RED DRAKE, THE

Red Drakes are young Black Drakes; they will transform into black colour once they reach maturity. Red Drakes have very unstable personalities and are apt to attack on the slightest whim. They have a moderate command of fire magic, but are not usually in control of it.

Appearance.
As its name implies, the Red Drake is a blood-red-coloured drake. It has a smooth, bald looking skull, with no noticeable horns or bumps to be seen, with a smooth snout and jaw line. Its front fangs protrude noticeably from the drake’s upper lip, measuring a palm span or more from where they are visible. It has no other extraordinary marks; no horns, rough scales, spikes, or any other such decoration; what it does have however is very smooth skin, not as tough as most drakes, but thick, with a noticeable fat layer beneath it.
The drake has two hind legs with three claws and a dewclaw to each foot, but no fore feet. The Red Drake has a pair of fully functional wings, but when it flies it is slow moving and has an obvious lack of grace in the air, being incapable of quick turns or maneuvers. This lack of flying ability seems to be attributed more to slow wit and reflexes rather than physical handicaps. The drake has a pair of unusually large eyes, with a yellow green iris and darker green pupil. The overall size of the beast measures four to five peds including the tail, and about two peds to the shoulder when the drake stands with a wingspan of up to 4 peds; an unimpressive, unassuming looking drake.

Special Abilities.
The Red Drake can breathe fire, has a simple command of fire magic, and is also capable of flying. This drake also has a noticeable ability like no other: when it reaches two hundred years of age, it goes through what some learned minds call ‘incomplete metamorphosis’. For those of simpler education, this means that it changes almost completely in form. The Red Drake gorges itself on carrion and dead flesh, then finds a cave or secluded cleft out of sight, and when it emerges four weeks later, the change is awe inspiring: gone is the smooth red skin and simple looking body; in its place are hard black shining scales, a set of horns that look like rams' horns curl near its face, the fangs have curled back towards its neck, the eyes are now shot through with blue and green, the feet number four with four claws per foot and it has lost its dewclaw; it has a row of heavy spikes on the tail which it can wield like a club; and it has lost nearly two peds in its overall length, making it about three to three-and-a-half peds long. The Black Drake shares its fellow drakes' grace in flight, and it is quick and intelligent, though not sentient. For a more thorough overview of the Black Drake, see the entry under ‘Lesser Drakes’.

Territory.
Red Drakes can be found on the Sarvonian continent at the Tandala Highlands for the most part, near or in the Dragons Maw, but also in northwestern parts of the continent like the Shaddhar or the Domchor Mountains at the Peninsula of Aden. Red Drakes have also been spotted at the Vindel Mountain range near the Chapel Fjord.

Habitat/Behaviour.
A Red Drake is mean and fierce and attacks on the smallest whim, but is not hard to escape and therefore not very dangerous.
The Red Drakes prefers cool and dry climates, but needs a regular supply of food and water through the first two hundred years of its life. In the last weeks before its transformation, it consumes huge quantities of flesh. They are not above cannibalism, especially as they draw close to their hibernation and growth change. Weaker dragons will sometimes be attacked and eaten by the Red Drakes in their search for food; as such very young Red Drakes and drakes in general have to be careful to avoid being sought out as prey.
When the time for hibernation comes, the drake will seek out a warm but secluded cave or cleft, where it curls up like a tightly coiled snake and begins its rest. The dragon will turn and toss often during the process, and in these four weeks the features of the Black Dragon emerge as the fat the Red Drrake has built up is used over the month long change. Several transforming drakes may nest together during the process, and it is interesting to note that Red and Black Drakes, while willing to eat their own kind at any other time, will never bother-and even defend-hibernating Red Drakes. See entry under ‘Researchers’.