#16daydragons

[dwollsadventures]

TyrantisTerror Prompt: Persian Dragon

Alright, day behind schedule but that's fine. Take three dragons for compensation. Back when I did the Mesopotamian dragons during the D&D days I did them dirty by not making them as weird as they actually are. These beings are old, as old as Tiamat and the Sumerian civilization, so old that "dragon" doesn't really begin to describe them. These three, the Usumgallu (Great Dragon), Musmahhu (Exalted Serpent), and Basmu (Venomous Serpent) are the sons of Tiamat and were birthed alongside their other demon brothers to battle the gods. They failed, but were kept alive and served as the demons of the New World, finding themselves the enemies of spirits and heroes alike. They weren't dragons exactly, being more akin to a demon, with all the mystical qualities that entails. Sumerian demons and their descendants took the forms of fearsome creatures from the desert, or some combination of them. Even the earliest Abrahamic demons took the forms of jackals and goats and owls, albeit with a natural uncanniness to them.The first of these is Basmu, the venomous snake. It was simply an enormous serpent who inhabited the waters, with many poisonous tongues. Musmahhu, the exalted serpent, is more impressive, having many heads and prowling the forests, comparable to the desert in its evilness (to the Sumerians). It can be seen among its brothers fighting the hero Nimurta. I decided to make it the same as the Seven-Headed Serpent, even though it's not specifically named so. The most fearsome is the Usumgallu, the great dragon. Often confused with the bird Anzu, these dragons are among the most fierce, and images of them can be found decorating objects dedicated to heroes and gods. Sometimes they're depicted with scorpion tails, a common motif found to show their awesomeness in art.

[dwollsadventures]

TyrantisTerror Prompt: Greater Drake

Where the ala terrorizes the fields and farms of Western Bulgaria, Eastern Bulgaria has the lamya. Stemming from the Greek Lamia, the lamya is another entirely feminine dragon associated with drought. Lamya are considered to have a more “familiar” form seen in dragons today, with sharp claws, dog-like jaws, and webbed wings, although no story mentions flight. These dragons live at the bases of springs in the mountains and forests, and occasionally the bottom of the sea. If sacrifices are given the lamya may release its grip and give its worshipers a season of rain. Normally they are countered by the benevolent (but by no means good) Balkan zmej, who defends its territory from the monstrous lamya. One story does exist of George of the Flowers, who slayed a three-headed lamya in a tale not at all a regional re-skinning of the Saint George. Here the enormous lamya sits in a dried river bed, lapping up the last trickle of water.

[dwollsadventures]

TyrantisTerror Prompt: Knucker

One of the six bajillion British Dragons, the knucker is another freshwater wyrm. Unlike other dragons they have no venom in their saliva or teeth, but possess other traits like their poisonous blood and extreme appetite. Knuckers live in knuckerholes around Southern England, pools of stagnant water with a burrow underneath hidden like a platypus’ home. When young many of them can live in a single pond at a time, but once they become adults they get more territorial. 

The knucker is also a prime example of why the creatures in “my world” aren’t biological in nature. As mythical creatures, they bridge the mythical and real worlds. Though they’re flesh and blood creatures, multiple aspects of their existence outright defy the laws of physics and biology. The kelpie in the background there, those two would be considered sister taxon if we looked at it from a completely scientific viewpoint. Both are descended from the Old English “nicor”, a nondescript river monster, sometimes translated as a serpent of some kind. In England, nicor became knucker, but in Germany and Scandinavia it became the näcken, nøkk or näkki. These creatures are water monsters, but closer to the “fairies” we know today. They’re also known for taking the forms of ghastly horses and driving people underneath the water to drown them. Nacken were introduced to the Northern British isles through Scotland by way of the Vikings, and in the middle of England two distant cousins meet. So, traditional evolution is kind of nonsensical, they evolve the way ideas and beliefs do over time.

[dwollsadventures]

TyrantisTerror Prompt: Dragonet baby

he is my baby boy, and i will do anything to protect him Sword and Shield is out, the challenge is over, and a drawing that took me two days is done. Soon Sobble shall be within my hands, and all will be right. Dynamax coloration in the background inspired by

[dwollsadventures]

TyrantisTerror Prompt: Lindworm

The description given for the lindworm is a dragon with only forelimbs. But this appears to only be true where heraldry is concerned. The lindworm is of German and Scandinavian origin, and is usually serpentine. Some writings make a clear distinction between the Latin-derived drak and the native linnormr. 

These creatures are otherwise known as trollsnakes in some writings, not because of their relationship to trolls (though, both are connected to the jotnar of old), but for their nature as a mystical being. Troll, as a prefix, is often added to words as a means of communicating their magical connotations. For example, "trollmann" in English is wizard, as is the Swedish "trollkarl". It's no mistake to see that lindworms are often talked about in conjunction with trolls, being among the main forces of malevolent magic in Scandinavia. The Swedish lake serpent Storsjöodjuret was even said to be the product of a troll's cauldron.

