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Description
Due to its marine lifestyle and rarity, the Venom Dragon was a species that wasn't discovered until about twenty years ago. You would think that something with such an intimidating name and deadly reputation would be identified much sooner, but the ocean is not an easy place to explore. The only real way to get a glimpse of what is below is either through experimental diving techniques, conversing with kelp dryads and other talking sea dwellers, or sifting through the nets of local fishermen. It was through the latter method that the Venom Dragon was discovered, and I must say it is quite the tale! Years ago, a fishing ship went out to sea and dwelled within waters they didn't belong (I don't really know what that means, but it's part of the story). They cast out their nets and prayed for a good haul, but it was not to be. Net after net was empty, and they started to consider moving to a different fishing spot. On their last haul, though, their nets came back with something. A squirming creature as bright as a clear spring day, caught within the tangles of rope. It was something they had never seen before, but since it was just barely three feet long and kind of small, they were more curious than afraid. One of the men moved in close to investigate the flopping thing when it lashed out. One of its barbed tentacles slapped him across the arm, and he immediately began to scream in pain. The crew panicked as they watched his arm redden and swell in seconds, all while he shrieked in agony. Chaos quickly ensued, especially after the man dropped dead minutes after the attack. During the mania, two more people were stung and killed, and at last the horrid beast was dispatched with a very severe bludgeoning from an oar. The survivors rushed home with corpse in tow, keeping it so others would believe their tale. When they arrived at their village, they went to their elder and showed them the carcass.

The wizened fisherman studied the specimen for many hours, and then went before the village to tell them his find. It was there that he named it the Venom Dragon, as it was a beast that was brimming with the deadliest of venom and toxins. A single scratch and nip would inject a lethal dose, and death would claim you within minutes. The villagers were horrified, but that was not the worst to come. He told them that this beast was a dragon, though one would be fooled by its size. The reason this one was so small was because this creature was only a baby. Horror swept the town as they realized that the lethal creature was only in its larval stage, and it even got worse as he explained what an adult would look like. It would be fifty feet long, from beak to tendril, and its spines would be like great harpoons. The flippers would grow to the size of true wings and its venomous ways would only get worse as it became more aggressive and starved. Even in its larval stage, this creature was a killer, as it had gobbled up all the fish that had been in the area the poor souls had tried to collect from. In its adult form, it would leave entire swaths of ocean barren and lifeless, devouring all and poisoning what remained. The beached whales that washed to shore were evidence of its deadly ways, as even these titans were powerless to an adult Venom Dragon. At the end of his declaration, he warned the villagers and all who lived by the ocean to watch for these deadly creatures. They would need to snuffed out while they were larvae, lest they grow big and wipe out the entire region. Word quickly spread, and the Venom Dragon became a harbinger of doom. If anyone caught one in their nets, it would be quickly killed and its body burned on shore to keep the venom from poisoning the seas. For months, everyone was on high alert, always fearing the day a true Venom Dragon would rear its head. To prepare for this day, one village got their hands on an intact larval corpse and brought it to a board of natural historians. These would be the folk that would find a weakness, so that they could craft weapons to fight an adult one. After days of study and dissection, they made a discovery. It wasn't a weakness of any sort, though. What they did find was that the old man was full of crap.

Despite what some may claim, there is no giant, monstrous "adult-stage" of a Venom Dragon. The three-foot creature that everyone claimed was a baby is actually the true adult. The real larvae are no bigger than your thumb and do not turn into venom spewing leviathans. Venom Dragons also aren't destroyers of oceans and butchers of fish kind. The idea that a single specimen had "devoured" the entire region those first fools were fishing from is absolutely ludicrous. Their nets were coming up empty because they were either having bad luck, or the fish were moving out of the area to avoid being near such a venomous critter. The creature's stomach isn't even that big! The contents of their belly have usually contained crabs, shrimp and small fish. While its venom is good for dispatching prey, it is actually more used as a defense. No predator is going to try and eat something this toxic! Every barb is dripping with this potent venom, which causes irreversible damage to the nervous system. Those who are stung will experience excruciating burning pain until their body shuts off and they die. Death is quick, usually taking only five minutes to occur.

The sad thing about all this paranoia and fear around the Venom Dragon (goodness I wish we could get rid of that name) is that it really isn't all that menacing or evil. No real evidence has been found to suggest this thing terrorizes the seas or murders whales (cripes that thing with the whales. How dramatic can you be?). From what we know and learned from talking to sea dwellers is that Venom Dragons tend to hang around reefs and ocean bottoms in search of prey. They like to either ambush them, or sneak up on sleeping victims. When threatened by predators, they unfurl their tendrils and fins to make themselves look bigger and they flash their vibrant colors. They never really charge or straight up attack things while they are in the water. The only time they lash out is when they are suffocating on the deck of someone's ship! Cripes, people! Of course the thing is hissing and flailing about, it's dying! It's not some vicious beast of the abyss, it is just some venomous octopus thing that happens to get snared in a net from time to time. If it was possible to throw it back safely, I would suggest it, but with its venom you shouldn't get anywhere near it. Just let it expire and return the body to the water. No need to freak out about it and pretend that it is going to bring about the apocalypse. Boy, you name anything a "dragon" and the whole world loses their mind...

Chlora Myron

Dryad Natural Historian

--------------------------------------------------

More dragons that aren't dragons! Wooo!

