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This page is not free to edit. Characters are solely owned by ScottyBlue (dA name Ascotia-Bluefleck)
| Draconis Plumeis | |
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 Green Male | |
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Also Known As |
Feather Dragon, Plumed Dragon |
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Type of Group |
Species |
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Role in Story |
Animal |
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Book |
Stormfeather (working title) by E.E. Buchanan |
Draconis Plumeis, (drah-KOH-niss ploo-MAY-iss) or feathered/plumed dragons, are a species of draconid native primarily to Boreal highland climates, but can survive in temperate forests provided the altitude is not too low. They are mostly non-sentient creatures, and truly wild adults are untameable and rather dangerous, though the young, within a certain time frame, can be hand raised to be beasts of burden, provided they have not lived too long in the wild. Typical lifespan in captivity is between 80 and 90 years, but most wild individuals are killed either by humans or other dragons decades before then. At least one man was magically transformed into a feathered dragon and maintained his sentience, but so far he is the only exception to the rule of this being a non-sentient species.
Physiology
Feathered dragons lack scales, quite literally being covered with large, soft feathers all over the body. The feathers on the head crest, chest, and belly are typically thicker than that of the body. Claws are primarily for digging, not fighting, and therefore are very large, rock hard, and comparatively blunt. The head is horselike and stocky, but the body shape is very thin and slender, extremely like that of a greyhound or deerhound. The tail is nearly twice the body length, and the swanlike wings are massive to support the weight of the body, being up to four times the area of the body when completely unfurled. Both sexes have a crest of feathers upon the head which hides their ears, and a large fan at the tip of the tail which can be opened and closed, as well as short, sharp tusks on the lower jaw that show when the mouth is closed. The male, however, has thick feathers in the breeding season which lay flat against his neck but can be fluffed out to make a cobra-like "hood", sometimes called a "mane", when courting. The eyes are large and crocodilian, and glow the same color as whatever the dragon's internal flame is.
Sizes
Typically, female feathered dragons are slightly taller than males. Adult feathered dragons stand 11-15 feet (3.3m - 4.5m) at the shoulder, though some females have been known to be larger. Body length, from nose tip to tail tip, is 36-49 feet (11m -15m). There have been no attempts made to measure body weight of adults, as of yet - however, while heavy enough to crush most animals if they fall upon them, they are lighter than they appear, thanks to hollow bones. By contrast, new-hatched young usually measure 18 inches (45 cm) at the shoulder and 44-47 inches (112-119 cm) from nose to tail tip, weighing in at far less than 30 lb (13 kg)
Colors
With adolescent and adult feathered dragons, the body is uniformly colored and unpatterned, with the feathers on the back eventually becoming paler with sun exposure and age. The tongue is the same color as the feathers, but the rest of the skin is either black or pale pink, sometimes in blotches. The female's feathers are usually darker than the males. The external feathers are one of five possible colors - mahogany brown, pale green, steel blue, charcoal grey, or dirty silver-white (albino coloration). The down feathers are typically pale tan and brown streaks, but these are not visible in adolescents or adults except during summer moult. Newborn dragons have only down feathers and no external/flight feathers.
The eyes glow on their own with whatever the color of the dragon's internal fire is, which can be blue, yellow, or orange. Genetically, brown plumage and orange eyes are the dominant colors, with the rest being recessive genes and less common.
Senses
Dragon hearing is no better than humans - in some cases, worse, thanks to feathers covering the ear flaps. However, they have eyesight that rivals that of hawks, able to see extreme distances and even some ultraviolet and infrared spectrum. Furthermore, their sense of smell, thanks to their huge and sensitive nostrils, is almost unparalleled in the animal world.
Fire
Like all dragons, draconis plumeis breathe fire. It is a chemical reaction that takes place between certain chemicals in the dragon's throat blending with certain chemicals in a sac near the heart. Dragons only release the chemical from the sac - a voluntary action except when the dragon is in a state of panic - if they are trying to cook meat, (they are meticulously clean and don't like having raw blood on them) or if they are displaying to warn off an opponent. They do not use fire to kill prey but will use it to kill enemies if all else has failed. Very occasionally, if flying and caught in a bad fog, they will use the fire to clear a visible pathway for themselves as well.
