#dragon headworld

Singe goes hunting every morning, as soon as he gets up.

3: Do they exercise, and if so, what do they do? How often?

He is very physically fit because he spends a good part of every day flying.  4: What would they do if they needed to make dinner but the kitchen was busy?

If there were too many dragons out hunting, Singe would wait for as long as necessary. He is very patient, and dragons of his size and age don't have to eat very often if they don't fly too much.

5: Cleanliness habits (personal, workspace, etc.)

Singe keeps his scales clean and shining. He is rather disorganized, and his nest is usually strewn around his bedroom by the time he wakes up, but he doesn't have enough worldly possessions to make a real mess.

6: Eating habits and sample daily menu

 Oh, he is a messy, messy eater, but he eats everything. Everything. He even licks the gore off the ground when he's finished. Bones are not a problem. He eats one large animal like a deer every week or so, and eats smaller animals like rabbits every morning. 7: Favorite way to waste time and feelings surrounding wasting time

He likes to waste time flying far away from his clan, thinking. He finds them irritating. It's not a waste of time to him (Saba could disagree). 8: Favorite indulgence and feelings surrounding indulging

He has none, and views dragons who indulge in things like smokeroot and rich food as weak-willed. 9: Makeup?

Lord, no. Dragons need no makeup! They are perfect such as they are! 10: Neuroses? Do they recognize them as such?

He has none. 11: Intellectual pursuits?

He enjoys the study of magic, and makes a point to read scrolls about it whenever he can. He dislikes smithing, but recognizes its usefulness even though he does not wear armor himself. 12: Favorite book genre?

Nonfiction. 13: Sexual Orientation? And, regardless of own orientation, thoughts on sexual orientation in general?

He's straight, and he doesn't care who others mate with as long as they don't bother him. 14: Physical abnormalities? (Both visible and not, including injuries/disabilities, long-term illnesses, food-intolerances, etc.)

Hoo boy, this is going to be a long list. Let's start at the top. He's got some funky teeth and a slight bone growth under the skin on his chin. He has very well-shaped horns, which are classified as abnormalities but are so common among dragons that they ignore them most of the time. His are positioned lower down than on most dragons, and they stop his mouth from opening farther than 45 degrees (most dragons can open their mouth to around 60 degrees, with a few exceptions like Blaze being able to open it further). His front limbs never grew very big, but they are still very strong and he has better dexterity than most dragons, though still not as good as a human. This resulted in his spine being bent oddly and his hind legs adjusting to be able to carry his weight (as opposed to Irascor, who still uses his front limbs to walk). Two of his three wing-fingers are almost nonexistent, and his middle wing-finger is much larger and stronger. Finally, he has keratinous spikes along his spine from his wings to the tip of his tail. 15: Biggest and smallest short term goal?

Biggest: keep the clan running more or less smoothly. Smallest: fly more and eat more deer. 16: Biggest and smallest long term goal?

Biggest: secretly find a way to escape being the leader without abandoning the clan. Smallest: raise Spike to be a better leader. 17: Preferred mode of dress and rituals surrounding dress

Butt nekkid aside from his head-plates. He always wears those head-plates, and keeps them beside his nest when he goes to sleep. 18: Favorite beverage?

Deer blood. Yup. 19: What do they think about before falling asleep at night?

Going back to the desert, or memories of his time in the desert. 20: Childhood illnesses? Any interesting stories behind them?

None. He's one of those people who never get sick. 21: Turn-ons? Turn-offs?

On: sexy-lady-dragon-smell. Off: rival males. 22: Given a blank piece of paper, a pencil, and nothing to do, what would happen?

He would set fire to it and watch it burn. Fire is fun. 23: How organized are they? How does this organization/disorganization manifest in their everyday life?

He is totally disorganized, and impulsive as hell. If he feels like skipping a clan meeting to go flying, he will. Saba is frustrated with him. 24: Is there one subject of study that they excel at? Or do they even care about intellectual pursuits at all?

He enjoys fighting, and aerial fights are the best. His favorite fight he was in was him against two large, wild desert griffins, a thousand feet above the desert. A close second was against a shadow demon on a mountain peak. . . . That's not really an intellectual pursuit, is it? Well, um, he likes . . . reading . . . a little bit. He actually is a very good leader, when he's not flying away, but he doesn't think he is. 25: How do they see themselves 5 years from today?

Stuck in the same place as he is now. At least Spike will be apprenticed by then. 26: Do they have any plans for the future? Any contingency plans if things don’t workout?

He is planning to keep the clan out of the war, and he is secretly trying to bring the fire and ice clans together and attempt to stop it. 27: What is their biggest regret?

Not staying in the desert. Of course, if he had done so, his father would still be leader of his clan, and Singe would still be in self-imposed exile. 28: Who do they see as their best friend? Their worst enemy?

The person who knows him best is Saba, and she is the one he trusts most. Fangrene, the leader of the neighboring ice-breath clan, is another ally. The high king of the fire-breath clans, Thoron, who is encouraging the war, is probably Singe's ultimate enemy. 29: Reaction to sudden extrapersonal disaster (eg The house is on fire! What do they do?)

