Dragons (Dragon Prince)

The Dragons of Dragon Prince are mythical beasts that inhabit the fictional world of Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince and Dragon Star trilogies.

Dragons make their home in The Desert, which is Prince Rohan's princedom. For generations dragons have been hunted for sport and for population control, but Rohan abhorred the prestigious tradition that had won his father respect, acclaim, and eventually his death. After avenging his father, Zehava, Rohan's first decree as Prince was to outlaw dragonslaying. This act was viewed with amusement by the other Princes, whom thought the decree eccentric and Rohan a young buffoon. Rohan did not let fancy alone guide his decree; however, he felt certain that dragons were vitally important to the survival of the Continent. Rohan knew he had been right, when he and Sioned discovered the dragon gold.

Terminology:

Dragons are large, carnivorous creatures. When dragons stand on all four legs, they can be about as tall as two grown men from head to toe. In addition to the four grasping limbs, dragons have large, taloned wings, a long, powerful neck, and a spiked tail. At the base of the spiked tail are glands that leak oils, when the sire is ready to mate; these oils have a pungent odor. Dragons' wingspan can grow to about twenty or thirty feet in length, and the wings themselves can be used to soak in the sun's heat. Their teeth can be nearly a foot long, and they have claws that can be as thick as a man's wrist, which are used to scale cliff walls, such as Rivenrock Canyon.

Dragons can be found in many different colors. For example, they can be dark gold with a gold and black patterned tail, greenish bronze with black underwings, reddish black, etc.. As they primarily live in the Desert, dragons' thick hide can withstand very high temperatures. Dragon hide must also be tough in order to survive battles of dominance and mating.

Hatchling dragons are about the size of a four-year-old child and look like miniature versions of their adult counterparts. Their wings are wet from being inside the egg, so hatchlings have the ability to breathe fire. This fire is used to dry and toughen the young wings, which is necessary for flight. The hatchlings only have this ability for half a year.

The blood of dragons is poisonous to most other creatures, including humans. The poison consumes the victim with chills, blurs vision, makes him or her dizzy, and induces vomiting. This poison is very fast acting, but there is a cure in the form of a wafer and certain herbs, which needs to be consumed.

...
Wikipedia