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Dragon News

dragonlord123 — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 04:28:21 CDT

All information was found on http://www.polenth.com.
Also visit Dragon Myths
new wiki made http://tribeandragonwars.wetpaint.com/

Breaking news
Dragon sighted in Dublin,Ireland friday at 2:30pm special authority are investigating the scene and have now found a large scale roughly 30 cm tall 15 cm wide and 9 cm in depth and a dark black color. Authority`s are saying it is a black european dragon. Rest of news is classified. More news of this story will be on the 6th of may 2009 thank you.

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Member news:

Ironstar joined.

Questions

dragonlord123 — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 04:24:03 CDT

How many different cultures believe in dragons?

According to the dictionary, dragons were fabulous animals usually represented as a monstrous winged and scaly serpent with a crested head and enormous claws -- also a monster, represented as a gigantic reptile breathing fire and having lion’s claws, tail of a serpent, wings, and scaly skin. Dragons are portrayed in the ancient mythologies of most cultures and were associated with the Great Mother, the water god or the warrior sun god. They were believed to be both beneficial and destructive, being all-powerful creatures of the universe.

The dragons live in the bottom of the sea where they guard vast treasure hoards that, most often, consist of pearls. Their breath is that of rain clouds and thunder as well as lightning, hence, the fire-breathing monster. Some traditions believe that misers assume the form of dragons by constantly gloating over their treasures.

Many of the stories tell us that dragons were loathsome beasts and evil enemies to humankind. They were born in a period before man at a time of chaos -- a time of creation out of destruction. The significance of the dragon was its control over the destiny of mankind. Therefore, dragons were thought by the Christian community to be a demon and/or the devil.

During the Egyptian period, there arose a dragon and serpent-worshipping cult that spread to Babylon, India, the Orient, the Pacific islands and finally the North American continent. The cult reached its peak during the time of the Roman Empire and disappeared with the arrival of Christianity.

In the Chinese, Korean, and Japanese culture, dragons played an integral part in the culture since the beginning of recorded history. In China, they are used to mark the stairways over which only the Emperor could be carried. It is considered a central figure of both good and evil in their legends. The Chinese say the dragon originated in their middle kingdom and has always had five toes. It is, by nature, a gregarious creature that wanders the earth. However, the farther it goes from China, the more toes it loses.

The Koreans say the dragon originated with them and has always had four toes. When the dragon travels east or north, it loses toes, but when he travels south or west, he gains toes. As he traveled west, he grew more toes, and by the time, he arrived at the Americas, he lost all of his toes and could no longer walk.

The Japanese culture used dragons in Buddhist temples as decoration and fountainheads for purification before worship.

The dragon is supposedly the enemy of the sun and the moon, both in Eastern and Western cultures. Eclipses were believed to occur when the dragon swallowed the heavenly bodies, which accounts for the dragon’s appearance in primitive astronomy.

WYRM

dragonlord123 — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:23:44 CDT

Wyrms were almost like snakes in that they had no limbs, and had elongated bodies. They thrived in wet places, such as rivers, swamps, marshes, and wells. They were very tempermental and avoided humans at all costs. They were covered in scales and had dragon heads, and weilded two large, possibly poesonous, fangs, and killed their prey like constrictor snakes. These creatures were partial to milk, and it made them sluggish and calm.

Rules

dragonlord123 — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 16:10:44 CDT

No spamming:You will not get a warning for if you break this rule.

No cursing:you will get only 1 warning if you break this rule.Some exceptions are Dragon arse and a load of dung.

And absaloutly no flaming and abandoning threads:Flaming is arguing and by abandening threads i mean no starting threads that you are never gonna reply to.If your caught flaming you will be banned without warning and if you abandon a thread for longer than 1 week it will be deleted and if you start the same thread it will be deleted and you will be banned.Flaming that stops will be accepted(i will give you 2 days to stop flaming before banning).

