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Wyverns of Korovia

Wyverns are large unintelligent draconids that generally keep to themselves. While they are similar to dragons in appearance, they are bipedal instead of quadripedal. Unlike dragons they also have no fiery breath, instead boasting a venomous barbed tail akin to a scorpion. Wyverns generally prey upon deer, bears, cattle, horses and prey of similar sizes. They don't attack humanoids unless exceptionally hungry or protecting their territory. They can be as small as a horse or as large as a woolly mammoth, with an impressive wingspan. They normally nest in caves or cliffsides, producing a brood of one to three hatchlings.

Hunted for both their hides and their venom (highly prized by the Assassin's Guild), wyverns are elusive creatures and use their natural camouflage to hide. Like dragons they have superior hearing and eyesight, making them very difficult to sneak up on.

Aquatic Wyverns (Aqua Blue to Navy Blue)

The largest of all types of wyverns, the aquatic variety are typically 50% bigger than most of their kin, slower at flying and walking, but skilled at swimming. Their semi-aquatic existence (they still breathe air) allows them to hunt both above and below the waves.

Often their prey will only catch a glimpse of the barbed tail above the water right before they are killed by it. Fishermen who never return are often assumed to have been stabbed and eaten by Aquatic Wyverns. Their tail venom is especially deadly.

Aquatic Wyverns typically shelter in caves next to the shore, but can also burrow into hard packed sand to make their lairs.

Dread Wyverns (Black)

Known as Dread Wyverns because their venom triggers a creature's fight or flight (or freeze) response, often causing its prey to try to run away in fear or possibly to cower helplessly. These nocturnal wyverns are rarely seen during daytime unless they have been domesticated. They are the easiest wyverns to domesticate since their fear venom is effectively harmless, but they are still tricky to train. The easiest way to domesticate a Dread Wyvern is via wizardry and charm spells, eventually resulting in the wyvern becoming more docile towards the caster and easier to train.

Forest Wyverns (Green)

The smallest of all their kin, Forest Wyverns are the most skilled at hiding in green foliage and boast an impressive paralytic venom. They are similarly shy and tend to prey on smaller prey that cannot fight back easily. Families of Forest Wyverns will sometimes band together to attack larger prey, but will flee if their prey proves to be too dangerous.

Glacial Wyverns (White)

These reclusive wyverns primarily live in glacial regions of mountains and the far north, but they come south or out of the mountains during the long Korovian winters to hunt for easier prey before retreating back to their dens with the onset of Spring. Their venom is paralytic.

Loqland Wyverns (Crimson)

Considered to be the most aggressive and deadliest of all wyverns, the Loqlandic variant lives mostly in the north-western region of Korovia (close to volcanoes) and within the kingdom of Loqland itself which is similarly volcanically active. They are rarely found far from mountains and are highly territorial. Their venom is very deadly.

Loqland Wyverns are the most likely to crossbreed with dragons (Loqland Dragons). See the section further below on Half-Dragon Wyverns.

Storm Wyverns (Dark Purple)

Also known as Stormchasers, Storm Wyverns are unusual because their barbs aren't actually venomous. Instead they are more akin to electric eels. Their barbs are forked and can jolt foes like a bolt of lightning. However once they use their stored electric charge they need to recharge, either by waiting roughly a day or by using the charged air from a storm. Thus their need to chase storms and a more nomadic lifestyle. Families of Storm Wyverns will follow large storms and feast upon cattle, deer, mammoths and other beasts as they follow the storms.

Half-Dragon Wyverns (Half Wyverns)

Wyverns, strictly speaking, are not dragons, but are of the family draconidus and the genus wyvernus. But a dragon's magical nature and ability to shapechange means they can potentially breed with many different species. Often this is a deliberate act on the part of the dragon who (for whatever reason) wants to create half-dragon descendants. Thus to accomplish this a male dragon will transform into a wyvern, breed with an unsuspecting female wyvern, and that wyvern will then produce half-dragon offspring. The reverse, a female dragon mating with a male wyvern, would be a lengthy affair as they would need to stay in wyvern form considerably longer before producing eggs.

Some dragons are known to breed with wyverns, creating infertile half-dragon wyverns which are bipedal, but gain the ability to breathe fire or ice (or both). They are slightly larger than standard wyverns, have thicker scales, and are also more intelligent (but not capable of speech). Half-Dragon Wyverns often live lonely existences not just because their fiery or icy breath scares away other wyverns, but also because other wyverns are driven to breed and reproduce and wyverns instinctively know that the half-dragons are both infertile and impotent. The wyvern's barbed tail is shrivelled and non-venomous, and the tail is very important to mating rituals. Any wyvern with a sad looking tail is doomed to never find a mate.

Note - Half-Dragon Wyverns are often used in humour as a joke, often to make fun of someone's impotence.

"Loud is the fool who brags of his prowess, but rides a half-wyvern into battle. (Or the bedroom.)" - Habbel Proverb.


Last Updated: February 7th 2023.

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