THE
SEA
DRAGON |
Appearance. If it can be said a dragon may have a facial expression, then a Sea Dragon's is very similar to a perpetual sneer. Their head is somewhat oblong with a blunted snout. It has two pair of incisor teeth protruding on either side of its maw and another pair protruding a little further back. It appears they use these only to snare and hold its prey until it can be secured with their front feet. Sea Dragons have two rows of forty, thin diamond shaped teeth along both sides of their mouth. These are razor sharp and can rend things to ribbons in a matter of seconds. Ridges at the end of their snout, can close when submerged, protect the nostrils. They also have a soft opaque membrane that slides over their eyes when submerged allowing them to see through them. Their ears are pointed and are ridged to the back of their skull. These lay flat when swimming in the water. They have a scalloped ridge that starts in the middle of their forehead and travels down the center of their back to taper off at the beginning of their long tail, but it doesn't get higher than 40cm. It is believed this ridge helps them slice through the water when diving.
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Sea Dragons have shorter, more powerful necks than most dragons and a fuller aquiline body. A full-grown dragon is estimated average, from head to beginning of their tail, around seventeen peds, although there have been accounts of even larger Sea Dragons. Their tail can add another seven peds and is very flexible. They use these tails mainly in swimming to help propel them through the water, but have not been known to use these tails as weapons.
Sea Dragons have four legs the same length although the front pair seems
to be just a little shorter. This may be because they use them to grab and hold
prey. The back pair is certainly more powerful as they
use these to launch themselves into the air. Their legs end in flat feet with
five long flexible toes that end in claws. There is webbing between these toes.
The front toes are a little longer and have an extra joint for more flexibility
in securing things. Their wings are thicker and muscled at the front and opaque
membranes behind and can span up to fourteen
peds.
These wings can also lie flat against their bodies so they do not hinder
the dragon while swimming.
Sea Dragons also have scales but they are not hard and rigid
like many dragons but have a softer rubbery texture. This is not to say they are
not tough: It takes a very sharp, pointed weapon with considerable force behind
it to penetrate these scales. Even then it must strike perpendicular to the body
or it can bounce harmlessly off. It is believed that this
as well gives the
dragon a buoyancy in
the water. These scales also have a soft fluorescence of blues and violet when
seen up close. The entire dragon has a marine bluish green color that tends to
hint to a slight grayish tint. It is also believed this color helps the
dragon
blend into its surroundings. One last thing should be added here; it is believed
this dragon has a special organ where it can store the water necessary for its
devastating breath weapon.
Special Abilities.
Like several other dragons, the Sea Dragon has the ability to use magic. It is not known
how strong its ability is because this dragon likes to
attack with stealth, surprise and brute force. Their magic
abilities should not be considered lacking or ineffectual
because they can and will use magic, as they deem necessary. They have the
ability to remain submerged for long periods of time and it is believed this can
be up to two hours. Sea Dragons are quite at home in the water and are probably the
fastest swimmer on or under the sea and can dive to great depths with ill
affect. Sea Dragons also are capable of flying pretty well,
though they do this rather seldom. If so, they do it mainly for mating rituals.
Their most feared ability, however, is their breath weapon. They are able to spew
clouds of scalding hot steam, capable of boiling flesh from bones, up to a
distance of ten peds.
Territory. The Sea
Dragon is a rarely seen dragon. This is not because there are so few of them but
mainly because of where they live. All without exception live in subterranean
caverns with the entrance under the surface of the sea. Although a few have been
known, on occasion, to live in caves embedded in sea cliffs if they are
inaccessible and well protected. They choose their domains mostly on small
isolated islands or atolls. On a rare occasion when one of these
dragons chooses a
lair on a continent of Caelereth they will not fly further than one-kiloped
inland.