Behavior
Feathered dragons usually live either alone or in small groups of less than five. However, if they do form any sort of deep bond, that bond lasts for life. They are more susceptible to form loyal bonds when younger, however. In general, they tolerate one another's presence at a distance, and occasionally siblings or former mates will stay in the same general area and nest together at nights in the winter, but usually dragons unfamiliar to each other do not interact without fighting or scuffling to establish dominance. However, once this has been accomplished, they can live in the same area peacefully indefinitely, so long as the 'subordinate' dragon does not attempt to rebel. Both males and females tend to stake out a territory during breeding season, often reusing the same breeding territory multiple years, but otherwise they wander wherever they know food may be. Thanks to their feather colors, they can camouflage among rocks, dead leaves, or forest when they need to hide. They prefer flight to fight, usually escaping the minute danger arises, but will fight without mercy if they feel trapped, unless they have been trained from a young age to trust humans. They typically sleep in ditches, caves, or thickly forested areas, but are meticulously clean and can be seen grooming themselves of dirt and leaves frequently, sometimes by licking and sometimes by splashing lightly in water. They also enjoy swimming and can dive to depths of nearly 50 feet.
Hunting
Feathered dragons are almost entirely carnivorous, born with a hunting and scavenging instinct. They eat mostly wild cattle or wild swine, but will eat carrion, deer, wolves, horses, badgers, lions, bears, large birds, and large fish. Humans are not on the menu, though they might kill a human if they feel trapped.. Adults have a comparatively low metabolism, and usually only need to feed once every two days or so; however, young dragons need to eat multiple times a day. They are opportunistic , and in times when food is scarce they will kill and cache creatures to eat for later even if they are not hungry at that precise moment. Dragon caches are buried very deep and they locate them by sense of smell. They remember where their caches are, but sometimes do not dig them up again if fresher food becomes available. Often, they may find another dragon's cache, and dig it up and eat it, though if the other dragon is in the vicinity a fight may ensue on that account. Baby dragons also live off of carrion caches left by adults - instinctively, no adult dragon will ever harm or kill a hatchling, so the little ones are completely safe in digging up the cache.
Thanks to their size and strength, draconis plumeis do not often rely on stalking, simply flying high above their intended prey and then swooping in for a quick bite on the neck. However, if hunting something they deem dangerous, they will lie low and approach on foot, or crawling on their belly. The lower jaw's gape is almost 160 degrees, like that of a Smilodon, though the tusks are on the lower jaw and comparatively shorter than a Smilodon's. Biting is their primary method of both hunting and of fighting, using their powerful jaws to crush bones and the two tusks as extra piercing weapons. Swats with the front claws or crushing strikes by the skull or the thick, powerful long tail are secondary methods of disabling prey or foes. Prey that can be swallowed in one bite usually is not "cooked", but large prey is always blasted with hot breath or actual flame to dry out the blood and meat before the dragon eats it and minimize mess.
Communication
Feathered dragons, while mostly non-sentient, are rather intelligent and have a very complex communication system involving sounds and body language. The mannerisms mirror those of felines, canines, and some birds, in areas. Feline mannerisms include purring when relaxed or in the presence of a liked companion, as well as a loud bass roar like a lion to stake out territory and ward off intruders, and the rubbing of the face and neck against objects to indicate pleasure and to mark scent. Doglike mannerisms involve a system of tail wags to indicate either excitement, stress, or pleasure, growling and a short snarling "bark" for anger, and whining or moaning to indicate various unhappy emotions. Birdlike mannerisms involve an intricate courtship (see Courtship and Mating) and other various displays of feathers to indicate various emotions or to warn off intruders.
Dragons have excellent problem-solving skills and a memory to rival a human with a high IQ. They never forget any dragon that they have mated with, nor do they forget the scents of their parents or siblings even if they have not seen them for decades, and will not fight with them. They also can learn to vocally mock low sounds, such as humans murmuring in the distance, thunder, or avalanches. They will develop unique ways of communicating with family members or, in the case of tamed ones, with their owners - each dragon, besides the communication methods listed above, has a unique bank of sounds all its own that identify it, based on where it has lived and what it has done.
