Elder Dragons

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The Elder Dragons (or Ancient Serpents by Order of the Ancients and the Hidden Ones) are species, which refers to the classification of different creatures within the ecosystem and determines certain characteristics of the creatures, their habitat, and their actions. There is one of the guardians that is far removed from the known tree of life. The very appearance of an elder dragon is enough to cause natural phenomena and disasters like anti-predation and kleptoparasitism. Much remains unknown about them.

Elder Dragons are creatures that defy typical classification and sit outside of the standard ecosystem, regardless of any outward resemblance to a true "dragon" that is closely related to snakes and mosasaurs, which are descendants of the normal dragons. Other creature types, on the other hand, classify species by shared traits. Typically, these groups consist of incredibly powerful magical animals that have existed from prehistoric periods before the Mesozoic era to the Anthropocene. Making them more than just an animal; calamities, natural disasters, living forces, and even the kidnapping of princesses (or, in certain cases, noblewomen, duchesses, maidens, first ladies, president's daughters, and others) that meteorologists, biologists, and zoologists have never seen before, dubbed "Princess and Dragon."

In the past, all Elder Dragons were worshiped as gods; however, in the present, the Monster Hunter/Hidden Saviors, the Assassin Order, the Templar Order, and other world organizations marks them as threats to the ecosystem. The most common types of Elder Dragons are European dragons or winged dragons; some of them are drakes, sea serpents, and even oriental dragons (or Eastern dragons) For instance, all Elder Dragon species are reptiles, and the Kushala Daora species is a prime illustration of how they all have a body design that includes two wings, four limbs for mobility, and some kind of horn. But compared to non-avian dinosaurs and birds, they do share more certain physical traits like snakes, mosasaurs, and skinks.

Uniquely, Elder Dragons are the only animals that are immune to all types of man-made traps and cannot be captured, meaning they must be either slayed or repelled. They will retain the damage dealt to them, allowing one specific dragon to be fought over multiple quests. When an Elder Dragon is present on a standard hunting ground, all small monsters (except their monsters) are absent if it is in enraged or near-death experience mode in prehistoric to 1999. However, since 2000, Elder Dragons have been treated as regular monsters, with no small creatures leaving or environmental characteristics happening. This only applied to the Elder Dragons that were able to be in normal locales. They also cause certain environmental characteristics to happen (i.e., Gochdraig and their relatives have the locale have ash or drought, Kushala Daora makes windy, Dreadknife Nigrostra makes darkness, Radachalog makes raining blue particles, Amhuluk makes it malaria, Chameleos makes it hazy, etc.).

Because of their immense power, the Hunter's Guild and the Avengers have frequently had to deal with serious crises brought on by Elder Dragons' acts on Earth, Everrealm, and other multiverses, whether or not those actions were normal. These include instances where a Ceadeus threatened to sink the Maldives and Subantarctic Islands, when a Gore Magala and Shagaru Magala spread its Frenzy Virus uncontrollably throughout mainland Africa, when a mating pair of Elder Dragons (Wind Serpent Ibushi and Thunder Serpent Narwa) caused the local monsters to go on periodic rampages in East Asian cities, nearly wiping it out, and countless other instances.

Some Elder Dragons, like Primordial Malzeno, Nergigante, or others, are rather peaceful guardians willing to coexist with humans, to the point where they were once revered as protectors or guardians who would judge evildoers. It is fairly intelligent by extension, as shown by its skillful usage of its limbs and its ability to seemingly understand emotions such as gratitude or hatred.