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Draconic Personality and Sociology

Course Material for Dragons - Biology, Sociology, and Magic, a Classroom at Androntel Academy

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   BUL[#Psychology]
   BUL[#Relations With Other Races]
   BUL[#Preferred Habitats]
   BUL[#Culture, Societies, And Regional Values]
   BUL[#Religion And Prophecy]
   BUL[#Arts / Crafts / Professions / Niches]
   BUL[#Love, Mating And The Lifecycle]
   BUL[#War And Legacy]
   BUL[#Family And Community]
   BUL[#History And Lore]

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BUL   [#]Psychology

      If there is one thing that dragons have a lot of, it is most certainly time. A dragon's long lifespan give it a personality that is surely bewildering in most instances to that of a typical, fast-paced human being. Impatience is not a common virtue of truly draconic beings (see True Dragons for more on the True Draconic Bloodline and info), and dragons tend to view things in the long term, never hastily acting in any manner or activity outside of fleeing for survival, or the thrill of quick surprise. This patient, forebodingly lifespan-oriented perspective is central to a dragon's personality and outlook upon life, the world, and its inhabitants and ecology.

      The typical lifespan of a dragon is between 400 - 1,200 years, the latter being the stage known as the passage into Great Wyrm, the most powerful and eldest of the draconic lineage. Dragons, drakes, wyverns, wyrms, and many dragonkin/dragonkith call themselves by these age category terms, being ancient in tradition and usage. The Draconic Language is similarly ancient, originally being a verbal communication that spurned forward writing, texts, prophecies, and communicative arts of all forms before the current eons began.

      Dragons do not often admit it in verbal dialogue to other common mortal races, but as found in holy scriptures written of the draconic lineage's ancient book, the Book of Dragons, draconic spiritual energy is immortal. This fact is not often secret between members of the draconic race (though it is not unheard of for dragons to be unaware, or at least apparently unaware of such facts), but they do not often share this information with other common mortal races, because many would not understand the implications involved in eternal lifespans of the soul, especially that of dragons.

      When dragons age to a point that they begin getting old, ill, and have begun to reach a point at which the dragon inherently knows that is has become within sight of death (between 2,100 - 4,400 years), this stage, known as "the twilight," begins a dragon's search for how it shall pass into death or beyond. It chooses, in many cases, to simply departing this world in spirit, dying instantly; in others, it simply disappears, never to return, and often unseen. Other dragons choose to end their lives by physically blending into the landscape in a magical process often called Guardianship, where the spirit of the dragon watches over and protects the location as an incorporeal soul. These locations often become nesting areas for future egg-laying dragon mothers. Young dragons in this location often benefit from communing with ancient dragon spirits, and some adults can come to these locations, though do not receive advice from the elder or ancestor spirits as often or as deeply as the young dragons born or raised in these areas.

      If a dragon wishes to avoid death and cling to the mortal world (often chromatic, evil, or materialistic dragons who secretly fear penitence for their wicked ways), they can choose another path, in which the dragon is assisted by mortal subjects or allies to perform a ritual activity known as Lichdom, and the dragon cheats death by becoming a 'Dracolich', an undead spirit which can inhabit any nonliving corpse within range of the spirit's physical housing, a container known as a phylactery, a magical device which contains the eternal essence of the dragon's soul.

      These major life influences ultimately guide a dragon's decision to do anything aside from hoarding treasure, an inherent trait which has been discussed and debated by many as to the true intent of the dragon's hoarding. That is discussed more in detail below.

      A dragon's keen senses make it a formidable enemy, a deadly predator, and a clever beast to tackle in any manner - physically, mentally, or through subterfuge (that's being sneaky, class). The dragon also has a relatively large brain, even for a typical terrestrial creature its size, and it grows as the dragon gets older, making them an increasingly difficult creature to analyze psychologically as they age. Dragons can be highly difficult to discern their emotions, though this is no way related to their ability to emote (dragon muscles are decisively accurate in portraying emotion when they choose to do so). It is what goes on inside their heads that gets so hard to predict as time goes by.

