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--- dragon [2025/12/03 17:22] – bearglyph
+++ dragon [2025/12/05 16:35] (current) – bearglyph
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 ====Biology====
-Dragons are [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eusociality|eusocial]] vertebrates which have six limbs. Two forelimbs which terminate in hands, two rearlimbs which terminate in feet, and two wings. Dragons have no known maximum lifespan, they simply get larger with age.
+Dragons are [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eusociality|eusocial]] vertebrates which have six limbs. Two forelimbs which terminate in hands, two rear limbs which terminate in feet, and two wings. Dragons have no known maximum lifespan, they simply get larger with age.
 Dragons have no maximum size, but their growth rate does slow down at around 250 years. The growth rate slows down again at around 5000 years, but it does not reach zero. The oldest dragons, those that exceed 20,000 years, are more than twice the size of those that are 5000 years old. The oldest dragons in history tend to be around 50,000 years old, and may be as much as 50% larger than dragons of 20,000 years. Dragons do not experience senescence, and typically only die if killed in battle, or otherwise when they no longer want to live.
-Dragons have a complicated system of reproduction which enables a dragon to sexually reproduce with [[sape|sapes]] in order to produce a caste of largely subservient hybrids in a [[draconic race|variety of biological castes]], determined by the rough percentage of draconic ancestry inherited by each. The existence of these castes and the nature by which they are born is why dragons are classified as eusocial.
+Dragons have a complicated system of reproduction which enables a dragon to sexually reproduce with [[sape|sapes]] in order to produce a caste of largely subservient hybrids in a [[draconic race|variety of biological castes]], determined by the rough percentage of draconic ancestry inherited by each. The existence of these castes and the nature by which they are born is why dragons are classified as eusocial. In addition, dragons can freely change their biological sex at will, so they can either father or mother offspring depending on specific need, as well as partner with whichever individual they please. Some dragons prefer to present as masculine or feminine, but all dragons inherently have the ability to switch at will.
 In addition to the same complement of vital organs as a sape, including the [[olum]] which contains the dragon's [[potentia]], dragons have an additional organ in their throat called a [[lairn]], which is the organ allowing a dragon to utilize their breath ability. The exact structure and function of the lairn may differ drastically depending on the tribe the dragon belongs to.
 Dragons are extraordinarily physically durable, and in addition to this can survive wounds which would easily be fatal to any other creature (including the removal of the heart or destruction of the head). For this reason, when a dragon is felled in battle, the killer (usually another dragon) will methodically dismember the dragon and scatter and hide their bones to keep them from coming back. If the bones are reassembled within a century of the dragon being killed, it may come back to life (although the process may take decades, and the reforming dragon is largely defenseless during this time).
+A dragon's teeth and bones are harder than any metal and are nearly impossible to destroy for the first several centuries after a dragon is killed. It is only after the dragon's life force entirely dissipates that its bones can be damaged.
 =====Lifecycle=====
 A dragon's lifecycle is long and complex.
+Mentally and emotionally, dragons mature at a similar rate to sapes, with dragons having reached adult levels of critical thinking, emotional maturity, and reasoning by age 25. Physically, however, dragons take far longer than any other being to fully develop.
 A dragon's basic education is generally completed by age 40, at which point most dragons are 10 feet long (not counting the tail) and weigh around 600 kg. They are typically raised by a [[draconic race#demiwyrm|demiwyrm]] or [[draconic race#alwyvern|alwyvern]] of the village overseen by their biological parent.
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 As a dragon's territory expands to cover multiple villages, their focus will shift from open conflict to diplomacy, to ensure their territory has a stable future. This is necessary for the dragon to ensure they have enough food to continue growing stronger. A dragon's future strength over their entire life is strongly determined by how much they can eat in their first 5,000 years. A territory of five to ten villages is typically enough to fully meet the needs of a growing dragon, but some dragons are more ambitious and attempt to manage a larger territory than they strictly need. This is a riskier strategy, but the strongest dragons are those for whom the risk paid off.
-As a dragon nears 5,000, it becomes increasingly likely that the dragon will seek out multiple breeding partners at once (most often unrelated demiwyrms, speakers, draigfolk, and sapes) in order to have as many offspring as possible, and to improve genetic diversity within their territory. Earlier in life, dragons attach sentimental and romantic significance to each breeding partner, but as dragons inevitably outlive their partners, they gradually find each new partner to be a less and less significant part of their life.
+As a dragon nears 5,000, it becomes increasingly likely that the dragon will seek out multiple breeding partners at once (most often unrelated demiwyrms, speakers, draigfolk, and sapes) in order to have as many offspring as possible, and to improve genetic diversity within their territory. Earlier in life, dragons attach sentimental and romantic significance to each breeding partner, but as dragons inevitably outlive their partners, they gradually find each new partner to be a less and less significant part of their life. 5,000 is considered the threshold of adulthood among dragons. At this point in a dragon's life, they expand their territory less aggressively and their focus shifts to maintaining the kingdom they have built.
+Dragons who reach the age of 20,000 are considered to be elder dragons, and at this point in their lives, they will stop reproducing with sapes or other draconic folk if they have not ceased already, and most will either spend the remainder of their lives alone or otherwise seek a romantic relationship with a dragon or fae. It is from these relationships between dragons, typically late in both dragons' lives, that new dragons are born. Younger dragons will not typically have offspring, because of their own long lifespans, and because when the dragon is of age they will often try to compete with their parents for renown and territory.
+As dragons approach their 50,000th year, they gradually defend their territory with less and less vigor, as less and less changes from year to year. The faces of the villages they govern blur together, and they cease to recognize any individuals. Their memories become a larger and larger portion of their reality until they only have their memories. They prefer to spend their time recounting their younger days to any who will listen, but as the vast majority of a dragon's close associates are much shorter-lived, the dragon will feel increasingly alone regardless of how many people the dragon is surrounded by. It is not senescence that ends a dragon's life, but apathy. Younger and more vigorous dragons will come along again and again to challenge the dragon's reign, and eventually one will succeed.
+In rare cases, specifically cases where a dragon intentionally erases or archives their memories on a regular basis to avoid the days blurring together, dragons can potentially live for far longer. The oldest dragon on record (apart from the mind dragons who are as old as the planet), [[Kehmevendial]], was over 250,000 years old.
+====Resurrection====
+Dragons are unique among living beings for their ability to self-resurrect so long as at least 85% of their bones are gathered into one place and then loosely assembled. In nearly all cases of resurrection, it is done within a century of the dragon's death, and when possible, done within the dragon's former lair, where the dragon's lair angel may guide the resurrection process.
+If a dragon does not wish to resurrect, then it won't. Its soul will gradually return to the soil and the leylines. But dragons who were killed through betrayal or trickery are less likely to accept their deaths, and their resurrection becomes far more likely, especially if that dragon has loyal followers surviving.
 ====Reincarnation====