Description
Due to its marine lifestyle and rarity, the Venom Dragon was a species that wasn't discovered until about twenty years ago. You would think that something with such an intimidating name and deadly reputation would be identified much sooner, but the ocean is not an easy place to explore. The only real way to get a glimpse of what is below is either through experimental diving techniques, conversing with kelp dryads and other talking sea dwellers, or sifting through the nets of local fishermen. It was through the latter method that the Venom Dragon was discovered, and I must say it is quite the tale! Years ago, a fishing ship went out to sea and dwelled within waters they didn't belong (I don't really know what that means, but it's part of the story). They cast out their nets and prayed for a good haul, but it was not to be. Net after net was empty, and they started to consider moving to a different fishing spot. On their last haul, though, their nets came back with something. A squirming creature as bright as a clear spring day, caught within the tangles of rope. It was something they had never seen before, but since it was just barely three feet long and kind of small, they were more curious than afraid. One of the men moved in close to investigate the flopping thing when it lashed out. One of its barbed tentacles slapped him across the arm, and he immediately began to scream in pain. The crew panicked as they watched his arm redden and swell in seconds, all while he shrieked in agony. Chaos quickly ensued, especially after the man dropped dead minutes after the attack. During the mania, two more people were stung and killed, and at last the horrid beast was dispatched with a very severe bludgeoning from an oar. The survivors rushed home with corpse in tow, keeping it so others would believe their tale. When they arrived at their village, they went to their elder and showed them the carcass.

The wizened fisherman studied the specimen for many hours, and then went before the village to tell them his find. It was there that he named it the Venom Dragon, as it was a beast that was brimming with the deadliest of venom and toxins. A single scratch and nip would inject a lethal dose, and death would claim you within minutes. The villagers were horrified, but that was not the worst to come. He told them that this beast was a dragon, though one would be fooled by its size. The reason this one was so small was because this creature was only a baby. Horror swept the town as they realized that the lethal creature was only in its larval stage, and it even got worse as he explained what an adult would look like. It would be fifty feet long, from beak to tendril, and its spines would be like great harpoons. The flippers would grow to the size of true wings and its venomous ways would only get worse as it became more aggressive and starved. Even in its larval stage, this creature was a killer, as it had gobbled up all the fish that had been in the area the poor souls had tried to collect from. In its adult form, it would leave entire swaths of ocean barren and lifeless, devouring all and poisoning what remained. The beached whales that washed to shore were evidence of its deadly ways, as even these titans were powerless to an adult Venom Dragon. At the end of his declaration, he warned the villagers and all who lived by the ocean to watch for these deadly creatures. They would need to snuffed out while they were larvae, lest they grow big and wipe out the entire region. Word quickly spread, and the Venom Dragon became a harbinger of doom. If anyone caught one in their nets, it would be quickly killed and its body burned on shore to keep the venom from poisoning the seas. For months, everyone was on high alert, always fearing the day a true Venom Dragon would rear its head. To prepare for this day, one village got their hands on an intact larval corpse and brought it to a board of natural historians. These would be the folk that would find a weakness, so that they could craft weapons to fight an adult one. After days of study and dissection, they made a discovery. It wasn't a weakness of any sort, though. What they did find was that the old man was full of crap.

Despite what some may claim, there is no giant, monstrous "adult-stage" of a Venom Dragon. The three-foot creature that everyone claimed was a baby is actually the true adult. The real larvae are no bigger than your thumb and do not turn into venom spewing leviathans. Venom Dragons also aren't destroyers of oceans and butchers of fish kind. The idea that a single specimen had "devoured" the entire region those first fools were fishing from is absolutely ludicrous. Their nets were coming up empty because they were either having bad luck, or the fish were moving out of the area to avoid being near such a venomous critter. The creature's stomach isn't even that big! The contents of their belly have usually contained crabs, shrimp and small fish. While its venom is good for dispatching prey, it is actually more used as a defense. No predator is going to try and eat something this toxic! Every barb is dripping with this potent venom, which causes irreversible damage to the nervous system. Those who are stung will experience excruciating burning pain until their body shuts off and they die. Death is quick, usually taking only five minutes to occur.

The sad thing about all this paranoia and fear around the Venom Dragon (goodness I wish we could get rid of that name) is that it really isn't all that menacing or evil. No real evidence has been found to suggest this thing terrorizes the seas or murders whales (cripes that thing with the whales. How dramatic can you be?). From what we know and learned from talking to sea dwellers is that Venom Dragons tend to hang around reefs and ocean bottoms in search of prey. They like to either ambush them, or sneak up on sleeping victims. When threatened by predators, they unfurl their tendrils and fins to make themselves look bigger and they flash their vibrant colors. They never really charge or straight up attack things while they are in the water. The only time they lash out is when they are suffocating on the deck of someone's ship! Cripes, people! Of course the thing is hissing and flailing about, it's dying! It's not some vicious beast of the abyss, it is just some venomous octopus thing that happens to get snared in a net from time to time. If it was possible to throw it back safely, I would suggest it, but with its venom you shouldn't get anywhere near it. Just let it expire and return the body to the water. No need to freak out about it and pretend that it is going to bring about the apocalypse. Boy, you name anything a "dragon" and the whole world loses their mind...

Chlora Myron

Dryad Natural Historian

--------------------------------------------------

More dragons that aren't dragons! Wooo!