kazeqen
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- | The sapient inhabitants of [[character: | + | The sapient inhabitants of [[character: |
- | * [[planet: | + | * **kazeqena** //- all dragons// |
+ | * **[[: | ||
+ | * [[:Netaru]] ([[planet: | ||
+ | * [[: | ||
+ | * **Rashtaryka** //- dragons whose necks are separate, but point in the same direction, like a hydra// | ||
+ | * //(none known yet)// | ||
+ | * **Mirhata** //- dragons whose necks are separate, but the asymmetry of which is starkly developed// | ||
+ | * [[: | ||
+ | * **Shareseja** //- dragons whose necks are separate and pointing into opposite directions// | ||
+ | * //(none known yet)// | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Proto-Dragon ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | The // | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Evolution ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Basal draconics can be traced back to starfish-like, | ||
+ | |||
+ | The three-limbed, | ||
+ | |||
+ | At this point considerable differentiation in " | ||
+ | |||
+ | The further away the " | ||
+ | |||
+ | At this point, in a particular area of the originator planet, the landscape was [[https:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | It was at this time that the **conjoining** that Draconics are famous for began to manifest as more than an accident of biochemistry (though it had always been more prevalent in their ancestors than one would ever see it in mammals). Three limbs are quite okay for climbing, but six offers a great advantage in stability. Six-limbed conjoined " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Again, regular conjoining (having previously not been selected against, but also not selected for, but all in all being far more evolutionarily available than it might be in humans) evolved twice - once in the herbivores, once in the carnivores. Mouths were shared and due to its vicinity, the stomach was equally shared; the circulatory system was shared; the nervous system was shared. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Around the time that one limb of the basal creature (two limbs in the conjoined one) began to differentiate itself as a defensive or offensive weapon and the bones in the limbs became increasingly important, and the creature lifted itself to run (often //up// vertical structures), | ||
+ | |||
+ | In this species, the eyes started to grow together and rise into a stalk per basal creature, adopting a greater flexibility. The two brains, despite good interconnections, | ||
+ | |||
+ | Ever since the " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Jumping and (in some cases) running became more important in pursuit of prey from hoodoo to hoodoo, and one limb per basal creature (two limbs per conjoined creature) became noticeably longer and stronger than the others. Jumping and running happened on two limbs; during latter, the remaining limbs were used to steer or break a fall. | ||
+ | |||
+ | A membrane developed between the limbs to allow gliding. By this point, the mouth had travelled up the creature' | ||
+ | |||
+ | As the **spatial awareness** necessary for navigating hoodoo ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | This led into the proto-dragon. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Limbs and locomotion ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | An example outline of a half-dragon, | ||
+ | |||
+ | {{ : | ||
+ | |||
+ | Note that these creatures are not optimised for strength at this point in their evolutionary history - neither their prey nor they themselves have strong grips. The grips are sufficient to deal with their own body weight when moving, but not much more. | ||
+ | |||
+ | A 'more natural' | ||
+ | |||
+ | {{ : | ||
+ | |||
+ | If a half-dragon were living solo, its natural posture would be described as ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | In brief, this is how one should picture a conjoined dragon: | ||
+ | |||
+ | {{ : | ||
+ | |||
+ | Note the //mirrored nature// of the limbs in the conjoining - whereas one half-dragon' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Due to the extreme symmetry of the halves, most illustrations on this page will only bother depicting a half-dragon. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Proto-dragons typically climb and glide, although they are also capable of walking. Here are some common wing arrangements when gliding: | ||
+ | |||
+ | {{ : | ||
+ | |||
+ | It should be plainly obvious that this form of gliding does not easily lend itself to evolving to powered flight. As such, most extant Draconics derived from the proto-dragon do not possess this trait. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Bones ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Some hints as to the skeletal system: | ||
+ | |||
+ | {{ : | ||
+ | |||
+ | There is no spine, per se, although the neck has supporting ossicles that have a similar function. The foot's necessary flexibility, | ||
+ | |||
+ | ^ Mode ^ Shape ^ | ||
+ | | Climbing | {{: | ||
+ | | Gliding | ||
+ | | Running | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Major organs ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Organ placement in proto-dragons seems arbitrary and strange when looking at them out of context of their evolutionary background: | ||
+ | |||
+ | The main brain of a half-dragon has never left the torso to wander up to what began as eye stalks, meaning that it lies within the 'rib cage' of the creature. The heart and single lung can still switch to modes relying on assistance by the compression occurring due to locomotion, putting them near the most pronounced limb's joint. A proto-dragon sitting still and breathing will have rhythmically contracting thighs pulling in air through slits in the skin of said thighs. Only the gastrointestinal system seems normal, although it one additional pouch for intermediate food storage //after// the stomach has been passed: | ||
+ | |||
+ | {{ : | ||
+ | |||
+ | Other organ-equivalents (liver, kidney, glands) exist, but are not depicted here. | ||
+ | |||
+ | In a properly conjoined proto-dragon, | ||
+ | |||
+ | {{ : | ||
+ | |||
+ | Other organs remain separate - e.g. a properly conjoined proto-dragon has two hearts. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Reproduction ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Proto-dragons are hermaphrodites; | ||
+ | |||
+ | Proto-dragons have their genitals in the form of a tube running roughly parallel to their esophagus, open about halfway up the throat. The ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ^ Sex ^ Genitals ^ | ||
+ | | Male | {{: | ||
+ | | Female | {{: | ||
+ | |||
+ | As baby dragons become larger and use up the nutrient storage given to them (as there is no umbilical cord), they move from the small womb into a marsupial pouch, where they are then typically fed with regurgitated food from the respective other parent until they in turn have enough strength to cling to their parents' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Adult proto-dragons copulate by resting their necks against each other to align the tubes: | ||
+ | |||
+ | {{ : | ||
+ | |||
+ | As one might expect, proto-dragon genitals are very sensitive to touch. Their ability to detect even fine perturbations has ultimately made them the basis of their hearing apparatus (which, however, has since detached from the genitals themselves and wandered as a kind of tympanum to the back of their ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Dimorphism ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | A male and female ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | In addition, the halves can be easily identified even without considering the heads: The male half of the conjoined dragon forms its right arm into a vestigial/wing arm; the female half of the conjoined dragon forms its left arm into a vestigial/wing arm. | ||
+ | |||
+ | In //very rare// cases, it's possible that a dragon is a conjoint of two females, but due to the break in useful symmetry for gliding, this does not form functional adult - as soon as the creature is left to fend for itself in nature, it will rapidly die. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Non-Conjoined Condition ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Biochemically speaking, a non-conjoined proto-dragon is still functional, but its asymmetries make it a poor adaption for nearly any conceivable environment. Modern sapient dragons rarely have children that revert to non-conjoined form and can survive to adulthood, but if they do, these tend to be sub-sapient, |
kazeqen.1579448446.txt.gz · Last modified: 2020-01-19 15:40 by pinkgothic