Species Name: The Ull Hjartardr (pronounced Ooh-uhld hYar-Tar-deer)
The Ull Hjartardr are a unique species of dragon originating from the southern peninsular area. They are known for several distinctive characteristics: they are (normally) flightless,* they are hexapedal (which means they have six limbs) and perhaps most notably, they are covered completely in very short, very soft, velvety wool.
Ull Hjartardr are mid-sized dragons at best. The males tend to be smaller than the females. Females can grow to be around 13 metres long at most (from snout to tail-tip) and 5 metres tall, while males usually do not surpass 8 or 9 metres in length, and grow to about three metres high.
Physically, the Ull Hjartardr are unlike most dragon species. Their bodies are amazingly thin and lean, and their legs are disproportionately long, giving them a deer-like, or greyhound-type appearance. A fringe of wispy hair runs from the top of each limb down to the arm or hand. Of their limbs in general, the Ull Hjartardr have two arms that hang at their sides from the first, mid-sized shoulder set, much like a humans would, featuring soft, smaller hands with six fingers each, and fingernails much like a humans. Their other four limbs are "legs" that end in four-toed feet with large, wickedly curved talons. The second shoulder set comes further down the back, just beneath the wings, and is the largest of the three shoulder-types the Ull Hjartardr have, controlling the muscular forelegs. The wing-bases themselves comprise the third and final shoulder-type, and these are notably smaller; evolutionary remnants of a time long ago when the species had the need for flight.
The Ull Hjartardrs wings are thin and membraneous, covered in even shorter fur and nearly transparent. The wings small, but usually strong enough to lift the Ull Hjartardr into the air and even carry them short distances. Typically, the Ull Hjartardr never fly, and rarely use their wings at all aside from during elaborate mating rituals. One glance at the Ull Hjartardrs tall and lanky build can verify the species dependence on leg-power nearly exclusively. The Ull Hjartardr have long, bird-like necks covered in a thicker, shaggier fur, and feather-like tendrils shroud the neck and head much like a lions mane. These dragons have large, high-set, forward facing eyes and a narrow, angular face. Ull Hjartardr typically have amazingly keen eyesight, and can spot prey or predators from quite a distance. Their ears are small and tufted and a series of thin, fan-shaped crests of bone run from the top of their head along their spine to the tip of their tail, which is tufted in the same fur-like strands that make up their mane. The tuft of fur on the tail hides a large, spade-shaped bone spike.
Ull Hjartardr do not roar like other dragon species, but have a myriad of unique other calls. The most commonly-recognized resembles a yodel, or wavering howl. Ull Hjartardr also bark, squeal, and whistle much like songbirds.
Of their eating habits, the Ull Hjartardr are omnivorous, and their jaws reveal this, containing both plant-grinding molars and meat-ripping incisors. Most Ull Hjartardr have an affinity for sugary foods fruit, honey, even the blossoms of flowers. This is actually due to a genetic glitch in the Ull Hjartardr species that makes virtually all of them born diabetics. Researchers speculate that the craving of sugar is the species being in tune to their own biochemical needs. If deprived of fruit or some other form of natural sugar for too long, the Ull Hjartardr can go into diabetic shock and even succumb to death.
Ull Hjartardr naturally grow woollier in the fall and shed their coats in the spring. The fur of the Ull Hjartardr can be quite a myriad of colors, though the most common are those ranging from the pale-brown to pale grey range. Ull Hjartardr can be brindled, dappled, and can have large patches in two or three coat colors, but they never have stripes. White, black, and amber Ull Hjartardr are also seen, but more rarely. Albinism also occurs. Ull Hjartardr very frequently dye their fur certain special colours for certain events, so it is not unheard of to see elaborately-patterned, rainbow-hued Ull Hjartardr during any of their holidays.
Fur and wool from the Ull Hjartardr can be woven into a fine, soft yarn that makes incomparably durable sweaters, cloaks, scarves, and the like. The Ull Hjartardr participate in ritual sheddings each spring, and the collected wool is then dyed in bright colours and given as ceremonial gifts to local townships of humans or other creatures, to further foster peaceful relationships between the Ull Hjartardr and others. This has been done for centuries, because historically, the Ull Hjartardr were once hunted for their hides.
Of culture within Ull Hjartardr societies, the Ull Hjartardr tend to live in large communities in forests. They have very tightly-knit bonds, with virtually all community members pitching in to help raise the young ones. They typically celebrate seasonal passings and regular astronomical events above all other holidays. The spring festival is the greatest of their seven primary holidays, and usually includes feasts, ceremonial dances, musical performances, comedic theatre, and highly ritualized fur dyeing and mating ceremonies. They also celebrate the coming of summer, the autumn harvest, and winters eve, as well as the coming of the comet they view as sacred (the Hjardennen Comet) which occurs only once every three years toward summers end, and two eclipses (both lunar) that occur once every seven and a half years.
