Deadly Nadder-Draco clavolaculatrix
Class: Sharp/Tracker
Size: To 30 feet in length, wingspan of 40 feet
Appearance: Bipedal and birdlike, this dragon balances a muscular body with an especially broad chest atop a pair of stocky, powerful legs ending in broad paws tipped with razor sharp talons. The tail is thick and tapered, especially narrow in the latter third and lined with rear-pointed venomous spines across the surface. The neck is narrow but strong, highly flexible to support a head that is large and rounded (almost spherical). The mouth sports an underbite near the back of the jaw, but a notable beaklike overbite and large, curved teeth that stick out along most of the length of the mouth. A single large, curving horn rises from the tip of the snout on either side of which the rather massive flaring nostrils open at the base, immediately behind the horn near the top of the head the round, somewhat bulbous eyes stick out and angle slightly forward. To the rear of the skull a crown of movable spines extends, longest near the top of the head and increasingly smaller toward the bottom of the throat. A row of matching spines also runs down the spine from the back of the neck to join those on the tail. Wings are moderately thin and membranous but with the membrane only just attaching to the side of the body unlike many other species. The support tips extend well past the membrane to give a somewhat ragged look, and a single outward curving claw is positioned at the main joint. Color is highly variable, often mottled with blue, yellow, orange, violet, green, or red across the body, the two main colors of any one dragon often forming bands on the tail and bordered rings on the forward wing membranes. Shades of yellow, blue, red, and green are the most common. Eyes are bright yellow, framing vertically elliptical pupils.
Fire: Magnesium charged flares can burn in excess of 5,000°F, and there is typically a shot limit of 6.
Flight: Extremely high stamina allows these dragons to fly for very long distances without tiring, and they are very agile on land as well, utilizing the hooks on their wings to help them swing around corners and fluttering their wings to maintain balance on precarious perches.
The Deadly Nadder is primarily a Sharp Class dragon, bearing a set of erectable tail spines laced with neurotoxic venom that can be launched at will simply by a whip of the tail. Spines can be released either singly or in groups, with impressive accuracy (bulls-eyes are not uncommon at more than 50 yards when practicing). They can also be rattled together to create a warning sound to intimidate opponents, the muscles under the skin contracting and relaxing at rapid rates to draw both the tail and crown spines across each other in rasping notes. These dragons possess extremely keen vision, hearing, and a sense of smell powerful enough to track scents for distances of up to 100 miles or more (hence the larger nostrils). Naturally alert, Nadders are often also very observant creatures, fast learners and extremely aware of their appearance. The former trait means they are easy to train or socialize into a human culture, though the latter trait causes these dragons to be equally dutiful at preening and very vain, and so are easily angered if their appearance is slighted or insulted in any way.
The Deadly Nadder has the hottest of all breath weapons in any dragon, the temperature exceeded only by the skin of the Fireworm. This fire can melt metal in seconds, and has even been known to burn through rock, the magnesium traces in the flame making it impossible to put out using water and also making it extremely bright, a single shot able to blind if in a dark location. Small, successive shots can create a strobe effect, a difficult defense to work against.
Deadly Nadders are picky eaters, in the same manner as they are vain. While they will eat fish, they prefer foods such as chicken, turkey or other fowl, as this slightly leaner food keeps them thin and fast (and it may be partly a social notion, that birds will keep them bird-like and well-kept). Highly social, if not found in relatively large flocks then these dragons tend to be found around and become extremely loyal to their human companions, fighting to the death to keep those they care for safe, and in terms of strength of companionship may be second only to the Night Fury (if only because they carry a greater tendency to develop multiple bonds that they associate regularly with). They are also energetic, ready to play or train at a moment's notice and especially love games of fetch.
A/N-One of the classic dragon species, whom we see a lot of with Thorn.
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