Dragons featured in this document:
The Dragon long ago ruled the Earth, in fact that is where the word "Earth" came from, that was what man originally called the dragons. When man was just developing into a species and they used mainly grunts and hand gestures to communicate, the dragons would shake the ground or stir up huge windstorms, they would scream "Eart, Eart!!" and run into their caves. The dragons, thinking man had actually named the place they ran to, began using the word "Earth" as any land, because it was easier to say.
For a while men and dragons lived in peace, with the dragons ruling the men fairly and competently, and everyone was happy. Then a dark scorceror cast a spell on men that allowed them to hate. This idea boiled around in mens brains for thousands of years until one day a small band of men invaded a dragon's lair and were able to kill 3 Soldiers before the others were alerted and were able to capture the rebels. The Emporer decided to make an example of these foolish men and they were marked with three large gashes across their chests. They were then sent to a distant land to show all there the price of attacking their superiors.
The fact that they had been able to kill 3 of the beasts again set others to thinking. If they could get more men, and planned their attack better, they could kill many and take a step toward freedom from what they thought was a very cruel and evil tyrany. After many hundreds of years of fighting, man prevailed. They had lost millions of their population, but they thought that, in time, that would heal and they would be a great race. The scribes rewrote the history books to cover up the "awful past" that had been the great rule of the dragons. Centuries later, almost every memory of the dragons had disappeared. They were now only another fictitious monster that someone had dreamed up, with castles and constellations bearing the name that been intended to inspire greatness and friendship, but the historians incorrectly assumed that it had been meant to inspire fear and power in the "dark age" of men.
They were for a few years a little bit happier, but soon most of the villages became disgruntled and so started the "many years of greatness" that the kings and lords had envisioned with the overthrow of draconic rule.
Dragons have largely disappeared now, but many species still exist in small numbers, and keep hidden so as not to arouse suspicion. The only Dragon known to science lives on the island of Kimodo, and is regarded as a very unique creature, which indeed it is, but much less so than its predecessors and kin.
The Kimodo Dragon can not fly or breathe fire, and it was part of the lowest class in the world of the Dragon. They were kept busy by the Emporers, cleaning out the defecations of the sloppy kings. They also were responsible for most of the construction and upkeep of the great underground fortresses and cities of most of the dragons. They had huge populations, and all were forced into slave labor soon after birth. They are the last species to even be close to thriving.
The kings and lords of the Dragons were most often Emporer Dragons who masterminded the wars against men and kept their kingdoms healthy. They had incredible intelligences, by today's standards they would be topping an IQ of 200, and they used this intelligence to keep the dragon population alive. There were only 3-4 of these super dragons, and they all shared and protected the single female Emporer. They lived several hundred years and when one died the body vaporized, and the female at that moment would give birth. They grew to monstrous proportions, most over 200 ft. and only a handful were under that.
It is said that only 2 pure-bred Emporers are left, one of each sex. there are many mixed dragons that posess at least a hint of Emporer in them. They roam the skies now, far above our vision. They feed in remote places on wild game, deep within rainforests and in the ocean, for they posess swimming ability and can hold their breath for hours. It is only a matter of time before they die out completely, and with them will be the dragons final hope of ever reigning on high again.
The main bulk of the dragon population was composed largely of Kimodos and Soldier Dragons, which made the massive assaults on the constant nuisance of retaliating men. They lived in the huge underground complexes that could house over 700 of these beasts. They were not overly huge like the Emporers, usually only 20-25 feet tall, but with wingspans between 35 and 40 ft.
When called to battle they were said to make a bright day like midnight, their bodies covering the sky. They could fly over 4 hours at speeds of 160 mph and often they had to make these awesome marathons to battle, because their were only about 8 of these groups, and the men had settled over most of the continents. They had mainly evolved from the early Raptors, and they fought with even more ferocity and precision. There are stories of a group of 3 rogue Soldiers attacking and killing one Emporer, which was directly related to the downfall of all dragons, because it allowed man to invade that Emporer's domain, which is now most of southern Asia.
