Vaikan

"Why don't we express our emotions in public? Quite simple. Wherever there's an emotional Dhragolon, there's burning buildings."

- Dhragolon interviewee

The Dhragolon (referred to as Lon for short) are a race of hybrid reptile-mammals from Ucharpli. Dhragolon have sustained some form of civilization for at least 30,000 thousand years back, and thus, their culture is deeply intertwined with their physical evolution.

Appearance
The Dhragolon are humanoids with distinctive dark blue hair as well as tough, leathery cyan skin. The amount of hair varies from region to region in Ucharpli. The people of Khather, for example, tend to grow long beards, while Dhragolon from Feurcy lack any sort of facial hair.

Dhragolon have binocular eyes in allowing for depth perception and stereoscopic vision; eye color often varies between blue, purple, orange and red. The inside of their mouth is lined with teeth designed to extract fluids from food. Dhragolon have four fingers including an opposable thumb as well as four toes. Each finger contains claws designed for digging into the ground.

Dhragolon also have large vocal cords. Their mouths can form many different shapes to form distinct sounds, and their voice as a flanging effect, with the second voice sounding like a series of croaks and vibrations. This croaking effect is actually a vestigial structure that stems from a time before Dhragolon had begun to speak. A non-croaking effect is recessive to croaking, and it can be controlled through genetic altering.

Adult Dhragolon tend to grow up to seven feet, though children tend to be only half the size and smaller. In the past, they used to be much shorter because primal Dhragolon had lived in caves, only going outside when necessary.

The Dhragolon are blue in color as opposed to shades of brown like humans. Combined with their thick skin, their blue colorings allow them to immunity to Szon's UV radiation as their solar-panel scales absorb light to metabolize energy while reflecting harmful rays. The energy output from Szon is far more intense than Sol because of Ucharpli's thin ozone layer which has difficulty blocking ultraviolet radiation and other light waves.

Regional variations
Since the Dhragolon's arrival on Ucharpli, they evolved regional variations to adapt to their environment. These variations still exist today. Before the discovery of other alien species, these variations were often called "races".


 * Feln - Field Dhragolon. Medium height between five and a half and six and a half feet, short hair, very little facial hair if any. The most common variation.


 * Foth - Forest Dhragolon. Tall, about seven feet, very long hair, oval-shaped heads. No facial hair.


 * Dorf - Mountain Dhragolon. Short between five and five and a half feet. Large builds and lots of facial hair. DNA and anatomy-wise, they are the most closely related to the Eteno.


 * Ain - Malin Dhragolon. Similar appearance as field Dhragolon, but slightly shorter with longer hair. Facial hair is not uncommon.
 * Hob - Frostwater Dhragolon. Very short between three to four feet tall even as an adult. Smaller builds than Mountain Dhragolon and with no facial hair.
 * Sav - Grey Dhragolon. They are slightly taller than a Hob, but tend to have hunched backs and red eyes. Their skin is gray, and their hair is white because they have been living underground. Savlins tend to keep to themselves and are not afraid to attack others who intrude in their territory.

Gender differences
Being reptiles, males and females differ little aside from their builds. Males tend to much taller with broader shoulders, while females are much thinner with broader hip bones though are more curvacious on the outside. Bone structure in males tends to be much more jagged - females have smoother faces than males.

Physiology
The Dhragolon are known for being able to use Maj, allowing them to use their minds to manipulate molecules, particles and waves. Such a trait is considered rare among carbon-based species, and having this skill allowing a Dhragolon can perform subtle movements to create directed friction as well as telekinetic energy allowing them to create fire or shoot electrical currents from their hands.

Physical - External
Dhragolon are most adept to arid, rocky regions whether it be a hot desert, mountain range or cold desert. The Dhragolon have a tough, scaly carapace with jointed, bony limbs. Their scales are capable of absorbing solar energy, so they do not have to eat as much as other sentient races. With the exception of the brain, a Dhragolon's internal organs can be moved around within their bodies to any location so long as they remain connected. Another side effect of being able to do this is they can rapidly heal damaged tissues. This makes them highly adaptable particularly in arid environments, and they can survive quite easily in the environments of other planets by altering their own internal organs. However, the Dhragolon will still wear pressure suits on inhospitable planets as making such a major change to their physiologoy will reduce their lifespan.

