Drakes
"Come quick! The sheep are being slaughtered!"
"Is it wolves?"
"No- worse.."
The howls of wolves are not an uncommon sound heard from the forests of Mortagan, but those are not the sounds that keep the village children and adults alike awake at night. Hunters often tell tales of larger, more dangerous creatures, unafraid of the fires that most animals flee from. Creatures even more dangerous than their larger kin that fly above, creatures that would slaughter and eat up travellers who wandered too far into the woods without a second thought. Though to most, these tales are not simple stories, but memories. The bane of any rural village in Mortagan; drakes.
Basic Information
Ecology and Habitats
Drakes typically fair best in forests and woods in temperate or slightly colder climates. However, some species of drake can be found in the dry fields of the southern continent.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Drakes are carnivores, with a diet consisting of deer, humans, minotor, and in rare cases even wolves. Though they typically hunt in the forests, it is not uncommon for drakes to venture out into rural settlements and attack cattle, sheep, and people.
Behaviour
Although some drake species are solitary, most live in packs with an average of 5-9 members, though some have been seen with as many as 14.
Additional Information
Uses, Products & Exploitation
As a somewhat common but highly dangerous creatures, drakes are a novelty amongst the rich and powerful in Argóx. Within Argóxn nobility, larger species are often trained as guard animals, meant to keep the most precious of family treasures safe, with the smaller species being kept as pets. To the military, their purpose is found in mounts for the most elite soldiers, though the more stubborn volatile drakes are kept as weapons, usually starved and kept in uncomfortably small cages to make them extra violent. These drakes are released onto battlefields or enemy settlements, slaughtering indiscriminately. Particularly bloodthirsty drakes that find themselves injured in battle are shipped back to the capital to fight in the arena. Drake feathers, teeth, claws, and bones are a rare treasure, thanks to the danger involved in harvesting them. Within certain Argòxn tribes, these items are believed to have magical properties, and are used to make charms and other spiritual items. Drake hide is highly resistant to fire, and so is sometimes used as an expensive substitute to leather, either as a show of wealth or for extra protection from the elements.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Different species of drakes can be found all around Mortagan Skal.
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