I LOVE DRAGONS
DRAGONS FROM FABLEHAVEN
Most of this is completely made up by me and probably not lore accurate at all to the books. I made a whole plot idea for Fablehaven dragons just so I could have an OC that was a dragon, so I figured I’d write all of this down to keep my story straight.
If anybody wanted to use this as a Lore for a dragon OC, whether for Fablehaven or not, I am honoured, BUT PLEASE POST ABOUT THEM SO I CAN SEE!!
FORMS
Dragons have a normal form, their ‘dragon’ form that is large and scaly and breathes fire, a regular dragon in most folklore. They can be all different sizes and strengths based on bloodline and where in the world they are from. These are their strongest forms in many ways, the only problem is that they are rather hard to hide, especially while travelling.
As the second book specifies, powerful species’ like Sphinxs or dragons can appear human if they so choose. Dragons have the ability to appear human both in form and physicality to some extent. Their bodies look human, they sound human, and if they so choose they can even have clothing that is attached to the form, the clothes can be felt and moved just as normal clothes. Slight differences are that their body temperature remains, as does their smell. Humans do not notice much difference in the smell, however creatures with a more powerful smell will be aware that they are lying about their appearance. They cannot breathe fire in this form, as the pit of their stomach is too close to their mouth for the fire to properly develop, at most they can cough up some smoke.
They can create a half form, a more honest form that still looks partially human. They remain their human form, with hair, skin tone, eye colour and such remaining how they choose to keep it. The form now possesses a more dragon-like appearance, some of which may defer from dragon to dragon. Taller, more muscular, patches of scales along parts of the body, horns protruding from the hair, their ears have taken a more pointed appearance, sometimes even looking fin-like, their eyes may appear reptilian, sharp teeth and claws, draconic wings on their back, along with a tail of similar nature.
HISTORY
Dragons are rare, and their presence on preserves are rarer, dragons that live on preserves are usually there for one of three reasons. They were found on their own when they were too young to survive, often being a victim of poachers. They were seriously injured and brought to a reserve for healing and for a safe place to recover. Or they were highly aggressive, so much so that they had to be captured and brought to a reserve for the safety of towns nearby.
There are rarely more than one dragon on each preserve, if any at all, as dragons are highly territorial of their space. Once a preserve is their home they see it as their place, the humans and other creatures on the preserve are also theirs, and cannot interact with another dragon without either them or the dragon facing dire consequences.
Another dragon would have to be either young enough or wounded enough that it could not possibly be seen as a threat, and even then if the previous dragon does not bond with the new one before they are grown or sick, they will become territorial and chase the other dragon away, leading to chaos throughout the preserve.
LIVES
Dragons, both in the wild and in preserves, often prefer solitude away from human civilisations. They will often choose to make their homes in caves high up on mountains, deep in waters, deep in isolated groves, and other places that others would find difficult to reach without wings and knowledge. Most dragons prefer to live in peace, keeping low profiles to keep to themselves.
The few that cause mayhem in their surrounding areas are often males, however aggression is not an inherited trait bred through dragons. Instead the aggression can be caused by factors surrounding their lives. They may feel insulted or threatened, often to an extent that they would rather destroy first before they are at risk. They may be guarding something they deem worth the lives of mortals, usually eggs, a loved one or an ancient magic treasure, though the first is the most likely. They may also have sensed the presence of another dragon in the area, and have decided to make it clear that this territory is already in their possession.
Territorial behaviours appear in both males and females of the dragon species, however the immediate aggressive behaviour is usually a male trait. Female dragons that have sensed their territory at risk often choose to wait and watch, studying if there is actually a threat they must defend from, or if it is just passing through.
FOOD AND DIET
A dragon’s diet is not limited, they are able to eat almost anything in their vicinity. Meats are best for their diet, and most preferred by all dragons, however they are not limited to it if it is unavailable to them for times. They are able to eat almost all metals, with iron, titanium and steel being the best for them, gold and coppers are more treats, similar to chocolate. A metal diet is most often held by dragons with large caves and tunnels as their homes, it allows a place for them to mine for the metals safely and without having to leave too far. They are able to eat vegetation, dragons living in particularly lush environments are observed to eat almost nothing else but the things they forage from the trees. Dragons who have made their homes in coves or near seas survive most off of fish and the plantation grown in the sea.
