. On most worlds the apex predator. As noted before, he is (provisionally) a diapsid reptile, closely related to dinosaurs and crocodiles.Depending on species they can be as large as 100 feet in length and weigh over 200 tons.
Like most dinosaurs, the dragon is warm blooded, an endotherm. Unlike most dinosaurs the dragon is highly intelligent. While the white dragon sometimes has a limited intellect, his draconic relations are most intelligent indeed. This combination of great size and great intelligence makes for a creature parlous indeed to face in any encounter.
Skin and Scale
The hide of the typical dragon closely resembles that of the typical small dinosaur, a supple covering that can be made into an excellent leather. Depending on the dragon's species and age it can be as much as six inches thick. Unlike the the scaly hides of lizards and snakes (and much like the skin of birds and dinosaurs), a dragon's hide grows with him. While the skin is shed, it is shed more as mammals shed theirs, in bits and pieces. From this skin grow the scales.
A dragon's scale arose from the same structure that gave raise to the feathers of dinosaurs and birds. Only in the case a dragon's scales are shaped plates of keratin that sometimes reach the hardness of tooth enamel. The exact shape of the scale varies according to species, and sometimes age. The color of the dragon is determined by the dragon's scales. In most species scale color will change with age.
Together with the skin, the insulating fat, and the muscle beneath it all, a dragon's scales give him protection proof against almost anything that can be brought against him. Except for another dragon.
Interlude Seven
Michael is now a mature adult. Some three hundred years old, he measures 24 feet in length and weighs around 13 tons. Mountain goats no longer present a challenge.
He hunts other prey now. Frost giants. One is roving perilously close to his lair. A young man, eager to find adventure, and any stray treasure that might happen to be lying about.
Michael soars above him. Like most people, the young frost giant does not think about looking up. A trait that will prove fatal.
Even a stocky, twelve foot tall giant can't withstand something Michael's size dropping on him. Claws rend, teeth bite. The dragon hops back and speaks a charm. A charm that produces a sparkling ball of energy.
As the adolescent rises to his feet the ball streaks towards him. It strikes, producing a globe of fire that engulfs the giant. He is dead before he reaches the ground.
Michael picks the corpse up and flies with it to another location. There he will wait until it cools enough to eat. Even with the charring there's still enough meat on the carcass to fill his belly.
Learning that fire magic turned out to be a good idea.
Muscles and Skeleton
A dragon's skeleton is a sturdy one, robust. This allows for stronger muscles than one would expect even for a creature of its size. Even hatchlings are stronger than they look, capable of doing more damage than an equivalent lizard or mammal of the same dimensions. A dragon's sheer bloody mindedness in combat helps a lot, but that is another subject.
The western dragons (with one exception) are winged. The oriental dragons (with one exception) are not. Dragons (with one exception) can fly. Those with wings fly assisted by magic. Even as powerful as the muscles are, they cannot support any dragon heavier than 40 pounds or so. The wingless dragons fly entirely by means of magic. Even so, they do use serpentine movements to propel themselves through the air. They are, accordingly, well muscled indeed.
While technically reptiles, a dragon's metabolism is endothermic, warmblooded as with mammals, birds, and dinosaurs. It is thanks to this metabolism that dragons can be active, intelligent, and why they require the insulation afforded by their scales.
It is also why the typical dragon needs to eat so much, ingesting his body weight in the course of a week. This diet requiring a sizable hunting territory for sustenance. A dragon's digestion allows him to eat almost anything organic. It even allows him to "process" certain inorganic substances, which ones depending on species. Dragons largely prefer animals of substantial size -cuts down on the need to hunt. With the aid of their great strength, breath weapon, and magical skills the dragon can often hunt and kill prey larger than himself. Assuming he remembers to use any magical talents he may have. White and black dragons are the most likely to forget they actually have magical talents and knowledge.
A dragon's wastes take the form of crystallized urea mixed with feces. Most often the droppings are deposited far away from the dragon's lair, to lead treasure hunters astray. A mother dragon will devour her young's droppings, much as a mother cat does, and for much the same reason.
In Closing
So there you have a brief (and quite incomplete) look at dragon anatomy and physiology. With part four we'll take a look at dragon behavior, psychology, and child rearing, plus more interludes. Till then
Alan Kellogg
Recovered from the Gaming Outpost database backup. Original wording is preserved; damaged punctuation and presentation markup have been repaired. Historical links without a local match point to the Internet Archive.