The Dragon is one of the most feared monsters of Arth, weighing up to 300 kg and with wingspans over 30 metres. They are strong, savage and armoured in horny scales, but worst of all, can breath fire or acid to bring down their prey. This remarkable feat is due to a peculiar feature dragons share with certain other animals - the ability to generate a strong electric current. Dragons are always found near sources of water, and drink copiously. They use an electric arc to release hydrogen from the water, which is trapped in sacs along the animal's body. The lift generated by this is enough to allow the beasts to fly, and in extremis, it is ignited by an electric arc and expelled onto their prey, together with a mix of volatile liquids from the stomach. The large, swollen body of a dragon slims down enormously when this is done, and bold monster slayers have been puzzled by the shrinking of an exhausted dragon, and still more when they find that much of its bulk is empty. A dragon thus spent cannot fly, but only glide - and that poorly. Dragons have no teeth, but serrated bony plates which protect them from flames and also enable them to rip at the toughest prey. There are other species of dragon, notably the dreaded Snow dragon, which haunts mountain heights and other cold places. These creatures are so large (up to a tonne in weight) they can no longer fly, walking instead on four limbs, but they have retained the fiery breath of their ancestors. They can generate heat by a controlled release of flame, so survive the most arctic of weathers. In addition, these creatures have thick armour of bone plates, which is often hot to the touch, since it acts to shed the excess heat generated, and as insulation.
Another relative is the smaller, sinuous Swamp or Forest dragon. It has lost the art of breathing fire, but retained the muscular sacs that hold hydrogen, so that it can glide, even with its relatively small wings and fly a little. This creature more often hunts its prey on the ground, or in the water, however and has been known to lair in underwater places that retain some air. It too expels gas onto its victims, but in the case of this dragon, it is mixed with its caustic digestive juices, forming a blinding, incapacitating spray. The smallest dragon, the nimble Tree dragon, spits poison in the same way.
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