Name: Catastrophic Quaken
Class: Boulder
Size: Large
Threat Level: Very High
Fire Type: Heptane/Oxygen + Rock = 'Lava' blast in the form of magma slobber.
Habitat: The Catastrophic Quaken lives in rocky terrains, such as mountains and caverns. It spends a lot of its time underground, moving through networks of tunnels in search of food.
Diet: This large Boulder class dragon is, like most of its relatives, an omnivore. It will eat both plant and animal-based food. Fireweed, vegetables and mushrooms are quite favored, but fish, mammals and occasionally humans or other dragons are eaten. That being said, when it comes to its more carnivorous side, the Quaken prefers to pirate kills from other predators as opposed to hunting themselves.
Physical Description: The Catastrophic Quaken has the anatomy of what most people think of when they think of the Boulder class. Like the Gronckle and Hotburple, to whom it is closely related, the Quaken has a large and somewhat roundish body with relatively small legs and wings, and a short, stubby tail. However, despite the similarities, the Quaken is far larger than its close relatives and it has also some noticeable differences. Its tail lacks the bludgeoning club, and the entire dragon is covered in sharp spikes. The most noticeable difference of the Quaken are its lower jaws, which are able to split into two parts, each with their own tongue and set of teeth.
The Catastrophic Quaken is usually colored black, gray, brown or a mixture of these. The reason for this coloration is camouflage, as it allows the large dragon to blend in with its rocky environment.
The Titan Wing Catastrophic Quaken is larger than its Broad Wing counterpart, and tends to possess more exotic colors, such as purple. The spikes on their tail, snout and head also increase in size.
Biological Adaptations: While the Catastrophic Quaken may seem like archetype Boulder class dragon, when looked at upon closer inspection, this dragon actually has a lot of interesting adaptations that help it thrive in its natural environment.
As usual, we start with the head. The head is robust and relatively flat, with relatively small eyes and nostrils that are placed above it. It has two small, fin-like ears and is covered in spikes. Most notable are its jaws. The lower half are split in two, each complete with a tongue and set of teeth. It's speculated that the reason why the Quaken evolved this particular set of mandibles is because it allows it to feed twice as much, but other researchers claim it's an offensive ability. The Quaken doesn't shoot balls of molten lava like Hotburple and Gronckle. Instead, it slobbers molten magma out of its trifurcated jaws. This way, it's as if the Quaken is blasting opponents with two attacks at once. The jaws and teeth themselves are incredibly strong, capable of crushing rock and metal with ease, which is important for the dragon's breath weapon.
The fire a Catastrophic Quaken uses is nearly identical to that of several other Boulder class dragons like the Gronckle, Hotburple and Crimson Gorecutter. For a long time, it was thought these dragons ate rocks and would proceed to melt them in their bellies, before spewing them out again as balls of molten lava. However, modern research has shown that the internal temperature of the dragon would have to be so incredibly hot it would outright kill the animal. The dragon crushes minerals between its incredibly powerful jaws and from there, both as fuel for its breath attack, but also to serve as gastroliths that will grind the food in its first stomach. In its first stomach, known as the crop, the dragon's food and gastroliths are stored. In the second stomach, the gizzard, a powerful acid is formed that dissolves both into a sludge. When the Quaken and its relatives use their 'lava blasts', acid from the gizzard is secreted into the crop. A gland at the base of the two lower jaws then secretes a second chemical called heptane into the crop which primes the fuel. Thus, when the dragon uses this attack, it appears as if it's blasting lava and even has similar properties. While it's possible in theory, no one has used the lava of a Quaken for the purpose of crafting items, unlike with its relatives.
Its eyes are rather small, and as such, the Quaken can't see very well. As such, the dragon mostly relies on smell, but it also feels vibrations. They can hear sounds humans and other dragons can't, but also have cartilaginous nodes under their feet, and in other places on their body as well. In addition to that, the annular muscles surrounding their ear canals can constrict the passageway, resulting in dampening acoustic signals and allowing the dragon to hear more seismic signals. A most useful adaptation for a dragon that spends most of its time underground.