Fight his way out, but then realize that he has a duty to save his subjects and turns back to rescue them. 30: Reaction to sudden intrapersonal disaster (eg close family member suddenly dies)

He'd fly for days without rest, letting the wind take his thoughts away. 31: Most prized possession?

His crest plates. 32: Thoughts on material possessions in general?

Fewer possessions are easier. He doesn't really bother with collecting things. He is required to maintain a treasure hoard, though. 33: Concept of home and family?

He is conflicted about where his home is. When he was a hatchling, it was by his mother's side, and he continued to long for her during his years in the desert. When he came back to find his mother dead, that dream keeled over and died. Now that he is clan leader, he longs to be back in the fairy cities in the desert. Saba tries to comfort him. She is more family-oriented than he is, and she and Spike are very close. Oh yeah, Singe killed his father, and doesn't regret it. 34: Thoughts on privacy? (Are they a private person, or are they prone to ‘TMI’?)

Singe is a very private person, and holds everyone at a wing's length. The only one he is beginning to trust is Saba, and only opens up to her in the privacy of their nest-room. He knows that she would never spill his secrets, and she is not one to spread rumors. 35: What activities do they enjoy, but consider to be a waste of time?

He loves to fly aimlessly for hours, thinking. 36: What makes them feel guilty?

Dragons do not usually feel guilt. Singe can kill without a second thought, and abandon the clan for hours on end with no regrets. He does feel that his dreams of leaving his clan forever are shameful; however, he will not actually follow through with that. 37: Are they more analytical or more emotional in their decision-making?

Emotional. Like I said before, he's very impulsive. 38: What recharges them when they’re feeling drained?

A good long nap in a quiet place. 39: Would you say that they have a superiority-complex? Inferiority-complex? Neither?

Dragon clan leaders are prone to feelings of superiority, and Singe is no exception. He is the strongest, most beautiful dragon in the clan, and his word should not be questioned! 40: How misanthropic are they?

He actively dislikes other dragons, though Saba is starting to grow on him. 41: Hobbies?

None.

42: How far did they get in formal education? What are their views on formal education vs self-education?

He lasted four years before he ran away. He taught himself how to fight and survive. He believes that while the smiths and flyers have much to teach hatchlings, more can be learned by working it out for yourself. 43: Religion?

Non-religious. All dragons are. 44: Superstitions or views on the occult?

Magic is very real, of course, it's how the dragons breathe fire. I'm sure there are a few dragon superstitions, but I have yet to figure them out. 45: Do they express their thoughts through words or deeds?

Deeds. Actions speak louder than words, according to Singe and most dragons. 46: If they were to fall in love, who (or what) is their ideal?

He doesn't believe in true love. He doesn't trust anyone enough. Saba is enough for him, though he would like it if she could fly. 47: How do they express love?

He shows affection towards Saba by grooming and curling together with her at night. 48: If this person were to get into a fist claw fight, what is their fighting style like?

Fast and brutal. He prefers to fight in the air, where he can dive at his opponent teeth-first. He hits heavily and when he bites, he takes flesh with him. He uses his front claws for gouging at the eyes and nostrils of the enemy, and can rake at the enemy's stomach with his back claws. He will rush his opponent, hit it as hard as he can several times in a row, and then dart away before the enemy can hit back. DO NOT attempt to fight him, especially if you are a human. 49: Is this person afraid of dying? Why or why not?

This inherent magic is associated with a dragon's fluids - his blood, urine, saliva, bile, etc.This is one reason why they evolved to have scales, so that they wouldn't leave magical residue everywhere they touched. They are warm-blooded, and they thermoregulate through their wing membranes, which are huge, and most dragons have a strong aversion to anything touching their wings because that is the only place they sweat. Every dragon has a special gland connected to a bladder in their throat near the back of their mouth that produces the liquid used for their breath weapon. When a dragon feels angry or threatened (situations where he would need to use his breath weapon), the gland starts to fill the bladder, and when the dragon is ready to use it, he contracts the bladder while exhaling sharply (it feels like sneezing), and the liquid will spray out of the dragon's mouth in a mist. It is up to the dragon to change the chemical and magical makeup of the liquid, to affect how it reacts with the air. Breath weapons are always brief bursts of ice or fire or acidic steam or something else, and the bigger the dragon's lungs and weapon-liquid bladder the bigger the burst will be, not longer in duration. It is like a sneeze, after all. Also, breathing fire through the nose is a really, really bad idea and can cause irreparable damage to the nasal passages because the liquid combusts when it touches air and the insides of the nostrils have not built up the same resistance to fire as the inside of the mouth has. Ice through the nose is almost as bad, because the liquid can adhere to the nasal cavity and cause bad burns (like touching dry ice) or even frostbite, if enough liquid is in one place for long enough. 

