Drakes

Drakes are the largest and most physically powerful of any race on Tellus (not including the Sporemind), easily overpowering even the giants. Their skill with magic is impressive, as well, although still far weaker than that of the fay. To the untrained eye, they are indistinguishable from wyrms. From their nose to the tip of their tail, a fully grown drake can be as long as thirty five feet. The majority of this length is made up by their long tails and necks, each of which is covered in shining scales of variable color (typically brown, green or red). Their legs protrude from their sides, one set at the hips and the other at the shoulders. Large talons reside on the end of these legs. These talons are much more dexterous than those of harpies, allowing drakes to manipulate items as if they had hands. Their heads are shaped like those of horses with short horns emerging from the back. Three rows of spines, each the size of a man’s hand, run down their bodies from the backs of their heads to the tips of their tails. Wings similar to those of a bat extend from its sides, each one as long as the drake’s body when fully extended. Despite these similarities, drakes are not considered a variety of dragon by any reputable taxonomists. Their intelligence alone is enough to warrant separate classification. While dragons are widely considered to be clever beasts, they are just that; beasts. They cannot think on the same level as sapient beings, and at most are capable of advanced hunting strategies. Drakes, on the other hand, are on average as intelligent, if not more so, than godborn races. Drakes are nomads, flying over Tellus and never settling in one place for more than a few years. They are a peaceful race, and haven’t been involved in a single war throughout recorded history. This is largely due to the fact that no nation has yet been foolish enough to challenge them. They do, however, frequently fight with wyrms for territory, as they share preferences in habitat and food (excluding the wyrms’ fondness for the flesh of sapient races). Like dragons, drakes appear to be biologically immortal, as none have been observed to die of old age. This is compensated for in an extremely low birthrate. An average drake will only lay a clutch of eggs (which typically contains three to five eggs) once every millennium. Because of this, hatchlings are treated with the utmost care, not leaving their flock’s sight until they reach physical maturity at the age of about two centuries. This allows them to perfect their use of fire breath. Drakes lack any form of government, instead organizing themselves into flocks of about a dozen individuals. These flocks have no leaders or ranks, and make decisions democratically. Their written language is formed by scratching marks into stone, and their alphabet consists of sixty four characters. It serves as the basis for the dwarven and gnomish languages, as the ancient dwarves learned to write from drakien flocks passing through the mountains of the Northern Continent.