The problem with each lies with the abundance, as dragons eat a lot, regardless of if they are small. If their environment does not offer any of these options in large quantities, then it would be an unwise place for a dragon to create a permanent home, most would only make temporary residence in emergencies in such places. When a dragon’s home dies out of food sources is another issue entirely. Getting a dragon to move homes is almost impossible, especially once they have developed a hoard, and there have been cases in history of dragons being found almost starved or even already passed when resources have depleted within too large of a distance of their homes.
HOARDS
A dragon's hoard is their pride and joy, especially for a dragon with no mate and no children. A dragon’s hoard does not just consist of money, gold and treasure, although there is always an abundance of that in each dragon’s hoard, but objects a dragon finds pretty or appealing to the eye, finds entertaining, or considers important either to them or in general.
Objects also in a dragon’s hoard that don’t fall under treasure will often consist of; Weapons and armour, whether magic, made of valuable materials, pretty to look at, or owned by someone important. Books, old and new, magical and not, a dragon's hoard will often have multiple bookshelves worth of carefully cared for books. Maps of the world or maps of certain places, there are legends that older dragons have maps to forgotten places in their hoards, places long since forgotten by society. Potions and magical artifacts are both commonly found in a dragon’s lair, both because of their magical ability making them valuable, and because often they have a pretty look that attracts a dragon’s eye.
Dragons are very protective over their hoards, even the smallest dragons with the smallest hoards would guard it with their lives. To be able to view a dragon’s hoard and live is a great honour, a sign of immense trust and even a form of affection. To be given a part of a dragon’s hoard is a sign that they consider you a part of them, someone they would defend to their death and someone they will always be there to lend a hand to. A dragon’s hoard is rarely shared with anyone other than their mate, the one they are attempting to court and their young if they have any. There have been almost no reports of such a thing happening in history, only legend.
To attempt to steal from a dragon’s hoard is the same as attempting to steal a dragon’s heart. If you are caught in the lair there are no reports of what will happen, as there are no reports from people who lived to tell the tale. Very few have actually succeeded in stealing from a dragon’s lair, the ones who have are often either naive and keep it, only to be hunted by the dragon and slaughtered with the item returning swiftly to the dragon’s lair, now far more guarded. Or they are clever and get rid of it quickly, often selling it for a high price, as something previously owned by a dragon is highly valued just for the knowledge that a dragon possessed it. This will lead to the dragon desperately hunting for the treasure, often going off of sent and ignoring the thieves sent entirely to instead follow their stolen item. It is not a pretty sight if you are caught with a dragon's stolen item, regardless of if you did it or not, you do not want to be found with an item from a living dragon’s lair.
COURTSHIP
Courtship can be initiated by either gender, and doesn’t just happen between two dragons. A courtship begins by one dragon showing interest leaving a gift outside the entrance of their abode, leaving it usually early in the morning for the object of their affection to find when they awake. A dragon will usually avoid interaction with the object of their affection, choosing to instead observe their reactions from afar.
For the object of their affection to accept and reciprocate, within the next few days they must find the dragon’s abode (usually a cave) and leave a gift at the entrance, or the closest they can get to the entrance. This will then show the dragon that there is mutual interest, and they will begin to pursue the object of their affection in other forms, (spending time, more gifts, following around/ stalking, physical affection, etc).
To refuse the courtship, the object of the dragon’s affection must return the gift to the dragon’s abode, leaving the gift either outside the entrance or as close to the entrance as they can get. If they do this, they will not find another gift and the dragon will leave them alone.
If the object of the dragon’s affection accepts the gift but does not offer a gift of their own, this is a sign that they do not deem the gift as enough and want more or better. Even if they do not mean it that way, it is automatically taken that way by the dragon, as that is how it is done in dragon courtship. If this is the case, the dragon will continue bringing gifts every few days until the gifts are either returned, signalling refusal, or there is finally a new gift at their entryway, signalling acceptance. This can pose a particular problem when the object of the dragon’s affection is not a dragon themselves, as they will have almost no access to the cave the dragon resides in, and most often won’t have the foggiest clue where the cave is in the first place.
If another dragon begins courting the same one as the original dragon, they will become quite territorial and competitive over the object of their affection. The gifts from the original dragon will begin bringing bigger, fancier gifts in an attempt to outshine the gifts from the other dragon, at times sacrificing large parts of their hoards out of desperation to earn their affection before their competition can.
