Rumours speak of an additional temple that can be found in The City of Aresia. The Temple of Shadow is said to train its members to become spies and assassins, and that they often serve as a secret police for the queen. It is believed that they also have agents in Mytros, to keep an eye on their rival city.

Leira is the owner and mistress of The Siren's Roost. It is clear that she has hled a varied life before settling in The City of Mytros but she is commited to her business and sees it as a way to make a part of Mytros more beautiful, no matter the surroundings. The most striking feature of Leira is her golden tinged wings that, when caught by the light, shimmer as if the night sky had descened upon the earth.

When the party encountred her it was clear that she had a past with Aella, The Whirlwind.

"The brightest star in the night sky is called the Golden Heart.  You can see it high above us on any clear night.  It represents the tree that sprang up when Thylea, the Great Mother, sacrificed herself to create our land.  If you look closely, you can see a cluster of fainter stars scattered around the Golden Heart; these represent all the islands that sprung up from her roots.

And if you look slightly to the west, you'll notice a single red star watching over the Golden Heart and the islands: Kentimane, Thylea's husband, who honours his vow to protect his lover with an endless vigil.

Hey mister, that is a really cool lizard you have! Can I pet it?”

“Hiss…”

"Oh it bit me!"

Introduction

One of two tiny dragons, pseudodragons are elusive, intelligent creatures that can form strong telepathic bonds. Naturally inclined towards harmony, pseudodragons avoid larger dragons and evil beings.

Physiological Observations

Pseudodragons are the smallest form of true dragon, a fully grown common pseudodragon only grows to a length of two feet from snout to tail. They possess reddish brown scales and a ridge of tiny horns. Adult pseudodragons have well developed wings spanning almost 4 feet. Like all dragons, pseudodragons possess perfect dark vision.

Hatching from small eggs, young pseudodragons are only a few inches long. Like all true dragons, hatchling pseudodragons are capable of hunting and instinctual care within minutes of hatching, a hatchling pseudodragon is a voracious hunter and will use its stinger and jaws to hunt anything that moves, usually small forest creatures. If small enough creatures are not available, then the parent dragons will often carry wounded but still living small prey back to the nest.

Another quality of note is the pseudodragon’s poisonous tail. The tail of a pseudodragon is sharp and strong enough to pierce thick hide and some are even known to be strong enough to pierce steel. Each sting delivers a powerful sedative, capable of staggering a full sized orc, or knocking a human unconscious for an hour. The sting can be very harmful to children and Halflings, care should be taken that smaller companions not startle or insult the dragon.

Social Observations

Female pseudodragons produce eggs only in the early summer, and only if food has been abundant. Each season will produce between 6 and 12 eggs, with the eggs being infertile unless fertilized by a male. During the 6 week gestation that starts in late spring, the female pseudodragon will find a quiet, undisturbed place to burrow and prepare a nest. Old trees, caves, and soft earth all are common nests. Once a nesting site is established the dragon will return to the nesting site yearly, so long as the site remains undisturbed. At the first sign of any disturbance, especially the presence of a larger dragon, the mother will abandon the nest.

Pseudodragons mate as pairs, the natural telepathic abilities of the species cause them to form deep bonds and a mated pair will defend themselves or their hatchlings to the point of death. As pseudodragons grow they will start travel further and further from the nest, after approximately six months the pseudodragon will be large enough to be fully independent of the parents. However, if food is abundant and the area then the youngling will stay close the parents. In cases where food is abundant and hostile predators rare extended family units of pseudodragons can be found nesting together.

However, if predators are common, or food scarce, a youngling will soon take to being nomadic. Pseudodragons can fly for several miles before stopping to rest, and will often fly at night to prevent them from being spotted by aerial predators. A pseudodragon on the wing can fly as fast as a hawk. While the dragon can soar and coast for long periods without tiring, extended sprints or rough winds can exhaust them.

