Nonhuman Sentient Beings

[Keilah H.]

Hello! I just created this topic to talk about sentient creatures that aren’t humans. @linus-smallprint this is for you!

also I don’t know who else to tag lol

 

I have several non-human sentients. Usually they take the place of humans in stories, but in a few stories I have humans and dragons living alongside each other, often with the dragons occupying a “servantlike” place in society, a little lower than humans.

Here are the main creatures I’ve come up with so far! I don’t have much time to explain all of them right now, but I’ll give you a synopsis of each:

• Dragons: Rather than being the standard full reptile dragon, most of the sentient dragons you’ll find in my stories are effectively giant humans with dragon wings, tails, talons for feet, and scales on their bodies from their collarbones down. Many can breathe fire or ice or spit venom, and some have other cool adaptations.
• Ailurids: Again, Ailurids look human, except for their fur, the cat ears mounted on the top of their heads, and their tails. They can stand erect or all fours. Depending on the story, they can be the same size as humans or smaller.
• Raptaurs: One of the first fantasy races I came up with, “Raptaur” is a portmanteau of “raptor” as in velociraptor and “centaur,” and this is exactly what they are–velociraptor centaurs.
• Ornithiforms: Another one of my early races which had been on the back burner for a while, but I recently brought it back. Ornithiforms are effectively like the aforementioned human-dragon combinations, but birds instead of dragons. They have feathers and tails (longer than a bird’s tail but shorter than a dragon’s; think like Archaeopteryx’s tail), and are capable of flight. Their feet are talons to compensate for the fact that their arms are their wings, and thus they can’t use their hands while in flight.

All species wear clothes despite having scales/fur/feathers, with the exception of the Raptaurs, which only wear clothes on the human half of their body.

"When in doubt, eat cheese crackers."-me to my charries who don't even know about cheese crackers

[Linus Smallprint]

@keilah-h

Cool. What are these creatures’ societies/personalities like?

Sometimes it is necessary to paint the sky black in order to see the stars.

[The Ducktator]

@keilah-h

Cool!

I suppose my duck community belongs in this topic too.

🎵For our blessed lady's sake, bring us in good ale!🎵

[Keilah H.]

@theducktator yep your ducks would fit into this category!

 

@linus-smallprint It depends on the story. I use them throughout several different story universes and their roles are different in each one. Often I use just one species for each story. I do have some set rules for each though:

• Ailurids often have clan-based societies, because I first created them basing off the warrior cats books.
• No matter the story, there are always several species of dragons, and each has their own way of life. Many have cultures based off the country/continent I got the idea for them from (the Patriot Dragon is American, the Bushviper Australian, the Sunstar is African, the Realmtrotter Asian, etc.) Actually, I could rant for hours on the dragons alone. I’ll do that in another post.
• I haven’t actually done much on the subject of the raptaurs’ and ornithiforms’ cultures tbh. I should work on that.

"When in doubt, eat cheese crackers."-me to my charries who don't even know about cheese crackers

[Linus Smallprint]

@keilah-h

Okay. I think I like your Ornithiforms by description best. Are these hybrids with a specific type of bird?

I am still trying to figure out what your Raptaurs look like. Do they have two sets of arms, one human and one raptor?

Do you have a Canadian dragon species?

@theducktator

Let’s hear about your ducks!

Sometimes it is necessary to paint the sky black in order to see the stars.

[Keilah H.]

@linus-smallprint Raptaurs have one set of arms. I really want to show you a picture, but I can’t…..😥

 

Not really! They can be all types of birds. Although most of my established characters lean more towards songbirds and birds of prey, I could see a flamingo ornithiform, or a penguin, or a peacock.

Also, there isn’t really different “species,” each character is their own individual bird, although they’re usually at least of a similar type to their parents (two songbirds will always have songbird children, two raptors will have raptor children, if a songbird and a raptor are together there’s a 50-50 chance of either, etc.), and there’s a low chance of a child being the exact same kind as their parent. For example, I have a character whose bird features are based off a blue jay, but her twin brother’s are based off a cardinal, her father’s a raven, and her husband’s an owl.

 

Yes indeed! The Hypersense (named for its hyper-enhanced senses even compared to other dragons) would live in Canada. There are several breeds, but the forest-dwelling Fallenleaf and icy Blizzard varieties would be the kind you’d most likely see.

"When in doubt, eat cheese crackers."-me to my charries who don't even know about cheese crackers

[Linus Smallprint]

Yes indeed! The Hypersense (named for its hyper-enhanced senses even compared to other dragons) would live in Canada. There are several breeds, but the forest-dwelling Fallenleaf and icy Blizzard varieties would be the kind you’d most likely see.

