Dracknaught

The dracknaughts are a race uncommonly encountered by humans, save those who dwell in or on the periphery of northern Bahuna or the wilds of northern Pytharnia, and for this reason, they remain alive in folklore. Dracknaughts are a humanlike-dragon hybrid race, the body of a dragon with the upper torso of a draconic human. Although uncommon, their wide dispersal upon the face of Asdar implies their origins reach into the mists of history, long before the Flood of Aturyanda. Adult male dracknaughts are 2.60m (8'6") tall on average and have great, batlike wings that spread as much as 14m wide (45 feet). They live much longer than humans and the oldest members of their kind advance well into their fourth century of age. In battle, dracknaughts employ great skill with bladed weapons, including pole-arms and axes. Without conventional weapons, their clawed hands, fanged mouths, and fiery breaths make ample weapons. Dracknaughts are not capable fliers, but can glide and hover with reasonable ability. In modern times, dracknaughts use dwarvenfire weapons and salvaged titancraft weapons.

The two most well known nations of dracknaughts are those of northern Bahuna and in northern Pytharnia, with those in northern Pytharnia being less known and possibly less populous. Dracknaughts of Bahuna are well-organized but apparently suffer from much rivalry among their rulers. They were a constant threat to the Zephasian city-states and during the Middle Ages which required the Khamifa of Shanjahar to support a small navy in the Turtle Sea for his empire's protection. Their power advanced so much that during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, the dracknaughts conquered Shanjahar and installed a dracknaught ruler with the Tsalunkhu Dynasty. The dracknaughts often enslave tribes of gargots who hold them in great esteeem. Today, their menace is much reduced, but humans are continually wary.

The dracknaughts of northern Pytharnia keep to the woods which prevail in the region and form small kinship groups. They are known in legend as exacting tribute from humans and other humanlikes when enslaving them is not practical. Humans of the northern Great Disdrire Forest often call them the drackgrim.

Dracknaughts speak the language of dragons and worship the old gods of the dragons. In their worldview, the ancient dragons helped liberate the world by fighting and defeating the ancient titans.

See Also

• Zephasia