Dragon Species

HenryLev — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 06:58:38 CDT

When reading tales and legends about dragons, you will find that there are more than just two types of dragons(European and Chinese). Therefore, it is important to know the types of dragons to better understand the story.

wyvern european dragon

quetzalcoalts and piasas wyrm

chinese dragon

The Speaking of Dragons

HenryLev — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 06:58:16 CDT

Abdek	Law/Order	Nuglar	Darkness or Shadow
Ahn	Perception Augury and Detection	Nilg	Hydromancy
Krrez	Chaos/Change	Nageg	Druidry (animal)
Bal	Harm/Evil	Feez	Druidry (Plant)
Org	Necromancy	Gor	Magical Power/ Mana pure magic
Then	Control	Ahp	Aether/Aeromancy
Mah	Aid/Enhance	Trahg	Flesh/Body
Kaerr	Protect or Sheild	Luv	Life
Lus	Pyromancy	Strah	Mind/Mystical
Glin	Terramancy	Serahk	Soul
Glar	light	Dar	Person
Thrag	Deceptions,illusions and lies	Eg	Food

actual usage might be something on the order of the following. Gorabdekser = Magic of law. Abdekgorser = law magic. Eyangor = Natural magic A few more Gresa = Brother/Comrade Daragahn = Great/Perceptive People Suffixes: · present tense>sahg · past tense>sig · indirect objects> a · objects> ser · subjects> seth/sith · edibles> eg · name> an · pluralization> t · empha

English	Dragon language equivalent
sharp	grahd
enemy	gadkehn
spider	klarglahkashagt
magic	gora
weave	lahksahg
walk	sagsahg
fast	strel
slow	nugstrel
speed	strela
run	sagstrelsahg
sharpen	sagstrela
light	glar
an affirmation	nuga
a negation	guna
fire	lusa
burn	lusahg
grow	gansahg
dead	org
die	orgsahg
web	klarg
leg	shag
eye	vahza
to control	thansahg
last	ro
person	dara
skin	nahga
hot	greb
heat	greba
darkness	sulg
darken	sulgsahg
what?	gere
human	kwagega
at (place)	gat
when?	og
to be / exist	nalgsahg
liquid	nilg
solid	glin
natural order	abdeka
beneath	gog
air	ahp
full	nolg
eat	egsahg
edible	eg
hunger	egahna
first	or

Sea and Lake Monsters

HenryLev — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 06:57:53 CDT

Sea serpents and sea dragons have been reported by ships for a long time. Some of the sightings remain mysterious and are possibly candidates for undiscovered species. Others seem more likely to be something more mundane. Faced with a topic like this, it is important not to be too quick to decide that all sightings must be true or that all sightings are explained by other things. Each case should be taken on its own merits.
Sightings are listed in alphabetical order (by serpent name, place or ship name). Click on the thumbnail pictures to see a larger version and picture description.

Sea Serpents

Daedalus
Egede's Serpent
Hydrarchos
Nahant Serpent - See Nova Scotia Serpent
Nova Scotia Serpent
Stronsay Beast

Lake Monsters

Nessie (Loch Ness Monster)
Selma

Dragon Origins

HenryLev — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 06:57:32 CDT

Below are descriptions of some of the things that may have inspired dragon myths. It is important to realise that there is not a single correct answer to this question. Different things will have inspired different myths. Some myths may have been inspired by a mixture of things. Click on the thumbnail pictures to see a larger version and picture description.

Alligators
See Crocodiles.

