A few
notes about the dragons of *Kemen.
In
the upper altitudes of Kemen's high mountains, live a telepathic race of
flying, fire-breathing dragons.
The young are hatched from eggs that range from 30 to 60 cm in length. Hatchlings uncurl to nearly a meter in
length . They hatch hungry and are
fed and cared for during their first year by adolescent dragons. Thereafter, they must learn to hunt. If all goes well , one may add a meter
length per year well into their 40s although they may live to be 2-300 years
old. Secondary sex
characteristics: beards (for both male & females) are signs of the ability
to flame, and wings for flight do not appear until adolescence (from late teens to mid-thirties) Because dragons are telepathic, they
have a highly developed etiquette about what is public speech and what is
private. In addition, it is
impossible for dragons to lie and nearly impossible to inflict pain on a fellow
dragon because they really DO feel another's pain. Mating does not occur until physical maturity at nearly
40. Prior to that, some clans
impose rites of passage that thin out the population . For further details about the life
cycle and social customs of Kemen Dragons, see the Journals of Jerrud of
Getchina.
Dragon
naming:
Formal
names are attributed at hatching, or soon after, by the opposite sex
parent. It can be honorific,
praising of same sex parent, an attribute of dragon lineage, or a passing event
in the sky during hatching. Rarely
is this name spoken. Humans have
only begun to grok the meanings.
Nicknames
are acquired from one's social group.
It is always a verband is the common understanding of the dragon's
character. Nicknames will change
over time and when relating to different social groups.
Dragons from Kemen
The
known record of Kemen is recorded in The Dreamweaver¹s Apprentice by Grace K. Von Tobel. During the 1980s in Augusta, Maine, a human dreamweaver and
a baby dragon were mysteriously flung through a door between Kemen and
Earth. The dragon was forever
changed by the trip and became a ³sport² or runt who, contrary to dragon
physiology, did not grow to enormous size. He remained approximately the size of a basketball and
nearly as round after a successful hunt.
Kresh (for that was his name) possessed
the ability to flame and sprouted wings while still a dragonet. Normally, these attributes do not show
up until adolescence.
Unfortunately, Kresh was unable to control his flames and was frequently
the cause of serendipitous conflagrations.
One
incident was so traumatic, Kresh teleported back to his homeworld of Kemen [another
inappropriate behavior normally found only in mature dragons]. But this began to open travel between
the two worlds.
Naming
is terribly important to dragons.
The images of dragons here displayed are accompanied by human
approximations of true names.
Human physiology is not adequate to pronounce dragon names. Since dragon nicknames are easily
tossed about telepathically, these have also been included.
The
dragons of Kemen hope that you will enjoy their images and thereby come to hear
them call your name.
Meet Grace's friends. . .
The Dragons of Kemen
T'zchelbregn'schlnoy
[This name
is pronounced with 2 flame puffs and concludes with nostril smoke]
Nickname: Bosses her betters
Elegant
with painted toenails, she doesn't deign to hunt, but expects her clutch-mates
to share the choicest carcasses with her.
Due to her charismatic ways, several clutches vie for her favors. It is feared that when she is old
enough to mate, there will be war in dragondom. She invites all that is feminine and alluring to join her in
beautifying the world.
Phrjgz'yttlwm
[This name
is pronounced with sputtering flames doused by spit]
Nickname: Spits farther than any
This
one lacked the maturity of flame-breathing for so many years that she learned
to fling spit instead of fire.
Unfortunately this did little to help her pull down prey during the
hunt.
However,
the skill serves her well in various games such as: Spot-the-beetle (where
premature flame annihilates the prey--beetles are a delicacy among young
dragons), Douse-the-cinder, or Spit-over-boulder.
Her
father named her in praise of her mother's glorious green eyes and prolific
flames. It is yet to be determined
if she will live up to her mother's beauty.
Kchrrruylikkk
[This name is pronounced with a loud background of stomach-rumble
and concludes with a shower of sparks.]
Nickname: Talks
with humans
This
one appears to be an ordinary dragonet.
Too young for wings or flames, but hearty in appetite and reasonably
skilled in hunting small prey. Because dragons are primarily telepathic, it was
shocking to discover that she had developed a bond with a human. More shocking was the discovery that
the human had developed telepathic ability. Previously, her clutch considered humans to be prey,
temporarily beyond their hunting skill.
When they outweighed an animal, it then became prey. But it would be inconceivable to hunt
anything that could talk!
Blughstrrrilliosch
[Pronounced with nostril smoke throughout]
Nickname: Swims
with whales
He
is not the hottest flame in the nostril.
But everyone likes this one.
He is a good hunter and shares meat readily. He tells true tales.
And this is a wonderful gift. But his clutch refused to believe him when
he talked about swimming and meeting the whales. It was only after he took them down to the shore and got
their heads in the water to hear whale-song that they accepted his tale as
true. He may one day become one of
the great tale-tellers of his tribe, if he doesn't drown first.
Saggit'schrrrippti
[Pronounced
lock-jawed--as if toothless]
Nickname: Eats no bones
He
is a diplomat with enormous skill
in getting alien species to
communicate civilly. Once his
hunt-skills declined with advanced age, Eats-no-bones became curious about the
lives of prey (any species smaller than himself). He wondered if they might actually think and talk. Initially, his conversations were
merely attempts to slow down his prey sufficiently to execute a kill. But once he understood the outrage of a
rhino, he began to pursue further communication. He now numbers representatives of 16 species among his
non-dragon cronies.
Wachuparnufufu
[Pronounced nasal-toned until the last two syllables which
are fricatives with fangs]
Nickname: Finagles her way to greatness
Finagle
sports tiny wings and abundant beard even though she is far too small for these
signs of maturity. Dragons gauge age by size. Since this one is barely 6 meters long, she clearly is too
young to fly, and her beard in no way indicates an ability to flame. Yet, she has been seen to make short
flights and sputter a flame or two but never with the focus of a mature dragon.
This
one discovered early in life that by dissembling one may deceive thus avoiding
an outright lie.
It
remains to be seen if greatness will be accorded once she attains physical
maturity.
Cargriszli'putootiol
[This name is pronounced with full-throated laughter
punctuated by flame-gas expulsion on the "toot"]
Nickname: Makes
jokes that pull big laughs
This
one is favored by all his clutchmates for bringing laughter when tempers have
risen. He is gifted in lightening
the countenance of angry elders and is much sought after for myth-making and
story-telling .
Even
though this one is nearly 10 meters long, he has yet to show any signs of
maturation: i.e.: remains beardless and no sign of wing buds yet. Perhaps his skill at humor is related
to his relentless efforts to be accepted among his peers, sans beard and wings.
Gazenklootz (now living in NJ
with the Dolly Doctor)
[Due to his diminutive size and short name, this is
pronounced with a humorous spark expelled during the last syllable.]
Nickname: Grass
eater
This
one-eared runt has been battling his way into leadership. He lost his ear in a fight when he was
barely more than a hatchling. He
has never had the size to dominate his clutch, but he found he could connive
his way into things that bigger dragons haven't the smarts for. His nickname arose from this inability
to get enough to eat after the hunt. In spite of the shame involved, he relied
on grass eating to avoid starvation.