Basic Knowledge
The Hathian dragons are the last remaining native species of dragons to Tris’Hath. Histories state that the world once boasted fierce and powerful beasts capable of rivalling the hydras in their power, but hubris and greed led to their downfall. The Hathians, deemed to be a lesser species of dragon at the time, were unaffected by the plague that obliterated their larger kin.
Hathians are intelligent, well versed in survival skills, and only recently interested in the idea of bonding humanoids. Perhaps only the last 50 years or so have seen Hathian packs open up their arms to hopeful bonders. It is well know that Hathians bond amongst themselves, but the idea of extending that sacred connection to other species is a new development.
Communication
From birth, Hathian dragons have no verbal forms of communication, using only images and emotions to convey their needs to bonds and care-givers. As they grow older, their degree of intelligence rises to that of an average humanoid. They are able to speak telepathically to any receiving mind, and those that have been taught their native language should be fluent in it by their teenage years. By the time they reach old age, what few get there, they are considered ‘sages’ and looked to for wise advice.
Physicality
Hathians support a smooth, seemingly soft layer of interlocking scales across their bodies. These scales are so fine and designed to fit so perfectly together that they appear more like soft lizard hide. Yet to the touch, the scales are firm and unyielding. When a Hathian grows agitated or angry, the scales stiffen at their roots, causing them to stand on end and create a visible difference as the rounded edges rise a few centimeters straight up. At low levels of agitation, only the scales along the spinal column will lift. At higher levels, the entire body of the Hathian may “puff up” and create a rattling noise from the impact of the scales rubbing against each other. The only ones to remain completely still are the large shoulder plates that develop on adult Hathians. The shoulder plates seem to serve no purpose at first, but provide the Hathian with needed protection during flight due to the very sensitive nature of their shoulder structure. Beneath those plates is a knot of muscles essential to their rotating arm sockets. If that knot is damaged, the Hathian may be rendered lame or even crippled for the remainder of their lives.
Wingsails
A most curious feature of Hathian design is the structure of their wings. Though the material is very similar to the veined, soft membrane found on other dragon species throughout the Nexus, when relaxed, it will pucker in on itself to create a “popcorning” effect. This will in turn pull the sail in closer to the body, allowing the Hathian greater ease of movement on the ground.
Vision and Eye Colour
Hathians have monochromatic eyes with similarly coloured irises and corneas. It was once believed that they could only see in the same colour wave as their eye tone. This theory has been widely disproven and mocked as poor science.
Growth
Hathian growth goes through three definable stages: hatchling, fledgling, and adult. The hatchlings age from newly hatched to one and a half years of age. These are the undeveloped younglings that need constant care and attention to mature mentally and physically. (Feral dragons are often isolated in this stage and thus develop anti-social behaviors).
Fledglings age one and a half to three years. In this stage, they begin to develop their shoulder plates and learn how to fly. Like most adolescents, fledglings can be difficult and often aggravating to work with.
Adults age three years and beyond. At this age, their breath weapons, horns, and shoulder plates are fully developed, along with skills in flight and swimming. Now the Hathians are full grown and able to decide if they’d prefer to join a pack or live alone. Many will often leave their pack of origin to travel at this time.
Hathians are known to reach extremely venerable ages if they can survive the dangers of the world at large. Due to the threat of hydras, monsters, and rival pack conflicts, most Hathians do not reach old age. So far, the oldest known Hathian lived to well over three hundred before being killed by a rival.
Size
Hathians typically range between 8 – 16 feet in height at the shoulder. A full breakdown of Hathian height ranges can be found on the Universal Size Chart.
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Packs
A pack is a grouping of Hathians consisting of anywhere from six to twenty dragons at a time. This number can be greater or smaller, depending on the area in which the pack lives. Since the Hathian society is predominantly matriarchical, there must first be a silver or white female before any pack organization can occur. The lead female is termed the Higher, and her mate, the Greater. Together, they organize the rest of the pack dragons into their area of greatest skill.
The pack consists of five major power groups, starting with the Higher and the Greater. Below them are the Sentries. Whites and yellows usually take these positions. Their job is to guard the pack from outsiders and warn the Higher of anything unusual. Also, yellows are often used to gather information about future pack movements and distant lands. After the Sentries are the Warriors. Reds make up the bulk of this class and are the first to be called if battle arises. When a pack movement takes place, the Warriors join the Sentries on the outer rims of the pack, watching for possible enemies or danger.
Under Warriors are the Spies. Blues take this position. Their job is to find the hidden hideouts enemies or prey might be using. Also, while the pack remains above ground, blues take up guard below ground in the watery depths (f there are any). Their ability to hold their breath for hours at a time makes them perfect for this job. Finally, the Hunters create the largest number in the pack. Greens fill this position. When a green takes leave for clutching, a red or blue female will step in as a temporary hunter. They gather whatever food is needed in the pack. Greens have one of the most important jobs since they are the providers and producers of the pack. Among the different groups, Sentry, Warrior, Spy and Hunter, each dragon has a place. The Commander, leader of that particular group, organizes jobs and who is placed in what position. From there, the Hathians in that group are ranked by skill.
If a dragon betrays the pack, they are immediately expelled and left to fend for themselves. If they attempt to make up for their wrong, the Higher decides if they stay or not. If they do manage to convince the Higher to let them stay, they return to their original group yet are ranked as a Lesser, the lowest possible ranking.
Singles
Singles are the most commonly bonded Hathians. These dragons choose not to be part of a pack, whether they’re born into one or not. They will normally seek out a mate early in adulthood to increase their chances of surviving the elements. Those who bond and become singles may take longer to pick a mate, or may even decide not to choose one at all. Single bonded Hathians who move off-world have been known to drop the tradition of choosing one mate for life. Like many of the other Nexus dragons, they will choose a mate for a flight and clutching, then find a completely different mate for the next flight.
There are two types of Singles on Tris’Hath. The first grouping consists of those that were raised by other Hathians then left to fend for themselves. These are officially termed the Singles. The second grouping consists of those who were abandoned. These Hathians are termed ‘Ferals’ for their vicious, sub-sentient behaviors.
While normal Singles live rather peaceful lives, the Ferals seem to literally regress in intelligence. Their existence centers around survival alone. These dragons live because they know only how to hunt, eat, and procreate. The definition between food and creatures not to be eaten (ie. sentient races) is non-existent to them. Laws, borders, and ownership are all irrelevant. In some cases, these Hathians go so far as to regress to their ancestral instincts of stealing and hoarding gold. They dwell in whatever den or lair they can find. Whatever treasure they hoard is brought back to this lair and used as both a nest and a way to impress potential mates. When eggs are laid by a Feral female, they often used this mountain of treasure as their laying grounds, waiting only so long as it takes the eggs to harden. When the baby Ferals are ready to hatch, the parents take their horde and move on to a new cave. Whatever hatchlings survive is of no matter to them.
Colours, Horns and Rarity
Below are charts regarding the three defining characteristics of a Hathian. Until recently, horn and shoulder plate colours came only in gold. What was thought to be a one time experiment with the Rave Clutch turned out to be a genetically transferrable trait. Thus, new specials and silver horns are being born on the Warren sands. An estimation of the extent of this new gene has been taken, and the results are included in the rarity and horn colour charts.
This chart shows the normal colours one can expect to find hatching on Hathian sands. The potency of the breath weapons is not dependant on the Hathian’s status or power, but more on personal growth. It is treated as a muscle and can be worked in the same way. The more a Hathian uses their breath weapons, the stronger they get. If they cease using them, the power will drop to a mere trickle of what can be achieved by the weakest hatchlings. The colours are listed in order of most common to rarest.