Birds
Some dragons have bird-like attributes such as feathers and raptor talons. Some dragons are called birds in the native language of the storytellers due to their bird-like features. Two examples of this are the Piasa and Anzu.
It is possible that in the past exotic birds were mistaken for dragons. As people had not seen such creatures before, they could well be misinterpreted as some some kind of mystical creature. A fair number of medieval dragons had roundals on them, like a peacock's tail. Peacocks were exotic and unfamiliar to common people at the time.
Alternatively a familiar bird may be seen so briefly, that it is misidentified. One possible origin of Toltec/Aztec feathered serpent myths (such as Quetzalcoatl) is the Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno). This bird has extremely long tail covers, which can make it look a bit like a flying serpent, especially combined with its striking metallic green colour. To give an idea of the length of the tail covers, an average bird is 35cm long and its tail covers 60cm (note that the tail covers are not part of the tail).
Other Dragon Stone Pages: Alchemy - Quetzalcoatl; South American Dragons - Quetzalcoatl; African Dragons - Anzu; North American Dragons - Piasa

Crocodiles and Alligators

The crocodile's size and potential ferocity make it likely candidate for inspiring dragon myths (of the dragon eating people variety). Usually crocodiles don't cause too many problems. However, in areas where they are used to eating humans (such as prisoners being fed to them or dead bodies thrown in the water) they become far more likely to attack and kill.

Alligators are generally more passive than crocodiles. They rarely attack unless provoked. Most modern attacks happen when an alligator mistakes a human for prey, though the human often fights back, and the alligator retreats.

It is possible that the Biblical dragon Leviathan was suppose to look like a giant crocodile (though the exact nature of Leviathan is not known). There are various cases of the skin of a slain dragon being kept as a trophy, which turn out to be crocodile skin, such as the Brno dragon.

Other Dragon Stone Pages: African Dragons - Leviathan; European Dragons - Brno Dragon

Cryptids and New Species
A cryptid is a creature studied in cryptozoology. It is something that there are accounts and sightings for, but no proof has been found that it is real. This could be an animal only known from mythology and sightings, or a animal thought to be extinct. A dragon is an example of a cryptid. People have reported seeing them, but there is no scientific evidence to prove they exist. A famous example of a past cryptid is the giant squid, which has now been proven to be a real animal.
Areas where humans have difficulty exploring are the most likely places to find new species. The swamps of West Africa have a number of giant reptile myths. It has been suggested that the Babylonian musrussu dragon was inspired by creatures in this swamp. Robert Koldeway, the German archeologist who discovered the Ishtar gates, felt that the musrussu was a real animal. This was based on the lack of change in how it was drawn over the centuaries. Modern researchers have also tried to explore the West African myths in more detail. A trip in 2006 by Richard Freeman went to track down the ninki-nanka. The conclusion was that the creature seemed more folkloric than real, due to the local accounts of the creature having no consistency.
The deep sea is another possibility. This is where the giant squid was found, and is an ideal place for a giant animal to hide. Sightings of 'sea monsters' are still reported today.
There are other inaccessible mountains, jungles, and similar locations, which could hide an unknown species. Possibly in the future as more species are discovered, other origins of dragon myths will become clear. A new species is unlikely to be a dragon as people imagine them, but could well be something that would inspire stories from brief encounters.
Other Dragon Stone Pages: African Dragons - Musrussu; Sea Serpent Sightings; News: Gambia Dragon Hunt

Dinosaurs and Bones

The belief that fossilisd bones were dragon bones used to be widespread. It is still believed in some parts of the world, such as in China where the dragon bones are ground up to use in natural remedies. These bones can be from dinosaurs, but can also be from other prehistoric animals.

In the past, fossil bones were not reconstructed in the same way as they are today. This does not mean that people did not analyse them. Some people in the past may have realised they were looking at a reptile (by tooth structure or similar) and some other features of the animal, such as its size. What they would not have is a complete idea of what the animal looked like. The complete animal would have been based around animals that were living locally. The bones would not form a dragon myth on their own.

There have been examples of extinct animal remains being kept as dragon parts in other parts of the world. The skull of the dragon Old Ben turned out to be an ichthyosaurus skull. Non-reptile bones can also be mistaken. The skull of the lindworm killed in Klagenfurt was actually from an extinct woolly rhinoceros. This demonstrates that though some people may have an understanding of what they have found, others do not... leading to people being happy to accept that a mammal skull was from a reptillian dragon.

