Do You Really Know Your Dragons?

Descriptions of dragons run the gamut from diabolical and vile to gentle and mild. However, no matter how cunning and cruel or naïve and good, one thing has remained unchanged throughout the long history of dragons - they are always depicted as majestic creatures and a force to reckon with.

Legend has it that while all dragons have a choice as to whether they want to be good or evil, there are some general predispositions based on type. Modern fantasy has grouped dragons into two main categories - the good, kindly and courageous metallic dragons and their evil counterparts, the chromatic dragons.

Hearts Of Gold - Metallic Dragons

There are 5 different kinds of metallic dragons: gold, silver, bronze, brass and copper, each of which is distinctly different in physical appearance as well as in nature.

- Gold Dragons: With large twin horns that are metallic and smooth gold dragons are resolute in their allegiance to quash evil and often embark on self-appointed missions to promote good.

- Silver Dragons: Extremely sensitive in nature, silver dragons are committed to protecting the innocent and helping the meek. They have strong chins, pointed tongues and beaklike noses.

- Bronze Dragons: With an innate sense of justice, bronze dragons are intolerant of any anarchy or cruelty and wage a constant battle against malicious sea creatures. They have smooth, flat scales; webbed feed and a beaklike snout.

- Brass Dragons: The most extroverted of all dragons, brass dragons are noted for their penchant for conversation and sunlight. The adult brass dragon has brass-like scales that have a warm, burnished appearance.

- Copper Dragons: Incorrigible pranksters, copper dragons love to ask riddles and tell jokes. Their enormous shoulders and thighs are good for jumping and climbing.

The Color of Evil - Chromatic Dragons

The five different kinds of chromatic dragons include black, white, red, blue and green.

- Black Dragons: Evil tempered, abusive and malevolent, with hearts as black as their slimy black scales, black dragons are obsessed with death. They have a grim, skeletal frame, two great horns that curve forward and down and eyes that lie deep in the socket. They breathe a venomous, sizzling acid and feel most powerful and confident in the darkest hour of the night.

- White Dragons: Small and intelligent, white dragons have sharp, intelligent eyes, wide feet with sharp claws and scales that resemble fur. They have an aura of icy coldness around them and even breathe a chilling frost. White dragons have a strong proclivity for chilled food and will pack their victims away in the snow until they are properly frozen.

- Red Dragons: Insatiably avaricious and fiercely territorial, red dragons are obsessed with increasing their hoards of treasure. They have extended wings, two long horns and a long, red forked tongue. Smelling of sulfur and smoke, red dragons breathe a deadly fire and love to dine on blood. Tiny flames often dance in their nostrils when they are angry and their eyes gleam with unrepressed greed upon spotting any treasure.

- Blue Dragons: Large and vibrant, blue dragons have frilly ears, glossy eyes and a single horn upon their head. They are brooding, vain and have an air of regality around them as they sit and reflect. They are good at tracking and prefer to ambush caravans and lone travelers as they cross the land.

- Green Dragons: Belligerent and cruel, green dragons are champions of intrigue and politics. They are not overtly aggressive; preferring instead to devise elaborate schemes to acquire wealth and power with minimal fuss and effort. Acutely envious and obsessed with life, green dragons aspire to live eternally. They have an elongated neck and multiple hornlets on their head and breathe a toxic gas.

Whether large or little, sinner or saint; there's nothing drab or dreary about dragons. Fiery and feisty, dragons are brimming with charisma and intrigue.