Avelonan Magical Creatures
This is a guide to the magical creatures of the Empire of Avelona.
Flying Creatures
Dragons
Physical Description
Of the standard dragon form, these creatures possess four legs with large wings mounted mid-back, in what is commonly referred to as the Northern European configuration. Long tails and necks make them even larger. Multifaceted eyes gleam in the dark and provide excellent vision in multiple spectrums. Ridges along the spine begin on the head above the eyes and continue all the way down the back and along the length of the tail until they reach the tail spines.
Size: 70 to 92 feet long, averaging approximately 77 feet.
Coloration: One color all over, with eyes that are generally red. Known scale colors are green, blue, white, black, grey, red, and shades thereof.
Life Cycle
Dragons are hatched from eggs, borne by a female dragon, and are approximately 6 feet long at birth. They are able to fly within 12 hours after birth, and are born hungry. They reach maturity at approximately fifty standard years of age, which is when they first fly to mate. A dragon is not considered to be mature until it mates the first time, so a dragon who does not find a suitible mate may remain considered immature among other dragons. Dragons mate for life, and fly a mating flight every twenty to thirty years, which will produce a clutch of between 2 and 4 soft eggs, which must remain extremely warm through the incubation period, during which they slowly harden, until the babies are born. Dragons will live naturally for approximately four hundred years. When dragons die, they are seen flying off into the West, and merely do not return. It is unknown what happens to them, but the commonly accepted explanation is that they fly until they die and fall into the ocean. The dragons themselves refuse to confirm or deny this, or comment in any way on what occurs, merely stating that a dragon knows when it is time.
Natural Defenses
Scaled Hide: Impervious to most light weaponry, the scaled hide of the dragon protects it from most injury, though it can be hurt beneath the hide if struck with sufficient force. Magically enhanced weapons will usually serve to injure the dragon as well.
Tail Spines: Growing for 1 to 2 feet long, and numbering between 2 and 5, these nearly unbreakable outgrowths of the dragon's tail are razor sharp. The muscles in the dragon's tail, used for balance and directional control during flight, can drive the spines through most solid objects.
Claws: All four legs of the dragon end in feet which contain large, deadly claws made of the same material as the tail spines. Highly adapted to the dragon's work of hunting, they are curved to catch in bones and easily slice through flesh, though the dragons maintain more than sufficient strength in their appendages to rip most things into shreds with their claws. Long, powerful forelegs are used to catch food with the claws while hunting airborne, though the back legs are even more powerful, used for becoming airborne, generally.
Teeth: The dragon's mouth is full of three rows of serrated teeth on each jaw, with long front fangs that curve outside its mouth when closed for biting kills. The jaw muscles have more than enough strength to crush an armored human.
Magical Abilities
Plasma Attack: Instead of breathing pure fire as might be expected, the dragons of Avelona breathe a combination of elemental fire and elemental electricity, forming elemental plasma hot enough to vaporize most targets on contact. Magically directed, this attack has little radiant heat loss in any but the projected direction. Also, the size and shape of the burst can be controlled by the dragon changing the configuration of its jaws as it breathes out.
Telepathy: Dragons are telepathic with other intelligent magical creatures and with humans who have a telepathic gift with animals. This is used by the humans working in concert with them as part of the Imperial Air Guards, as well as naturally among their own kind. A form of this telepathy is the "Bloodrage", or, as it is known in the Air Guards, "Battle Mode", which causes the dragons to completely link themselves to their human partners, so that their thoughts become one, and conscious thoughts are no longer needed between the two. The telepathy is of limited range, almost invariably contained to tactical distances, though some exceptions have been noted.
Thrall: With humans with whom they cannot communicate, and lesser creatures, the dragons can place a target in "Thrall", by which they focus their complete attention on the target, and it effectively becomes immobilized until the dragon releases it. This is commonly used to give orders to lesser, not intelligent creatures, or communicate with non-telepathic humans in times of extreme need, as the extended eye contact allows for easier communications.
Weyrvns
Physical Description
Looking like their large cousins, the Avelonan Dragon, at a distance, these flying creatures actually do not possess forelimbs, but are instead more birdlike, with wings taking the place of their front legs. They also lack the tail spines of their larger cousins, but retain the same eye structure and the spinal ridges.
Size: 42 to 66 feet long, averaging approximately 53 feet.
Coloration: One color all over, with eyes that are generally blue. Known scale colors are green, blue, white, black, grey, red, gold, and shades thereof.
Life Cycle
Weyrvns are hatched from eggs, borne by a female weyrvn, and are approximately 4 feet long at birth. They are able to fly within 6 hours after birth, and are born hungry. They reach maturity at approximately ten standard years of age, which is when they first fly to mate. A weyrvn, like a dragon, is not considered to be mature until it mates the first time, so a weyrvn who does not find a suitible mate may remain considered immature among others of its kind, even if it is physically mature. Weyrvns, again like dragons, mate for life, and fly a mating flight every ten to fifteen years, which will produce a clutch of between 4 and 6 soft eggs, which must remain extremely warm through the incubation period, during which they slowly harden, until the babies are born. Weyrvns will live naturally for approximately two hundred and fifty years. Unlike dragons, the weyrvns do not fly off over the western ocean, but generally die in their sleep, to be incinerated by either their mate or children.
Natural Defenses
Scaled Hide: Impervious to most light weaponry, the scaled hide of the weyrvn protects it from most injury, though it can be hurt beneath the hide if struck with sufficient force. Magically enhanced weapons will usually serve to injure the weyrvn as well.
Claws: All four limbs of the weyrvn end in large, deadly claws made of the same nearly unbreakable material as their bones. The weyrvn is unlikely to use its claws in ground combat or for hunting, though it will use them in aerial combat, as its rear limbs are no longer needed for motion.
Teeth: The weyrvn's mouth is full of three rows of serrated teeth on each jaw, without the long front fangs of their dragon cousins. The jaw muscles have more than enough strength to crush an armored human, especially as airborne hunting weyrvns must capture their food in their mouths.
Magical Abilities
Plasma Attack: Instead of breathing pure fire as might be expected, the weyrvns of Avelona breathe a combination of elemental fire and elemental electricity, forming elemental plasma hot enough to vaporize most targets on contact. Magically directed, this attack has little radiant heat loss in any but the projected direction. Also, the size and shape of the burst can be controlled by the weyrvn changing the configuration of its jaws as it breathes out. Less powerful and intense than the dragon attack, the weyrvn can breath more often and actually over longer distances, increasing their utility in air to air combat.
Telepathy: Weyrvns are telepathic with other intelligent magical creatures and with humans who have a telepathic gift with animals. This is used by the humans working in concert with them as part of the Imperial Air Guards, as well as naturally among their own kind. A form of this telepathy is the "Bloodrage", or, as it is known in the Air Guards, "Battle Mode", which causes the weyrvns to completely link themselves to their human partners, so that their thoughts become one, and conscious thoughts are no longer needed between the two. The telepathy is of limited range, almost invariably contained to tactical distances, though some exceptions have been noted.
Thrall: With humans with whom they cannot communicate, and lesser creatures, the weyrvns can place a target in "Thrall", by which they focus their complete attention on the target, and it effectively becomes immobilized until the weyrvn releases it. This is commonly used to give orders to lesser, not intelligent creatures, or communicate with non-telepathic humans in times of extreme need, as the extended eye contact allows for easier communications. The weyrvn form of this ability is much less powerful than the dragon's.