But the most intriguing story which highlights their supernatural nature has to be "Driving Out The Snakes", paraphrased here fromFolktales of Norway: 

Way back when, the churches of Trondheim were infested with numerous snakes, all huge and ugly. The parishers agreed to seek the help of a Finn [Lapplander], known for his skill in magic, to get rid of them. He agreed to do it, and he directed everyone to a large clearing in the forest, where in the middle a single, big fir tree stood. The folk chopped off all the limbs and piled them around it. Once that was done, the Finn scaled the tree, after setting the ring of branches alight. Then, he stood on top of the tree and began chanting his spells. Every snake darted out from under the churches at once, trying to kill the Finn, but the perished in the fire. All until the last one, a lindworm, thirty ells long with a mane came from the church, went right over the fire, and grabbed the Finn in its maw. But, before it could escape, the fire had caught it and killed them both. Since then, no one's seen snakes in Trondheim.  

[dwollsadventures]

TyrantisTerror Prompt: Wyrm

Wyrm is described as a serpentine dragon, which can be used to describe most dragons. In fact, wyrm is often synonymous with dragon, and was itself the Old English word for snakes, dragons, and literal worms. So, instead of dragon another Germanic dragon, here’s the ala. 

These beings are known from Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Serbia, the meeting place between native cultures, Greek culture, and Slavic culture. The ala (or hala) is a primarily feminine being, connected to the storms and illnesses associated with them, carried upon bad winds. The ala shares much in common with the lamya (who will we see tomorrow) but is far less concrete and physical than them. When they come from their dens in the cracks in the mountains, they travel across the lands in the form of invisible winds, devouring all they can see. Due to this, they often get into fights with one another, which can affect the environment disastrously. 

While their true forms are that of an enormous serpent, they can take many other forms, and are even able to possess humans so they can continue to eat during the day. They are thought to be the product of some snake dragon mating with a storm demon, accounting for their mixed nature. Some ale (the plural of ala) take forms between a dragon and an old woman, another hint at their ancestry. 

As with other demons, protective charms are often used to ward them off. Their natural enemies are the eagle, which can tear through their disguises, the Slavic dragon, or zmey, and the zmajeviti men (dragon-like men). In areas where ale are common, zmey and humans have struck up a balance of sorts, where they take care of the harmful ala in exchange for goods and protection from other beings. This is preferable to living with an ala, as their mere presence can cause blights upon the landscape.

[dwollsadventures]

TyrantisTerror Prompt: Tatzelwurm

The name tatzelwurm literally translates to “worm with a paw”, and is usually used to describe the cat-like dragons of the Swiss Alps. But, the name is German, and the Swiss are more likely to call them Stollenwurm, or “tunnel worm”. Like many other dragons, they are connected with poison and water, being found near rivers and underground streams. They are said to exude a noxious gas, which is dizzying to humans. 

Most of note is their feline traits, which are most common in Switzerland. One of the most famous accounts described a particularly feline one, with a long body but short legs, boar-like bristles on its back, and a crest. Others are less feline, described as looking like a “stubby lizard”. As mining becomes less and less prevalent through the Alps, it seems the tunnel worms are also changing suit, with some broadening their territories outside and getting a more active lifestyle. 

Others, such as the one pictured here, use the lack of human interference to freely explore their tunnels, and even seek out new ones, like the ones they build underneath their streets. (So, to clarify, the way I’m approaching it is that there’s two “morphs”; a more feline one and a more lizard-like one. The lizard-like ones are like draconic badgers, the others are more pantheran. Many bridge a gap between the two, but all of them have some combination of features. And, of course, there’s regional variants.)

[dwollsadventures]

TyrantisTerror Prompt: Guivre

Synonymous with the more archaic vouivre, the guivre is a French serpent known for its horns, gem-like eyes, and love of treasure. Much like the lamya, guivre are an entirely female species, reproducing through parthenogenesis, i.e laying an egg containing a genetically identical daughter. Some believe they’re descended from a water spirit, such as Melusine. This is reinforced by their proclivity to live in deep ponds and lakes and guard vast riches of wealth. 

Guivre are skilled shape-shifters, taking on a myriad of different forms so to avoid giving the location of their homes away. But, like the firedrake of Scandinavia and Britain, they’re known to give off ghostly flames in the air, unintentionally giving their position away to those with a keen eye. Their gem-like eyes are not decorative, they function as both the eyes of the dragon as well as their ability to shape-shift and create illusions through glamour. Guivre remove their gems when underwater, in order to prevent algae and other parasites from entering their loose eye-sockets. Because of this, the sight of humans bathing or swimming (often done in the nude way back when) provokes a Pavlovian response of fear. In older times most guivre were completely serpentine, over time the winged variants have taken over, leaving the flightless serpentine guivre to compete with the la velue, tarasque, and gargouilles. The flying serpents are sometimes considered to be the ancestors of wyverns as we know them, with wyvern being derived from the Old French wivre, the source of the name vouivre and guivre.