Adult rattlyr dragon

This wingless dragon has a great hood, dark with hints of violet, all about its head. The beast’s charcoal-colored scales glow dully in the bright sun as it shakes its tail with a menacing rattle.

Rattelyr dragons are territorial creatures, but they take interest in the world beyond their lairs. They like to burrow through loose earth and surprise opponents by bursting out of the soil. Rattelyrs are wingless dragons with webbed claws, a fanged maw, and the serpentine tail of a rattlesnake. They have glossy, rust-colored scales at birth, which slowly deepen into hues of deep magenta, charcoal, and black at maturity. Young rattelyrs possess small nodules of violet at the base of their heads, which grow into distinctive ribbed hoods by adulthood. An adult rattelyr’s hood tenses and extends forward in proportion to how angry it is, usually reaching full extension only during a battle to the death with a blue dragon or some other hated foe. Unusually short-lived for dragons, rattelyrs age five times faster than normal for the species, becoming ancient in 240 years and dying of old age before 300.

Rattelyrs prefer warm climates and usually restrict themselves to environs with loose soil. Although they get some of their nourishment by absorbing heat and sunlight, these carnivores favor flesh and will not hesitate to eat sentient beings. These dragons dwell in large, low-ceilinged burrows or caverns, but spend much of their time stalking their home territories in search of intruders or any form of excitement.

If well fed and approached cautiously, rattelyrs have been known to converse and deal with other intelligent creatures. On occasion, rattelyrs might ally themselves with beings of great power for the promise of wealth or sport. They can be sociable, and have been known to capture adventurers or lost merchants just to gain news of the outside word. Of course, such guests only depart with their lives if the dragon isn’t hungry.