History | Appearance | Eating Habits | Communication

Colonies | Mating | Growth

Drakkin were not always a domesticated species, and even to this day there is no real way to "domesticate" them. It is believed that they are the descendants of ancient dragons that made the underground their home, but so far this theory remains unproved. Their name itself means "little dragon" in the drow tongue.

Throughout the years, dark elves have cautiously studied these fierce dragon-like creatures, admiring the potential for sheer violence in even the youngest hatchling. Several attempts were made during this time to capture a live drakkin, but all were met with failure. It wasn't until one extremely fortunate young man stumbled upon an egg-filled but abandoned burrow that the first female drakkin fell into drow hands.

The young elf's name was Dwahro, and he became the very first breeder in the history of the drow, the founder of the arena. Others were to follow, namely Inrahi and Tolethven, as he agreed to sell them the egg of a female for a price that would never be rivaled by any sale of any item in the entire city of Rileikoul. Ever.

[Back to Top]

Drakkin come in seven colors, plus the occasional albino. Black, blue, bronze, and red are the four most common natural colorings, all of them very dark. Through selective breeding, drow have also been able to attain the slightly more rare green, purple, and brown colorations. Albinos are a wild card and can never be anticipated. They are even more photosensitive than other colors, flinching away from even the mildest of lights, and are slightly more passive. As such, they are useless as arena fighters and are kept as pets by the few wealthy who have the money to buy them.

As dangerous subterranean predators, drakkin are not at all defenseless. Their mottled hide is very thick and hard to pierce, making them difficult prey, and their wicked claws and teeth don't help that. They have a ridge of spines protruding from their...spine, as well as a cluster on their club-like tail and a single on the tip of their muzzles. Spiraled horns, similar to a ram's, emerge from the sides of their heads and make an effective hammering tool when they charge with heads lowered. Similarly, spurs on the backs of their long and powerful legs can easily hamstring the unwary.

Living their whole lives beneath the world's surface, they have several notable and expected weaknesses. Eyes and skin are extremely sensitive to sunlight. Even bright torchlight can make them wince away from the pain it causes their eyes. True sunlight has the potential to blind them. It can also dry out and crack their tough hides, leaving them vulnerable and in pain. Garments made from the hide of drakkin are also susceptible to cracking in the sun.

Because of the toughness of drakkinhide, and the obvious scarcity of material, such garments are quite rare. Lady Breeder Inrahi is the only drow to have several pieces of drakkinhide clothing and her tailors have perfected a process of softening it that leaves it as smooth against the skin as silk.

[original black & white image from www.Dreslough.com; colored by me]

[Back to Top]

Preferring raw meat to all else, drakkin are primarily carnivores. They'll hunt anything from small mammals and lizards to creatures almost triple their size. It all depends on how many of them are doing the hunting.

When the hunting is poor and food is scarce, they are able to survive on various types of lichen that grow beneath the earth. Such a diet is not in any way enjoyable. If they had the option, they'd much rather be gnawing on you, since only a pre-mating female will voluntarily eat the lichen if other sustenance is available.

[Back to Top]

Male drakkin are not all that intelligent, being on a level with smart border collies and about the same size. In contrast, females are almost as intelligent as humans and compare with average-sized ponies in shoulder height. They communicate through body language and guttural grunts, growls, or snarls. Sometimes in a fight they can even be prompted to roar as a means of intimidation. In no way, shape, or form can a male ever learn the language of its buyer. Females...it has yet to be seen.

Regarding their body language, several gestures have been successfully interpreted to mean different things. A lowered head is a sure sign of aggression, the spiraled horns being in an ideal position to cause a great deal of damage. The same goes for bared fangs, and for pretty much the same reason. Waving tails are a sign of uncertainty or unease and can sometimes signal reluctance. Braced legs and a firm stance show defense or protectiveness. A twitching of the muscles is a signal that the drakkin is eager to do something, whether it be pouncing on an opponent or eyeing a tasty meal. The meanings of most other gestures are still under debate.

[Back to Top]

Colonies of drakkin can range anywhere from five to twenty-five in strength. What makes or breaks a colony is a female's dominating presence and command - all colonies are controlled by at least one female, though there have been a very few cases in which two ruled a larger colony together. The males are in service to the female completely, doing as she says without question or complaint. They rely on her completely for strategy and cunning.

Rogue groups of males living together without the rule of a female, with never more than five in a group, are rare and extremely dangerous. Where a female might pull her colony back and wait for a better opportunity to attack, males will pursue without question and fight fiercely until their death. It is not easy to kill a drakkin in fighting prime. Many drow lives are lost when a single rogue group puts in an appearance.

[Back to Top]

When female drakkin feel the urge to mate, they must prepare themselves for the task with a month-long diet of lichen to compliment the normal meat, which is believed to give them nutrients and minerals needed for the pregnancy. Once the month has passed, they challenge every one of their followers to a fight. Males have been killed in such duels. When one of them has finally proven themselves worthy to her in some way or another, she consents to mate with them and the other males are left to lick their wounds.

Drakkin are pregnant for no more than three months. That time is not spent idle, however. The female sets her colony to work digging her a burrow in the rock of a chosen cavern. Even with their extremely sharp and durable claws, this process is slow and often takes the full three months to complete to the female's satisfaction. When it comes time for the eggs to be laid, she stations the males around the cavern as a guard and can take anywhere from three to ten hours in the laying. Three to eight is the usual clutch size, though there have been variations.

Any female may produce the four common colors of black, bronze, brown, and red. A common-colored female has the chance to lay an egg of an uncommon color. An uncommon female has more of a chance to have multiple uncommon colorings in one of her clutches. Similarly, if an uncommonly colored male mated with a common female, there is a chance for multiple uncommons.

[Back to Top]

The growth cycle of a drakkin is fairly simple. They begin their lives as an egg in a small clutch, fiercely guarded by their mothers until hatching, with her males bringing her food until the appointed time. When a clutch shows signs of cracking, all of the colony's males go hunting for small prey to satisfy voracious hatchlings. Those offerings are quickly devoured.

As hatchlings, a drakkin's spines poke through its skin as small nubs, promising future growth, and its horns are not the impressive spirals they will be as adults. Similarly, their hide is more leathery and vulnerable than it will be in several month's time.

Males continue hunting for hatchlings until they reach several months and their hides have hardened, at which time they must prove themselves to the dominant female (usually their mother) by bringing in a kill for themselves. The quicker they are to do this, the more pleased the female will be with them.

It doesn't take too long for a drakkin to reach adulthood, along the lines of nine months. At that point their legs will have reached their full length and their shoulders the full height.

[Back to Top]