Excerpt from: Dragons of the Earth, a Meta-analysis
by Scholar Ular Khitai
A wildland fire sweeps across the Northern Border of Anutuya, razing nearly 70,000 acres of the Border Woods, eating into the Anutuyan grasslands. From the ashes of disaster, a clutch of black-scaled dragons rise, wings outstretched, from the dark ashes of the forest floor, taking to the smoke endarkened sky.
The soot-black scales, much like the lambent glow of their amber eyes, are identifiable characteristics of the Furyborn, a class of dragon commonly associated with such incendiary wildfires that devour combustible vegetation and turn the forest into a smouldering landscape. Forest dwellers are urged not to approach if on the rare occasion a Furyborn is sighted, as they are highly reactive, unpredictable, and viciously territorial. This has been the first sighting of a Furyborn in nearly a decade.
In some cultures, this may be considered an omen, for the rage of fire knows no mercy. In Anutuya, people plate offerings at altars in temples, dip low onto their knees and bow their heads deeply, for this is a sign from the heavens that hope for new life is abound. Despite its destructive nature, some natural ecosystems, like the Border Woods, and many plant species depend on wildfire for growth and reproduction, and in just a matter of months, will regrow, restoring the lush green of our forests and grasslands.
Similarly, across a wide expanse of regions, multiple sightings have confirmed the link between natural disaster and dragons. In example, the devastation of destructive harbour waves across coastal regions have reported associations with a species of dragon named the Tidebringer, the only aquatic dragons documented to date, and, as such, the least observed. Tidebringers, known for their characteristic ocean-blue scales and coral facial markings, have not been sighted in over seventy decades, yet, every once in awhile, we are reminded of their presence.
Reports across time seem to have generated mixed opinions on the nature of their temperament. Some shipwreck survivors have mentioned losing consciousness in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight, and yet, in lucid moments, have felt the current stirring beneath them, something cold and large-bodied guiding them across the surface of the water, and after regaining consciousness, seem to have somehow made it onto shore. In support, witnesses of alleged instances of rescue have confirmed a distinct absence of boats or other aquatic animals in sight. Meanwhile, reports from other survivors in other instances claim that the reason behind shipwreck lies with the malevolence of the Tidebringer.
Severe storms, such as hurricanes and tornadoes, have been tethered to the most common class of dragon named the Windsinger, known for their hauntingly melodic vocals, which have been reportedly mistaken for the characteristic howl of the wind. Due to their affinity for sensing slight disturbances in air currents, certain tribes dwelling in the mountainous Baizhan Range are known to use Windsingers as sentinels to warn them of incoming attacks from miles away, as the coal miner uses canaries to discern noxious air in the mines.
As a result of their abundance, Windsingers are the most studied species of dragon thus far, with most literature covering their behaviour. Standing at nine feet and with a wingspan of nearly double their height, Windsingers are known to be the smallest among their species, built for speed and agility, but their colouring varies from region to region, suggesting variant genera. With wind storms come grey-scaled Windsingers, while severe tropical storms and whirlwinds are coloured in by dragons with richer and deeper tones of blue.
Despite differing cultural opinions, scholars across most nations seem to agree on one facet of the Windsinger's behaviour. Migrating and existing in significant clusters, also known as flocks—one of the only dragon species observed that do not live in solitude—Windsingers have been observed globally to be largely communal, and have been often seen engaging with humans out of curiosity.
In his seminal work, Scholar Nerbolat observed two Windsingers, one stacked atop the other with the bottom Windsinger's wings spread open as they rode the oncoming air currents, often rotating roles, in a direct imitation of wind-walking, a practice that nomadic cultures in the mountainous regions of Anutuya have perpetuated to ease descent. Nerbolat further reports that Windsingers may not only understand group dynamics, but the concept of play—in the anthropomorphic sense—seems to be a significant part of their livelihood.
Other species of dragons include the Vulcan, forged in the heart of a volcano, often sighted after an eruption, but rarely after as they tend to be reclusive and almost never leave their birthplace. Their scales are obsidian black with molten red markings, the scales on their throats often glowing and flaring when angered, and it is said that their eyes are pure, molten gold.
Earthbreakers are another species associated with severe earthquakes, and typically live in underground caverns. Identified by their dirt-coloured scales and easily distinguished by an extended horn on the tip of their snouts, protruding like the tip of a drill, the functionality of which has been suggested for burrowing. They break through the layers of the earth and erupt from fissures in the ground, thousands at a time. They emerge typically in tandem with Vulcans and Snowpiercers—a species of snow-white dragons emergent from a devastation of avalanches in mountainous regions—due to the proximity and intrinsic connectedness between their respective natural disasters. Records suggest that Earthbreakers of the South Makaran region are sizeably the biggest of their class.
To the West, in the distant dunes of Nazarin, Sandwraith dragons dwell in the vast desert, the only dragons associated with a type of dry storm that are not classified as Windsingers. In fact, despite their known connections to sandstorms, they are hardly related to the class of Windsinger, and are largely non-vocal. They are expert hunters, who primarily burrow under the sand to ambush their prey. While they don't breathe fire like the Vulcan and Furyborn, they swallow and spit flaming sand. Little is known about the Sandwraiths to date, but extant literature draws parallels with distant cousins, Snowwraiths, a class of dragon linked with snow storms, who, much like the Sandwraiths, have little in common with Windsingers despite their rumoured origins.
Despite the multitude of observations and scholarly writings, one question is still yet to be answered.
For millennia, the origin of the dragon has been a topic of fatal controversy between nations. To the North, Vyaran scientists claim that the birth of a dragon triggers these cataclysmic events with the intent to devastate and ravage the earth with detrimental effect to the human population. Reversing the order of cause and effect, Anutuyan scholars counter with a much more compassionate claim that the birth of a dragon, like many ecosystems of this earth, depend on these natural disasters, and, in fact, signify a healthy ecosystem in place.
Granted, the scarcity of converging evidence and a lack of literature proving either theory leave both beliefs in limbo. As mere observers of the phenomenon, we have thus far drawn the undeniable connection between dragons and natural disasters of the cataclysmic scale, and in doing so, have only ever scratched the surface.
This begs the question:
Which came first—the dragon or the disaster?
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AUTHOR'S NOTE.
Starting with a scholarly article is so fun. I don't know if fantasy novels have done this before but they should if the main characters are also obsessed with stuff because it relays so much information without it being so tedious (i Hope). Also I'm not ready to give up academic writing.
