The Stellar Dragons
The Dragon Way is what defines the secret Jedi Warrior Order of the Dragon Riders. Stellar Dragons are ancient creatures, of unknown origin, that are only talked of in legend, if at all. little is known about the Dragon Order, and it is considered to be a myth. But there is a reason for all this mystery, for the power of the Dragon Order must not be unleashed at the level it was thousands of years ago, during the first Dragon War, when planets were destroyed, and many perished. The chaos of the Dragon War must not be realized again in this universe… but it might already be too late.
The Stellar Dragons
Sometime ago, in a study far far away, I first created the idea of my Stellar Dragons for my Star Frontiers game, inspired of course, by the AD&D dragons and Dragonlance. Since then, I used them in my first Star Wars campaign, which they were more fitted for. I created this vast secret war being waged between the player and Grand Inq. Tremayne, and modeled it after the Babylon 5 Shadow/Vorlon Wars.
Below is a general description of each of the types.
General Stellar Dragon Description
Generally, a Stellar Dragon is an immense beast, with a huge wing-span. But that’s as close as they come to resembling traditional Dragons of lore. They are alien creatures with alien physiologies. Some Stellar Dragons are as large as starfighers, while others are even larger (between StarFighter and Capitol Scale). They have a distinguishable body and head, and each one has an assortment of limbs and appendages, and most of wings have some kind. Like the AD&D dragons, the Stellar Dragons have a sort of “breath weapon”, each being related to the Stellar Element they are tied to. They don’t always emanate from the “mouth”, as the name implies, however.
Stellar Dragons are more than just alien creatures that live in space. They are manifestations of the Force. Some even say they are manifestations of the Force that created the Universe. Imagine if H.P. Lovecraft and H.R. Giger were to get together and redesign the AD&D Dragons to the Stellar Elements (Stars, Moon, Asteroids… etc), and that’s the way I imagine them.
No one knows the true origin of Stellar Dragons, although they are referenced through out time, in legend and myth, by ancient space travelers, and in glyphs on ancient ruin walls. They are drawn with immense wings, although no one knows how they use their wings in space to guide them. Some say they don’t. Some say they were once a planet bound creature that grew so powerful in the Force, they evolved past their planetary prisons. Part of the mystery of the legend is the Dragon homeworld itself.
One thing is for certain – they are closely tied to the Force. Only something as powerful as the Force can create creatures of such magnitude.
Please Note: This was created before the notion of Midiclorians and their tie to the Force, however, they can be worked in with some thought.
2nd Note: The Sketches below are just my own version of what they might look like. They are not perfect. They were all done in one night, so some are better than others. Please excuse their crudeness. Use your own interpretation if you don’t like the sketches.
Light Side Dragons
Born of that which is beauty and grace, strength and mystery, the Light Side Dragons are symbols of all this and more.
Hyperspace or Warp Dragon
Background: The Hyperspace Dragon is closely tied to the currents of the space between our own dimension and those beyond. Sentients of the Star Wars universe use Hyperspace for transportation, but the Hyperspace Dragon is at home in it. Hyperspace Dragons are considered the lead dragon on the Light Side Stellar Dragons. They are also the most rare.
Description: Hyperspace Dragons can be described as translucent beasts of pure Hyperspace, but in semi-physical form. Some legends say that a person can not look straight at the Hyperspace Dragon without going mad, unless he is strong in the Force.
Abilities: Hyperspace Dragons use an anti-matter “breath weapon” that utterly destroys normal matter with one attack. They can also enter Hyperspace at will and travel at incredible speeds through it.
Star or Solar Dragon
Background: Star Dragons are arguably the most majestic of the Stellar Dragons. Mighty dragons that swim with the solar flares as if they were water plumes, they are the most talked about in legends and myth, and the most referenced in many of the ancient texts. They are the more common species of Stellar Dragons.
Description: Star Dragons are fiery beasts, said to be made up of the things stars are made of. Legends say that unless you are strong in the Force, you will be burned to a cinder if you go near one. They are usually smaller than the Hyperspace Dragons.
There are even subdivisions within the Star Dragon species – from Red Dwarf to Yellow to Blue Giant. This creates a range of color in this breed of Stellar Dragon.
Abilities: Star Dragons can throw in any direction, a sunflare-like blast that engulfs its target in star-flame.
Nebula Dragon
Background: Said to have been born from the deepest, most majestic of Nebula, these semi-gaseous beasts are a swirl of color and stellar matter. Some say that they come from the center of the largest, most active Nebula in the galaxy, where the Force is the strongest.
Description: As stated, a Nebula Dragon is a beast of nebulas gases and color. They are usually about the same size as Star Dragons.
Abilities: The Nebula Dragon can throw massive balls of currosive gases at targets, at any direction.
Dark Side Dragons
Born of the Darkside, the Darkside Dragons embrace that which is dark, cold and unfeeling. During the first Dragon War, they fought viciously against the Light side, and from that savage tumult was born Chaos.
Black Hole or Void Dragon
Background: The Black Hole Dragon is a dark beast, born in the Darkest depths of the galaxy, near the birthplace of a black hole. Pure Dark side, this creature is the rarest of the Stellar Dragons. It has been associated to those areas of space where ships have mysteriously disappeared.
Description: Deepest of Deep Black, the Black hole Dragon can only be spotted in space when the stars are eclipsed by it.
Abilities: A localized field of intense gravity exists around the Void Dragon. It only effects those that are a few inches from it. Only those that are strong in the Force can come close to a Void Dragon.
