The Draconics

What are Draconics?
Draconics are a species of reptilian beasts of varying size that contain great power and the ability to strike fear upon all that face them. They are regarded as being the strongest of all creatures in the world, and have been found on every continent and in every Homeland. Today, nearly all Draconics are found in the Kaiimon Homelands, but some of the most aggressive and dangerous claim territories elsewhere.

History
Draconics are one of the eldest species of this world, pre-dating Aem and Men alike, folklore and spoken legends having referred to them far before the first scroll of history was written. The bane of Men, the Predators of Aem, they are ancient beings that fear none and devour all. Ancient legends of times long ago claim that no matter where Men, Aem, Rakhadi or Euroi traveled to, the Draconics already lived and claimed the lands as their own. Many heroes of old were forged by the slaying of these great beasts, but far many more were victims of the jaws, claws, and fires.

The first scroll ever written detailed a Dragon, one of the largest ever known, named Grom, a Goliath. In the scroll, the Alaem detail Grom arriving to their lands in a storm of shadow and death, destroying their villages and towns without discrimination. Azürièl, first King of the Alaem, used the stolen Bow of the Euroi with the rare Crimson Arrows and pierced Grom in the stomach with five arrows, slaying the mighty beast. Grom fell from the sky and into the ground, raising mountains around the impact site that would forever be known as the Dark Mountains. Near this new mountain range, along a river, Azürièl founded the city of Azüria, the largest Alaem city today, and the seat of the family of Azürièl.

Since the fall of Grom, the darkest and most powerful of all known Draconics in history, Man and Aem have both hunted and slain the beasts in droves. Enslaved members of this species have been used in the First and Second Great Human-Aem Wars, and would have been used in more had their numbers not have dwindled so much.

In danger of extinction, the Draconics of today have become far more cautious of the mortal races, and many have become far more violent towards them. With the formation of the Homelands, the Kaiimon have become the protectors of the last lands of the Draconics, many islands within their domain being home to hundreds of different Draconic races. Even with this protection, their numbers still dwindle, and the destruction they wreak has become more devastating as mortals become unaccustomed to fighting them.

Scales
The Draconic races are covered completely in tough and durable scales that are most often a dark red, black, or rarely a deep green color. These scales are short and pointed, overlapping much like a fish's scales are, with the exception of their underbelly scales that are sleek, rounded, and of a light toner than the other scales. These scales are some of the toughest substances in the world, with few metals being able to pierce even the thinnest of them. Metals as strong as or stronger than Steel are able to pierce the scales of a Wyvern, but the other four Dragon races are immune to all other known metals. However, legends tell of a metal that was able to puncture even the scales of a Wyrm, but that metal has long been lost.

The Crimson Arrows are the only other known objects that can pierce a draconic scale, and only if they hit them dead-on without any angle to their shot. These scales would be prized items for armor, if it were not for the fact that their density and make-up cause them to decay at an alarming rate, a Goliath-sized scale decaying fully in only twenty-four hours. This decay makes the land upon which the scale decayed super fertilized, causing plants to be able to grow even in salt-ridden land.

Size
A Draconic's size is often times their greatest strength. The smallest race, the Wyvern, are slightly larger than the tallest of Aem, whereas the Goliath race is larger than many kingdoms. Without having to do anything special, Wyrms and Goliaths are large enough that their mere passage can cause unintentional devastation on par with wars. A Draconic's strength derives from their size, with Wyverns being strong enough to lift horses into the skies, and Goliaths able to crush mountains.

Fangs and Claws
The bones of the Draconic Race are very tough, but are essentially the same as the bone of any other animal in the world. However, coupled with their size and strength, they are able to puncture through solid rock and metal alike. Wyverns and Drakes are unable to puncture Steel and stronger metals, whilst Dragons, Wyrms, and Goliaths can puncture any metal excluding Adamantine. The teeth of the Wyvern are approximately six inches long, Drakes' are fifteen and a half inches long, Dragons' are roughly thirty inches long, Wyrms' are nearly 80 inches long, and the Goliath race has teeth measuring up to 145 inches long.

