dragon hatchery

[ThePaladin]

im so curious about everything dragon now!  thank you for taking the time to share all this info.  i think the more i can understand the better prepared i'll be if i get to see her again.  you could tell me everything you know and i would listen intently.  if she is already aged why, which i will try to remember to ask her if i see her again, why would she still be so small?  are they not all massive, flying giants?  in the movies they are depicted as carrying their humans in flight, is this true?  do moviemakers and storytellers, like Mccaffrey, have actual dragon contact do you think?  

are they all able to shift to a "human" form?  are they born knowing how and being able to do this?  do they ever actually open their mouths and speak to humans or is it all telepathic?  are there "good" and "bad" dragons?  or "naughty" and " nice"?  

im  sorry for flooding you with questions, but i don't know of anyone else who i could ask.

Why is she so small? She's still young. As she ages she'll grow. However, she may never be very big(size being relative. She'll still be bigger than us). Dragons continue to grow throughout their lives. The older the dragon, the bigger the dragon. They don't grow quickly once they reach adulthood but they do grow. I've seen some unbelievably massive dragons, ones who are also unbelievably old(Think millions of years old).

They are shapeshifters. They have a particular human form they tend to take, sort of like putting on comfy clothes, but they can take any human form. I asked once if they could shapeshift into any other form and was told yes, they could, but some forms were more difficult to assume than others and non-human forms tended to be very limiting. Yes, they are born knowing how to do this BUT they can't do it right away. Just like every other skill, it takes practice, so the youngling has to be able to concentrate for an extended period to be able to hold the foreign form. Then comes the practice of actually learning how to function while wearing the other form. It takes time for them to learn how to actually seem human so they can move amongst humans without being detected and to do so effortlessly. Some are better at it than others. Some detest wearing human forms and others enjoy it(our hands are far more dextrous than theirs). Some prefer the human form and wear it all the time. Some won't wear the form unless it's absolutely necessary. It's personal preference.

Yes, there are "good" dragons and "bad" dragons. To explain how this is, I have to toss out a bit of history.

Dragons have been on this planet since it was just a barely formed mudball. They were created out of the essence of the world, the smoke and the fire from deep within the planet, for the sole purpose of protecting the planet and all which live on it. This is their reason for living, so to speak, and they do it very, very well. They fight for this planet and they die for this planet. In fact, dying on behalf of fulfilling the oath to serve and protect this world and all who reside here is considered the most honorable death for a dragon. They don't go looking to die, however, because living to serve and protect is the highest honor.

Over the course of time on this world, dragons have been present at every change/shift. They have stood against those who would use this planet for their own purposes. They have upheld their oath, no matter what it cost them. In the times between the shifts, most of the dragons sleep, waking only when they're needed again. There are dragons who remain awake, sort of a skeleton crew to keep an eye on things.

Now jump to when humans came on the scene. During the last shift, at/around the time of Atlantis, there were humans who betrayed the dragons. They don't like to talk about what happened beyond saying humans felt the dragons were a lesser species and undeserving of consideration. Basically, humans thought dragons were nothing more than animals. And when the battle lines were drawn once again between those who want the grand experiment that is this planet to continue unimpeded and those who see this planet as something to be used for personal purposes, the dragons once again answered the call as they had before. This time, however, they were set up. Betrayed by humans who desired the power promised to them by those who desire to feed on what this planet has to offer. Many, many dragons died because of this betrayal. The rest escaped by jumping from this plane of reality to another so they could sleep, heal, and recover.

The betrayal has caused a schism between the dragons. There are those dragons who believe that their oaths to protect the planet no longer includes the humans because the humans sided with the adversaries. They also believe that this is their planet, not the humans', and bluntly, they want it back. Some have allied with the adversaries-and there are more adversaries than people realize, each with their own agenda-with the goal of ridding the world of humans except the few needed to act as servants(read: slaves). Others can't bring themselves to ally with adversaries so they operate on their own but with the same goal of ridding the planet of what they see as the human infestation. I guess you could call these dragons "bad" based on what they want to achieve.

The other side, those who might be called "good" dragons, continue to do what they've always done, which is protect and serve the planet. Yes, humans betrayed them, causing great losses amongst their people, but that doesn't negate their oath. So they stand with and for the planet and all who reside here, even knowing that it's likely that once again, humans will betray them and cause great losses amongst their people. They will stand and fight until there are no more dragons left, if that's what must be done("We would prefer that situation not occur," the Elder just commented. "It is non-optimal and who would sing our songs if we were all gone?" ).

This is why dragons hesitate to trust humans. We have proved over and over and over again that we will abuse their trust if it suits our purposes to do so( "The more humans have grown, the more creative they have become in their ways to further their own goals, without regard to the consequences." ). They will work with us but trust? We have to earn that.

That's the TL;DR version of dragon and human history, in my words. LOL