Dragons are enormous flying lizards of legend. Extinct in the realm of the Elderlings, they return to existence with the help of the Khuprus family. They exist in four states: egg, serpent, cocoon, and dragon. They have numerous abilities including magic, telepathy, acid breath and more. A healthy dragon maintains the memories of its ancestors.
In the past, dragons are hatched from eggs on the Island of the Others into aquatic serpents which freely roam the oceans until they reach the size and age to make the journey up the Rain Wild River to form a cocoon at Frengong. There, they would be tended by Elderlings before hatching in the height of summer to feast and grow to maturity. A healthy dragon would hatch fully capable of flight and hunting. Dragons are also capable of intentionally turning humans into Elderlings, shaping them into their own image.
After the volcanic cataclysm killed off nearly every dragon and Elderling, the few cocoons held in safety by the Elderlings at Trehaug were buried. Uncovered by the Rain Wild Traders, the cocoons were regarded magical logs dubbed wizardwood and were cut to produce magical artifacts and liveships capable of traversing the acidic Rain Wild River. Eventually the largest cocoon mentally reached out to Reyn Khuprus and Malta Vestrit and convinced them to expose her to sunlight, allowing the hatching of Tintaglia. The true nature of the logs was therefore revealed, and laws were enacted to protect the dragons and their young.
Tintaglia initially refused communication with humans, only agreeing to defend them against invasion by Chalced if they, in turn, helped her lead serpents up the Rain Wild River for the first cocooning in centuries. Out of a little more than one hundred cocoons, thirty-two dragons survived to hatch. However, over the next few years many more died, leaving only fifteen viable dragons. The malnourished and slightly deformed dragons were led by the Dragon Keepers and the liveship Tarman up the Rain Wild River to Kelsingra.
List of Known Dragons[]
- Arbuc
- Baliper
- Dortean
- Draquius, whose cocoon was used to create the liveship Ringsgold
- Fente
- Heeby
- Gresok
- Icefyre
- Kalo
- Mercor
- Ranculos
- Relpda
- Sestican
- Sintara
- Skrim
- Spit
- Tereea, whose cocoon was one of the first to be opened by the Rain World Traders, and perhaps formed the liveship Tarman
- Tinder
- Tintaglia
- Veras
- Karrigvestrit, formerly the liveship Paragon
- Unnamed green female, also formerly the liveship Paragon
- Unnamed silver female, formerly the liveship Vivacia
- Unnamed male with stripes and spots of orange, pink and red on a black hide, formerly the liveship Kendry