§ Here There Be Dragons § Strange Creature §

[Scaramouche Fandango]

Everyone here has a dragon. Big dragons, little dragons. Dragons with wings, and dragons without. Scaly dragons, feathery dragons, dragons with all manner of legs and fins and whiskers and manes. Dragons that look like dogs, like cats, like salamanders, like eels. Dragons that wind through the sky without wings; dragons that have two wings or four wings or even more wings. Dragons the size of buildings; dragons the size of pigeons. Dragons that change color or glitter or shine with iridescence.

Nobody knows exactly where the dragons come from, but one thing is for certain: everyone here has a dragon.

[Scaramouche Fandango]

In this realm, your kin takes the form of a humanoid creature, ranging from an anthro-fied version of themselves to something that’s fully human. As far as bodyplan goes, everybody is essentially a biped with two legs and two arms (unless they've lost one or both along the way), and nobody has wings. Dragony kin may have some draconic features, but no kin here can fly unassisted; they need a dragon to help them. As far as naming goes, kin names carry over, as does the naming convention. Dragon names are a little more flexible; some are kin-esque names, some are onomatopoeia, some are impossibly strange sounds the likes of which have never been heard before, like "Slistaak" or "George." It’s very common for dragons that are transformed familiars to keep part or all of their original name, but it’s not required.

Their dragons are far more variable. Some dragons are familiars- if your kin has a close bond with a familiar, it may cross over into the realm with them and become a dragon. Or remain a dragon, if it already is one- but it will change, somehow. Perhaps it will become larger, or take a different shape. Perhaps it just gains the ability to communicate with you.

Other kin’s dragons are a reflection of their needs and desire for companionship sublimated into a massive scaly beast. In some cases, kin may later meet an animal that fulfills this role for them; if that’s the case, their new pet will turn into the dragon the next time the kin enters the realm.

And then some kin’s dragons are just part of them and don’t exist outside of this realm; they are met here, bonded here, and they remain, waiting, when your kin leaves for the Crossroads.

Every kin only gets one dragon, so don't go about losing it!

[Scaramouche Fandango]

While the dragons here can look very different to each other, they have a few things in common.

First, all dragons can talk to their bonded telepathically, and may also deign to speak out loud. Some dragons will talk to everyone, some dragons will speak to nobody but their bonded. A dragon can speak telepathically to another dragon, but not to another bonded, unless that bonded is a Legendary kin. Legendary powers still apply in this realm!

All dragons have a hoard of some kind, and much of the activity here surrounds finding new acquisitions for the hoard. Some dragons hoard the traditional jewels and gold; others prefer books and fine art, or rare postage stamps. Still others like collecting houseplants or socks or scented candles or dragon figurines (how meta!). Your dragon can collect anything, and as their bonded, it’s your job to help them get more of it.

Dragons are also all somewhat vain; even the most rough-and-tumble drake likes having their scales polished. A great deal of the activity here involves polishing your dragon’s scales, manicuring their claws, and generally telling them how beautiful they are.

Dragons can fly. It doesn’t matter if they have wings or if magic propels them through the sky. If your dragon is big enough, you can ride it. That’s the third thing people do; they ride around on their dragons, exploring the land and sky. Folks with smaller dragons often fly them like hawks, happily hunting in the woods or over the fields on horseback.

Dragons don’t necessarily get along with other dragons, but they don’t have to be enemies. Outside of a little vanity, they range all over the personality spectrum.

Dragons usually breathe something. Fire, lightning, frost, rainbow beams that heal, concentrated beams of light that burn (yes if you want a laser dragon you can have one), water- anything that you can think of. Not every dragon does, though! It’s up to you.

Dragon and kin that aren’t bonded cannot do magic (outside of the naturally occurring breath and flight). When a dragon bonds with somebody, they gain the ability to channel minor magic, as does the person they bond with. What this magic looks like is a little different for every pair, but it is pretty minor. Think along the lines of cantrips or basic spells; you’re not going to resurrect anybody, but you can heal minor wounds. You’re not going to magic up a suit of full armor, but you can certainly repair a rip in your pants. Without the bond, magic can’t happen.

