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Mythos:
There are many forms of dragonkind that reach across the world. The term Drake refers to the dragons of the west. Only surpassed by the world-threatening Chaoskampf dragons, Drakes are among the largest and fiercest of all creatures. Possessed of great size and strength, their scales and teeth are also hard as steel. Their breath is a noxious plume of poison and flames, their tails hide a venomous stinger and their blood is toxic, so even if a lucky knight might overcome the rest of the Drake's defenses, they will not live to see their victory, for they will already be doomed by the Drake's blood. The Drakes are remnants of a primordial Chaos, an embodiment of Nature's untamed fury, or the feral, animal instincts that righteous civilizations strive to conquer. Drakes are known for hoarding vast treasures in their lairs, and guarding them visciously. Even if a single copper coin leaves its collection, a Drake will know it, and rain down hell on any nearby settlements until its wrath is sated. Some Drakes' greed of beauty extends to human beauties as well, and they will kidnap the fairest of maidens for their collections.
There are many forms of dragonkind that reach across the world. The term Drake refers to the dragons of the west. Only surpassed by the world-threatening Chaoskampf dragons, Drakes are among the largest and fiercest of all creatures. Possessed of great size and strength, their scales and teeth are also hard as steel. Their breath is a noxious plume of poison and flames, their tails hide a venomous stinger and their blood is toxic, so even if a lucky knight might overcome the rest of the Drake's defenses, they will not live to see their victory, for they will already be doomed by the Drake's blood. The Drakes are remnants of a primordial Chaos, an embodiment of Nature's untamed fury, or the feral, animal instincts that righteous civilizations strive to conquer. Drakes are known for hoarding vast treasures in their lairs, and guarding them visciously. Even if a single copper coin leaves its collection, a Drake will know it, and rain down hell on any nearby settlements until its wrath is sated. Some Drakes' greed of beauty extends to human beauties as well, and they will kidnap the fairest of maidens for their collections.
Insight:
A lot of fantasy literature likes to make some distinction between dragons and drakes, but as far as I can tell, there was never any such distinction in genuine mythology. Drake and Dragon are synonyms, or probably the same word in different languages getting reintroduced later. So for the Acheron series, I decided that "Dragon" would be a more categorical term, and "Drake" would be a specific race of Dragons. The mythos blurb might seem a bit odd if you're used to mamby pamby modern fantasy literature, but in genuine mythology and folklore, Drakes are bad bad news and were often more of an allegory for humankind's sinful tendencies. In one of the Middle Age's periods of lady shaming, they also started depicting dragons with lady parts to suggest that dragon-like behavior (i.e. sinfullness) was inherent to females. It might also be news to some people that mythological dragons are venomous. Indeed, the earliest dragons were originally just monster snakes, so they inherited the snake's venom. There are a couple stories where the hero who slays the dragon dies shortly afterward because of its poison blood or fumes, this is even how Thor dies in Ragnarok.
A lot of fantasy literature likes to make some distinction between dragons and drakes, but as far as I can tell, there was never any such distinction in genuine mythology. Drake and Dragon are synonyms, or probably the same word in different languages getting reintroduced later. So for the Acheron series, I decided that "Dragon" would be a more categorical term, and "Drake" would be a specific race of Dragons. The mythos blurb might seem a bit odd if you're used to mamby pamby modern fantasy literature, but in genuine mythology and folklore, Drakes are bad bad news and were often more of an allegory for humankind's sinful tendencies. In one of the Middle Age's periods of lady shaming, they also started depicting dragons with lady parts to suggest that dragon-like behavior (i.e. sinfullness) was inherent to females. It might also be news to some people that mythological dragons are venomous. Indeed, the earliest dragons were originally just monster snakes, so they inherited the snake's venom. There are a couple stories where the hero who slays the dragon dies shortly afterward because of its poison blood or fumes, this is even how Thor dies in Ragnarok.