When a nomadic pseudodragon finds a location that feels right, isolated and with abundant food and shelter, the dragon will find several different hollows, holes and caves to lair in. It will maintain each nest separately. On bright sunny days pseudodragons can be seen by quiet and calm observers sunning themselves on stones, but the first sign of hostility will send them a flight to the nearest hidey hole.

Behavioral Observations

Most pseudodragons have a strong sense of draconic nobility, while this generally doesn’t manifest in the form of haughty lording the way it does with larger dragons it does mean that a pseudodragon, once insulted, embarrassed, criticized or harmed, will never forget the action but might forgive if amends are made.

One of the most significant qualities of the pseudodragon is its pronounced telepathic ability. They are able to communicate with any creature they can see within a moderate distance and can learn to associate words with concepts. In the wild Pseudodragons almost entirely communicate in emotions and occasional draconic exchanges, but dragons who have had extensive exposure to the fey or common races will quickly learn common. An excited pseudodragon will communicate with a barrage of images, emotions and words while at the same time hopping and chittering. The telepathy, combined with the keen senses of the dragon, make it capable of clearly perceiving invisible creatures that are nearby.

Pseudodragons that live on the fringes of common race societies are often bound as familiars. This bond replaces the mating bond. Instead the pseudodragon takes ownership of the bonded subject, becoming protective and seeking to guide its charge. Often a pseudodragon who bonds with a member of a common race sees incredible potential in the charge. The pseudodragon will give up on isolation for the sake of the bond, but only if effectively given tribute. Food, trinkets, coins and gems can function as tributes for a pseudodragon.

In regards to food and drink, it is very important that a pseudodragon never be given alcohol. The will be drawn to powerful liquors that they can smell, and will drink readily and fully, far past the point of being healthy for the dragon. A pseudodragon allowed to dip its snout in a glass of its charges wine will soon knock over the whole glass to get more. But the true impact is found in the effects of intoxication, the dragon will seek to consume all available alcohol and will become violent and hostile if denied. It seems that liquor brings out a specter of dragon hording and covetousness in the small dragons. In the event that a bonded dragon does become intoxicated it is important to restrain the dragon immediately, isolating them from further exposure until the effects can wear off.

In combat against a larger opponent, the pseudodragon will almost always poison the subject, then quickly flee to safety. A pseudodragon will only fight to the death to defend a bonded ward, mate or young. Pseudodragons can kill but generally do so only to feed or to defend a wounded mate, bonded ward or young too small to escape. When a large pseudodragon nest is disturbed, several of the larger adults will sting the intruders while the younger, weaker or smaller dragons escape to safety. This is very uncommon as any large nest will have sentries, a telepathic alert will be given to members in the nest long before any outsider can reach the lair.

Intra-Species Observations

It is not uncommon for giant eagles and giant owls to align themselves with pseudodragons, while giant vultures despise pseudodragons and will chase them from the skies, sometimes hunting them for days and harassing them any time they attempt to land to rest. Eventually the pseudodragon can no longer fly due to exhaustion and will need to land. A lone giant vulture will still have a dangerous adversary on the ground, but a pack of giant vultures will easily overwhelm an exhausted pseudodragon. In fey rich areas pseudodragons will form relationships with sprites, pixies and dryads. While pseudodragons can get along with faire dragons and the two are not adversarial, they do not stay in the same areas for long. It is theorized that the chaotic nature of faire dragons irritates the sensitive empathic attunement of pseudodragons. However, it should be noted that it is possible to breed the two dragon species, resulting in a dragon subspecies known as the mercurial dragon.

Nothing will drive a pseudodragon to abandon its home faster than the presence of a chromatic dragon or kobolds. Chromatic dragons and kobold chieftains will kill or enslave pseudodragons. Some kobold tribes believe that the consumption of pseudodragon meat and eggs will cause them to give birth to the winged Kobolds known as Urds. Chromatic dragons are also known to seek live pseudodragon captives. As pseudodragons are true dragons like the chromatics, it is possible for the two races to breed, this creates Chromatic pseudodragons.