Dragon

A dragon is a reptilian creature, usually winged, with magical or unusual abilities. Dragons were one of the first intelligent life forms to appear in Azeroth. It is not clear whether the titans created them or if they somehow evolved prior to the titans' arrival. At one time, their numbers were uncountable, but in present-day Azeroth there are very few left. Originally, there were many different dragonflights, with many different colors to be seen. The five most influential, however, were the reds, the greens, the bronze, the blacks, and the blues, and eventually most (if not all) of the other flights disappeared.

Chosen by the titans, each of the five dragonflights were given domain over a certain aspect of the world, ranging from the earth to time itself. During the War of the Ancients, the dragonflights sought to fulfill their duty and strike against the invading Burning Legion. Over time, the dragons have endured much hardship and only a handful still remain, hostile to all that may tamper with the titans' creations.

The dragons of Azeroth are far more intelligent even than the humans who hunt them; they struggle to reconcile their metaphysical nature with the reality of the savage world they inhabit. While each dragon is a powerful entity, dragons also represent the origins of the world and were given care over various parts of Azeroth’s creation since time immemorial. Today, the dragons still remember their original natures and attempt to use their powers to continue their original purposes: for some, to shape stone and raise mountains; for others, to protect the forests or expand the realm of magic.

The dragons of Azeroth reach maturity after a mere hundred years have passed. They are very cunning and magical, using spells to complement their powerful physical capacity. Because each creature has an intimate connection with the world around it, the death of a dragon is never a simple thing; it is a metaphysical event, driven by the creature’s natural connection to the spirit of the world. A dragon’s death can cause massive upheaval in the natural surroundings — earthquakes, surface lava explosions, a new lake flooding forth from a sudden crack in the earth‘s crust, and so on. Even young dragons, those who have not established as close a bond to the spiritual world, still make ripples in the fabric of reality when they die. Although these ripples are not always seen or felt by other races, a young dragon’s death nonetheless garners the attention of other dragons in the area — and creatures particularly attuned to the natural state of being that surrounds them.

When proto-dragons were rediscovered as the mounts of the vrykul, it could easily be seen that they bore a striking resemblance to many kinds of carnivorous dinosaurs. This may be coincidence, or it could link dinosaurs to dragons in evolution.

Age groups
Dragon is both the name for the race as a whole and the short title for the mature-aged dragon (aka "mature dragon"). See lifespans.
 * Whelp (whelpling)
 * Drake
 * Dragon (mature)
 * Wyrm

Dragonflights


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The Dragon Aspects
The titans chose a member of each of the five dragonflights to watch over Azeroth in their absence:

Consorts
The Aspects are aided in their tasks by their consorts, who are their companions, partners, and lovers. Typically, the consorts are chosen by traditional draconic courtship rituals; though a consort may be smarter or more powerful than the average dragon, only those loved by the Aspect will rise to the position. The consorts at any given time are led by the Prime Consort, the one who has held the position longest, or is else the most capable. Typically, an Aspect would have three or four consorts at any time.

Nozdormu

 * Soridormi, Prime Consort; Most sensitive to changes in the timestream apart from Nozdormu himself; Participated heavily in the War of the Ancients.
 * Three other unnamed consorts.

Alexstrasza

 * Tyranastrasz, known as the Scholarly One; Older than his queen and served as her Prime Consort for tens of thousands of years; Killed by Deathwing at the Battle of Grim Batol.
 * Korialstrasz, Alexstrasza's fourth consort; "First in loyalty and love"; Currently her Prime Consort.
 * Two other unnamed consorts who both perished during the Second War. At least two Ruby Consorts.

Ysera

 * Eranikus, taken by The Nightmare, later freed, and returned to fight along Ysera's side.
 * Number and names of other mates unknown. At least two Emerald Consorts.

Malygos

 * Sindragosa. Prime Consort; Perished during the War of the Ancients; Raised by the Lich King to lead the Frostbrood into war.
 * Haleh, Matron Protectorate of Mazthoril.
 * Saragosa, guardian of Coldarra; Killed by Keristrasza as revenge for her imprisonment.
 * Keristrasza, taken captive by Malygos, his forced consort.
 * Number and names of other mates unknown. At least two Azure Consorts.

Neltharion (Deathwing)

 * Sintharia, Prime Consort; Only consort to have survived mating with Deathwing; Mother of Nefarian and Onyxia. Later known as Sinestra; Experimented with twilight dragons, which ultimately led to her death by her own creation, Dargonax,although she later managed to survive and live in the Bastion of Twilight.
 * Number and names of other mates unknown, all perished after mating with Deathwing. At least two Obsidian Consorts.

Tactics
Dragons have a number of reasons for fighting; they are territorial, and numerous factions hunt them for a variety of different reasons. With the exception of black dragons, most dragons do not attack random groups of mortals on sight; although like mortals, each dragon has a different personality and some are more aggressive than others.

Each of the dragonflights fights slightly differently, but their overall tactics are relatively similar. Fearsome alone, groups of dragons are nearly impossible to combat; all five dragonflights are intelligent, and they use everything they can think of to their advantage. When possible, the dragonflights use dragonspawn troops to open the way into combat, allowing these ground-based troops to draw their enemies’ attention while they strike from above or a distance. Even when bereft of dragonspawn support, dragons prefer to fight from the skies, resorting to melee only when necessary or when enraged. Dragons are highly intelligent and, due to their long lives, possess vast experience. Thus, they are excellent judges of when to call a tactical retreat. Yet if dragons decide that the cause is worthy, they will fight to the death for it, however hopeless the battle might be.

Blue dragons open combat with magic to disrupt their enemies, such as creating illusions or walls of force. Red and black dragons focus on offensive magic and breath attacks, using spells like chain lightning and blazing column to eliminate waves of weaker enemies. Green and bronze dragons use spells to allow them to maneuver around their opponents, or directly incapacitate their enemies; greater invisibility and charm monster are popular.

When facing a large group of enemies, dragons attempt to affect as large a group as they can with an individual spell or attack. In the battles against the qiraji a thousand years ago, dragons focused their efforts on taking down wave after wave of lesser qiraji with their breath weapons; the mortals had the responsibility of dealing with enemy commanders. This does not mean that if the opportunity presents itself a dragon won’t take a bite out of an enemy commander; however, they are more likely to wreak as much havoc as they can than spend their time hunting a specific opponent.

When fighting against a single target, dragons use spells to complement each other; one dragon might serve as a healer or cast enhancement spells like brilliance aura, while another decreases their target’s defenses with bestow curse and detrimental magic, while the third attacks directly. In this respect, dragons work together in ways similar to a mortal adventuring party, but due to their inherent abilities they can switch roles and last longer in an extended battle.

Other draconic species

 * Chimaera
 * Dragon golem
 * Faerie dragons
 * Fel dragons
 * Force dragons
 * Prismatic dragons
 * Proto-dragons
 * Undead dragons