Xiaolung
The xiaolung are a lungedic race heralding from the East of Terra Continenti. Alongside longxue and lungs, they are one of the three sentient lungedic races.
Ancestry
While longxue where originally lungs themselves, the xiaolung are not direct descendants. Instead, they are the product of the sky lung, Tian, and the earth lung, Di who sought to elevate mortal life into something new. From both earth a sky the xiaolung were born and set free upon the world finding contentment with their longxue cousins.
At the time, the two were together and cared for the xiaolung together and harmoniously, but over the centuries they grew tired of one another. When the time came to separate, Di wished to keep the creatures for himself, but Tian would not let him.
Physiology
Xiaolung are a warm-blooded, bipedal creatures, standing no taller than 5 feet. Their skin is relatively smooth, with hundreds of tiny scales forming its surface, the hardness of the scaled provides excellent resistance to abrasion, while still allowing cooling from the blood vessels beneath. As such, while still adverse to warmth, the xiaolung are far less effected by it, and while their hides may appear weaker than polished scale, it is actually tougher than their longxue cousins. As they age, their spines and tails continue to grow, this often leads to elongated necks and hunched backs in later years. Talons are common, although shorter, and antlers are unusual. Amongst the rarest feature, some xiaolung are blessed with wings, that sprout from their backs when completing adolescence.
Characteristic of lungedic species, the xiaolung have prehensile whiskers that elongate as the individual grows older, however only the males have the under maw fur. They are the most sexually dimorphic of the three species too, with the females being distinctly smaller than males, thinner shoulders and wider hips. Males have antlers and keratin crowns that protrude from their foreheads.
Reproduction
Oviparous, clutches usually number around the half dozen, although it is common for only a few eggs to hatch. The eggs mirror those of the longxue, but smaller, with an equally tough leathery exterior. The gestation period is approximately the same, but hatching cannot be induced. Scale colouration therefore, is solely determined by genetics of which the three primary colours are represented, sapphire, ruby, and emerald.