DRAGONS

There are, or were, several different species of dragons in existence.

Dragons fit into the "Reptilia" class of the animal kingdom, according to the current method of classifying animals, but they had their own order, separate from the orders of all other known reptiles (Crocodilia includes alligators & crocodiles; Rhynchocephalia includes tuataras; Testudines includes turtles & tortoises; Squamata includes snakes and lizards).

Inside the Class of Reptilia and the Order of Draconis, there was a lot of variation between families and genus and species of dragons. One or two species were huge, twice the size of the average city bus; a few of them were no bigger than the average dog. (Most species sizes ranged somewhere in between.) Some dragons flew; some did not. A few species were intelligent and capable of a form of speech, though most were not. One or two species did indeed breath fire.

One consistency for every species of the order Draconis is that they were all long-lived and had incredibly low birth rates, resulting from a breeding cycle even longer than for gargoyles. Thus when humans began developing weapons and poisons that were effective against them, the dragons' death rate rose high above the birth rate. Most dragon species died out; became extinct.

TYPES OF MAGIC

The show itself gave plenty of examples of two types of magic: mortal magic, that can be used by humans and gargoyles alike, and Fey magic that can be used only by the Fey.

The Fey are all magic-users to some degree; magic is imbued into their very bodies. The amount of magic power imbued varies from Fey to Fey; some Fey are definitely more powerful than others. Oberon is apparently the most powerful Fey of them all, but Titania's power level is not far behind… and in terms of skill rather than just raw power, she is the more effective magic-user. (Not that she wants Oberon to realize that, of course; she prefers to be 'the power behind the throne'.) Puck is further down the magic scale, but still a very powerful Fey, more powerful than any other known trickster.

Being made of magic, Fey can create and cast spells simply by willing the magic to do as they desire; speech really isn't necessary, except as a way to focus their will for spells requiring delicate work or a large amount of magical energy. (For example, all of them can levitate without saying a word, but will likely speak a spell when transforming someone.) When speech is used for magical manipulation, many of the Fey will put their speech in rhyme; it seems to make the magic run more smoothly.

Only a very small percentage of the population, for both humans and gargoyles, are capable of mortal magic. The ability to manipulate mortal magic is tied to a specific genetic sequence that doesn't occur very often (different genes for humans versus gargoyles, of course.) And mortal magic is a different form of energy than Fey magic.

Mortal magic-users generally manipulate magic with the aid of a magical talisman or device of some sort; a conduit to allow the mage to channel the energy without harm. There are various schools of mortal magic, that manipulate magical forces by various means. The school of mortal magic pictured in the show had spells that must be spoken in Latin; the same language that the Grimorum Arcanorum was written in. But other means of mortal magic manipulation do exist.

There is also a third type of magic, in addition to mortal magic and Fey magic: Dragon magic. A few draconic species also contained a genetic sequence that allowed them to manipulate a different type of magic… magic on a different frequency, one could say.

There were actually a few varieties of nonsentient dragon that possessed magic-manipulating ability; most never used it, but one particular species became fire-breathers. (FYI, it was the nonsentient fire-breathers, toasting the countryside at random, who gave all dragons such a bad reputation, and started Humanity's millennia-long war with the dragons that wiped out so many draconic species.) Generally, though, the ability to manipulate dragon magic was confined to the intelligent species of dragons.

It is very dangerous to attempt to mix the different types of magic. In the cases of mortal magic and Fey magic, the problem is one of synergy. Synergy is the interaction of two or more elements so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects would have been. (Like mixing alcohol with other depressant drugs; some people have ended up comatose or even dead as a result.)

When even a little mortal magic is added to Fey magic or vice versa, the combined effect isn't added; it's multiplied and squared. Such spells generally spin wildly out of control, and can result in cataclysmic disaster.

On the other hand, when dragon magic is added to either Fey or mortal magic, the problem is one of cross-reaction or opposition. The effect isn't one of addition; it's subtraction or division, in generally unpredictable ways. Whatever the hoped-for result was, it will probably end in a wimpy little fizzle… if it doesn't explode.