There are various modern pieces of folklore about dinosaurs, and similar species, still being alive. Two examples are the Loch Ness Monster of Scotland and the mokele mbembe of Africa. There is no scientific evidence to support that these creatures have survived, but that has not stopped it creating a great deal of interest among the public.

The public imagination of giant reptiles and monsters has been exploited by some people in the form of hoaxes, particularly for high profile creatures such as the Loch Ness Monster. Hoaxes are not always centered around finding a living creature. In 1845, Albert Koch claimed to have found the fossil ancestor of sea serpents (the Hydrarchos). It was quickly uncovered as a hoax, as the skeleton was made up from several fossilised whale skeletons.

Other Dragon Stone Pages: European Dragons - Old Ben; Klagenfurt Lindworm; Sea Serpent Sightings - Nessie; Hydrarchos

Instinctive Fears

One dragon myth idea is that humans have built-in fears of dangerous animals, evolved as a survival mechanism. With a bit of human imagination added, these fears become dragons.

One theory suggested that humans still retain a fear of dinosaurs from the days of the early mammal ancestors. An issue with this idea is that modern humans do not seem to be afraid of dinosaurs at all. If this fear was that hard-coded into the human brain, some sort of apprehension at the picture of a dinosaur would be expected.

Another theory suggests that dragons are a composite of all the predator groups that early primates feared. The main groups are big cats, birds of prey and reptiles. David Jones popularised this idea with his book 'An Instinct for Dragons', using examples of people in areas too cold for reptiles who have reptilian monsters. This has been criticised, mainly due to the lack of evidence that humans have any sort of fear of certain animals built into their brain.

An alternative version of these sorts of theories is that humans learn to fear things which are dangerous. People in many areas are threatened by, or compete with, these sorts of predators.

Overall, it seems like the latter idea is more plausible. Humans will naturally become fearful of the dangers they face everyday. Once a story has been created it could survive for a long time and be taken with human cultures as they migrate. This would explain why some cultures have monsters that look like animals that do not live locally.

Pterosaurs

Pterosaurs were winged reptiles, existing from the late Triassic to the late Cretaceous eras. Their wings consisted of wing membranes attached to an elongated fourth finger bone. The other fingers formed a hand at the main wing joint. It is generally considered that pterosaurs had powered flight rather than gliding. They came in a variety of forms, with many different head shapes, crests and coverings. Some appear to have been covered in fur, which would imply they may have been warm-blooded.

Early pterosaurs were less specialised and tended to have teeth and long tails. Some pterosaurs with long tails have a extra vane at the end of their tale (looking a bit like a tail spade - a common feature in dragons). Adding in the long neck and head of a pterosaur, their fossils do have a dragon-like look to them. A good example of a classic early type is the genus Rhamphorhynchus (Jurassic era), which had diamond-shaped tail vanes, long tails and teeth.

Though Rhamphorhynchus does look dragon-like, it is also fairly small. This was not true of all pterosaurs. The largest known is Quetzalcoatlus, named after the Aztec winged-serpent. It had a wingspan of about 40 feet (12 meters). Later species of pterosaur, like this one, tended to lack the long tail and teeth. Even so, finding any part of a fossil of one of these could certainly inspire some winged monster stories.

Snakes

Snakes are an obvious inspiration for dragon myths. Many dragons take the form of large serpents. There are a number of ways that snakes may have had an influence.

The keeping of house serpents is a tradition that was particularly common in Europe. These serpents would be a local species of snake, usually fairly small and not too venemous. They would be encouraged to live in the home. Many house serpents were given supernatural associations. They might be sacred to a certain god for example. It is only a small step onwards for myths about these snakes to become more elaborate. Some house serpents stories have them growing to huge sizes, being able to speak or turning into human form. At this point the stories match many dragon stories and would be judged as such on their own. The only thing to set them apart is that we know that the story comes from a species of ordinary snake. It is easy to see how in time the origin of the story would be forgotten and only a dragon myth would remain.

