Post by Whim on Oct 8, 2012 0:40:58 GMT -5
Firelizards are small, draconic beings. They have many traits in common with Pern's dragons; they can fly, breath fire after chewing firestone, teleport, they are telekinetic and telepathic. They also have simple tails, knobbed horns on their heads, solid colored hides, and reproduce through flights.
However, while firelizards can Impress upon people when they hatch, they Impress indiscriminately, bonding to whoever feeds them when they hatch. If no one is around, or no one feeds them, firelizards are not compelled to bond; they will simply seek out food themselves, either not Impressing or Impressing to adult firelizards, who in the wild will typically collect food for the hatchlings when a clutch is about to hatch. Also, while they can communicate images, feelings and memories to their bonded, they cannot use words; firelizards are quite intelligent, but not sentient like dragons.
As with dragons, gold firelizards are the Queens, larger than the rest and able to command all the lower ranks. In firelizards, golds also seem to be more intelligent than the other colors, though this may simply be their being more inclined to think for themselves. Their hides are metallic gold, and they reach between 22 and 26 inches in length. They are female and fertile, and can lay eggs of any color.
A wild firelizard colony is generally composed of one gold, some of her siblings, some unrelated bronzes, and her children. A young gold will stay with her mother's colony until she is slightly under her adult size; at this point, either she will leave or her mother will drive her off, and some of her siblings will follow.
Bronze firelizards are the princes, though they don't tend to get the opportunity to lead that bronze dragons do. Still, they are the only males able to catch the gold queens, and are both able and in some cases happy to boss browns, blues and greens out of their way. They are between 19 and 23 inches long.
Brown firelizards are male, between 14 and 18 inches long. They don't often chase gold, and do not catch them when competing against bronzes; however, in a case when only brown firelizards are around for a gold's flight, they can catch the gold, and eggs do result. While a gold has never laid a gold egg after a brown-won flight, she does seem to lay an unusually high number of bronzes.
Blue firelizards are male, between 12 and 15 inches long. They do not chase or catch golds.
Green firelizards are female, between 10 and 13 inches long. While they can lay eggs, they tend to forget about them, and as a result wild green clutches rarely survive to hatch. If a clutch does survive, they only lay greens, blues, and occasionally a brown.
Firelizards grow quickly after hatching, and spend their first week and a half to two weeks eating, sleeping, and doing very little else. After that, however, their growth slows enough for them to begin to develop a personality, and they reach their full size at about eight months old. Males begin to chase at nine months, and females to fly at twelve months. Firelizard flights proceed very similarly to dragon flights, though no one forces fire lizard females to blood their kills, and the impact of the flight on a firelizard's bonded, while still intense, is not as completely overwhelming as a dragon's flight, nor does it tend to affect those nearby who are not bonded to the firelizards involved.
Firelizards are very emotional creatures, communicating through and responding primarily to emotions. They also share their thoughts and emotions indiscriminately with everyone around who can pick it up, including dragons, other firelizards, their bonded, and the occasional human who can 'pick up' all psychic sendings (that is, hears all dragons). As a result, particularly emotional events and the memories of them are shared between all firelizards, creating an effective racial memory of anything that they find very emotional.
However, while firelizards can Impress upon people when they hatch, they Impress indiscriminately, bonding to whoever feeds them when they hatch. If no one is around, or no one feeds them, firelizards are not compelled to bond; they will simply seek out food themselves, either not Impressing or Impressing to adult firelizards, who in the wild will typically collect food for the hatchlings when a clutch is about to hatch. Also, while they can communicate images, feelings and memories to their bonded, they cannot use words; firelizards are quite intelligent, but not sentient like dragons.
The Colors
Gold
As with dragons, gold firelizards are the Queens, larger than the rest and able to command all the lower ranks. In firelizards, golds also seem to be more intelligent than the other colors, though this may simply be their being more inclined to think for themselves. Their hides are metallic gold, and they reach between 22 and 26 inches in length. They are female and fertile, and can lay eggs of any color.
A wild firelizard colony is generally composed of one gold, some of her siblings, some unrelated bronzes, and her children. A young gold will stay with her mother's colony until she is slightly under her adult size; at this point, either she will leave or her mother will drive her off, and some of her siblings will follow.
Bronze
Bronze firelizards are the princes, though they don't tend to get the opportunity to lead that bronze dragons do. Still, they are the only males able to catch the gold queens, and are both able and in some cases happy to boss browns, blues and greens out of their way. They are between 19 and 23 inches long.
Brown
Brown firelizards are male, between 14 and 18 inches long. They don't often chase gold, and do not catch them when competing against bronzes; however, in a case when only brown firelizards are around for a gold's flight, they can catch the gold, and eggs do result. While a gold has never laid a gold egg after a brown-won flight, she does seem to lay an unusually high number of bronzes.
Blue
Blue firelizards are male, between 12 and 15 inches long. They do not chase or catch golds.
Green
Green firelizards are female, between 10 and 13 inches long. While they can lay eggs, they tend to forget about them, and as a result wild green clutches rarely survive to hatch. If a clutch does survive, they only lay greens, blues, and occasionally a brown.
After Hatching
Firelizards grow quickly after hatching, and spend their first week and a half to two weeks eating, sleeping, and doing very little else. After that, however, their growth slows enough for them to begin to develop a personality, and they reach their full size at about eight months old. Males begin to chase at nine months, and females to fly at twelve months. Firelizard flights proceed very similarly to dragon flights, though no one forces fire lizard females to blood their kills, and the impact of the flight on a firelizard's bonded, while still intense, is not as completely overwhelming as a dragon's flight, nor does it tend to affect those nearby who are not bonded to the firelizards involved.
Firelizards are very emotional creatures, communicating through and responding primarily to emotions. They also share their thoughts and emotions indiscriminately with everyone around who can pick it up, including dragons, other firelizards, their bonded, and the occasional human who can 'pick up' all psychic sendings (that is, hears all dragons). As a result, particularly emotional events and the memories of them are shared between all firelizards, creating an effective racial memory of anything that they find very emotional.