Claws on a Draconic being range from the same size as their teeth, to nearly double in length. Both claws and teeth can be used to take down any strong structure, but are rarely used outside of fights amongst members of their own species.

Breath
The Draconic species has the extraordinary ability to conjure abnormal substances within their stomach, and without harm to themselves, spew it from their mouth and nostrils at varying intensities. The most common of these substances is fire, but rare individuals have been known to utilize many other substances instead; the ability to do so seems to be natural, not learned.

Intelligence
With the exception of Wyverns, which behave as regular wild animals, the Draconic species is intelligent enough to rival even that of the greatest scholars in the world, the pinnacle of this being the Wyrm race that collectively have photographic memories and IQ's equivalent to super geniuses. Dragons and Goliaths are well above average IQ, while the Drake race are only slightly above average IQ.

Enhanced Senses
Draconics have far superior senses to many creatures of the world, able to distinguish another creature's species and even age just by smelling them, and pinpoint a creature's location just by hearing their breath. Their sight far surpasses any other sentient being, some members of this species claiming to see individuals across continents; coupled with their sense of smell, they could make highly accurate assumptions as to where one may have come from, and make chilling threats to them.

They are also able to sense an individual's intentions, tell when they are being lied to, and feel subtle changes in the breathing and heart rate at any given time.

Influence
Draconics are master manipulators and experts at deduction. Lying to a member of the Draconics is useless as they can hear your breath, see your nervousness, and feel your deceit. They are able to pinpoint your greatest weakness, your gravest worry, and use that to their advantage. There is no shortage of tales of great heroes returning from facing a draconic, only to turn on his people and slaughter them due to the words he was told by the great beast. Always ignore what they say, and do not give them any information to work with, or it will be your undoing.

Wyrms are the masters of this skill, and they rarely have to move in order to destroy armies... from the inside.

Draconics are very often greedy beings, and so they will try to hoard treasures or items of great important or power. As such, they will often tempt mortals with their goods or the promise of these goods in order to further increase their influence over the mind.

Greed
Draconics are inherently greedy, hoping to reclaim "what is rightfully their's." They will hoard and protect treasures of great value, from gold and jewelry, to rare artifacts and legendary items. They can be drawn from across the world if they catch word of a great hoard of treasure, but can also feel a build up of treasures if they are fairly nearby. They will put this treasure above their own lives, and as such will be careful to not damage anything they possess - this prevents them from using their full power most of the time. However, disturbing their treasure will quickly anger a Draconic, and so should not be done likely.

Crimson Arrow
Crimson Arrows are the only weapons that can easily puncture a draconic's scales and kill it immediately. Wyverns and Drakes only require one arrow to kill, Dragons require two, and it is unknown how many are needed to kill Wyrms and Goliaths. There are only a small number of these arrows left in the world, but they are the greatest weapon against the Draconics.

Pride and Fearlessness
Draconics are very proud creatures, viewing all other life forms to be lesser than themselves. They will not take threats seriously at first and will often times "play with their food" before killing it. This opens up many possibilities to kill them, as they will not expect anything can take them down. Similarly, they are not afraid of anything, not even the Crimson Arrows, and so will foolishly attack head-on without thinking of the consequences.

General Appearance
Wyverns are bipedal draconics with large wings in place of arms, thick short heads, and long tails that end with spiked clubs. Rarely, Wyverns have feathers dotting their body, mostly clumped on their shoulders and backs.

Behavior
Wyverns are wild animals, and so their main concern is acquiring food and a source of water, of which they will gladly travel across the world to new lands in order to have a plentiful supply of food. They are unlikely to notice traps or discern strength among others, but they will readily drop whatever it is they are doing in order to pursue and eliminate a dangerous foe that is causing harm onto themselves. Unlike most other Draconics, Wyverns rarely stockpile large masses of riches and valuables, moreso clinging onto a small number of these items and being attracted by new ones, not necessarily hording them.

Variants
Wyverns have a handful of variants to them, each of which vary in any number of ways. All are bipedal and have a long tail.