Fire Drake

A fire drake is a subspecies of the wyvern commonly found among the high mountains and plateaus of the tropics. One of the largest wyverns it can reach over ten meters (15m) in length. Their tail is only semi-flexible and ends in a stinger very similar to a scorpion. Very rarely will a fire drake employ its tail when fighting, but when it strike it delivers enough venom to kill all but the largest creatures within seconds.

Fire drakes are unique among wyverns as they can generate a fiery spit. It is not true fire breathing as is common among dragons, but is a caustic spit that frequently bursts into small flames. This spit is gelling and exceeding difficult to remove.

A fire drake is a fiercely territorial and solitary creature, only gathering at the call of fertile female.

When a female begins her reproductive cycle her voice changes pitch and intensity. She begins a nearly continuous call while she searches for a nesting site. This call will draw several males to her. These males will fight, rarely to the death, for the right to mate with her. The strongest male will follow her until she begins to nest. Once in her nest he will mate and then leave, as the female is extremely violent while laying eggs. The female will lay one or two eggs (1-2). The mating male will remain in the area and hunt for the female, who stays on the nest caring for the eggs.

Once hatched the male will be driven off by the female. She will stay with her hatchlings until they have grown old enough to fly, typically their second year. During their second year the female will leave and the young are left on their own. If two fire drakes survive to this point fratricide is the most common result when their mother leaves.