Size - around 4 ft tall.

Population: 14,000 or so tala citizens living within the empire itself, an estimated 2,000 in their own colonies and/or settlements along the rivers, and another 1,000 living on their own entirely or as citizens of the human kingdom of Tarua. Around 17,000 in total.

Basic Appearance - Tala possess a long, lithe spine and body frame. Each dragon has a unique set of antlers on its head made out of a light, airy bone type, and occasionally they also have an extra two prongs before the antlers or a finned spine. Their scales are normally hues of yellow, orange, or brown, but sometimes also red-ish, or rarely grey. Their tongues are not forked. Tala wings can be any color, and are partially translucent, usually matching with the tala’s head frill. Their palms are rough like an osprey, in order to grip fish well.

Unique features - Tala have two wings, which are too short to fly with(they c a n n o t fly) but do allow them to glide. They can also breathe fire, but the ability is very weak and not often used.

Dimorphism - Males tend to be slightly larger than females.

Young - Tala normally lay 1-4 eggs per clutch, though 2 is the most common number(and 4 is quite rare). Eggs take about 4-6 weeks to hatch. If two eggs end up hatching within one day of each other, it is tradition not to tell the younglings which one of them hatched first until they are grown. As you may guess, many of them spend the time until then trying to guess.

Society/Geography - they used to live in wild colonies a long time ago, but nowadays most are either citizens of one of the Tala Empire’s kingdoms or live in various settlements nearby. Some are unaffiliated, living alone along the river. The kingdoms themselves are in the general Northeast of Illayara, built around various tributaries feeding into the Kiarpyn River.

History - The 'second' group of Illayars was first to make contact with these dragons, as they lived on their side of the river. In recent centuries, they have played a large part in developing their kingdomes and creating further alliances with human civilizations, especially Tarharu.

Temperament - absolutely insane, well-known for their hyperactive energy and getting excited very quickly(a stereotype, but still accurate for most individuals). Humans and dasits both tend to look down on them a bit for that sort of nature, but they can 'sober up' when needed. They are easily awed by new experiences or objects.

Voices/Accent - shrill with a slight twang; musical but not in the same way as the dasits. They can have a wide range of voices and sounds, as they are excellent at mimicry.   

Food - a varied, omnivorous diet, but mainly fish. Lots of fish, as well as berries, nuts, small prey, and more. They can cook, and often leap for chances to try the wildest new mixtures or craziest combinations. There’s a veritable plethora of traditional Illayaran dishes that had their origin at the creative(or bored) claws of a tala.

Traditional Architecture - Tala have long built their homes into the sides of cliffs, or along riversides. Homes like the latter, on the ground, are often crafted out of a material called whitestone, a mixture of fine sand or silt, white mud, and various other materials that dry incredibly sturdy with a rough, papery-stone feel. City structures, like the ones in Andarran, are usually either built into the cliff rock itself or crafted with baked clay. Tala palace architecture is often characterized by its tall spires and narrow points, with small platforms built in at the top so anyone who takes the time to climb up all the stairs can leap off and enjoy the glide down. 

Tala names often end in vowels. Female names are more likely to end in -a, and males’ in -u or occasionally -n. A few end in -o or -il, for either. Names commonly include the letters a, r, and/or y. Examples: Silca, Giva, Raksa, Paprika, Iduwa, Halloa, Jansu, Feyru, Meiyo, Jeikro, Saffron, etc.

Size - around 5 ft to 7 ft tall.

Population: Assumed to be around 10,000, but there is currently no way to count.

Basic Appearance - [inspired in part by Ahaetulla, commonly known as the vine or whip snake]. Scales can be various hues of green(most common),  blue-greenish, or sometimes brown, with extra patterns that are often speckled silvery, black, or occasionally gold. Their tongues are not forked. Chromatophores in their scales do allow them to slightly shift colors or texture at will, much like a chameleon or octopus. Two movable frills in a vague shape similar to tiny wings are in the general area of wings on their sides.

Unique features - the most obvious are the dasit’s remarkably strange, pupil-less eyes. Often hypnotic of a sort, the designs and colors inside swirl and dance on their own, only stilled if focused on by the dasit. Those who spend more time around tala(or humans) often learn how to still the motion subconsciously, or even bring together a vague pupil of sorts to have it be less disorienting. Some have speculated about why these eyes are the way they are, and many stories have been spun about them being able to see things that no other being can. Dasits themselves know little of those rumors, but they do have an old tale of how they first received the eyes. Four foldable, venomous fangs are also in every dasit’s mouth. This isn’t very widely known about, so it’s a definite shock when one somehow makes a dasit angry enough. A fair amount of dasits have short, extendable hoods like a snake, and others have random traits like short claw webbing, frilled spines, or red scales under their eyes, etc. Some of these are very rare, and assumed to be old recessive genes.

Dimorphism - males tend to be slightly larger than females. Females are likelier than males to have blueish scales.

Young - dasits normally lay 1-3 eggs per clutch, 1 being the most common number(and 3 quite rare). Eggs take about 4-6 weeks to hatch.

Society - dasits live in large, densely-wooded areas and jungles to the North and West regions of Illayara. They live and travel in small family groups or clans in groups of about 3-15 members, foraging for food or prey. They rarely leave their forests, or even meet other dasit groups.

Temperament - dasits are known for their peaceable temper, and though it is difficult to make one angry, they generally don’t appreciate having their quiet, peaceful lives disrupted. 

Voices/Accent - smooth, with a slight burr. Often buzzing or somewhat musical in cadence.

Food - tending to be more vegetarian than their tala cousins, a dasit’s diet consists mainly of fruits and greens, with the occasional large prey. They can cook, and do so often, but the meals are never elaborate.

Traditional Architecture - masterfully hidden wooden structures, like platforms and bridges, suspended in dense, short branches. These permanently-placed sites are used by any dasit clan that happens to be in the area, lived for about a month before moving on.  All other personal possessions or furnishings are easily collapsible to be moved around with the family.

Dasit names often end in consonants. Female names are more likely to end in l, and males’ in r. Names commonly include the letters a, t, and/or s. Examples: Tsitel, Desal, Paril, Tekar, Setar, Entar, Kalkol, etc.

There are some exceptions to these, especially for older names. Dasits used to have two-part names, with a short prefix at the beginning in most cases. This is now very rare—the only recently known dasit with a two-part name being Tsel-Setar, who shortened his name to simply Setar later. Dasit names are also pronounced more musically, with a burr depending on where you’re from.