Though their skulls are just as tough as the rest of their skeleton, their brains are still vulnerable. A Dhragolon will be killed should they receive a blunt force to their skull such as a melee weapon or bullet. In combat, it is standard practice to wear hard helmets with plexi-glass visors in order to reduce the chance of this occurence. These helmets also shield their ears, protecting from loud noises that are otherwise harmless to other species.

A drawback to living on a planet with an almost completely arid climate is that Dhragolon have difficulty living in environments with high humidity. The hair on a Dhragolon's head also acts a channel for perspiration, but they never evolved large enough pores throughout the rest of their body. Like humans, high humidity prevents them from perspiring properly, but Dhragolon suffer far more severe effects. Should a Dhragolon enter an environment with 100% humidity, a Dhragolon will pass out from heat exhaustion within minutes.

Highly skilled Majites can cope with this problem by freezing the air around them into ice crystals, but even then, it becomes impractical for staying in such environments for long periods of time.

Vision and hearing
Dhragolon also have two sets of eyelids to clean out dust from their eyes, a common adaption of species native to arid environments. Usually however, they mostly rely on their hearing to spot predators and prey rather than eyesight; a Dhragolon can hear a pin drop from two miles away. This gives them a wide range of hearing, allowing them to be alerted to enemies before they invade, but on the converse, something as simple as hearing a water drop from a faucet at irregular intervals will drive a Dhragolon mad.

Dhragolon, while they have excellent hearing, have poor vision unable to see the entirety of the visible light spectrum. Particularly, they have difficulty distinguishing colors in the red and orange range as Szon gives off more ultraviolet wavelengths than Class G stars. Their eyes are designed to detect movement rather than distinguish certain colors. Dhragolon vision, even during the day, consists mostly of shades of green, blue and purple with the brighter colors of red, yellow and orange flickering as the object moves. Being able to see slightly into the ultraviolet range, Dhragolon will see the skies of planets like Gaea as a deep purple.

Internal systems
Dhragolon, although are analogous to hominids, are actually liquivores. As Dhragolon live in a very arid climate, water is difficult to find. The inside of their mouth is lined with rows of long teeth designed to drain fluids, and they have a forked tongue to detect if their prey is edible. While several other species on Ucharpli evolved proboscides, the Dhragolon required an alternate solution to extracting nutrients from tough, scaly prey who could resist the penetration of a proboscis. The solution was to develop an analagous mouth filled with sets of teeth to crush the prey into easier to extract pieces. Saliva glands in their mouth make a single Dhragolon bite highly toxic. When a Dhragolon chews up its prey, it extracts whatever nutrients it can in the mouth before spitting back out a dried husk. As a result, Dhragolon cuisine mostly consists of potato analogues or large herbivores. Most Dhragolon meals of today consist of highly nutritious liquid mixtures.

For breathing, Dhragolon have triangular shaped noses which contain an olfactory bulb. They also have a trachea, that connects their mouth to their lungs. As a result, their mouth doubles as both a method of breaking down food as well as breathing.

The nutrients they ingest first go through their livers which is wound around the upper spinal cord in the neck area. This serves as their only checkpoint where food is detoxified before getting sent along tube-like structures which deliver them to the life essential organs, primarily the heart and the brain. If the liver detects something dangerous such as hydrogen peroxide, their only means through removing the toxic agents is through sneezing. Naturally, with the lack of any other organs to break down food, their livers are extremely powerful offering them remarkable resistance to substances such as alcohol.

To adapt to the lower oxygen levels, Dhragolon actually have two hearts to be able to cycle oxygen throughout the body very quickly, and they also have large lungs. The openings in their artieries are considerably wide, and on instinct, they can move around to redirect blood flow.

