Stormcloud Firedrake
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Stormcloud Firedrakes (Drakine Miir-drák en Atiri, "Fire Dragon of Lightning"; scientific name Vulcus Fulminifer) are a descendant of the True Firedrake created by natural mutation. This species of dragon is native to Euthora, though they are relatively rare due to their behavior.
They are Light Saurians, descended from Skyking Ausurath. They are also Fire-Aligned, and presumably extinct at Standard Canon Time. A group of Stormcloud Firedrakes is called a flight.
Appearance
Stormcloud Firedrakes are sleek, lean, and sinuously built, with vast but harrow wings and generally sharp angles dominating their stature. They have distinct, nine-pointed crowns made up of a three-pointed, swept-back central crest and two eye ridges with three points each. Their eyes are sharp, narrow and slit-pupilled, with bright (usually yellow) irises. The jaw of a Stormcloud Firedrake is generally the same as those of other Firedrake subspecies, but usually narrower. The jawlines, chin, and nose ridges are spiked, and it is common for one of these dragons to grow a small horn between the nose ridges.
Almost always dark in color, the most common scale colors for this species are grays, blues, and black, to blend in with stormy skies. It is rare, but not unheard of, for scales to take a green or golden hue, and these individuals seem more at home in cyclones than the thunderstorms for which the species is known. Wing membranes and ventral scutes are usually lighter in color than the rest of the dragon, and any markings are distinctly visible from a dorsal view only.
The frame of this species is lean and serpentine, built for speed and agility, and the ablity to cut through turbulent winds found in the chaos of a storm. Their spaded, whiplike tails are often more than two thirds their total body length, and wingspan can be twice as long, tails included. Claws are semi-retractable and wickedly sharp, resembling a bird of prey's, and paws are three-toed, in addition to a dewclaw. On the hind legs, these dewclaws are intended for grip and traction on uneven, rocky surfaces, but are fully opposable on the forelegs. The structure of their limbs, as well as the balance provided by their massive wings and tails, allows Stormcloud Firedrakes to briefly rise into a bipedal stance in order to use their forepaws for tasks such as writing.
Stormcloud hatchlings are gangly, often tripping over their wings and tails before finding their footing. Proportionally, their wings are undersized and their tails oversized, and it doesn't take long for the proportions to even out. After a year or so, a hatchling is almost indistinguishable from an adult, though their wing muscles are not quite strong enough for flight until they are a few years older.
Physiology
Like all Firedrake subspecies, the Stormcloud is highly resistant to heat due to the makeup of their scales, more specifically certain metals such as mythril and orichalcum. Due to their high-altitude habitats, the metal in their scales often attracts lightning strikes, and in turn the species has evolved the ability to withstand, and even harness, electricity.
Like all Euthoran dragons in general, Stormcloud Firedrakes are warm-blooded reptiles, and can regulate their own body temperature even in the high mountain peaks where they make their nests.