Wild snakes are also good candidates for stories. Reticulated pythons (Python reticulatus) can grow to sizes of about 33 feet long. They are also known for being good swimmers, sometimes using the water as a place to ambush their prey from. A chance encounter with a snake of this size would generate some stories.

Some of the smaller snakes would seem bizarre if they were found. A few species of snake have a false head on their tail as a defence mechanism. This could easily explain the double-headed serpents of mythology. Very rarely a snake from a normal snake species will have two proper heads at the head end. Snakes born like this do not usually survive for long in the wild, but would certainly be a find to inspire tales.

Flying serpents are not something only found in mythology. There is a genus of snake that seems to fly. Chrysopelea, the flying snakes, can glide for long distances. The Paradise Tree Snake, Chrysopelea paradisii, can glide for distances of about 69 feet from a 30 feet high start (tests by John Socha). They do this by flattening themselves as they glide. They can control their glide by wriggling, as they do when they are on the ground. One of these snakes seen as a fleeting glimpse in the trees would be a very plausible serpent-dragon. They are found in south and south-east Asia.

Other Dragon Stone Pages: European Dragons - House Serpents

Troglobytes
A troglobyte is a creature that lives in caves. They are so dependent on the caves that they cannot survive outside of them. These animals often look very strange compared to surface animals. Examples include having no pigment (being colourless) and not having eyes. It is not a surprise that these animals can be mistaken for something mythical.
There are not many vertebrate troglobytes, but a notable example from the dragon point of view is found in Slovenia. Sometimes when it rained, troglobyte salamanders would be washed out of the caves. The local people assumed that these were dragon larvae, proving that dragons existed. The true nature of the creatures was discovered later, once the caves had been properly explored.
This is an isolated example, so does not explain dragon myths everywhere. It does show how sometimes myths can be inspired by something specific to an area.

Weather
There are many cases of weather being attributed to dragons. Lightning strikes are sometimes considered to be produced by dragons. With the dragon of Kinabalu in Borneo, the weather on the mountain top was taken as an indication of the dragon's mood. In China, some dragons are though to control the amount of rainfall. People in the past saw a complex phenomena they could not explain (the weather) and came up with reasons for it happening. In times when weather could not be described scientifically, the idea that some sort of fabulous creature caused weather effects would have seemed quite plausible.
One of the reasons for this is the shapes and behaviours of the weather effects. Something as simple as a cloud can look very different in a storm, writhing and moving like a living thing.
Other Dragon Stone Pages: Asian Dragons - Dragon Kings; Kinabalu, the dragon of; Vitra

CHINESE DRAGON

dragonlord123 — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 17:22:54 CDT

The chinese dragons were the most popular of the oriental dragons and were very complex. They were made up of nine very distinct entities: it had a camel head, demon eyes, cow ears, stag antlers, snake neck, clam belly, tiger feet, eagle claws, and carp scales.
Amphipteres were serpent-like dragons who had heavy scales, big eyes, sharp fangs, small wings, and two tongues. They were easily frightened and could be "shooed away" by throwing stones at them.

QUETZALCOATLS AND PIASAS

dragonlord123 — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 17:10:02 CDT

Quetzacoatls and piasas were unlike any other type of dragon you will read about. They were like wyverns in the fact that they had only four members, but unlike other dragons, they were plumed(had feathers). They were native to the American continents, but never ventured to other continents.

EUROPEAN DRAGON

dragonlord123 — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:57:11 CDT

This is probably the most popular type of dragon, next to the Chinese dragon. Their bodies, except for their underbellies, were covered with tough, impenetrable scales that came in a variety of colors. They had six members: two wings, two arms, and two legs, as well as a very powerful tail. Most of the time they had a plate and/or horns on their head. Their greatest weapon was fire, and sometimes ice, breathing, and they hunted both airborn and landbound prey.

wyvern

dragonlord123 — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:53:23 CDT

Wyverns were another type of dragon living in Europe, and were cousins to the European dragon. The only difference between them and European dragons was that instead of six members, like their cousins, they had four members: two wings and two other limbs. Most of the time they are shown with two wings and two legs, but occasionally you can find one with two wings and two arms. The only other difference was that on the end of their tale, they had a sting. Wyverns also probably breathed fire.