One of their emergency systems is the metabolization of sugars through solar panel scales. These are large shiny areas on the backs of their neck and on their nose which contain choloroplasts. While not essentially to their survival, this allows them to gather an emergency source of energy. Effectively, a Dhragolon can simply warm up by standing out in the sun for a few minutes. Even when the sun is not out, their scales still retain heat which allows them to survive in subzero climates. This has allowed them to thrive on the continent of Aggateya, which is located at the southern pole on Ucharpli.

Cognitive
Dhragolon must be able to survive in both daylight and at night. During the day, they spend their time metabolizing nutrients from the sun, and at night, they actively hunt. As a result, they have sleep in periods of two hours every 14 hours to keep up their demands for energy.

The ability to control every single muscle in their body as well as the molecules around them makes the Dhragolon very self-conscious and highly intelligent. Most Dhragolon prefer to think cautiously and plan their actions. In heated arguments, they will resort to using only logic and reasoning as it is considered improper to express emotions in public. Though they think and react fast, their speech is slow and usually monotonous often considered bland and emotionless by other species. This is deliberate, because if they lose control of their emotions, they become vulnerable to a Maj frenzy which results in an individual letting loose blasts of a wide variety of Maj that will destroy the environment around them. Tranquilizers are often used to deal with frenzied Dhragolon.

The Maj frenzy is a mechanism stirred by either intense anger or fear. When activated, their reaction times are heightened, and they temporarily achieve superhuman level strength, but the downside was that they could not think rationally until the frenzy subsided. In the event of an attack, this allowed them to stand up to enemies many times stronger than they were. As Maj frenzies are highly destructive and uncontrollable, Dhragolon are required to restrain their emotions in public by law.

Some Dhragolon engage in the illegal activity of using adrenaline to deliberately put themselves into a frenzy. As a result, bottled adrenaline and other stimulants are considered illegal drugs in Dhragolon society. One can be imprisoned for having too much adrenaline at a given time. However, depressant substances such as alcohol are safe for a Dhragolon to drink to the point where they have alcoholic drinks with their daily meals.

Instincts
Dhragolon have instincts similar to pack animals. They are highly aggressive and territorial, a reason why they make an effort to restrain their emotions in order to converse with one another with rationality. They also cannot cooperate with one another until they have established themselves a leader which is usually the strongest and smartest of the group.

Maturity Cycle
Naturally, Dhragolon have low mortality rates with their tough carapace and effective abilities to defend themselves with Maj frenzies. In the past, overpopulation was a significant problem, and thus, Dhragolon take extra steps to ensure that their offspring grow healthily. Thus, at an early age, Dhragolon children are taught survival skills.

During the first 70 years of their life, the Dhragolon will slowly acquire muscle mass as they age. This is done through being exposed through harsh environments. Naturally, Dhragolon will only live up to age 150, but advances in the fields of medicine and genetic engineering have boosted their life span to a maximum of 300 years. However, extended periods of Maj use will decrease their lifespan as their cell-repairing abilities degenerate over time. Upon reaching puberty age of 70, they will appear ageless for the rest of their life.
 * Age 0 - 10
 * Hatchling Dhragolon will grow to be about three feet tall. Upon age ten, they have the same intelligence and ability as a human of age ten.


 * Age 10 - 30
 * A Dhragolon will grow to three and half feet tall. They will have the same cognitive abilities as an 18 year old human, but resemble an 8 year old human appearance-wise.


 * Age 30 - 50
 * A Dhragolon will generally become stronger and more able-bodied, resembling a 12 year old human. They will reach a height of about four and a half feet. Around this age, a Dhragolon will seek out employment.  Generally, age 30 considered the age of maturity in many Dhragolon cultures where they are expected to be able to make their own decisions and live on their own.


