the order's official dragon bestiary
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Welcome to the Dragonsteel Order's official dragon bestiary, Builder!
New dragon species are constantly being explored, so keep in mind the bestiary is a constant work in progress. This is a dynamic page that will continue to be updated as our breeders, explorers, and Builders like you submit new dragon species discoveries to the Order.
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Should you discover any species yourself, feel free to comment. Who knows, your dragon may just end up in the Bestiary!
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the chethem (low dragon) class:​
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"Chethem" is an old elvish word for "Low Dragons." These are dragons with three fingers on each wing. They are typically smaller in size and may have short "ears" in place of formidable horns.
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Drossling:
A small bile-green dragon that can be found in low elevation dense forests. They have blunt heads, huge sagging jowls, and are clumsy with flight, spending most of their time nesting on the ground in bracken and thick understory cover. An explorer would recognize the proximity of a drossling through the low groans and gutteral noises they are prone to make. Unfortunately, modern breeders and Rangers judge a dragon by its appearance. Being that drosslings are without exception ugly, any eggs that were found in the wild were often destroyed since no aspiring rider in the Order wanted to Bind with them.
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Rider(s) with this dragon type: Livana Tamarath
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Grymfyre:
A Svennish dragon species that is small but hardy. They typically grow no larger than the size of garrons and can carry five times their weight. Some old records suggest that back in the day, Svennish countrymen used to breed and harness them for labor. Out in the wild, they build their nests on high cliffs overlooking the coast and are adapted to cold, harsh weather. They are quiet creatures and easy to tame, albeit they are moody and not particularly social with humans. All grymfyres come in a slate-gray shade.
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Mottlemud:
A common brown species that is small but stout in build. Out in the wild, they tend to roam in packs by river banks in southern territories with higher temperatures. They keep cool by frequently rolling into the mud. The females will spend summers building natural dams that enhance river flows and create lusher grounds for agriculture. They are hard workers and have a calm temperament, but it is recommended that one not approach wild mottlemuds, especially when they are in packs, as these dragons not born into captivity can be dangerous.
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Rider(s) with this dragon type: Tieslin Trehorn
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Pica:
One of the smallest and most common of the chethems that can be found all over Elondria. They typically grow to 5-5.5 feet feet at the shoulders. They have little "ears" in place of mighty horns and are an adorable dragon species that are bred to come in a variety of colors. Being that they are playful and social creatures, they are beloved to many peaceful Builders and their children. Against the Order's approval, they are often treated by low-ranking Builders as pets.
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Rider(s) with this dragon type: Jofreid Anders, Mat Brynhild, Patch, Egil Frode, Yorn Olafson
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the high dragon class:​
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High Dragons have least four fingers on each wing. They are typically larger and stronger horned dragons.
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Cranewing:
A slender, gorgeous dragon species that is admittedly small for the High Dragon class. Their scales resemble the pattern of a crane - purple but for the white and black stripes around their eyes. Cranewings have the special ability to "whirl," or spiral at extreme speeds in the air that enables them to avoid ballista. Their speeds make up for their physical weakness. As one of the fastest dragons on the continent, the Order has many restrictions on who can acquire, trade, or touch cranewing eggs. It would take a very skilled rider not to fall from the saddle, especially when a cranewing whirls.
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Rider(s) with this dragon type: Detherys Lorathari
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Dreadfell:
Once believed to be an extinct species, this was the bane of elfkind. These dark purple dragons glow in the dark and historically nested underground in northern Rhaennoria's valleys and were said to sleep for one century at a time. In the twelve hours after they woke, they ravaged entire elvish cities before nesting on the bones of the dead. They are prime night hunters who can see perfectly in the dark and are feared for their Dreadcall, a roar that sounds like a ringing shriek of the dying ending in blasts of otherworldly echoes. These have the ability to induce nightmares, even among the High Elves. Their most notable weakness is that they have softer scales and weaker claw grips.
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Rider(s) with this dragon type: Ghalanthor Galadorn
Eld:
These are a widely coveted, majestic species with beautiful, swift builds that resemble small Great Dragons. They have four curved horns, slender frames, and wingspans of up to seventy-five feet. This makes the adult eld one of the largest dragon species commonly known on Elondria. When they are hale and happy, it is not uncommon to see pairs or flights of elds dancing in the skies to put on a show for humans and elves. Elds are known for their natural etiquette and frequently hatch for riders who are gentle, noble, or mannered. Don't underestimate them, however. They are very loyal to their riders and will not hesitate to attack fiercely if they sense their rider is in danger.
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Rider(s) with this dragon type: Faelan Pranathor, Garrek Kingsley, Alarek Tamarath
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Mood dragon:
A rare dragon with scales that turn the shade of their mood. Their rider's mood often influences their mood, and hence, the shade of their scales. Because they are so rare, acquiring one of their eggs begins at no less than 450 talents.
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Rider(s) with this dragon type: Torsten Ulvrik
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Onothrax:
A heavyset dragon and one of the largest known dragon species on Elondria. They are highland dragons that roam in packs. Onothraxes have heavy breastplates that are near impenetrable by even Anarion steel and have two short and wide horns that are used for ramming as opposed to stabbing. These dragons are capable of mass havic and are known for territorial fights and large-scale wreckage in the wild. The downside to their size and musculature is that they are poor divers and rarely fly. This is an extremely dangerous species that is restricted to the High Elvish riders only.
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Rider(s) with this dragon type: Judge Talvan Galadorn
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the great dragon class:​
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A class of flights that are known as the largest and most dreadful of all dragons. These are the dragons commonly remembered in Elondrian lore - wyrms with fire glands that could destroy entire cities in a day. They are commonly called "centennial hatchers" although Greats might go for several centuries never hatching, but always waiting for the next worthy legend to call their rider. A Great Dragon's minimum wingspan begins at one hundred paces abreast.