      A dragon's typical psychological state relates in most every way to its lifespan, long-lived and patiently aware. When compared with creatures of every other mortal type, dragons are in most every way more patient and bodingly concentrated than all others. Their level of concentration, metabolism, and psychological wariness are all more definitively well-honed than those of all other known species. Even Fae Races, Illithid, Titans, and Outer Realm inhabitants often do not have the stamina and durability in all capacities to out-do the dragons' inherent ability to perform equal tasks, both physical and psycho-cognitive/psycho-social.

      Because of their superb ability to do physical acts of incredible proportions, they are also predictably ego-driven, being sure of themselves to the nth degree. By walking, crawling, flying, swimming, climbing, burrowing, or otherwise contorting themselves to get somewhere, they will get there, and in record time to any other, whatever their size or race outside of another dragon. This sure physical drive gives them a terribly conscientious ego, being often nearly vain with narccisism and driven by their willpower more than any other force. No action, idea, or event is outside of dragons' reach, so they are driven to do as they please, when they please, and to whatever extent they decide, whether with suggestion or not. They are in this way terribly unpredictable to most common mortals, though a well-known draconic ally comes to show signs of an inner consistency as time goes on, but since many mortals simply do not live as long as a dragon, this is often never accomplished by scholars. Dragons are their own best psychologists, and it is not unheard of for a dragon to simply desire learning every facet of draconic personality or lifestyle, and to make it their singular urge in life. With lifespans that give credence to such ideals, this is not in any way impossible, and the desire to do anything in this manner is a typical draconic trait that it will often go to great lengths to accomplish in a given period of time. When a new fact of life is learned which brings new venues to the idea or new facets to the initial search, it is terribly difficult for the dragon to keep from taking up the search again, awake with destiny and adventure. Exploration of every nook and cranny of the cosmos has begun on journeys like these, and they are often the central core to draconic legacy, the tales of the ancestors, and the epics of grandeur. These texts make up a large portion of the Book of Dragons.

      Because dragons make such formidable foes in combat, they are often completely free of fear, being the top of most any food chain in most any environment. This sure-of-self mentality puts dragons in a niche in biological system that most other species cannot accomplish in a single lifetime. Dragons have come to occupy environments uninhabitable to countless other creatures, mortality aside, because of this. Their cultures flourish in Open Space, the Outer Realms (the so-called Heavens and Hells), the transitive realms (Planes of Shadow and Ethers - the 'Void' and 'Veil'), and in particular in the elemental realms and a secret dimension known as the Realm of Dragons, Pondiiulviela'algolosima ("pon-dee-yule-vee-el-ah al-go-loss-im-ah"). Because of their inherent elemental natures, dragons often find solace and sanctuary in the elemental realms, and have been known to make strong alliances with the Genie Lords, the Djinni (air), Efreeti (fire), Marid (water), Dao (earth), and Janni (composite elemental - combination OR ice, magma, ooze, smoke, shadow, ether, and/or wood).
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BUL   [#]Relations With Other Races

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BUL   [#]Preferred Habitats

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BUL   [#]Culture, Societies, And Regional Values

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BUL   [#]Religion And Prophecy

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BUL   [#]Arts / Crafts / Professions / Niches

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BUL   [#]Love, Mating And The Lifecycle

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BUL   [#]War And Legacy

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BUL   [#]Family And Community

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BUL   [#]History And Lore

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BULUnit One :  -  Dragon Biology and Physical Features
BULUnit Two :  -  Draconic Personality and Sociology
BULUnit Three :  -  Draconic language and script
BULUnit Four :  -  Draconic Magic and Arcane Bloodline
BULUnit Five :  -  True Dragons
BULEarth-based Myth and Legend :  -  Earth Realm Dragons
BULStudent, Scholar, Fan and Elftowner Artwork and Media Page  -  Dragon Artwork and Media

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