Sundrake Abilities
Common Sundrakes
Sundrakes are well-adapted to the mountains and open skies of their homeland. Their long wings grant them excellent maneuverability and speed in the air, and their hooked talons allow them to easily grip rock faces. Despite their size, sundrakes are one of, if not the, fastest species of dragon to call the Realm home. They possess highly flexible skeletons and wings, and are capable of squeezing through any passages large enough to fit their head.
Their most well-known ability is known as “sunfire”. After sunning themselves, sundrakes are capable of exhaling beams of burning-hot light. Their breath weapon not only leaves searing burns but can, if a victim looks at it directly, can leave them blinded for hours. Sunfire can come in any bright colour and varies from sundrake to sundrake. Sundrake vision is highly adjusted to daylight; they are unaffected by sudden flashes of bright light, though are near-blind at night. Their sense of hearing is about equal to a human’s, but their sense of smell is very keen. A sundrake can “taste” the air like a snake to better pick up on the scents around them. They also have very strong senses of taste, and are able to detect subtle flavours that might not be picked up on by most. |
A sundrake using its sunfire. Artwork by Coldfrontdrawz. |
Suntouched Sundrakes
A Suntouched dragon has many abilities, the first of which is that they do not need to sun themselves to use their sunfire; their own natural light is sufficient fuel.
They may also unleash ‘sunburst’ - an intense flash of light radiating from their scales - that blinds any attacker, giving a Suntouched time to run away or get in a surprise attack. Should they overuse their abilities, a Suntouched dragon becomes drained of all energy, their glowing scales dull and dim. It is an exhausting and unpleasant experience that requires days of rest to recover. |
Shade Sundrakes
While smaller and often sickly after hatching, Shades are gifted with a strange and dangerous inversion of a sundrakes’ natural abilities; they can exhale thick clouds of freezing-cold smoke. Their breath weapon is so frigid that it can cause hypothermia in half a minute, with effects equal, if not greater than, falling into a frozen lake.
To other dragons, however, this ability appears as though the Shade is draining the very life out of its victims. The fact that sunfire and a Suntouched 'sunbursts' can repel the dangerous black smoke only further adds to the sinister reputation of Shades' powers. Those subjected to this ability are victim to a number of dramatic effects; their body temperature drops, their breathing slows, they begin to shiver, their speech slurs and they lose all coordination and energy. While not immediately fatal, exposure to a Shade's breath weapon for too long can result in heart or respiratory failure - and, long before that happens, makes them helpless to the teeth and claws of their assailant. For those who survive the cold breath of a Shade and escape from their attacker, there is still the risk of losing fingers or toes. Like with hypothermia, tissue in the extremities can die as the body tries to focus on keeping vital organs functioning. If not exposed for too long and treated with warmth and lots of rest, a dragon should be able to make a full recovery. Aside from their breath weapon, Shades are born with long fangs that are visible even with their jaws closed; these teeth make them especially dangerous close-quarters fighters. Unlike normal sundrakes, they have keen vision in the dark, at the cost of being more light-sensitive. |