Habitat/Behaviour. The
Sea Dragon's appearance may make it appear to be rather harmless but this is
quite far from reality. Few who judge this dragon by its appearance have
survived to regret it. They are capricious, ill-tempered, the most disagreeable
and sadistically cruel creature on the face of Caelereth. They believe all other
creatures are beneath them, even other dragon
species. No one can predict what
this dragon will do. This aspect makes them the most feared danger on the open
seas because it is not known if the dragon
will just pass by, play a deadly game
of hunter and hunted or attack for the kill. When they decide to attack they can
do so from either the sea or the air.
Sea Dragons have been known to successfully defend their domain from intruders
and then just leave it behind only to return several years later and reclaim it.
Also, they have been seen in the middle
of battles and quite evidently winning and
then just leaving as though they had lost interest. These
dragons seem to like to
grab sailors from a ship, dive deep into the sea and return quickly dumping the
hapless sailor on the deck of their ship to die writhing in twisted agony from
the bubbling death. Or, they will take a sailor high into the sky and let them
fall to the ship below. Sometime the dragon catches this sailor and sometimes
not. They will also come up underneath a ship and give it a good shaking and
leave while other times ripping up the hull so the ship sinks. They have also
been known to fly by breathing a cloud of steam upon a vessel and then leaving
this dead ship floating. They will even fly circles around a ship for days, fake
swooping attacks, but finally in the end leaving without damaging the ship. The
only thing this dragon seems to do consistently is ravage small fishing
villages.
Diet. The Sea Dragon
is a carnivore and will eat anything that is flesh, even other
dragons. It
appears their preference is meat coming from the oceans, especially the Sea
Wurm. They will also eat anything they find along the shores while flying by.
They have been known to snatch sailors out of a ship's rigging for meals. Even
small fishing villages have disappeared into the maw of one of these
dragons.
Mating. There is no
accurate data on the mating habits of a Sea Dragon or how many eggs a female may
lay. What follows is speculation, educated guesses, or theories based on
observations from many sources.
The mating begins with the female perched on a cliff watching the male's aerial
acrobatics, dives into the sea and eruptions out of the water. If the male does
not entice the female, she will just leave. If she is pleased by what she sees
she will take wing and rise into the air moving slowly towards the male. Just
before the male gets to her she will take evasive maneuvers not letting the male
catch her. She will do whatever it takes to evade getting caught by the male,
which drives them into a frenzy. Though the dragons may be of the same size, the
female appears to be the quicker and more agile. This serves her well, as she
seems to desire to rise as high as possible before consummation. A pair has been
known to rise so high they can no longer be seen. When the male has caught the
female he will wrap his wings around her and they will plummet headfirst towards
the sea. At the last moment, when it appears the dragons will impact the water,
they break apart, their wings fully extended. They race through the air just
above the surface in different directions before they soar once again into the
air with their heads thrown back roaring. After this they just keep flying their
separate ways without a look back.
It is believed the female will return to her lair where she will certainly lay
one egg. It is speculated she can have up to three or more eggs. There have been
reports of seeing a Sea Dragon flying with three young but it is believed to be
a rarity. Many believe the strongest hatchling survives by killing all the
weaker ones, and that is why there are so few dragons and only the mother and a
single baby are usually seen. No one knows how long a young dragon stays with
the mother before it sets out on
its own.
Myth/Lore. During the
time of the Dragonstorm, when masses of
dragons covered the skies raining down
death, it was reported the Sea Dragons were not a part of this. It appears they
considered it none of their concern and didn't seem to care one way or the
other. There are even tales these dragons attacked the other
dragons when they came close. Not all out battles but
strikes from behind and then diving deep into the oceans. They say it was more
of an antagonistic maneuver then any altruistic trait. The most infamous Sea
Dragon was Cyon Sola, and was probably the largest, ever, of her kind. She
ravaged the western coast of Sarvonia in the area around the bay that now
carries her name. She controlled this area for countless generations until her
attacks became more virulent and widespread. In the end she was considered quite
insane and destroyed huge amount of
Aca-Santerran tradeships. It finally took a huge
Aca-Santerran battle fleet to defeat Cyon Sola. There was a great loss of
men and ships
but the bay was made safe again. Today there are few inhabitants as they
consider it an area of ill omens and also as haunted.
Information provided by
Thuja
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