Dragons

Dragon formal introductions are done like so:

[Dragon Name], of the [flight name], out of [Mother's Name] by [Father's Name].

Example:

Hunter Jusenkyou, of the High Mountain Flight, out of Sahar by Hygelic.

Dragon flight names always end with Flight. Example: Ozork Flight, High Mountain Flight, Warsong Flight, Lowland Hills Flight, etc, etc, et agnosiam.

A Fallen Dragon is a dragon that has chosen evil. When fallen dragon's reproduce, their offspring are born feral. Feral dragons have the body of a dragon but the mind of a beast. Dragons do not consider feral dragons to be dragons, and have no more qualms about killing them than you would a monkey or a cow. They are animals, the likeness is merely coincidental.

Dragons can shapeshift, but only into a limited number of forms. Specifically other mystical creatures and humans. They cannot disguise themselves as anyone, the dragon has very specific 'forms' in it's other shapes, all of them distinct and identifiable. A dragon in human-form might not be identifiable as such to a human, but if compared to it's dragon form the similarities would be obvious.

Dragons live in flights. The flight is a close-knit community with a herarchy and leadership. Usually the eldest dragons lead. The flight will live in an eerie, a system of gaves usually heated by geothermal energy(volcanic activity). Dragon eeries are heavily guarded, outsiders are not permitted under any circumstances(including dragons from other flights). Though dragon eeries are a community, the dragons consider each other dragon in the flight to be as family, referring to each other as 'brother' and 'sister', regardless of actual familial relationships. Dragons do organize into family groups, and are very interested in consanguinity(family relationship, in laymens terms who is related to who and how). Though familial relationships are rarely spoken of, every dragon nows how he is related to every other dragon.

Dragons mate for life. Eggs, however, are hatched in a communal rookery, tended to by the entire flight. Despite the massive size of dragons, eggs are only around a foot in diameter. The exact incubation time varies drastically between flights, with some as low as four months and others as high as two years. Hatchlings grow very quickly, doubling in size every two or three months. Hatchlings remain in the rookery for the first year or so of life, before venturing out into the eerie with their parents. Hatchlings only ever leave the rookery with their parents; when the parents must leave the hunt the hatchlings are returned to the eerie. This continues until they reach around the age of three. By this time their physical bodies have matured enough to begin learning to hunt and fly.

Despite their long lives, dragons develop mentally along a similar time line to humans. Much of their early life is governed by instinct, but they soon become aware. Dragons have exceptionally good memories, and thus have no need for books. Every dragon will learn the oral history of the flight by age ten, along with any other information they may require.

Dragon grudges last a long time. When one flight is 'at war' with another, the war does not end until one flight has been completely annihilated. Though the war may not involve any active battle, all dragons know which flights they are at war with, and if one ever encounters a dragon from an opposing flight, they will battle one another until one lies dead.