Courtship and Mating
Female feathered dragons, sometimes called "jennies" like female mules, enter heat the first time about five or six months of age. After that they enter heat once a year, usually around late spring, lasting until either they find a mate or the start of autumn, whichever comes first. They search for a male dragon , or "drake", to mate with, fighting off any other jennies that cross their path during this time, sometimes to the death if the other jennie for some reason will not back down. At the same time, drakes that do not yet have a mate will start staking out territories and fight any other drake crossing their path during that time. During this time, dragons of either gender do not fight family members or those they consider friends/bonded, though they might be irritable and avoid them.
When a jennie and a drake cross paths, the intricate courtship begins. The drake will sniff to see if she is in heat. Once he has confirmed this, they will circle one another, and look around and sniff for any dangers nearby that would make mating in that area unsafe. They will part if any conditions at this stage are unsatisfactory. If he decides to proceed, the drake will display his mane, and spread his wings and tail fan, prancing for the jennie, who raises her crest and tail fan and wings but has no mane to spread out. She doesn't dance quite as much as he does, mostly watching as he dances in a rather silly-looking manner around her. After about five minutes, they will begin rubbing their faces and necks and bodies against each other, purring and wagging and displaying other signs of affection. This will go on for ten to twelve minutes, or longer, as the two dragons try to get to know one another better by their body chemistry and other scents. Then they will take turns fluffing out every feather on their body, standing on their hind limbs, and roaring at one another. This display of power is to see if they will trust one another, or if one partner will run away. If neither flee after three or four roars, they will mate. The drake will then stay with the jennie until she either lays eggs or it becomes apparent she is not gravid, at which time they will peacefully separate. If they cross paths again, they will affectionately greet one another. Frequently, the same pairs will skip the ritual dancing and mate again next season if they stay reasonably near each other and happen to find one another during the breeding time, though they are definitely not monogamous.
Reproduction and Young
Gestation for a jennie is about 140-160 days. Inside her womb, anywhere from 4 to 20 eggs form, as do the babies inside them; the shells are made up of two semi-transparent red layers, with a heat-producing chemical inbetween to aid incubation. The jennie's abdomen will visibly distend as the eggs develop; she and her mate will stay together the entire time she is gravid, hunting and resting together at first. However, towards the end of her "pregnancy", especially with larger clutches of eggs, she will become too heavy to comfortably fly or walk any long distance; her drake will do most of the hunting at this point, bringing her some of his kills to eat. They also will dig a nest in what they think is an inaccessible place to humans and most predators, unusually on a cliff or on a hillside. When the time comes, the female will line the pit with feathers torn from her own chest and lay the eggs in it. The eggs are almost perfectly spherical and average nearly 20 inches in diameter, though the shells are soft and rubbery and more pliable when first laid, and harden into a sort of 'glassy' texture afterwards. While the jennie lays her eggs, her mate guards her jealously, slaying any intruder on the spot. A jennie who has for some reason lost her drake is, during this time, very vulnerable, and unable to move off the nest to defend herself; her eggs may be stolen by predators, or she may be killed by dragonslayers or packs of Cave Lions. Once the last egg is laid, the parents add more feathers and leaves, then bury the nest and disguise the site with leaves, twigs, and debris so predators cannot find it. They leave the nest alone after that, so their presence will not alert predators to the fact a nest is present. However, they will guard the territory the nest is in from a distance, a fact that has caught many an unwary traveler off guard.
The baby dragons, called "hatchlings", are viable at time of being laid in the nest, and were they born live they could survive with a little help. However, they lie dormant in their eggs in the nest for about a fortnight, until they are strong enough to break the shells. By the time they hatch, they are so fully developed they can start running, climbing, and hunting almost immediately, and their instincts to do so make them fully self-sufficient. However, they often become prey to bears, larger eagles, and Cave Lions at this age, as they cannot fly. They always seek out adult dragons for protection; this fact has been exploited by humans who wish to train dragons, as a baby dragon will treat a human as its protector and family member. Any adult dragon that finds a hatchling or young dragon will instinctively take care of it, so even if a baby dragon does not find its biological family, it will still be protected by older dragons around it, until it reaches mating age. If they find their parents, their nose will tell them so, and they may stay with them far after they reach mating age. Their eyes and tongue match whatever adult coloration they will have, but their bodies are covered with a brown and tan streaked down feathers, regardless what coloration they will be as adults (except albinos, who have solid creamy yellow down feathers). Until the flight feathers come in, the wings are useless crooks on the back. The heads are proportionally large compared to the body and the tail and limbs much stubbier than adults. The tail is also rat-like, since there is no fan at the end. The ear flaps, also greyhound-like but proportionally very tiny, are quite visible since the crest feathers aren't grown in yet, either. The flight feathers grow in at about five weeks, and they can properly fly by about eight weeks of age, though they will not reach adult height until about five months and adult weight at about nine months.