Also, your dragon can look like anything and be any size, but do keep in mind that if your dragon’s body is any bulkier than say, a big draft horse, it might be hard for them to go into the city with you. Dragons over 20 feet long nose-to-tail are pretty uncommon!

[Scaramouche Fandango]

The realm is simply called the Dragonlands. As far as dragon realms go, this one’s pretty peaceful, without any existential-level threats. If you need danger, it’s there- bandits exist in the forest, there are big mean dragons who won’t bond and are grouchy about those who do, there’s bears and packs of wolves in the forest, there’s rogue dragons that hunt other dragons- but by and large, this isn’t Pern or Basgiath War College, this is a lot more peaceful.

Economic and tourist activities are tied to the dragons’ existence. You’ll see farmers and loggers with great draft dragons, families or groups of kids with a chaperone all riding their dragons together, excited young adults getting ready for competitions to show off what their dragon can do. There are dragon races. There are dragon shows. There are performing troupes of acrobats who do fairly fantastic feats on dragon back. If this sounds like those books about young girls who have a special, magical bond with horses… it’s not far off. Everybody here is basically a horse girl, just with dragons.

The realm is situated on an island that’s got impossibly tall mountains at the center, misty foothills with mysterious deep lakes, caves that go on forever, and wide swaths of grassy plains. The Crossroads spits you out on the road to a vaguely European, vaguely late medieval/early Renaissance-style city, with mysteriously clean streets and a frighteningly modern sewer system. There is a castle, and there’s a king or something in there, and there are knights, and shopkeepers, and lots of people who aren’t kin at all; they’re just there, with dragons of their own. There are small towns dotting the fields, lots of bucolic agricultural land, and some mid-sized port towns on the coast of a warm, dragon-filled sea. There are lots of small islands, some inhabited, some not, all within a day’s flight from the mainland, so if you want a high-seas pirate-style adventure, but with dragons, you can have that here.

As far as technology goes, think about the fictive realm of a renaissance faire mixed with the magic items available in your favorite fantasy TTRPG. There’s no cell phones here or like, air conditioning, but there are things to make life less miserable. And magic items exist, so if you need to talk with someone long-distance, you can get stones of sending or whatever. Think vaguely traditional Forgotten Realms DnD-style and just go with it, this isn’t about technology, this is about dragons.

Your dragon doesn’t appear right away, even if it’s a familiar that came in with you; you have to go find them. That’s where your adventures in this realm begin.

[Scaramouche Fandango]

While you can dive right in if you want to, an easy introduction to this realm is RPing out finding your dragon. There are two ways to do this: freestyle or guided. Remember, your dragon- even if it's a transformed familiar- isn't with you when you first enter the realm. So go get them! Maybe they’re waiting for you in the plains, or in the sea, or the mountains. Maybe they’re waiting for you in the city. Maybe they're on an island at sea, and you need to book passage on a ship to go find them. Tell us about the search for your dragon! Maybe they found you right away. Maybe you wandered for ages before finding them. Maybe you didn’t like each other at first but you had an adventure together. The sky’s the limit!

Or, you can use these guided prompts!

Who Are You? Describe your kin. How do they look? What are they wearing?
Who Is Your Dragon? What is your dragon’s name? Did a familiar from Kin-world change its form, or is it someone completely new here? What does your dragon look like? What color are its scales? How big is it?
Where Did You Meet? Where did you meet? Pick a location in the world!
How Did You Meet? What circumstances led to your meeting? This can be anything from “She was asleep in a tree and fell on my head” to “We went on an epic quest to recover his father’s stolen gold and on the way back we found we had bonded.” You can meet your dragon as a hatchling or an adult or juvenile or anything in between!
What Do They Hoard? What is your dragon hoarding?
Where Are You Going? What’s next for you and your dragon? What do you plan on doing in this world?

You don't have to answer all of the questions, but this prompt can help you get going and clarify your thoughts!