Some famous Greats are Vallyrath, the royal flight of Vhalaerys the Great; Xyransul, the flight of Aeogorath the Cruel; and presently, Lumaerrax the White Terror, which belongs to the Lord Prince of the Order.
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Auralith: These are also known as Sundragons, dragons of the light. They gain strength in the sunlight and scintillate upon the strike of dawn. Many High Elven ballads were written about them, for one of the nine great wonders of life was watching the blazing flares of an Auralith in the dawn. Most come in the purest white shade. In the olden days, before the elves rode dragons, Auraliths could be seen dancing over Elondria's eastern oceans.
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Rider(s) with this dragon type: Vharyn Morghul
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Great Horn: The most common (and unclassified) species of Great Dragon, best known in Elondrian artwork and lore. They have four massive horns the shade of bone, armored chests that are impenetrable but with Anárion elvish steel, and claws that tear up the earth wherever they walk. Chains cannot restrain them, for they would break through or smelt them with the most potent dragonfire. Great Horns are best known as the ruthless royal dragons that commanded the Dragon Wars, which killed hundreds of thousands of men and giants. When provoked, or simply hungry, these dragons have no qualms about destroying entire cities. As they are the mightiest species in Midgaard, the Realm of Men, the Order expressly forbids anyone from touching their eggs unless invited by the Lord Prince himself. As it is, their rare eggs can only be found in the High Eyrie, under the Order's highest security.
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Rider(s) with this dragon type: Eyrekvald Ivarion, Aeogorath the Great
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the wyvern class:​
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This dragon class has only two legs, with larger wings that comprise of most of their body's surface area. Together with their slender build, they are swifter than most four-legged dragons. It's also commonly known that wyverns are extremely aggressive and require an advanced Builder to tame. For this reason, the Order has many restrictions around who can Bind with a wyvern or trade wyvern eggs.
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Icescourge: A rare species with horns that resemble a crown of icicles. They have slender bellies and hides the shade and thickness of crystals. When dragons still lived in the wild, they were commonly found in the northernmost glaciers of Elondria, on cliffs that were nigh impossible for men to scale. Icescourges are best kept in cold weather. As their name suggests, they have a cruel temperament, are easily provoked, and the only species that is known to eat other dragons. It is not advisable that qualified riders Bind with them as they are very difficult to tame.
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Rider(s) with this dragon type: Judge Rystendal Vacerys
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Nightborn: Nightborns, a nocturnal species of dragon, were once common in the northernmost heights of Elondria. They were rather peaceful to humans and elves, unless their nests were raided and their territories encroached, but they were one of the few species that refused to kneel to the elves after wild dragons lost the Dragon Wars. Since then, it is likely they have been hunted to extinction. Old records suggest they had black manes in place of neck spikes, and tufts on their tails. They also had the incredible ability to vanish into invisibility, which perhaps was a prime reason why it was difficult for the Order to find them to begin with. It is said these dragons were fiercely independent and would gnaw through their throats to the death if they were ever caged, chained, or forced to wear a saddle. Because they were so difficult to capture, many of the Order's Rangers resigned themselves to simply hunting them for their luxurious indigo hides.
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Rider(s) with this dragon type: No riders are ever known to have ridden a nightborn.
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Sandthorne: A species of sand wyvern found in the arid wastelands of the Sundered Moors. They can bear extreme temperatures and are said to have the power to cause mirages, that is, illusory copies of themselves during battle. When temperatures fall too steeply, breeders report that they will bury themselves and their young up to ten feet underground to keep themselves warm. As with all wyvern species, they are extremely aggressive and will attack anyone that even draws remotely near their eyries.
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Rider(s) with this dragon type: Riliendril Galadorn
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the bael:​
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The Bael look deceptively like black dragons but were the greatest of the ancient Realm-Breakers.
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Bael: The Bael were titan-sized dragons that only appeared with scales of pitch-black. Their hide and wings flare like embers at the strike of firelight or when they are in the air. Baels are without exception an underground species. Before the Breaking of the Realms that destroyed multiple home worlds, they had nested up to twenty thousand feet underground, keeping warm in caverns of earthfire. It is unknown how long they naturally hiberate for, but it was believed they had slept for a millennium before Breaking the lower worlds and starting a divine-scale war still remembered to this day.
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Besides for their size, the most notable difference with the Bael are their temperament and mind-control powers. They are extremely cruel and spiteful, finding pleasure in making smaller beings suffer and subjecting all other living races to them. Baelaeryx the Great Scourge was the greatest of them all, and his spite and malice was unmatched even among the other Bael.
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Additionally, unlike any other dragon, they have the power to subjugate any mind - to control it to their will, torture it in ceasless suffering, or crush the host's consciousness to the death. In this way, the Bael made many of the lower races their living-dead thralls, who appeared to be comatose when they turned on their own friends. The Bael would then kill these thralls once they grew bored of them.
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As one of the Realm-Breaking titans, Baels had the power to see and destroy the veilings, the supernatural barrier between worlds that should have permanently kept each world in the Nine Realms separate from each other. They did this through the Baelsight, and they Broke veilings with their Baelfire, which appeared as titantic blue laser-like columns that beamed down from the heavens and into the next lowest world. Plenty of old elvish ballads and epics have been written by these haunting ancient memories.
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It is known that the Bael have never had a rider. Not only are they too superior to have accepted Binding with a two-legged lower race, it simply cannot be done due to the laws of nature. As an inhabitant of the Eighth Realm, the frequency and wavelengths of their consciousnesses and souls are too great for a mortal to link with. The ancient elves who tried inevitably died through minds imploded.