#toad dragon

Their origins are a mystery and the individuals of the world interested in such things raise their brows at the moniker of "dragon", given to them by the far less studious Northmen. Instead of those proud, skyborne beasts, the Toad Dragon has more in common with the landbound lumbering beasts of Lustria, in particular the Dread Saurian. Some theorize that in the earliest days of the world, when Chaos first invaded Lustria and the joint forces of Nurgle and Tzeentch fell upon Chaqua, these beasts were the product of the Plaguelord's foul contagions and the Waychanger's warping magic working in terrible tandem upon the war-beasts of Lizardmen. When the city at last fell, Plaguebearers hoarded the blighted beasts into the portals whence the daemons first came and it was from these monsters that the first Toad Dragons were created.

Others say such foul beasts are not from Malleus at all. The Plaguelord collects not just the flora of other worlds for his garden, but on occasion their fauna too. The Toad Dragon is one such collected animal, though it has adapted so much to it's daemonic abode as to be indistinguishable from the proper daemons. Though massive and dangerous to mortals and even greater daemons, compared to the scale of Nurgle's garden, the Toad Dragon is only a mere toad and serves much the same function, eating the many flies and smaller lifeforms within the flora. They offer balance and order to the chaos of Nurgle's realm, as mortal toads do in the mortal world.

In both theories, the evidence given for their lack of proper origin from Nurgle is their temperament. Unlike the Plaguefather's daemons, Toad Dragons are notably foul tempered and destructive.

Deposited as tadpoles in the muck of a swamp, these beasts never stop growing once they hatch. Other lifeforms live within them, apparently unaffected by it's caustic breath and stomach acids. It is believed, much like gut bacteria, that these Toad Worms have a symbiotic relationship with it's host and may even be the reason behind it's caustic spit in the first place. Should a Toad Dragon die, Toad Worms will exit the body through the mouth, nose, and even the eyes. It is believed that these worms go on to be Plague Toads, a much maligned daemon of Nurgle; Plaguetoads are known to exist in a sort-of harmony with the Toad Dragon, so long as it defers to the beasts dominance of course.

Toad Dragons have tusks bearing, petal-like maws. Males, the more common of the species, are larger and use these tusks to battle for dominance and for the attention of the female. Females are rarer and larger; her territory will overlap with several males and she will mate with the one who wins out over his competitors. There is no certain way to tell Toad Dragon sexes apart; one can only be certain once the Dragon as laid it's egg-cluster, in which it will be revealed as female. Bubebolos, the Nurgle-marked Toad Dragon of Tamurkhan the Maggot Lord, was commonly recorded as male, but those who know well the anatomical trends between the sexes posit that the Greatest of All Toad Dragons was very likely a female.

Toad Dragons are not known to die of age and are suspected, even, to be immortal. Bubebolos was not only large, but ancient-- this may suggest that the creatures are Biologically immortal. The Gods do not often pay much attention to simple beasts when sapient races are so much more interesting and practical to work with. However, Nurgle is known for his enduring love of these Putrid Mire Monsters and his champions consider being able to bind one to ones own will to be sure sign of the Plaguelord's feculent favor.