Story Influence Map: Dragons

In my story's universe it's obvious dragons play a big role. In my story the dragons are one of the main dominant races on the planet, God originally created a spiritual kind of dragon that dwelled in Heaven with him (these are based on the Chinese/Asian variant and the Sirrush/Mushusu from Babylonian mythology) then He created an earthly version that first appeared in the "Age of Monsters" along side the dinosaurs and other giant monsters and beasts. Even then they were high up or on top of the food chain. However the Enemy sought to wipe out dragons and all life from the face of the earth forcing God to bring about a great extinction that dragons and other giant creatures just barely survived by retreating into the oceans and into the bowels of the earth to wait until the time when the world would heal (this idea was inspired by Reign of Fire, however in that movie the dragons themselves were directly responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs and the Ice Age, this is not the case for my story, merely they were the victims of it).

Dragons returned to the world when humans appeared. During the Age of Monsters and before they encountered humans dragons had the more instinctual intelligence of animals but when they met humans they gained a newfound intelligence, especially when Drake first opened the eyes and minds of dragons with the original Philosopher's Stone. At first dragons and humans were cautious around each other, trying to coexist peacefully while trying to survive, but then a young man named Drake befriended the oldest, largest and strongest dragon, Pendragon, and the two formed an extraordinary bond, where they were able to feel each others thoughts and emotions and share each others power, soon other humans and dragons followed suit and bonded pairs formed a brotherhood together, the Dragon Rider Coalition (basically based on the Dragon Riders from many different sources including Dragonriders of Pern, the Drakan series and the Inheritance Cycle). At first everything was going great for the First Civilization and its people but then the Enemy whispered discord into the peoples' hearts and even set dragon and humanity against each other by taking on the shape of a wicked red dragon that devoured and burned everything, this began the tradition for human warriors seeking out and slaying dragons.

After the end of the First Civilization dragons migrated to a large island continent called Vivex and built a series of capital cities around the continent in alignment with the Constellation Draco. For the most part dragons mainly kept to themselves, those who settled on the continents west of Vivex Island came into conflict with humans and the other races. It wasn't until the Messiah came into the world, taking on the shape of both man and dragon, that He preached to both humanity and dragons to once again unite and so dragons and humanity reestablished contact and the Dragon Rider Coalition was reborn. However after the Messiah's departure war broke out against the newly formed Holy Order and its Dragon Rider Coalition when it attempted to preach the Word of the Lord. After these crusades came about the coming of the Industrial Revolution and the Age of Exploration. With modern advancements human beings no longer seemed to need Dragons and so the Dragons once again mainly kept to Vivex but the two races did still maintain contact with each other for economic trade, sadly the Dragon Rider Coalition (and the Holy Order) seemed to become less and less popular and influential with the coming of this New Age.

Dragons are a unique life form. In their basic form they share a combination of reptilian, mammalian and even some avian aspects. There are various kinds of dragons: the Fire Drakes are the most common and well-known (the standard fire-breathing western dragon) the Ice Drakes are their cold-climate, ice-breathing counterpart. A common birth defect sometimes results in Wyverns in Fire Drakes (basically a wyvern is a fire drake with only one pair of wings and legs, in the dragon society this is the equivalent to a human being born with double joints or extra fingers or toes). There are also the Lung (the Asian orient), the Mushusu/Sirrush (Babylonian), the Amphithere (a unique dragon that has a serpentine body and a pair of wings and is unique in that they are covered in feathers instead of scales) the Tarasque (an unusual turtle-like dragon with a lion's head) and the Hydra (a mutation/abomination created when evil magicians and alchemists conducted experiments by fusing together several dragons into one body, Chimeras were also created in this fashion). Fire Drakes are the most common species and they are considered the largest, strongest and second-most intelligent (the first being the spiritual Lung and Sirrush).
Dragons have a unique ability to shapeshift, all dragons can transform into a more humanoid-sized and shaped version of their basic dragon form (they are similar to the Dragonborn from Dungeons and Dragons) and even have a human form to comingle with humans (a dragon's human form are usually much better looking than normal humans, having finer features, better reflexes and mental capabilities, etc...kind of similar to elves but a little more rugged). Dragons share an interesting bond with humans, dragons gain better intelligence and wisdom by interacting with humans and humans bonded to dragons gain heightened abilities and the use of magic and bonded pairs can feel each others feelings, emotions and thoughts. Another interesting fact about dragons is that they share similar DNA to humans, sometimes bonded pairs of the opposite sex actually fall in love with each other because of the intense emotional bond they share and are able to procreate. The children of such a union is human in appearance but is usually much better looking in appearance to normal humans, have stronger bodies and minds and sometimes inherit their dragon parent's abilities such as breathing fire and being able to use magic (this idea comes from Bryan Davis' Dragons in Our Midst/Oracles of Fire series and the Firebreather film/comics).
The body parts of dragons have many uses as well, Dragon blood has medicinal purposes and those non-dragons that consume it become healthier instantly and their bodies and minds become stronger as a result. The teeth, claws and scales of dragons can be forged into extremely proficient armor and weapons. A dragon possesses a unique set of lungs, part of the lungs is a special bladder that converts inhaled air into flame when a dragon needs to use it and they have large brains compared to their body size, possessing an intellect similar to that of humans, maybe even greater.
Dragons have a fondness for art and shiny metallic objects, this has lead some morally ambiguous dragons to hoard treasure. The dragon culture is based on a combination of Chinese culture and Europe during the Medieval and Renaissance periods, they learned to build cities and commerce in economic trade after learning from humans. Dragons were originally worshipers of nature and believed that ten dragons that embodied the elements (Light, Darkness, Fire, Earth, Air, Water, Metal, Wood, Ice and Electricity) created the world from the remains of elemental giants they had fought and destroyed. Many dragons are vain and because of their hubris consider all other creatures to be inferior to them. Things changed however when the monotheistic Holy Order was established and many dragons converted into believing in the one God.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the elements featured in this collage nor any of the franchises they belong to. This collage was made purely for entertainment purposes and is strictly nonprofit.