There is a species of dragon that had little or no ties with any Emporers or kingdoms. They roamed around mainly alone, but there were many. These were the Drakes, one variation of fire, and one of water. These dragons still exist in rather large numbers, maybe 400 are still around, wandering the Earth for no apparent reason.
They are very content with themselves, and no 2 are alike. The water drake appears as a solid mass of water, and are virtually invisible when in their natural element. They can range from 2 to 20 feet tall, with or without wings. The fire drake usually has a dark fur, unlike any other dragon, and usually only grown to 5 ft. All have thin, non-functional wings, that stretch out to twice their height. some do not have fur and are covered in a tough sandpaper-like skin, usually green or red, which has limited color-changing abilities, and they use this to remain undetected by men.
One species that is beleived to have completely disappeared is the Chine Dragon which obviously lived in Eastern Asia. They were one of the few species that were actually praised by men, and their spirit is still worshipped in China, at festivals and public events. They were very friendly and totally playful. They danced and did acrobatics, but never spoke or stood still, so their images and figures are drawn out and their faces smiling but still in all re-creations made in China. They also appear to have had few connections with the common dragon population, and are said to have average to below average intelligences, being great, though rather large, pets for people in the orient.
The Sun Dragon was highly regarded by both men and dragons. It was believed to be immortal and it carried a crystal in its wings. It was about 35 ft. long and was thin and maneuverable. It was considered a great honor just to see it running through the woods in which it lived. These woods were revered as holy ground and only groups led by esteemed spiritual monarchs were allowed passage through. It's were luminescent and thought to be able to kill with a glance.
It was surrounded in mystery and few people have any clue about its existence. No one knows any more where the Sacred Forest is, and liars have always come to Dragon Mages, claiming to have seen the beast in a trek through such and such a forest, but could not describe a single detail of what they alledgedly saw. With the downfall of dragons and the belief in men of them, the dragon has probably gone into hiding, or has simply disapeared, because no one is sure about any powers or abilities of the mysterious dragon. Many modern artists have tried to portray what this dragon might have looked like, but all have admitted to failing to capture the glory of this great dragons ora. Who knows if this beast will ever be resurrected from wherever it may be.
The only species of dragon that was suited for far northern or far southern conflicts was the Ice Dragon which was about the size of a Soldier, but it had no fire-breathing or flying ability, because its wings were filled with holes. They did though have huge powerful legs that could hurl the 2000 lb. monster at speeds up to 85 mph, and it had specially adapted eyes that could see very clearly through blinding blizzards and under water.
It also had exceptional swimming ability, and one of its tactics was to come up from beneath the ice and crush whatever was on top, which was often part of a marching army. They would also sometimes use their razor-sharp beak and talons to cut off large sections of ice that armies were marching on and push it off to see, where it would eventually melt and kill all aboard. Needless to say, this was a great tactic and kept most Arctic and Antarctic armies at bay.
The Ice Dragon now is also believed to be thriving, with little or no oposition near the poles. They stay secluded for the sake of keeping dragons a secret to man. If dragons have a chance to make a comeback, it is through these dragons, but since they cannot go to warm places to fight, it is still a small chance.
Only one species of dragon was considered to have true magical powers, and lucky for men, it was never interested in fighting. This was the Celestial Dragon, which could teleport, disappear, change shape, and create anything from thin air. Often they would walk among men, disguised as one, just for the fun of it. They would give away money they had created to anyone that was in need, and then disappear into the crowd. In their natural state they were multi-colored, with long golden horns and sparkling deep blue eyes.
Some people even then didn't believe the existed, and no one now has ever tried to find one. The dragons revere the Celestial Dragon as a god and it humbly accepts the role, but has never done anything about it. They were really just happy-go-lucky creatures, because they never had needed to use caution, they had simply to disappear. They do what they want, go anywhere they want, even to other planets, but their favorite place is here, because they have yet to find a better place to play. Only they can identify each other from something else, and they have incredibly grand-scale games of their version of "hide-and-go-seek".