They also can form a very small, but intense singularity which then creates a massive gravity well. It can pull and destroy ships in its grip, or cause ships to drop out of Hyperspace. It also can cause ships to collapse within itself, by projecting a singularity at the ship.
Moon or Twilight Dragon
Background: Most worlds that have moons commonly associate bad things to it or them. On some worlds, they are associated to maniacal behavior, while others they are said to cause transformations.
Description: Smallest of all the Stellar Dragons, the Moon dragon is a bright-stony white-gray. Its face is featureless, but the rest resembles more like the traditional dragons than it’s brethren. Of all the Dark Side Dragons, this is the most common.
Abilities: Moon Dragons have a energy bolt attack, which emanates in any direction they choose, and can even be fired in more than one direction at once.
Asteroid Dragon
Background: Hidden in the chaos of floating space debris, tumbling amongst the monstrous boulders of space, is a hidden evil. It is said that is why space slugs hide in their holes, for they could be easy prey to the Dark Side Dragon known as the Asteroid Dragon.
Description: One of the more bizarre Stellar Dragons, the Asteroid Dragon is also the most complex. It feeds on the creatures that inhabit asteroids, so it has many evolutionary adaptations to aid it in that task. In fact, it is the only dragon that is known to feed on anything. It can even use its wings to wrap itself up to appear like a space slug.
Abilities: Asteroid Dragons are the most sneaky. They can camouflage themselves against the background noise of space, fooling most sensors. They also store up asteroid debris when they tunnel through them, and use some of that debris as high velocity weapons.
Shadow Drakes
Born of Chaos, beyond evil, beyond good, beyond the beginnings of the Universe, beyond even the Force. Chaos created these things, an only one thing will destroy them. Unity and Order.
Dark-Matter or Ether Drake
Background: From the darkness of the unknown, beyond known reaches of the galaxy, the Dark Matter Drake appears out of nowhere. Lead beast of the Chaotic Shadow Drakes, they too are hard too detect without special sensors. Dark Matter Drakes are the rarest of all the Stellar Dragons.
Description: Legend has it they are made of the unseen substance in space, known as Dark Matter. Some call it Ether. They are otherwise, indescribable.
Abilities: The Dark Matter Drake weapon is almost as indescribable as the Drake itself. It is pure darkness, which engulfs its target, and in a blink, all matter is gone, even at the molecular level. Total destruction of matter.
Dark Matter Drake also has the ability to Teleport. Its exact range and limitations of that are unknown.
Nova Drake
Background: Birthed from the destructive powers that destroy stars, the Nova Drake is a sinister and evil creature. It thrives on destroying systems.
Description: A swirling mass of Chaotic energies, the Nova Drake is the least describable of all the Stellar Dragons. There is form to it. However, it surrounds itself in chaotic energies that only the strongest of Jedi can penetrate.
Abilities: Nova Drakes can create waves of destructive power, like small stars going nova nearby. When more than one gathers in a system, they can destroy the whole system.
Comet Drake
Background: From the nightmares of unknown God-like beings, these creatures travel with the fragments of the universe that have been travelling since the beginning of the Universe. They cling to these fragments, and attack without warning.
Description: The Comet Drakes are a mass of tentacles, all for the purposes of clinging to comets. They are large, amorphous beasts, with a head of tenticle as well.
Abilities: Comet Drakes have a very strong ability to control gravity, and when on planet, can levitate. They also have the ability to freeze things to Absolute Zero, which in many cases, can be quite damaging.
Drakaresh
Background: When the First Dragon War came to a close and the Shadow Drakes were defeated, just before the remainder of the Shadow Drakes went into hiding, they created a servitor beast to watch for the Dragon War to start again, and to make sure the Shadow Drakes get their invitation.
Description: They are beasts of Chaos, given physical form. They are semi-intelligent, bipedal tailed creatures with a thick leathery carapace covering their bodies. They are usually taller than the average human, and have wings that are used for flight.
Abilities: The Drakaresh have smaller versions of the abilities of their masters. They also carry weapons that are powered by the souls or lifeforces of their victims – their Light-Axes.
Universal Balance
Dimensional Dragon
Background: Somewhere, in the depths of the Dimensions, is the Dragon that watches for the Dragon War, and starts the Dragon Destiny. It thrives on balance, but when the Shadow Drakes were born from the Chaos of the First Dragon War, it had to intervene and then watch for their return.
Description: No one knows exactly what the Dimensional Dragon looks like. Legend has it that it is made up of the fabric of the universe, time and all things. Pure Force, other say; both Light and Dark. It is strongly tied to the Dragon Destiny, some say it is the Dragon Destiny.
Abilities: The only known ability of the Dimensional Dragon is it can travel among dimensions.
The Jedi & The Dragon Way
Stellar Dragons pre-date the Jedi order by millions of years. But as sentient creatures became more aware of the Force, a chosen few of those became aware of the Stellar Dragons. Since then, the Dragon Jedis have been a secret society of Jedi, charged with the task of keeping the balance and avoiding another Dragon War. The Dark Side Dragon Jedi also work towards that end, both sides learning from the lessons of the past.
The First Dragon War is only remembered by some of the most learned Jedi Scholars and the Secret Societies of both Light and Dark Side Jedis. For some, it is called the First Recorded Dragon War, because some believe that there were many more before the one they know about. Some even believe the First War was what created the universe.
The Last (or First War, depending on who you talk to) with in its chaos, brought about the creation of a new breed, born of the primordial heart of the dark side of creation itself – the Shadow Drakes. They were far more devastating than the Dark Dragons and even turned on them. To them, all were fair targets for their destruction.
(Under Construction)