DESERT DRAKE, THE

The Desert Drake is one of the few drakes - both great and lesser - that cannot fly. It has overlapping plates over most parts of its body and a long neck and has six legs, while the front legs are used as hands. As the name already implies, the Desert Drake can be found exclusively in desert lands. They are one of the most intelligent kinds of drakes, showing remarkable problem solving ability and even have some sort of language of their own as well as a hierarchical system in their herds consisting of a leader (queen) and her underlings - workers, diggers, soldiers and so on.

Appearance:
The Desert Drake is one of the few drakes - both great and lesser - that cannot fly. In fact it has no wings at all, and to even further that, they seem to hate heights. These burly drakes compensate for the lack of wings with an unusually thick hide, which ranges from lighter tones of black to deep browns and grays. The hide itself is made up of thick overlapping plates, very much like scales, but harder, and more rock like in texture and appearance. The body is very much like that of an elephant, only somewhat larger, and it has six legs rather than four. Huge curved retractable claws can be found on the drake's first two rows of legs, the hind set are used only for walking and balance. The front legs double as hands, able to grip and move objects, much as any humanoid can, and as such tend to be shorter than the back two rows. The second row is much more foot like, and is used almost primarily for digging - if not then this row is used for walking as well. The back row is solely for walking purposes, and is very wide at the base, aiding in balance when digging, again no claws can be found on the back legs. The drake's neck is somewhat long, usually about the length of one of its front legs and is covered in a much softer hide then the rest of the body. The neck is therefore very flexible and can move with relative ease. The Desert Drake's head is covered with the same hard hide as the rest of its body, except around the eyes and back jaw, where it is a little softer. Large eyelids can be shut over the eyes, to prevent rocks and other debris from damaging the eyes, and the jaw holds, a mouth full of jagged teeth, interspersed with large grinding molars.

Territory:
As the name implies, these drakes are found in the deserts of Caelereth. Their caves may stretch for miles but all herds center around one body of fresh water. As such there are five known herds of these drakes, each named after the body of water they originate from. To a layman each group may look the same, but they do have different colorings and features that separate the herds. The Aegyslam call the Sveltash Desert of Aeruillin home (also the largest of the known herds). The Tardulan lay claim to the Desert of Light. The Hylmagor and the Bright Witch are constantly fighting one another over space in the Desert of Ysthalinth. And the smallest and tamest of the known herds can be found near the Oasis of Nirmenith at the Rahaz-Dath Desert, which is located in the the southernmost Santharian province of Truban.

Habitat/Behaviour:
Desert Drakes spend most all their time in their own caves, just digging away the earth and setting sand traps to get their food. They do on occasion come up to the surface, but never for very long. They are also extremely aware and protective of their home. If anything enters Desert Drak "soldiers" are soon on the scene to assess the situation. If its food, then the hunters are called in to take care of things, if its deemed dangerous, then the soldiers waste no time in attacking. Sometimes the drakes will find no harm from an interloper. In these cases, workers will come and take the intruder to the nearest surface hole and led them on their way. The whole herd of Desert Drakes acts much like a colony of ants, each different group has a specific job. The following is a brief overview of what each class of drake does for the heard, as observed by the dragon researcher Homloth:

Queen
The queen is the leader of the heard, as she controls the few females that are born. She will give birth to more drakes than any other female, and is the glue that holds all other classes together.

Nurses
The other few and less dominant females are referred to as nurses. They look after all of the queen's needs, and takes care of all the queen's eggs, and their own, and raise them until they start out in their own class.

Workers
These are the most common of all the classes and do all the digging and trap making.

Hunters
Catch any food that may wander into the caves, checks the sand traps, and leave caves to hunt for food on the surface if needed.

Soldiers
Keep threats away from the queen and also move out of the cave if necessary. They take direct orders from queen.