Enter: the Chromatic dragons

Ah, good to see you have returned today to witness and learn about the beautiful but dangerous Chromatic dragons.  I have cordoned off the area behind me and have enchanted it so you will be quite safe.  I collected these creatures from a dragon fighter in the North Country.  They are all juveniles.  When I found them, they were severely injured, beaten, and starved.  Many did not make it and had to be put out of their misery.  These guys were placed in my care until such time they are strong enough to be released into the wild.  So, without further ado, let me introduce to you the first of our Chromatics…the Black Thorn.

(curtain falls.  Gasps fill the room)

Black dragons are the most vile, temperamental and cruel of all dragons.  This particular breed has horns that protrude from the sides of his head and project forward, like a bull.  He also has a silky frill on the back of his neck.  This is quite different from the infamous Timberlake Smoothback, known to all as Einar, who has horns on the top of its head that point back toward a mace-like tail.  All black dragons, except for the Timberlake Smoothback, live in swamps and fetid marshlands, which would explain their rank odor of rotting vegetation and foul water.  They are vicious and ruthless adversaries, preferring ambushes to straight-forward fighting.  They are excellent swimmers and rule by intimidation.  Their lairs always have two entrances:  one above ground and one underwater through adjacent swamplands or lakes.  From birth they have an exceptionally cruel temperament and an insatiable appetite.  Black dragons, except for the Timberlake Smoothback, use acid as their defense.  The Timberlake has a breath of sulfur fire.  If you ever catch an overwhelming whiff of rotten eggs, look around.  You may be in the presence of a Timberlake Smoothback, in which case, you should kiss your behind good-bye.

(curtain lifts)

The next beauty is an Azule, a blue dragon.  (curtain falls.  More gasps).  Blues tend to be desert dwellers.  They have a single horn on their heads, large, frilly ears and a long, bumpy tail like that of a caterpillar. They excel at aerial combat, and are very adept at aiming their lightning discharges at other aerial foes or enemies on the ground.  They are also very good at making their prey hallucinate by using magic.  Many blues also tend to ambush their prey by burrowing in sand, waiting for the right moment to spring from the desert ground.  They grow around 60 feet in length and have an earthy, sandy smell to them.

(curtain lifts)

Next in line is the beautiful Fae Sweeper, (curtain falls) a grass-green dragon named so for its diet of gnomes, sprites and elves.  As you can see, they tend to have a large waving crest that runs from the tip of his nose all the way down his body.  They also have very long forked tongue.  They tend to share their territory with black dragons, but seeing they are stronger than blacks, their lairs are usually high up in cliffs behind waterfalls. Green dragons are nasty tempered and are known to attack for no reason.  They are great wielders of magic and tend to use it before brawn.  They grow to about 40 feet.

(curtain rises)

Next to last is the spectacular red dragon. (curtain falls)  This species is the Élan Pyre, the most dangerous and infamous of all Reds.  This one is already 60 feet long, half of its adult size.  Those two horns on its head hold magical powers of healing and destruction, depending on the beasts’ temperament at the time.  They can breathe fire within days of birth.  They find other Chromatic dragons worthless and will either kill or enslave them, depending on the Red’s mood.  They are hoarders of great treasures and protect their lairs with a voracity unseen by any other dragon type.  They are enemies of Metallic dragons, especially the Silvers, and are exceptionally dangerous in battle.  They are proficient in magic and very fast in the air, but they are clumsy and tend to fight more ground battles.  They tend to attack first with their fire breath, then follow with power strikes from their tails and vicious blasts of magic.  As you might suspect, these giants tend to live inside volcanoes and are very adept at using their magic to convince tribal elders into sacrificing their young girls.

(curtain snaps up)

Finally, we have the Snow Angel, (curtain falls) one of the more popular of the white dragons, and an angel it is not.  As the name implies, this jewel lives in the very cold regions, choosing icy caves and deep subterranean dwellings.  They are very greedy and grow to approximately 25 feet in length.  They are the weakest of the Chromatic dragons and not very strong combatants, but that doesn’t render them harmless.  As you can see, its head and neck appear to be one, and their wings are frayed around the edges.  They may or may not have horns.  They are stocky, strong and can climb cliffs, fly, and they make excellent swimmers.  Whites also tend to have inferiority complexes, often bullying younger dragons and giants to prove their importance.  They are always hungry with ravenous appetites and have been known to eat entire whales at one sitting.  They have excellent memory capabilities and hold grudges. If you make an enemy of one, they will hunt you down for their entire lives just to kill you.  Their defense?  A breath of frost air.

(curtain goes up)

There you have them.  I thank you for visiting today.  I hope you enjoyed learning about the Chromatic dragons.  They may be dangerous, but they are exquisite, don’t you think?  Please feel free to stick around and ask questions.  I don’t bite.  Tomorrow if you’re interested, I’ll have several Gem dragons with me and I promise, they are beautiful to behold. You won’t want to miss them.

Have a glorious day and I hope to see you tomorrow.

Related articles

• Green Dragon D&D Minis (iheartprintandplay.blogspot.com)
• Chromatic Dragons (Dungeons and Dragons) (en.wikipedia.org)
• The Chromatic Dragons at draconika (draconika.com)