Dragon Chimera are a type of Animate Chimera in the Dreaming.
Overview[]
Some say that dragons began as the racial memory of humanity's mammalian ancestors' encounters with dinosaurs, made flesh in the Dreaming. This origin might explain why dragons have changed as the human brain and society has evolved. Nearly every culture in human society had dragons in its Dream Realms. Of course, they also have their dragon-hunters. In recent times, chimerical dragons are smaller than they used to be, and the older ones are either dead or sleeping in the deepest cave-realms of the Dreaming. The sightings of larger dragons are few in modern times, even in areas of the Far Dreaming.
Dragons would almost be an endangered species, were it not for the dreams inspired by movies and animations. Even so, it is surprising how little chimerical dragons have changed in the last 200 years.
Types[]
The dragons of the East and West are fundamentally different and have variant dispositions, powers, and forms.
Western Dragon Chimera[]
Western dragons come in three varieties: wurms, demi-dragons, and dragons proper. Generally (but not always), these classes refer to their ascending order of cunning and intellect, as well as body types. Wurms are wingless and legless. Often, they breathe poisonous vapor and are covered with slime. They usually satisfy themselves by killing livestock, but they will eat anything that gets too close. Demi-dragons are smarter, have two legs, and (usually) a pair of wings. People who transform into dragons often assume this shape. Demi-dragons, when fully grown, usually disdain simple livestock and often think of fae as a good meal. A Wyvern is an example of a demi-dragon. Western Dragons proper are the four-legged, fire-breathing, sit-on-a-pile-of-treasure-and-terrorize-maidens type we usually consider when we think of dragons. These dragons are the most dangerous and cunning of the breed, but they tend to get sluggish and sleep a lot when they get older.
Exceptions[]
Note that there are exceptions to the classes above. The Midgard Serpent, for example, was so large that no one could see all of its body, and it was able to stretch around the world and bite its own tail on the few occasions it sneaked out of the Dreaming.
Some dragons possess unusual forms and powers, such as the Native American Weewilmekq, a giant, slug-like wurm with rows of teeth and a powerful, parasitic sucker for a mouth; or the Garguille, a wurm that expelled a tidal flood of water from its gullet to drown its victims.
Eastern Dragon Chimera[]
When the inhabitants of the Middle Kingdom first looked up and saw rain falling from the sky or the waters of the ocean crash against the coastal shelf, into their dreams flew divine beings responsible for these aspects of nature. In such dreams, the Chinese dragons took form. The Dreamers imagined the dragons with such loving detail that these chimera can still occasionally break through the curtain of Banality to manifest before humans. Indeed, in the distant past, eastern dragons took human mates, and many fae can claim their descent from these chimera.
As befits a being of divine nature, a Chinese dragon takes 3,000 years to mature fully from its large, gemlike egg. A classic adult Chinese dragon has the head of a camel, a demon's eyes, stag-horns, a snakelike neck, and the belly of a clam. It has four feet like a tiger's, but with eagle-claws. The oldest have wings, but all can fly.
There are many kinds of eastern dragon, from the ocean-dwelling Wang Lung, or fire dragon, to the six-legged, two-bodied T'ao T'ieh, whose huge, gluttonous appetites put western dragons to shame. Then there is the classic Kioh-Lung, the adult Chinese dragon.
Again, these beings were treated as celestial divinities. While they could occasionally be malevolent, they hardly fit the same bill as the solitary western maiden-eating monster. Many kioh-lung live in cloud palaces, complete with a huge temple and a village of loyal worshipers. Treasure-seeking adventurers are likely to get more than they bargained for if they tangle with the beings. While they are not especially generally fond of western fae or nunnehi, kioh-lung recognize respect when it is given and protect honorable eastern fae with a vengeance, as some of these fae likely are their descendants.
Character Sheet[]
Trivia[]
- These animate chimera share the same name as the bygone dragons, even with their Western and Eastern counterparts.
References[]
- CTD: Dreams and Nightmares, p. 109-111
Gallery[]
