Physical Characteristics

Dragons of Aurixia manifest across a spectrum of sub-types, each shaped by millennia of elemental attunement and geographic isolation. All share the foundational draconic form: scaled hide ranging from obsidian black to gold-veined crimson, four powerful limbs, a wingspan spanning between thirty and two hundred feet depending on age and lineage, and a living sigil — a rune-etched pattern on the forehead that pulses with visible light when magic is channeled.

Scales are not merely protective; they function as biological capacitors, storing and releasing dragonfire in controlled bursts calibrated by the dragon's sigil intensity. A dragon's coloration deepens with age: Hatchlings display pale, translucent scales, while Elders' hides darken and mineralize. Ancients' scales crack and fill with mineral deposits, their heartbeats syncing with local volcanic tremors.

Dragon eyes are multispectral, capable of perceiving heat signatures, magical auras, and the flame-pulse signals of the Drake-Runes communication network. This allows dragons to read imperial messages at a glance across vast distances. The five growth stages — Hatchling, Fledgling, Drake, Elder, Ancient — correspond to both biological development and social rank within Aurixian hierarchy. Sub-types include the silver-grey Ash Wyrms of the Ashen Plains, the volcanic Flame Wyrms of the Drakon Range, the crackling Storm Wyrms of the Flame-Crest Highlands, the lava-channeling Magma Drakes of the deep earth, the ethereal Aether Drakes of the high sky, and the theologically contested Shadow Drakes whose void-flame sets them apart from all others.