Hatchlings have a high mortality rate due to predators, human hunters trying to ruin nests before the babies grow up, or by their own youthful ignorance causing them to try to fly without any flight feathers, attack something too big for them to attack, and other similarly stupid things. Usually only about a third of the babies in an egg clutch live to adulthood. To combat this trend of high mortality, hatchlings do have an instinctive desire to burrow and dig into things they can hide in, which they will mostly grow out of when they are older (in foul weather, adult dragons sometimes dig into caves), but which serves to protect them from predators, while they are still unable to fly. Small snakes, rats, large insects, lizards, fish/minnows, and ground-nesting birds are the primary foods of hatchlings, before they grow to a size to hunt larger prey like young swine, badgers, adult fish, larger birds, and larger reptiles.
Range
Draconis Plumeis are found mostly in the hills and forests surrounding the sparsely populated principality of Reidham, but can also be found in the contiguous lands of Runewick, Anglore, Boewden, Saogryn, and Clagghorne, though not in anything like as great a concentration as in Riedham. There have been sporadic reported sightings in countries lying farther to the north, as well, but practically none any farther to the south, as they prefer boreal, colder habitats to warmer climate and lower altitudes.
Interactions with Humans
Feathered dragons typically fear and avoid humans, learning at an early age what weapons can do. However, they will attack hunters if cornered and unable to take off. Any human attempting to destroy a dragon nest before the young have hatched is running the risk of being killed by the parents, as well, and if a human does not back down when a dragon breathes fire into the air or does other displays of warning, a dragon may lash out and kill the human instead of risking turning its back on the human to flee and exposing itself to attack.
Because of their nature to bond with those that take care of them, hand-reared feathered dragons can be used as beasts of burden, and even can be kept as pets. However, no adult dragon that has lived a wild life can be tamed, and it is dicing with danger to attempt to tame an adolescent dragon that has lived a wild life - it only succeeds about half the time. However, if an infant dragon's trust is earned, the human or humans that earned it will have it for life, thanks to their great memory. Young Dragons are very strong-willed, and while easily tamed and made affectionate at a young age, do not train to specific tasks easily, and rarely respond positively to any punishment or discipline. It takes a very patient and loving human using a reward system to train a dragon to do anything, but once a human has established they are the dragons' master, protector and friend, that dragon will be fiercely loyal and obedient to the, and as long as the human does not show fear or distrust of other humans, the dragon will be affectionate/friendly to other humans as well. Furthermore, if one owns a dragon, one will need to know where a dragon of the opposite sex lives nearby, so the dragon will have a mate in breeding time and not attempt to run off to find one. It is impossible to neuter a fully grown feathered dragon and difficult to drug a dragon of any age, though many will neuter very young dragons. A neutered dragon does not have the mating instinct and generally is better behaved.
In Riedham, feathered dragons that are not simply house pets are used primarily as transport for humans of high rank, and also to dig salt from the resident halite mine, and transport it - dragons love digging, and as the dragons cannot get sodium poisoning like humans, in general it is quite safe for them to do this. They are also used to pull giant harvesting devices over the fields in the lowlands that are too large for a horse team to efficiently harvest. In Runewick and Saogryn, dragons are used to power giant millstones and also large drills in the quarries. In general, draconis plumeis can be used to operate any kind of heavy manually-run machinery, and also can be used to pull large carts that would take multiple oxen or horses to pull. In order to be a beast of burden, the dragon's wings must be clipped to prevent it flying . Provided the clipping is properly done, it does not hurt the dragon; the feathers grow back extremely rapidly, and the dragon will soon fly again. Working dragons develop stronger limbs and are better walkers and runners than their wild counterparts. Dragons kept as pets usually do not have clipped wings and make excellent watchdogs, being fiercely loyal; however, they must be shown who is and is not an enemy or they might attack an innocent. Dragons raised from babyhood tend to be exceptionally affectionate towards their owners and humans in general, unless a definite threat is observed.