The Catastrophic Quaken isn't a fast flier or runner, but it has developed a faster method of transportation that can also be weaponized. When threatened, the Quaken will curl itself up in a battle, tucking in its head, tail, legs and wings. When in this state, its virtually invincible fortress of a dragon. However, when curled up, they can also roll towards their foes, crashing into them with great force. A combination of bone and a tough tissue coating, the hide is highly flexible and yet tough and that's what makes this possible. Thousands of scales are composed of the protein keratin and make up the carapace. The carapace is divided into the anterior scapular shield over its forequarters and the posterior pelvic shield over its hindquarters.
Its hide is also armored with sharp spikes, which vary in size. Its tail is short and lacks the bludgeoning club of some of its relatives, but is spiked nonetheless as well.
Catastrophic Quakens are excellent diggers, digging tunnels to live in and move through. However, it also has the ability to sense specific types of materials and some individuals have been trained for this ability, having been used to track down marble and gold.
Behavior: The Catastrophic Quaken may appear as a brutish and ferocious beast at first, and one can hardly blame someone who thinks this. The dragon is easily startled and very territorial. Unknown or unexpected things tend to frighten it, and while some animals prefer to hide or flee, the Quaken will almost immediately attack. These dragons are powerful heavyweights and they know it. Indeed, they've even been known to drive out other dragons from their homes or steal their food.
However, these dragons do have a gentler side. They are incredibly loyal to their mates and family, and are very protective of them. However, they've also been known to form symbiotic relationships with other dragons, the Gronckle and Prickleboggle specifically. Herds of wild Gronckles are sometimes accompanied by a small number of Quakens. The Quakens protect the Gronckles from threats and will even smash through stone structures not even the Gronckles can destroy, allowing them to chew up the smaller rocks that come from the remains. It's not entirely clear what the Quakens get out of this relationship. It's speculated that the Gronckles help it find food or warn it for danger, but the Quaken is perfectly capable of handling those problems itself. So why does it take the trouble of protecting and providing for them? One popular theory is that the Gronckles provide the Quaken with companionship. The Catastrophic Quaken is surprisingly quite social and sensitive, and it gets lonely easily. The Gronckles give the Quaken for, for lack of a better term, a family while the Quaken is determined to protect them in turn.
The Prickleboggle is a relatively small dragon that lacks a lot of weapons and defenses, and as a result, will often seek out a partnership with larger and more powerful dragons. While not quite well understood, the Prickleboggle is capable of breathing purple, cold particles that contain medicinal values and can be used to treat injuries. The Prickleboggle will heal injuries the Quaken sustains and in turn, the Quaken protects the Prickleboggle.
Natural History: The Catastrophic Quaken was first discovered by Fishlegs Ingerman when he and the other Dragon Riders started exploring distant regions, far away from Berk. Through the Dragon Eye, Fishlegs discovered the existence of the dragon and that it lived on Dark Deep, a previously unexplored island rumored to have been the ancestral home of the Gronckle and its relatives. There, it discovered a Quaken that was unusually aggressive. The dragon, which Fishlegs named Tormentor, was later discovered to have acted this way because it was fearful of what he saw as foreign threats and reacted out of self-defense. It was pacified by Fishlegs and Meatlug, however, and integrated within a herd of Gronckles living on Dark Deep.
The next notable encounter with the species was when the Dragon Riders started targeting Dragonroot Company convoys that carried tons of marble with them. The group split up to learn more about Viggo's goal, and they were proven right to be suspicious. Astrid, Heather and Snotlout discovered that the marble, which proved resistant to the attacks of most dragons, was built to make a dragon proof fortress that had nearly been completed by the time it was discovered. Meanwhile, Hiccup, Fishlegs and the Thorston twins discovered a massive marble quarry by tracing into the steps of a horde of wild dragons who had fled the island where the quarry was located. The overseers of the operation had used two Catastrophic Quakens, theorized to have been a mated pair, as guards and demolishers, as they would curl themselves up into balls and smash against the sides of the quarry, causing the marble to loosen up and therefore be easier to mine by the Hunters. The dragons were trained to respond to the vibrations of a giant hammer, that the overseers used to give the Quakens orders. They had spent so long in captivity that they initially had no desire to turn against their captors, a situation Tuffnut compared to a situation a cousin in Stockholm had who ended up getting attached to his kidnappers. It took a lot of effort, but eventually Fishlegs managed to gain control of the hammer and used it to make the dragons rebel and destroy the fortress, and just in time as well. The geological instability of the island combined with the constant quakes caused by the Quakens caused the island to literally sink into the ocean. After that, the two dragons were released back into the wilderness of Dark Deep.