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"Hafa ann djful a draga!"
The Ull Hjartardr are a unique species of dragon originating from the southern peninsular area. They are known for several distinctive characteristics: they are (normally) flightless,* they are hexapedal (which means they have six limbs) and perhaps most notably, they are covered completely in very short, very soft, velvety wool.
Ull Hjartardr are mid-sized dragons at best. The males tend to be smaller than the females. Females can grow to be around 13 metres long at most (from snout to tail-tip) and 5 metres tall, while males usually do not surpass 8 or 9 metres in length, and grow to about three metres high.
Physically, the Ull Hjartardr are unlike most dragon species. Their bodies are amazingly thin and lean, and their legs are disproportionately long, giving them a deer-like, or greyhound-type appearance. A fringe of wispy hair runs from the top of each limb down to the arm or hand. Of their limbs in general, the Ull Hjartardr have two arms that hang at their sides from the first, mid-sized shoulder set, much like a humans would, featuring soft, smaller hands with six fingers each, and fingernails much like a humans. Their other four limbs are "legs" that end in four-toed feet with large, wickedly curved talons. The second shoulder set comes further down the back, just beneath the wings, and is the largest of the three shoulder-types the Ull Hjartardr have, controlling the muscular forelegs. The wing-bases themselves comprise the third and final shoulder-type, and these are notably smaller; evolutionary remnants of a time long ago when the species had the need for flight.
The Ull Hjartardrs wings are thin and membraneous, covered in even shorter fur and nearly transparent. The wings small, but usually strong enough to lift the Ull Hjartardr into the air and even carry them short distances. Typically, the Ull Hjartardr never fly, and rarely use their wings at all aside from during elaborate mating rituals. One glance at the Ull Hjartardrs tall and lanky build can verify the species dependence on leg-power nearly exclusively. The Ull Hjartardr have long, bird-like necks covered in a thicker, shaggier fur, and feather-like tendrils shroud the neck and head much like a lions mane. These dragons have large, high-set, forward facing eyes and a narrow, angular face. Ull Hjartardr typically have amazingly keen eyesight, and can spot prey or predators from quite a distance. Their ears are small and tufted and a series of thin, fan-shaped crests of bone run from the top of their head along their spine to the tip of their tail, which is tufted in the same fur-like strands that make up their mane. The tuft of fur on the tail hides a large, spade-shaped bone spike.
Ull Hjartardr do not roar like other dragon species, but have a myriad of unique other calls. The most commonly-recognized resembles a yodel, or wavering howl. Ull Hjartardr also bark, squeal, and whistle much like songbirds.
Of their eating habits, the Ull Hjartardr are omnivorous, and their jaws reveal this, containing both plant-grinding molars and meat-ripping incisors. Most Ull Hjartardr have an affinity for sugary foods fruit, honey, even the blossoms of flowers. This is actually due to a genetic glitch in the Ull Hjartardr species that makes virtually all of them born diabetics. Researchers speculate that the craving of sugar is the species being in tune to their own biochemical needs. If deprived of fruit or some other form of natural sugar for too long, the Ull Hjartardr can go into diabetic shock and even succumb to death.
Ull Hjartardr naturally grow woollier in the fall and shed their coats in the spring. The fur of the Ull Hjartardr can be quite a myriad of colors, though the most common are those ranging from the pale-brown to pale grey range. Ull Hjartardr can be brindled, dappled, and can have large patches in two or three coat colors, but they never have stripes. White, black, and amber Ull Hjartardr are also seen, but more rarely. Albinism also occurs. Ull Hjartardr very frequently dye their fur certain special colours for certain events, so it is not unheard of to see elaborately-patterned, rainbow-hued Ull Hjartardr during any of their holidays.
Fur and wool from the Ull Hjartardr can be woven into a fine, soft yarn that makes incomparably durable sweaters, cloaks, scarves, and the like. The Ull Hjartardr participate in ritual sheddings each spring, and the collected wool is then dyed in bright colours and given as ceremonial gifts to local townships of humans or other creatures, to further foster peaceful relationships between the Ull Hjartardr and others. This has been done for centuries, because historically, the Ull Hjartardr were once hunted for their hides.
Of culture within Ull Hjartardr societies, the Ull Hjartardr tend to live in large communities in forests. They have very tightly-knit bonds, with virtually all community members pitching in to help raise the young ones. They typically celebrate seasonal passings and regular astronomical events above all other holidays. The spring festival is the greatest of their seven primary holidays, and usually includes feasts, ceremonial dances, musical performances, comedic theatre, and highly ritualized fur dyeing and mating ceremonies. They also celebrate the coming of summer, the autumn harvest, and winters eve, as well as the coming of the comet they view as sacred (the Hjardennen Comet) which occurs only once every three years toward summers end, and two eclipses (both lunar) that occur once every seven and a half years.
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"Hafa ann djful a draga!"