Nice! Well maybe when the image glitches are finally figured out, you can show me your artwork.

Sometimes it is necessary to paint the sky black in order to see the stars.

[Keilah H.]

@linus-smallprint I haven’t drawn a Hypersense yet! I should though. Once pictures are working, if they ever work, I WILL spam this chat with drawing of the different dragon species lol

"When in doubt, eat cheese crackers."-me to my charries who don't even know about cheese crackers

[Linus Smallprint]

@keilah-h

That will be cool to see!

So why are your dragons all servants? Did humans see them as a threat, and quickly got them under control? Is there some sort of agreement between them? Do dragons just simply like to be servants?

Sometimes it is necessary to paint the sky black in order to see the stars.

[Keilah H.]

@linus-smallprint they’re not ALL servants, but usually in societies where dragons and humans are together, dragons are kinda “right underneath” humans on the species ladder–they have rights, but are also treated sort of as beasts of burden/pets–humans ride dragons, put them in place of cattle/horses in work, etc. “Wild” dragons have something of societies, but they’re so solitary, if you’re a dragon and you want to join civilization, you might as well cast your lot in with humans. They kinda have an agreement–“treat us well and we’ll do whatever you want.”

 

Humans and dragons have had quite an interesting history:

• Folk stories in this universe say that the serpent in the Garden of Eden was a dragon (although I don’t think that’s true, it’s just a theory someone had).
• There were eight dragons on the Ark, matching the number of humans (unlike my previous statement, that’s actually a confirmed thing in this universe). They obeyed God’s command to spread out before their humans did, and that’s why they kept a single language. There were three ancestral dragon species that diversified into the fifty-odd types we have today.
• In Bible times, dragons kept far away from humans, as many cultures tended to exploit them. It’s believed that the animal-human hybrid gods of Egypt, as well as several other myths, were inspired by dragons. Biblical authors would have been familiar with the Sunstar, Imperialwing, Pym Wyrm, Hypersense, Rebelwhip, and Arrowspitter species.
• After the fall of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the Middle Ages, humans and dragons hit a low point in their history. There’s no wonder most of the dragon-killing tales come from this time period, although many “dragons” killed were actually non-sentient dinosaurs. However, the dragons aren’t completely innocent–many terrorized humans as revenge for their ancestors being neglected and used.
• In the modern age, studies on dragons were conducted, and for the first time, civilized countries realized that they weren’t just animals, but were capable of thought. This led to a lot of reforms and the “we’ll work for you if you’re nice” agreement.
• Dragons feature prominently in several cultures, even today. The Icewraith or tarakona of New Zealand and the Ceithir of Scotland are considered national treasures in their respective countries, and the Patriot Dragon in America was almost considered as the national symbol before the dragons themselves protested this arrangement, preferring a nonsentient animal to take the spot.

 

 

so……I could easily write a book on the History of the World Through the Eyes of Dragons….lol

"When in doubt, eat cheese crackers."-me to my charries who don't even know about cheese crackers

[Linus Smallprint]

@keilah-h

Okay. So how do dragons compare to humans, being inferior to us? Are humans still more intelligent? Are dragons more beastlike in ways other than appearance?

Sometimes it is necessary to paint the sky black in order to see the stars.

[Keilah H.]

@linus-smallprint I haven’t figured out exactly how, but yes, a dragon can lose it and go completely animalistic, although this is rare. Even normal, they still have some instincts, they can walk on all fours and often will hold things in their mouths when doing so, etc.

 

I think many of my ideas came from the How to Train Your Dragon book series, where the dragons are ordinary dragons and are used by humans, but still have a language and the ability to think and all that. Mine are similar but just happen to be humanoid (simply because I liked drawing wings and tails on characters from fandoms I enjoy, and it turned into my own fantasy race)

 

(The HTTYD books are nothing like the movies but are just as good btw. I’ve read all of them.)

"When in doubt, eat cheese crackers."-me to my charries who don't even know about cheese crackers

[Linus Smallprint]

@keilah-h
I did start the first How to Train Your Dragon book, but found that it was not for me (I think I was expecting something much more like the movies). I think I got a pretty good picture of your dragons now though. If you ever want any ideas on how to develop them further or come up with another fantasy race, let me know!

Sometimes it is necessary to paint the sky black in order to see the stars.

[Keilah H.]

@linus-smallprint certainly, thanks for listening to my rant!

"When in doubt, eat cheese crackers."-me to my charries who don't even know about cheese crackers

[Keilah H.]

@linus-smallprint here are some dragons! I’ll have to post all the pictures individually.

 

here’s two Icewraiths.

"When in doubt, eat cheese crackers."-me to my charries who don't even know about cheese crackers

[Author]

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