Gruffnut Thorston, after being exiled to Dark Deep for various crimes, mentioned how ruthless the Catastrophic Quakens treated him, as they would always react aggressively to his presence. However, given Gruffnut's unpleasant nature, one can hardly blame them for reacting this way.
Various individuals of this species were present when the Riders attempted to save Dragon's Edge from all of the volcanic activity. After Viggo's plan had caused the previously dormant volcano to erupt (we'll come back to this in the chapter belonging to the Eruptodon) lava-filled cracks started appearing all over the island. Boulder class dragons like Gronckles and Quakens were used to solve this problem by filling the cracks with their lava, which would then be hardened.
Catastrophic Quakens were also present at the Battle of Berserker Island, after its resident Bewilderbeast let out a distress roar to summon any and all nearby available dragons to assist it in defending the island from Johann's and Krogan's army.
The Northern Alliance also made use of Catastrophic Quakens. Called Trolboulders by the Alliance, they were used as living traps due their camouflage, snatching up any intruders that came too close to the cave where Drago held his Bewilderbeast. The Quakens were later liberated, and most were transported to Dark Deep.
Relatives: The closest relatives of the Catastrophic Quaken are most certainly the Gronckle, Hotburple and Groncicle, with a slightly more distant relative being the Crimson Gorecutter. While different in appearance, the latter does share a lot of traits with the Quaken, such as its subterranean habits (although the Gorecutter does spend more of its time above ground) and its method of producing its breath weapon. However, the Gronckle and Hotburple remain their closest relatives by far. They are almost identical in terms of body, habitat preferences, diet and adaptations, after all.
Subspecies & Hybrids: Only one subspecies of Catastrophic Quaken is known, and that is the Spikeback. The Spikeback has a purple coloration and pink crystal-like spikes that cover it from head to tail.
No known hybrids are known to exist. However, it is known that Quakens have shown performing mating dances in front of Gronckles and Hotburples, though these have generally been left unanswered. The potential existence of a hybrid between a Quaken and Gronckle or Hotburple is therefore not far-fetched.
How to Train: The Catastrophic Quaken is not easy to train. Naturally territorial and suspicious, they are quite likely to attack any approaching human on sight, especially if the dragons they protect are nearby. That being said, it's not impossible to train one. It requires a lot of trust and patience, and some have stated that running away from them might actually confirm you're a threat. If you stand your ground, but don't react aggressively either, the dragon will become cautiously curious and if you play your cards right, it might let you approach.
Once trained, the Catastrophic Quaken is a very loyal and even affectionate companion that is very protective of its rider. However, they can take this too far and attack people the rider's friends and family if it is not properly familiarized with them.
Summary: The Catastrophic Quaken is a large Boulder class dragon that really proves you can't judge a book by its cover. Despite its initially aggressive behavior and brutish appearance, the Quaken is a dragon that greatly cares for those under its protection and has evolved a great number of unique adaptations. But for just to be sure, it's probably best to make yourself scarce when they curl up and start rolling towards you!
The Catastrophic Quaken is a dragon I admittingly never gave much thought prior to this chapter. I didn't dislike it, but wasn't super fond of it either. However, the episode Between a Rock and a Hard Place gave me a new appreciation for them. It was very satisfying to see how they finally broke free from captivity and managed to dish out revenge against the Hunters. Furthermore, the whole running gag regarding symbiotic and parasitic relationships between Snotlout and the twins in Living on the Edge remains one of my favorite comedic moments in the show as well.
There was more speculation in this chapter than usual, as the how and why's of various abilities of the Catastrophic Quaken aren't very well explored. There's the thing with the jaws, but I based the way they curl up on how armadillo's are able to do it. As for how they shoot lava, I can't actually take credit for that one. It was developed by FawkesTheSkarmory on DeviantArt and his own version of the Book of Dragons, in the chapter about the Gronckle to be specific, which I highly recommend. While unfortunately outdated due the fact it was created before Book of Dragons and Riders of Berk came out, it's still very creative and entertaining, and it remains impressive how he came up with these theories. He allowed me to use this idea, as I've also used in the old version of this project that I discontinued years ago.
The Trolboulder is one of the Liberated Dragons featured in Rise of Berk.
Anyways, up next, we have a rather slimy dragon that also prefers to live in caves: The Cavern Crasher!