Dragons
From The Inheritance Encyclopedia
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| About the Race | |
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| Name: | Dragons |
| Loyalty: | Dragons or Riders |
| Foundations: | One of the first Creatures to inhabit Alagaesia |
Dragons are the strongest and most feared creatures in Alagaesia. They are extremely proud and dignified. Their powers are vast, and their magic unexplored, but deep. They are everlasting, extremely intelligent, ferocious, able to breathe fire and grow to immense size while gaining even more strength and ability.
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[edit] Overview
From what is currently known, Dragons evolved in the land of Alagaësia from a common ancestor they share with the Fanghur, the dragonettes that Eragon and Saphira encountered in the Beor Mountains (from christopher's interview from alagaesia.net). According to the Dwarves, they were created first, however it is uncertain which came first, the dragon or the dwarf.
The Dragons were extremely proud, and full of glory. They were vicious and untamed creatures, with wild personalities, and bad tempers. However, they were intelligent beyond any human, and even the Elves have learned to respect their wisdom. Even now after undergoing training and learning to understand nature through the glimpses into the consciousness of many living things, tamed Dragons of the Dragon Riders cannot stop themselves from ravaging prey and consuming meat.
Dragons hatch from eggs, which are the exact color that the Dragon will be once it emerges. Baby Dragons can live in their eggs for hundreds of years before choosing the right person to hatch for, gathering wisdom and evaluating potential riders in the meantime. Dragons never stop growing, although they tend to grow more rapidly when they are young and can live forever, so the older the Dragon, the stronger and bigger it will be. For example, some of the ancient Dragons that the Forsworn killed could be mistaken for large hills. However, when a Dragon's Rider dies, the dragon usually dies, and vise versa. A Dragon can also live forever through the Eldunari , or the Dragon's Heart of hearts.
Dragons learn how to breathe fire when they are about five to six months old. Again, the older the Dragon, the longer it can breath fire. Some of them can keep at it for hours. It is at about the same time that Dragons are ready to mate.
When it comes to physical strength and structure, Dragons are the strongest, and most feared creatures in Alagaesia. They have egos as big as their size, and constantly like to prove themselves and show off their abilities, or beautiful scales, which are extremely strong and offer great protection. Accordingly, they like to growl with admiration when someone makes them a compliment. However, this does not tamper with their nobility, nor with their acumen.
Dragons are highly potent magical creatures, and their magic affects everything around them. This is most experienced by the Riders, for they are in closest contact with Dragons throughout their lives; thus Riders gain more power, longer lives, and improved abilities.
[edit] Dragon Birth
Dragon Eggs: Like many creatures, Dragons start off in eggs. The eggs come in many different colours including blue, green, gold, brown, black, white, and red. The veins on an egg are made of the same material of the main part. They are so hard, they can only be broken by magic. Dragons may take years to choose their rider, and they won't hatch until they do.
At Birth: Prior to birth, the egg will make strange sounds. Eventually, the veins will crack and open to reveal a baby dragon.At first touch, the chosen Rider will receive a mark on his hand called the gedwey igneisia. The dragon will be very hungry and plead for meat. It has an enormous appetite, and in a matter of days it will be able to hunt. The mental contact that a dragon shares with his/her rider will begin to form around about 5 days later.
Maturity: Dragons will begin to grow from seemingly small winged reptiles to enormous beasts in one or two months. With them, their appetites will grow. At around 5 or 6 months, they will be able to breathe fire and lay eggs.That is when they reach maturity, although they will keep growing throughout their life. And then the cycle would repeat.
[edit] Wild Dragons
Wild Dragons, Dragons not bonded to Riders, are fierce creatures that answer to no one but their kin. They will attack on sight if anybody even dares approach their mating grounds (thus far not proved in the books). Many wild Dragons were killed by Elves during the great war, and the rest are believed to have been finished off by the Forsworn. Female Dragons living among the wild were so vicious that it was considered an honor for a Rider’s Dragon to mate with one, as was the case with Saphira’s father.
[edit] Du Fyrn Skulblaka (The Dragon War)
When a young Elf killed a Dragon, regarding the creature as a simple beast, a war raged on between the two most powerful races in Alagaesia. The Dragons gathered together, tracked down, and killed the young Elf, which greatly enraged his kin. However, the Dragon attacks did not stop there. The proud creatures were set on proving to the Elves that they were more intelligent than their long-eared enemies took them for. Thus the bloody 5-year war began.
When the Elves realized their mistake and recognized the wisdom of the ferocious beings, they tried to end the war, but they were unable to communicate with the Dragons. The Elves could see that both races were extremely powerful, and that further war would wreak havoc on both species, possibly even leading to the destruction of both races. Finding that there was no way to communicate with the Dragons, the Elves started attacking Dragon hatchlings and using guerilla tactics to destroy many Dragons in their sleep. Meanwhile, the Dragons gathered in battalions and flew on Elven cities, breathing fire and burning the cities and their inhabitants to the ground.
It was at that point, that a young Elf by the name of Eragon the First, came across a Dragon egg. He kept the egg, in hope that he could raise the Dragon, and use it as a means of communicating to the Dragons that the war had to stop. Eragon raised his Dragon in secret and named him Bid’Daum. When the Dragon was old enough, he and Eragon rode together in attempts to convince the Dragons to make peace with the Elves. Finally, treaties were made, and the great and bloody war came to an abrupt end.
[edit] Known Dragons
For a list of known Dragons, please see this category
[edit] The Riders
To ensure peace between the races, and prevent further brutalities, the Elves and Dragons established the Dragon Riders. It took Elves’ spellcasters several years to come up with the spell needed to bind the Dragon hatchling to its Rider, and thus create a life-long bond between the two, which was aimed to benefit both, enhancing the Elf, and giving the Dragon its speech. With the power provided by the Dragons’ magic, and with the Elves’ spell, the two races linked each other together, in order to create the Riders.
At first, the Dragon Riders were used merely as means of communication between the races, however as their strength and potency grew, they became leaders of Alagaesia, and ensured peace among other races as well. When Humans came to the lands, problems ensued between men and races such as the Elves. Humans’ greed led men to attempt to seize more lands, and acquire more power, through forcible means, and warfare. In order to prevent further brutalities, the Elves later included men as a part of the ancient spell - which accounts for the fact that Human Riders are not as strong as Elf Riders, since they were simply an addition to the already established bond- and thus the Human Riders began.
[edit] Dragon Eggs
Dragon eggs are extremely rare and fascinating. They are oval shaped, and hollow on the inside, in order to give the Dragon enough space to move. They are about a foot long, entirely smooth, and beautifully round. Furthermore, the eggs are extremely sturdy. Not even diamonds can scratch their surfaces, and hitting them with a hammer, or trying to destroy them by any other non-magical mean is unsuccessful. The eggs are always of the same color as the Dragon residing in them. The veins in the eggs are made of the same substance that the egg is, with only the shade of color being different, making the veins visible.
[edit] Quotes
"Dragons have no beginning, unless it lies with the creation of Alagaesia itself. And if they have an end, it will be when this world perishes, for they suffer as the land does. They, the dwarves, and a few others are the true inhabitants of this land. They lived here before all others, strong and proud in their elemental glory. Their world was unchanging until the first elves sailed over the sea on their silver ships."
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