Dragonkin are ancient beasts of magic and legend, and the empowered species of Krickix, Greater God of Fire. In the early days of Rodash, they inhabited the volcanic crater that is now Hollowtop Village, but humans hunted them almost to extinction during the era of the Su'Agat Empire. In the modern day, they are extremely rare indeed, with sightings rarely being confirmed beyond rumor. Still, it is my belief that these wonderful creatures still exist in Verden, somewhere. There are reputed to have been three types of dragonkin: dragons, drakes, and wyverns. Indeed, there are more than enough historical sources to confirm that this is fact.
Dragons, the Ancient Masters
The dragons, of course, are the most well-known and revered of the dragonkin, hence the entire category of creatures being named after them. According to many sources, they could live eternally, were at least as intelligent as humans (if not far superior!), able to speak in many tongues, and were literally made of magic. It is said that they could easily take on different forms to suit their needs, including those of humanoids, and once had complex societies of their own.
Drakes, the Dutiful Pets
A drake was to a dragon, perhaps, as a dog is to a man. Indeed, they were huge, powerfully strong creatures of fire just like their masters, but they lacked the intelligence or skill of magic to form complex societies or even to speak. Still, they could be trained and controlled, even by humanoids. Most famously, a drake was used to guard the vault of the Free Traders in the middle years of Vale, remaining there for almost 600 years.
Wyverns, the Violent Beasts
And, finally, if a drake was a dragon's dog, then a wyvern was a wolf. They are massive, vicious, impossible to train, and completely without empathy or remorse. They either do not understand speech or disregard it, and they are powerful enough that just one or two of them could easily destroy entire villages. According to Aethus's accounts, these very creatures were what caused humanity to begin their war with the dragons so long ago. Perhaps it was all a misunderstanding! Wyverns still fly down from the high places and attack human settlements on occasion, or so it is said. Unfortunately, there has not been a confirmed sighting for over a century.
Dragonkin Magic
Similar to the Elves and Dwarves, all dragonkin were born with innate magic that was granted to them by Krickix, the Greater God of Fire. As such, they emanate powerful heat constantly, are immune to all forms of fire and flame, and are able to produce such gouts at will! All three types also have the magical ability to fly despite their enormous mass, perhaps by producing great thermals of heat below them. Furthermore, dragons in particular are able to use the Dragon Power, their own form of magic that, similarly to a human sorcerer, is able to directly access the chaos around us for spell creation.
The Dragon Tongue
Most of the language of the dragons is lost to time, but snippets of it remain in human historical texts. Most of these examples are words that have been integrated into different human languages. For example, "dragonkin" is actually "Melokai" in their tongue, for it means "Ones of Fire". The founder of the Melokai guild in Vale, the famous wizard Morkei, reportedly chose the name because he wished to emulate the dragons in his guild. Indeed, his own adopted name, "Morkei", means "dragon", which translates to "Master of Fire". Other more humble words such as "aerie", "vigor", and "inferno" are all, apparently, derived from the dragon tongue.
