#peist

picrew link, post link

And to round this out, design notes! I don't believe I've done a proper design explanation for a dragon before. Since the oillipheist has a rather nebulous description in Irish literature, it's as good an example as any. This is a page from my sketchbook all neatly showing how I went about it. Digitally added are a few numbers to show which drawings came in which order and a previous design for the oillipheist from back in the Daily D&D Monster days. That was back when I was too afraid to commit to either the fully mythological or fully spec-evo direction. Now that I've leaned into full-mytho, I feel like it allows for much more weird and novel directions than a stretched out mosasaur. The first part, regardless of whatever it is I'm working with, is getting the facts down and looking at any details that could give a hint at its appearance. The Oillipheist has two main stories to draw from in this regard. The first involves the Fianna, who, after killing a hag, split open a bone to find a hairy worm. This worm slithers into a lake and becomes the dreadful Caoránach. Though aquatic, it was able to move on land and eat cattle. The other is the more famous story of Saint Patrick: when he banished the snakes from Ireland an oillipheist from the River Shannon headed towards the sea at speed. As it swam it swallowed a drunken piper named Ó Ruairc. He was so drunk he just kept playing in the beast's stomach, which annoyed it to no end. Eventually it spat him out unharmed. From these stories we have three details: the oillipheist looks like a hairy worm (at least when small), it is aquatic but can move on land, and it can eat a large quantity of stuff without even noticing. Now we get to drawing. The first basis for the oillipheist's design, aside from a snake, is a mudskipper. Both are aquatic creatures that are also no slouches on land, so it seemed natural. The second and third drawings tried to work in a more crocodile-like mouth. Drawing 2, uh, well... you can see for yourself. The third brought in a new question: what's its eyesight like? If its mouth is so huge it could swallow a piper whole, how do the eyes work? I made this choice to position its eyes like that of a mudskipper's in this and the final drawing. Number 7 tried a configuration where its eyes were on either side of its mouth. However, it didn't look as good to me. More like a grumpy turtle. The final piece came in the fifth drawing, where the mouth of a gulper eel was added in. This solved the mouth question and made it look like it had a goofy grin. All of these stuck around for six and eight, which were the final designs I stuck with. Added was a small amount of hair, relics of its younger years.

Lig-na-Paiste, whose name means “Last Great Reptile,” managed to escape Saint Patrick. However, Saint Murrough managed to trap the serpent in his pool.

...which also happens to be a universe where dragons are small and raised as pets, he kept it. Much to the chagrin of his assistant who has to stop it from eating its toys. As it grew up it developed into a healthy oillipheist with an even healthier appetite. But how does one care for such a dragon? "How to Raiſe and Keep A Wyrme" says: 'Oillipheist are, in the grand scheme of dragon care, easy beasts to keep. Water levels and cleanliness do not bother them much, nor do other dragons. In addition, they will eat anything given to them without trouble. Even things larger than themselves. If presented with such a large delicacy, it will swallow it without hesitation. Anything too large to fit will either sit in the dragon's throat-pouch or hang out of its mouth. As the portion in its stomach is digested, the dragon will continue to slowly swallow its morsel until nothing is left. In this position the dragon is quite vulnerable. Make sure yours is at least partially exposed to the air so that it does not drown. Their not-so picky appetite can be troublesome, though. Oillipheist do not bother differentiating edible from non-edible. If you are to place amenities or environmental pieces in their tanks, make sure they are firmly rooted or glued down so the dragon cannot swallow them. Unlike the Greek drakons, they abhor the sound of music. Many have been stressed out by thoughtless caretakers trying to charm them with a song. One does not have to give up music, however. Simply fasten their tank with a suitably sound-proof lid, and they will not notice it. As a final note, as is the case with all British serpents, the oillipheist abhors any soil taken from the earth of Ireland. This causes considerable distress in the dragon and must be removed immediately.' Side note, if anyone reading this owns a publishing company, I would totally write a book about keeping tiny dragons for free

Britain, despite being an enclosed island, has almost more dragons per km^2 than most other countries, except possibly for Greece. No one really knows why dragons are attracted to the place, perhaps because of its culture having several foreign sources or perhaps because they're responsible for shipping their culture and therefore their monsters and faeries and dragons all over the world. To start off, we'll be looking at the wyverns of Britain, of which there are three varieties. The smallest, but arguably most harmful are the strange bat/frog-like Water Leapers (Llamhigyn ydwr). Because of their habit of nesting in ponds and streams, they often come into close quarters with livestock and humans. To protect themselves, they, like many other wyverns, have stings on their tail capable of felling a bull. These are treated more so as pests than anything else. Golden or Mordiford Wyverns (Pendragon buforda) were once a nuisance, raiding farms and cities for prey like stork-sized foxes. But with the revolutionary techniques pioneered by Ms. Maud Wye, the species has been able to coexist peacefully with humans and promoted to a national symbol, much like the noble bin chickens of Australia. Sockburn Wyverns (Pendragon jabberwocky) however, still remain a true threat to small animals and lambs all across Northern England. Their ungainly appearance and habit of sloppily eating their kills where they lay inspired author and mathematician Lewis Caroll, and the name of his trademark dragon is often attributed to the wyvern, or jabberwocky.   But, it's Britain's water dragons that draw most people's attention. The Knucker (Nicor sussex), a smaller, caiman-sized relative of the nicor, are common sights in rivers and ponds, where they create their eponymous knuckerholes. In the North, Beithir (Electroserpens beithir), spirits of lightning in the shape of serpents swim within wells and lakes, their presence only known by their quick, harmless flashes of light beneath the water. And of course their much more harmful bites. Recent studies suggest the traditionally Scottish monsters may be related to the Canadian Haietlik. Ireland, aside from faerie dragons, is devoid of all types of dragons. However, evidence suggests that Ollipheists (Uilepheist patricus) used to crawl on Irish (and to a lesser extent, Scottish) beaches to lay their eggs before making the switch to live birth. They are one of the few dragons to go from semi-aquatic to entirely aquatic. Arguably the most famous British water dragons are the Lambton wyrms (Lambton weara), odd beasts with traits of both amphibians and reptiles. As is true to the legends, a wyrm cut in half will regrow its body with astonishing speed, but most worms are able to evade predators with their slick bodies. A smaller relative of the Greater Sea Serpent, Stoor wyrms (Midgardsormr assipattle) are more similar to orcas, making migratory trips from Iceland to the Faroe and Shetland isles year-round. These serpents are both smaller and less dependent on their venom than Greater Sea Serpents. Ask anyone what British dragon is most famous, and they'll tell you the Welsh Dragon (Ddraig goch). Their large, bull-sized forms are instantly recognizable, and the subject of much fascination, despite not being obligate carnivores. Despite being omnivorous like bears, these beasts are able to coexist quite well with humans. Even shepherds are able to sleep easy when one is sighted in the area, as they primarily eat fish and smaller game. This does not extend to other welsh dragons. Males and females alike will fiercely defend their territory, with fights often resulting in death. Like some birds, welsh dragons come in two different morphs depending on genetics, red morphs (pictured above) and white morphs. Contrary to their name, welsh dragons are found all across the wilder parts of Southern England, and have even been sighted as far North as the Wharncliffe Crags. -- OH BOY. This took less time than I thought to make and write, but dang does my hand hurt from yesterday. The Welsh Dragon has had three forms over its day, but I liked the one from the Tyranno entry the best. Rauisuchians are the coolest.

(https://regio.outdooractive.com/oar-arosa/de/tour/winterwandern/peist-skihaus-hochwang-triemel-pagig/21501137/)