The type of breath weapon, as I've said before, is dependent on which clan the dragon is from. Let me back up: the first civilization of dragons after they evolved to be sapient was made up of many clans that were very remote and never mixed. Some cataclysmic event had made them very leery of flying outside their territories, and there were only a few hundred thousand dragons in total anyway. Before the clans split apart (pre-history), they had evolved basic breath weapons, which were not much more than acidic sprays that irritated the eyes of predators. Any modern dragon can use this basic breath weapon, regardless of training. As the dragons gained sapience and drifted apart into clans, they discovered how to use magic, and each clan developed its own way of tweaking the breath weapon to be more powerful. Thousands of years passed, and some of the clans became big enough to want to expand, while others remained remote and cut off from the other clans. The fire-breath clan ended up conquering most of the known world, then retreating into a smaller area that was still much larger than their original territory. Two of the ice-breath clans crept in around the edges of fire-breath territory, claiming that area for themselves. (I think I should note here that there are many different types of ice-breath and fire-breath. The ice-breath types developed in separate clans, while the fire-breath types developed within a single, very large clan, fracturing it into smaller demi-clans that, while officially allied, often bicker among themselves.) Some of the smaller clans were assimilated into ice and fire culture, some tried to continue their traditions under ice and fire's rule, and a few remained oblivious. Some of the fire-breath and ice-breath dragons have made contact with our world and have invited humans to live in the dragon universe, so we know dragons mostly as fire-breathers or more rarely ice-breathers. Basically, the farther away the clan from fire-breath society, the stranger it would seem to us. Solid breath weapons, for instance, were reasonably common before the fire-breath conquest, but were mostly wiped out or shoved into corners. One very remote clan has evolved to be much smaller than the average dragon, maybe the size of tigers, and their breath weapon is a stream of poison. Singe, and most of the dragons in the story, are members of a fire-breath demi-clan near the edge of fire territory, in a weird transition zone between mountains and lowland forest. Their city is near cliffs overlooking the sea.

As the dragons' magic evolved, less of the magic in their environment was needed by them. As a result, their wings, which were "extra" limbs anyway (most of the creatures in their universe have four limbs, not six), stopped being generated naturally, feeding off of the magical energy in the environment, and so the Wingmakers took over the task of making the wings grow. Each clan has one.

One of the reasons Wingmakers are so respected and feared is that they are true masters of the magical arts, not just Wingmaking. As part of their training, they are required to travel to at least two other clans and learn the secret of their breath weapons (even the remote ones have occasional contact with other clans). This is always taught by the other clans' Wingmaker, because no other dragon is trusted to reveal the clan's greatest secret. Ordinary magic - illusions, healing, remote manipulation, telepathy - is also learned by Wingmakers, but they are not sought out as often for their skills in those areas.

If a dragon reaches maturity without any kind of magical training, they would be unable to use any type of everyday magic and their breath weapon would be really, really weak. After puberty the magical immunity decreases steadily, so a mature dragon would be mostly immune to his own breath weapon and that's pretty much it. "Mostly immune" means that if a dragon's breath weapon was, say, fire, they would avoid burning the inside of their mouth, for several breaths in a row. After five consecutive fire-breaths, their mouth would start to get burned. After years of near-mouth-burning, dragons' mouths do get tougher and able to withstand more abuse without the help of magical resistance. Besides, using a breath weapon too many times in a row isn't very healthy, and leads to hyperventilation and in extreme cases dehydration. 

An adult dragon's scales are very thick and hard to resist damage from breath weapons, and when a dragon is at rest they fit together so tightly that water cannot get in or out. They can be "fluffed out" by shaking, for cleaning dirt and parasites out from underneath, but dragons most often take dust baths, not water baths. A large part of the morning and evening is spent grooming, which is a good bonding exercise for family members. It's not always done in private, but it is a quiet and relaxing time.

Everyday spells are usually based on an oil that is secreted from a gland at the base of the front claws, which initially evolved to prevent infections from gore caught between the skin and the nail, but in modern dragons, the glands can be stimulated to produce extra oil for use in spells. The dragon can then will it to change as he wishes, for healing, transmutation, and so forth. The strength of the spell is limited partly by the mental power of the dragon and partly by the physical power of the dragon: a clan leader, who is big and strong, could have weaker spells than a small Wingmaker, but his spells could cover a larger area. It is possible to use spells as weapons, but as it takes a fair amount of preparation and a lot of concentration, it is really a lot easier to use a breath weapon. That brings me to another thing: casting multiple spells in a row is exhausting. With each successive spell, it becomes harder to concentrate for the next one. It doesn't usually give dragons headaches, but it almost always makes them tired and sleepy, as if they'd stayed up too many nights in a row. Stomachaches and sore joints are secondary symptoms, as well as an inability to fly for several hours, but if you get to that point it's best to just stop casting the darn things before you hurt yourself.

Ooookay, we've covered basic evolution, history, breath weapon mechanics, and magic mechanics. Next up: dragon law and judicial system, or maybe Saba's refsheet if I can get pseudo-photoshop up and running on my new laptop.