CRITTER LORE DROP: CREEPING SPITFIRES or DOMESTIC DRAGONS
The Creeping Spitfire is a small species of dragon found in various locations across the Goikian continent. This isn’t because it has a naturally cosmopolitan range but rather because, prior to the Great Yoyle War, this particular species was domesticated and an extremely common pet, with a number of breeds bred for various roles similar to dogs. While dogs fared far better after the Great Yoyle War and remain a fairly common pet in Goiky, Spitfires are rather rare to be found as pets aside from in certain regions, but a large number of “wild” populations are more accurately described as stray or feral.
Gary, the Spitfire that Suitcase found in Farnorth, is one of these strays, hence why he behaves so very doglike. Indeed, if he were a dog, he’d best be described as some kind of indeterminate retriever mix. The breeds he is descended from were mostly those bred for hunting and companionship.
Creeping Spitfires are on the smaller side as far as dragons go, and come in a variety of colors depending on the breed. Pre-War breeds came in a variety of shapes and sizes, but all had three defining visual traits:
A short, rather blunt skull, similar to an abelisaurid dinosaur, often with lacrimal horns above the eyes, although not all breeds possessed these.
A patch of spiny scales along the back of the neck that can be raised and lowered like the hackles of a dog.
Extremely reduced arms that are basically just useless stumps, giving them the appearance of only having four limbs instead of six.
Spitfires have incredibly powerful internal fire, especially considering their smaller size, and they primarily use this to defend themselves or their families against threats. They can’t do this very often though, typically only being able to do it once per day at most.
This is not their only defense, and they have an entirely different defense against predation from creatures like Great Goldendrakes: their meat is DEADLY poisonous if consumed and reeks of it, being (for unknown reasons) absolutely saturated with what scientists prior to the Great Yoyle War identified as a form of potassium cyanide. This is to the point where Spitfires are known to smell faintly of bitter almonds. Large predators like the Great Goldendrake have an extremely good sense of smell, and the stink of poison is enough to keep them at bay, with one pound of meat from a Spitfire containing enough toxins to kill an adult Great Goldendrake within minutes.
Feral spitfires are fairly common in Farnorth, especially in more populated areas, and they tend to be regarded as little more than pests by the often starving populace.