Dragonology

"Don't ask the dragons any direct questions" - Dragonologist's First Maxim "Corollary: if you do, be sure you aren't talking to a wyvern" - Dragonologist's Second Maxim

Dragonology is the study of dragons by humans. Dragons have no need to study each other, as they already know everything about themselves. It is a colorful field, and one in which dragons have not been all together cooperative. Dragonologists can generally be described as belonging to one of three "waves":

• First Wave dragonologists began by asking simple, direction questions. Dragons being intelligent, reasoning beings capable of rational thought and speaking many languages, responded to these questions with sarcasm, pranks, and not a small amount of lying and double-talk. Initial efforts were further hampered by deliberate disinformation provided by Wyverns, which according to the dragons was "funny".

• Second Wave dragonologists, such as Lacroix Brennt, did not interact with dragons at all, and instead relied on observation. They made many important discoveries this way, and were an important step towards paving the way for a real understanding of dragons.

• Third Wave dragonologists, such as Yule Steinheart and Scalgdorf, worked to build actual relationships with dragons, and derived their observations through conversation rather than interrogation. Dragons will tend to be guarded about direct questions, but are quite open in the course of conversation.

• Honorable Mention goes to the Rinoin civilization, who were the first to conduct actual scientific measurements. While exactly how these early experiments were negotiated remains lost to history, records survive of experiments done by attaching instruments to red-red-fire dragons. These experiments would later by repeated by the Gudersnipe Foundation as well as the Trans-Draconic Federation. The Rinoin records, beginning with their discovery and continuing through much of the Ages of the Alliance were in fact the only scientifically recorded readings on dragons that were widely available for quite a long while.