SciFi and Fantasy Art: In The Cold

A dragon of the Kaldur Bloodline, patiently waiting and not at all bothered by the cold.

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The Kaldur are not a strong Bloodline. Their kind emerged only recently (by dragon timelines!) and many ancient dragons consider them to be a prime example of the strange degeneration that is affecting dragonkind (the species seems to be in decline, with fewer hatching and those that do seem unable to reach the heights of power that dragons once did). Flightless, stunted in growth and lacking any magic ability beyond their icy breath and very low level wind element techniques, other dragons look at them as a joke at best, an abberration of the species to be killed on sight at worst.

Though they could never be described as being particularly highbrow, Kaldur are not stupid. They understood their plight and this has led them to live in well structured social groups, all looking out for one another and are very placid amongst their own, well able to get along without any infighting. To other species however they are dangerous, efficient predators. Strangely they do not reciprocate the disdain offered them by other dragons and though they have learned to fear the other more powerful bloodlines they also look up to them, almost venerating them in an odd, Stokholm-Syndrome kind of way.

With the rise of humanity and their conquest of even the Kaldur's freezing, inhospitable territories across the World's Spine mountains forming the kingdom of Tenra, the dragons came to an unusual decision. Instead of fighting a battle they realised would never end against such a fast breeding and adaptable species, the Kaldur instead came to the humans and offered their friendship. Over the countless generations since the bargain was made this has proved a profitable venture for both the Tenrans and the Kaldur, though this has earned them ever greater animosity from the vast majority of their kindred.