 * Age 50 - 69
 * Dhragolon will begin taking shape towards being an adult. This is considered adolescence for the Dhragolon.
 * Age 70
 * At age 70, Dhragolon enter a hyperdrive mode where they undergo a physical metamorphosis. For several weeks, they will be able to use Maj very liberally without using up years of their life span. Once this hyperdrive mode is over, they will enter the ageless appearance for the rest of their lives.  This signifying ageless appearance evolved as a way to physically express their own strength and skill.  Instinctively, Dhragolon assume those who have reached this age to be more than capable of leading a pack.


 * Age 71 - 120
 * In modern era, Dhragolon would seek out a mate around this age.


 * Age 120-150
 * These are middle-aged Dhragolon. Generally, they are quite experienced and are considered the leaders of society.


 * Age 150+
 * Elder Dhragolon age.  Until genetic modification became mainstream, Dhragolon older than the age of 150 was a rarity.

Early history
The Dhragolon adapted to using Maj almost entirely with their technology. For example, primal Dhragolon could throw a rock at the speed of a bullet by using telekinesis. However, the native wildlife has evolved to be able to use Maj as well, so aggressive wildlife is a common threat on Ucharpli.

To take shelter from the predators that roamed the surface, the Dhragolon often resorted to living in caves. Using their claws, they would dig tunnels either into the sides of mountains or into the ground. Large predators stalked the land both day and night, and even the weakest of herbivores was considered difficult to catch.

Dhragolon lived in small pack of less than ten. The pack leader was considered to be the strongest and smartest, and only they had the right to breed with other females. Their incredible hearing comes from being able to detect these predators' movements from miles away giving them time to prepare. At night, the Dhragolon hunt for food which is how they evolved their ability to see in the dark almost as clearly as day. They relied on ambushing tactics using the winner-take-all principle making them vicious killers.

The irrational fear of light, rare today among Dhragolon, also stems from primal history. The sun of Ucharpli was seen by the Dhragolon as a watching eye. When it was up in the sky, this would let light shine on the planets' surface leaving them vulnerable to predators.

Later history
Upon the Great Flood on Ucharpli, the Dhragolon took shelter in the highlands. While the legend says the whole world was flooded aside from ten mountaintops, this is unlikely to have occurred in actuality. What most likely happened was that only the swampy lowlands were covered in water while areas with higher elevation were for the most part unaffected. Since their predators had taken shelter in caves during this geographic event, this gave the Dhragolon the opportunity to retake Ucharpli after having lived in hiding for thousands of years. This led directly to the beginning of the Second Era where they would begin building civilizations.

Unique diseases
There are some unique Dhragolon diseases that originated on Ucharpli.

Blood craver virus (Vampire's disease)
The Blood craver virus targets the cells in the mouth that allow them to tolerate the taste of animal blood and plant matter. Victims, on many ocassions, will lose appetite for normal food and start to feed off the blood of another Dhragolon. Other side effects include a boosted immune system and an elongated life span. Today, the virus is in captivity in a remote Dhragolon colony, but there was a notorious breakout in a region within the realm of Feurcy.

Rockbone disease
A form of paralysis that solidifies the joints making a Dhragolon look like a statue. They can still think, breathe and carry out life functions. The only thing they can't do is move from whatever position they are stuck in.

Daggerfang virus
A subspecies of panther known as Daggerfangs spread this virus. When the victim is bitten, a mutagen spreads causing hair to grow all over the body. Their emotions will become far more unstable and every 36 hours they will break into a Maj frenzy.

Maj deficiency syndrome
A rare genetic disorder where a Dhragolon completely lacks the ability to control Maj. While they can still perform every day tasks, they are limited in what they can do as most of Dhragolon technology is Maj-based.

Extreme Maj syndrome
Another rare genetic disorder where the afflicted will lose control of their Maj far more often than usual. Because of how dangerous a frenzied Dhragolon is, individuals with this disorder or kept under high surveillance until they are cured.

Crumbleskin syndrome
Crumbleskin will result in a Dhragolon having scales that easily peel off which makes them unprotected against Szon's dangerous UV rays. Crumbleskin is a genetic disease that has yet to be cured.