drakes

Not long after the ancestors of dragons first emerged from the destruction of the KPG extinction, life already buzzed and bustled with the potential of evolution. Dragons themselves soon took to the deepest oceans and the cloudless skies, taking on as many shapes as there were chances at preying on other animals. Some dragons, however, stayed on land, never straying too far from the body plan that had brought them such success. They grew in size, in power and speed, but remained tethered to the ground as their ancestors were. Thus the Drakes were born.

The fossils of some of the oldest species of Drake show these creatures first appeared around the Middle East, before expanding to most tropical and temperate areas of Eurasia,as well as some rare species in northern or high altitude areas. They are four legged, terrestrial carnivores adapted to chasing down prey. Their head is proportionally bigger and more massive than that of their ancestors, adorned with a frontal crest that helps them dissipate heat and small, blunt bony growths near the back of its lower jaw, involved in sexual selection along with distinctive seasonal coloration of the throat. They tend to have a furry coat, evolved from the feathers of their ancestors, that protects them from the weather, acts as camouflage or as an ornament.

Drakes hunt by stalking their prey, hidden among the terrain, before rushing with a burst of speed. Their flexible spine, long legs and tail that acts as a counterweight help them achieve great speeds and fast turning while hunting, and its long neck, relatively short muzzle and powerful muscles help them catch their prey with their mouth and kill it almost instantly. Being the biggest land predators in their environments, Drakes are capable of feeding on almost anything they find, but their particular hunting style veers them towards specific types of prey. Some will hunt medium to large sized mammals, fish, reptiles, and even other dragons.

While Drakes have completely outcompeted mammalian carnivorans, they end up clashing with human beings quite often, being occasional predators to both humans and their livestock. This has resulted in poaching, revenge killings and even systematic exterminations in response, leaving them critically endangered. While nowadays there are programs that attempr to preserve their populations, there is still a long road to go in order to recover the numbers of these dragons.

Habitat: Dry areas of the Middle East.

This species works great as model organisms for Order Terradraconis,, deviating little from the body plan of ancestral Drakes. Their feathery coat is quite light, well adapted to its dry environment. This layer of fur is quite short in the Drake’s underside, allowing it to lose heat more efficiently, but fur will be denser on its back and neck, protecting it from direct sunlight. The Mušḫuššu ’s reddish color, helps disguise it among the rocks and sand of its natural habitat, where it will lay down as it stalks its prey, before running it down in a burst of speed.  The Mušḫuššu  will mostly feed on camels, goats, gazelles and deer, not being adverse to carrion should it cross its path. It has often hunted human beings and their livestock, leading to clashes with humanity and a reduction of its numbers.

Habitat: The swamps of Northern Europe.

This species of Drake has adapted to the cold of the North by developing a dense layer of protective fur. It camouflages with the mud and rocks thanks to its dark coloration and stalk its prey, striking too fast for its prey to react. Like other species of dragon, the Fafnir has developed a venomous bite that kills its prey in a matter of minutes. Dangerous as it may seem, this dragon has not been avoided by all humans that live near it. In ancient times, certain humans would carefully observe the Fafnir, wait for it to go out and bury or hide their treasure inside the dragon's den, thinking no person would manage to steal their hoard. While this worked sometimes, the owner of the treasure would often grow careless and end up being killed by the Fafnir, the treasure lost to the dragon. As tales of these events became known, many believed killing a Fafnir would be a sure way to gain wealth and glory, a task much easier said than done.