Species Fact Sheet

Physical Appearance

Draks are the dominant species on Planet Icarus; strong, quick, and very intelligent. At first appearance, they are reptilian beasts, with leathery skin covered in scales. They have two pairs of wings, one over the shoulders and one over the middle of the back, which allow them to fly at great speeds and even to hover.

Draks have thick, silky fur on their necks and at the end of their tails, and sometimes growing from underneath their scales as well. This fur will keep growing until it is sheared or lost in a fight. The fur can be sheared when a Drak permits it, and has a multitude of uses. Cloth woven from Drak fur is prized beyond all others because it is softer than angora wool. (see Chapter 3 > Lifestyle)

Most Draks are extremely intelligent and pick up languages very quickly, much to the relief of the first settlers of Icarus. They readily attempt to learn new words and languages, but because of the position of their teeth and the shape of their mouths and tongues almost always speak with a noticeable accent: vowels are accented very lightly and tend to be slightly drawn out. The "s" and soft "c" sounds often end in a hiss, and "r"s often have a slight breath afterward. "Ch" tends to sound more like "sh," and hard "th" sounds are almost always softened. Consonants that involve pressing the tongue to the roof of the mouth, such as "k" and hard "c," "g," and "d", often are punctuated with a hiss or a breath afterwards. Drak voices are resonating; females speak in a very low alto voice and males in a baritone, at the highest.

A Drak's primary weapon when fighting is their ability to spit acid. This is similar to albatrosses on earth, who regurgitate a bad-smelling stomach enzyme when threatened, but the Drak's acid is a far more potent weapon. The acid is so strong that it can eat away stone or metal if left long enough, and can cause even the thick-armored Nex Necium considerable pain. This acid is too strong to be used for digestion as it would damage the Drak's stomach. Instead, it is secreted by two glands along the side of the esophagus, where it can be "spit" by contracting the muscles around the glands. This forces the acid out of the mouth at high speeds, thereby minimizing contact with surrounding tissue. Also, as a protective measure, thick mucus lines the walls of the esophagus, throat, and mouth, preventing damage to the tissue, and secretion of this mucus is triggered by agitation or fear, in preparation for defense using the acid in a dangerous situation. The mucus is harmless to the Drak and is usually barely felt, and is swallowed during the Drak's next meal.

Abilities

• verbal speech: Draks are able to pick of the speech patterns of those around them, though they tend to speak in a slurred pattern due to the shape of their mouths which cannnot produce human sounds as well as humans can.
• teleportation: also called Passage; the ability to transport oneself and those touching you to a different location instantly.
• acidic spit: produces a highly corrosive spit
• empathy: able to sense the motives and feelings of certian individuals.

Breeding, Clutching, and Bonding

Female Draks come into heat once every 4 to 5 months. If they choose to mate, they will lay a clutch after 3 to 4 months. A female Drak's first clutch can be from two to four eggs. A second clutch may be from three to six, a third from five to nine, and a fourth anywhere up to 10. Most clutches don't get any higher than 10 eggs. Since humans have colonized the planet, many Drak hatchlings choose to Mind Pair with a human that they choose from those present at their hatching. However, some Draks choose to live a solitary life. Many of these will remain at their resident Castle with their Paired siblings and parents, but some return to Drak communities outside of the Castle.

When a female's clutch is ready to hatch, she will often shoo everyone from the Deep Caverns, although some females may let their mate watch as the eggs hatch. Humans are never allowed to see this. Once all the eggs have hatched, the female leads all the Draklings from the cavern in a line behind her and parades them in front of the available Aspirants waiting at the exit of the Deep Cavern. The female announces each one's name, then steps back and lets each Drakling choose a partner or announce their decision not to Mind Pair.

When a human and a Drak Mind Pair, a weak mental bond is formed between the two. Vague thoughts and emotions can be transmitted, and the pair will rarely be apart. This bond is not strong enough to share actual thoughts, words, or images so it cannot be used for true communication, but one member of the pair can often tell if the other is troubled, joyful, angry, sad, et cetera. Draks can Pair with humans of either gender; the Aspirant that they Pair with is determined by the compatibility of their personalities.

On rare occasions, two Draks that decide not to Pair with the human Aspirants present may decide to Pair with one another, personalities permitting. This is slightly more common in areas with less human habitation, where more Draks may not have the opportunity to Bond. It is also frequent in Drak communities outside the Castles.

Naming Styles

Taks the last two letters of the sire and dame. Males use sire-dame and females use dame-sire.

Examples:

Athar x Jaydas

• males: aras
• females: asar

Gallery

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Baskar Castle Drak
Submitted by Yakima