Welcome to Dragon Fansite

dragonlord123 — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:11:40 CDT

welcome to the dragon fan site look at all the photos and even join .

mmorpg

dragonlord123 — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:06:45 CDT

Here is a dragon mmorpg called dragon battle click here to join now.

Contact

HenryLev — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 06:34:13 CDT

If you have any ideas,compliments or concerns please let me know by sending me a message on this wiki or at slaygar64@gmail.com.

Have a nice day

World Myths

HenryLev — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:47:34 CDT

Dragons appear in myths, legends and folktales around the world. Choose a continent from the map below to find out more about the dragon mythology of the area. The maps are intended as a rough location guide only. [ North America | South America | Europe | Africa | Asia | Oceania ]

mythacal dragons

dragonlord123 — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:44:00 CDT

Modern sources have tended to highly generalise dragon types. Dragons are often listed under three main types: Eastern Dragons, Western Dragons and New World Dragons. Each type has a sterotype attached to it, which has some basis in truth but is not the whole story. The three types also tend to ignore Africa, Oceania and Western Asia.
The three type approach has its problems, but it is also very well-known. It can be a good starting point for learning more about the diversity of dragons. This page looks briefly at each of the three general types, offering suggestions on how accurate the type is and where to find more detailed information in the World Dragon Mythology section. The pictures are aimed at showing the general appearance, and some of the variety, of each type. Click on the thumbnail pictures to see a larger version and picture description.

Eastern Dragons / Oriental Dragons

Origin: Eastern Asia. Possibly Western Asia.
Stereotype Description: Wingless, four-footed dragons, with a more serpent-like body than their western counterparts. Generally benevolent to humans.
Accurate Description: There are certainly Eastern dragons that fit the above description. There are also those that do not. Some were more snake-like (legless) and winged varieties are known. The idea of dragon benevolence is a bit overstated. The myths are less prone to being about mindless maiden killers, but that does not mean Eastern dragons are always nice. They could (and did) use their powers to cause trouble for people.
Moving a bit more west into countries like India, serpent-dragons become the more common forms. There are also more tales in this area of dragon disasters, such as dragons swallowing up rivers to cause drought.
More Information:
Examples that fit the general sterotype are:

Examples that do not fit the sterotype are:

Western Dragons

Origin: Europe. Possibly Africa.
Stereotype Description: Large, fire breathing, bat-like wings, scales and usually green with four legs. They eat people, destroy the countryside and generally are not nice to be around.
Accurate Description: Western dragons are a lot more varied than the sterotype. They can be serpent-like, wingless, feathered, small and kindly. They can also be the large fire-breathing people-eater variety. It is possible that the reason for this misconception is due to a lot of European mythology being relatively unknown for quite some time. Books tend to focus on the dragons of the Ancient Greeks and other popular cultures, whilst ignoring the stories from areas like the Baltic.
The classic sterotype also ignores the water connection. Living in or coming from water is very common in the dragons of the West. Examples include Tarrasque, the Lambton Worm and Gargouille.
More Information:
Examples that fit the general sterotype are:

Examples that do not fit the sterotype are:

New World Dragons

Origin: North and South America. Possibly Oceania.
Generalised Description: Serpent dragons, usually with feathery wings.
Accurate Description: It does not really do the cultures of these areas credit to only look at such a limited range of dragons. The winged serpents of Toltec and Aztec origin are certainly charismatic, but are not the only stories told in the Americas. Serpents (of the non-winged variety) are probably the most common, though some dragons with feet are known.
More Information:
Examples that fit the general sterotype are:

Examples that do not fit the sterotype are: