Adopt-A-Dragon (AAD) Program: Project started by the Dragon Conservancy Program modeled after the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s National Wild Horse and Burro Program and the American Bear Association’s Friend of the Cubs. It is a way Dragon lovers around the globe can, for a modest fee, stay connected to these marvelous creatures and feel like they are contributing to the continuance of Dragon welfare the world over. http://mackenziesdragonsnest.com/adoptadragon.html
Aido Hwedo: The Great Rainbow Serpent of the Fon people of Africa who was both aide and friend to the Creator, Mawu. After the world was made, Aido Hwedo wrapped her coils tightly round it to hold it together until the end of time.
Alkha: Cosmic Dragon from the tales of Siberia’s Buriat people, so massive his wings covered the heavens. Occasionally he would nibble on the sun and the moon but would throw them up again when their heat became too much for him to stomach. Lunar craters are said to be Alkha’s tooth marks.
amphiptere: A winged, legless pseudo-dragon similar in appearance to the French guivre. Ill-tempered and much feared, the creature’s image was often used on warriors’ shields to frighten the enemy.
Apophis: The moon Dragon of ancient Egypt who lurked in the Nile, waiting to swallow the sun god Ra at the end of the day. Fortunately, Ra didn’t taste good, and Apophis would spit him out so that the sun might rise anew.
aspis: Very dangerous European pseudo-dragon, whose bite and touch are said to be fatal. It is susceptible to the entrancing force of music, so much so that aspises are known to stick their tail in one ear and place the other to the ground. This contorted posture allows their victims to escape with relative ease. If you find a dead aspis, do not touch; even in death, they can be lethal.
sBaba Yaga: Supernatural character from Russian folklore who is everything from a witch to a wise Crone, depending on her mood and who you talk to. She was known to consort with Dragons, especially Koschei, the Deathless One.
beithirs: A thick-tailed, wingless pseudo-dragon found in the Scottish Highlands. They are very dangerous and should be approached with extreme caution (or left alone).
Cadmus: Greek dragon slayer, Dragons-teeth sower, and founder of Thebes. The Dragon Cadmus slew was sacred to Ares, which ticked the god of war off no end. After years of servitude and torment, in an act of truly karmic proportions, Cadmus, believing the gods favored Dragons over people, chose to end his life as a Dragon.
Campacti: Cosmic Dragon of Mexico from whose body the Earth was made.
cenotes: Water-filled sinkholes found in the Yucatan and environs. They were often sacred to the indigenous peoples of the area and treasured as bathing/watering spots for local Feathered Dragons.
charming: The act of burnishing horns. A common grooming ritual for Dragons and Unicorns.
Cintamani: The divine wish-granting pearl from the Hindu and Buddhist traditions of Asia. It is thought by some to be the pearl sported by Asian Dragons and is equated to the alchemist’s Philosopher’s Stone.
cornicles: Small horns found on a Dragon’s blaze. Unlike a Dragon’s large horns, cornicles are believed to be largely ornamental. Not that they can’t inflict injury—any Dragon horn can—but that’s not their primary function. (To the best of our knowledge.)
crepuscular: Active at dawn and dusk, like most Dragons.
crypto sciences: Crypto = hidden or secret. The crypto sciences are studies of all things not readily apparent to the casual observer. Some people believe the subject creatures are complete fabrications; the crypto scientist believes they are simply hidden. When it comes to Dragons, pertinent branches of the crypto sciences include:
Crypto-anthropology: The study of the impact fabulous creatures have on human culture. Some cryptoanthropologists are tipping the field on its head and looking at the social structure within a particular clan of creature. This is particularly germane to Dragons given the tight-knit nature of their society.
Cryptoherpetology: aka Secret Serpent Science, Remarkable Reptile Research, and Dragon Studies. The field for serious dracophiles. Cryptoherpetology also covers such non-dragons as the cockatrice, chimera, and a wide variety of water beings who fall in that gray area between fish and reptile.
Cryptogerontology: The study of aging in Dragons.
Cryptomythology: The study of sifting through what is real and what is myth in human lore, oral history, and ancient epic.
Cryptopaleontology: Fossil science as it relates to the exploration of the world of hidden beings. When it comes to Dragons, the lack of fossil record has frustrated cryptopaleontologists greatly.
Cryptoveterinary: The medical branch of the crypto sciences. Crypto vets look at diseases and treatments for mundane ailments which may cross over to the mystical as well as those specific to our friends in the crypto kingdom. Dragons, being by and large hale and hardy, tend to have little use for cryptoveterinary aid.
Cryptozoology: The umbrella field of study for all creatures strange and unusual, from abadas to zlatorogs. And, naturally, Dragons.
Dark Times: A particularly rough period in Western Dragon history when our friends were under attack on all sides. It lasted roughly from the rise of Western monotheism until the Late Middle Ages (c. 1500 ce). The Dark Times were not humanity at its best.
diggers: A class of pseudo-dragons who, as their name suggests, burrow beneath the ground. They were often tracked and hunted for their ability to find rich mineral deposits treasured more by us than them.
dracophile: A Dragon lover. Like you.
Dragon Conservancy Program: Modern movement dedicated to preserving Dragons and Dragon habitat for the present and future. The Dragon Conservancy is behind the
Adopt-A-Dragon initiative, among other efforts. http://
mackenziesdragonsnest.com/dragonconservancy.html
Dragon lay-by: A Dragon-friendly patch of land established for the rest and recreation of itinerant Dragons.
Dragon sanctuaries: Internationally recognized safe havens surrounding every known wild weyr in the world. Dragon Sanctuaries are essential for keeping wild Dragons safe and sound.
dragon slayers: Their numbers are, woefully, legion. Some were canonized: George, Margaret, Michael, etc. Some were given hero’s laurels and royal crowns: Gilgamesh, Rustam, Hercules. For our purposes, the less said about them, the better.
Dragon Studies: See Cryptoherpetology.
drakes/draks/drachs: Heavy set, wingless pseudo-dragons. In the past, drakes were frequently beset by dragon slayers and their deaths counted in the anti-Dragon tally.
Druids: Ancient sages and mystics of Europe. The Druids were instrumental in keeping Dragons in the world.
Edda (Poetic and Prose): Icelandic masterpieces from the thirteenth century ce and attributed to Snorri Sturluson. They speak at length of the Twilight of the Gods and the role the Miðgard Dragon plays therein.
enchantment: The basic draconic family unit or clan. A modern enchantment includes from 10–15 individuals.
endo-, ecto-, and kleptothermic: Terms referring to how organisms regulate their temperature. Endotherms are warm-blooded, ectotherms are cold-blooded, and kleptotherms borrow (steal?) heat from others. Dragons are all of these things and more. See gigantotherm.
Epirotes: Maternal Dragon Apollo placed in charge of rearing Python’s children at what was, essentially, the first Dragon sanctuary of record.
Eurynome: Primal Mother of ancient Pelasgian cosmology. She created—then married—the great Dragon, Ophion, and from their union created all things in the universe.
flying ointment: A medicinal concoction for Dragons who are having a little trouble getting aloft. It can be very unstable and must be handled with the greatest care.
Fu-Ts’ang: Dragon of Hidden Treasures. The epitome of the hoarding Dragon, Fu Ts’ang protects and rules all ores and precious stones under the Earth.
Gandareva: Cosmic Dragon from Sumer who stretched from the ocean floor to the starry firmament. For all his ferocious ways, Gandareva kept an even more dangerous Dragon in check. Unfortunately, he was slain by Keresaspa and the second Dragon was free to destroy the universe.
gargoyles: Tenacious pseudo-dragons from France. They were used by aristocrats and vintners as watchdragons with mixed—and messy—results and were all but eradicated during the Reign of Terror (1793–94).
gigantotherm: Any creature, like the largest dinosaurs and, of course, Dragons, massive enough to maintain a constant, active, body temperature even though they are not strictly speaking warm-blooded.
Gilgamesh: Babylonian hero-king and dragon slayer who merited a tale of his own, The Epic of Gilgamesh. Among his string of “heroic” deeds, he killed a Dragon guarding a tree sacred to the goddess Inanna.
Gondwana: Vast supercontinent which broke into Africa and South America (c. 130 million years ago), resulting in the transatlantic spread of Feathered Dragons.
gowrow: New World pseudo-dragon found in the Ozarks and surrounding wilderness. Their habitat has been seriously threatened by recent human sprawl in Arkansas and Missouri.
guivre: Lake dragon from France. Seldom seen today, though quite numerous during the Middle Ages, guivres are frequently confused with amphipteres.
house dragons: A class of small pseudo-dragons who, if treated well, will protect your home, guard your valuables—especially children—and even increase your wealth. The latter can be at your neighbors’ expense, which can lead to unanticipated incivility and local feuds. Common house dragons include Scandinavian husorme; Welsh fferm gwybers; the pisuhänds, smij, naui, and aitvaras of Eastern Europe; the gnar (house), mandir (temple), and dhuan (smoke) nagas of India—not to be confused with the less-sociable jungle nagas; and the tangaroas of the Pacific Islands.
hydra: A multi-headed water pseudo-dragon indigenous to Mediterranean lands. The most famous hydra is the Lernaean Hydra, offspring of Echidna and victim of Hercules’s labors.
iaculus: A tree-skimmer pseudo-dragon from Africa. They are protectors of tombs and mediators between the living and dead. Known as the javelin snake, they will hurl themselves at anyone trespassing on their territory.
Keresaspa: Quasi-divine dragon-slaying hero from Sumer. See Gandareva.
Kids For Dragons (KFD): An offshoot of the Adopt-A-Dragon initiative geared at budding dracophiles (sixth grade and up). By working in conjunction with schools around the world, KFD brings kids and young Dragons together and offers wonderful opportunities for field trips.
Koschei: Mean-spirited Dragon cohort of Baba Yaga. He was known as the Deathless One because his soul was separated from his body and hidden far, far away. Only by uniting body and soul could a hero hope to slay him.
Kurgan civilizations: Ancient peoples who moved from Central Asia into Europe bringing their Dragons with them.
Ladon: Wise Dragon of ancient Greece. The son of Echidna, Ladon lived in the garden of the Hesperides where he guarded Hera’s golden apples. He spoke fluent Greek and was very content until, fulfilling his eleventh labor, Hercules killed him and stole the apples.
lake dragons: A vast class of pseudo-dragons found around the globe. They come in all shapes, temperaments, and sizes. Champ in Vermont, Ogopogo in British Columbia, and the Misiganabic of Quebec are examples of notorious lake dragons.
ley lines: aka Dragon Currents or e[nergy]-lines. The electromagnetic grid which crisscrosses the planet. Dragons are very sensitive to ley lines and will take up residence on or near a ley line nexus whenever possible.
Marduk: God of Ancient Babylon and slayer of the Cosmic Dragon, Tiamat.
marsh draks: Pseudo-dragons known for their outsized appetites and carelessness with fire. Unrestrained marsh draks have driven numerous wetland species to the brink of extinction, as well as setting peat bogs on a slow burn.
Mawu: Androgynous Creator of the Fon universe. A very Dragon-friendly individual. See Aido Hwedo.
megafauna: The huge land creatures of post-dinosaur Earth, including mammoths, indricotheres, giant sloths, cave bears, and Dragons. Today megafauna are few and far between and include elephants, rhinoceros, and, of course, Dragons.
Miðgard: The middle realm—the Earth—of the Norse cosmos.
Miðgarðsormr: Cosmic Dragon of the Norse people. The unruly son of Loki, as a Dragonlet, Miðgarðsormr was hurled into the ocean that surrounds the Earth. With the Twilight of the Gods, he hauls himself up onto the Earth and partakes in its destruction until slain by Thor.
monitors: Family of large lizards including Komodo dragons and the fast, whippy-tailed Perenties of the Australian outback.
Muchalinda/Mucalinda: Benevolent naga who sheltered Gautama beneath his hood as a torrential storm raged about them.
Nazca lines: Mysterious geoglyphs in Peru’s Nazca Desert. Local Dragons are known to use them as guides for their flying workouts.
Niðhögger: Cosmic Dragon of the Norse who is wrapped round Yggdrasil, the World Tree, constantly nibbling away at its roots, working towards the destruction of the world.
Ophion: Cosmic Dragon created by Eurynome. A bit of a braggart, a trait which, ultimately, led to his downfall.
Otherworld: Celtic realm of the dead, the faërie (sidhe), and other deities and spirits. It is believed the sidhe welcomed beleaguered Dragons into the Otherworld to weather the worst of the Dark Times.
ouroboros: Pseudo-dragon frequently depicted holding his tail in his mouth. The ouroboros is symbolic of the eternal circle of life.
pax loci: “Peace of the Place.” The rule that governs all Dragon lay-bys and guarantees a civil stay for all who drop by.
peiste: A large water pseudo-dragon from Ireland. Though it was suggested that St. Patrick drove them out of the Emerald Isle, recent sightings suggest otherwise.
Permian and Cretaceous Extinctions: The most devastating extinction-level events the planet has experienced. Occuring 250 million years ago, the Permian Extinction wiped out 90 percent of all marine life and 70 percent of all land vertebrates. The Cretaceous Extinction of 65.5 million years ago saw the end of almost 80 percent of all species. Dragons (proto-Dragons) managed to survive both.
piernas cuelebre: A rare eight-legged pseudo-dragon indigenous to the Pyrenees Mountains.
Popol Vuh: The sacred book of Maya cosmology. It speaks extensively of the various Feathered Dragons—Sovereign Plumed Serpent, Vision Serpent, et al.—central to the Mayan faith.
pre-Raphaelites: Nineteenth-century school of artists, writers, and aesthetes. Their dedication to Renaissance ideals and their interest in ancient Celtic and Arthurian legends helped revive the interest in the Druids and, consequently, in Dragons. The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood included Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Millais, Edward Burne-Jones, and William Morris.
proto-Dragons: The very first hardly-recognizable-as-Dragons Dragons who walked the earth, swam the seas, and filled the skies at the start of draconic evolution.
pseudo-dragons: A broad class of creatures who, in the popular imagination, are frequently lumped together with True Dragons but who are distant relatives at best. The ranks of pseudo-dragons include wyverns, nagas, house dragons, wyrms, and drakes, to name but a very few.
pterosaur: “Winged lizards.” Flying reptiles who filled the skies from the late Triassic to the late Cretaceous periods (220–65 million years ago). Due to their leathery wings, it was erroneously believed for many years that pterosaurs were the direct ancestors of Dragons. Though they were contemporaneous with early Dragons they are most definitely not related.
pyronic sacs: Fire sacs. Anatomical structure essential to the production of Dragonfire. Pyronic sacs are vestigial at birth and only develop fully as a Dragon enters her second year.
Python: The prophetic Dragon of Delphi. Apollo slew her and buried her beneath the Delphic temple that her oracular powers might transfer to the women who served in her stead. In her honor, the Delphic oracles were called the Pythia.
Queen: A breeding female Dragon.
Quetzalcoatl: The Cosmic Feathered Serpent (Dragon) of Mesoamerica.
Ragnarök: The End of Days in Norse mythology. It is the time when the destroyer Dragons Miðgarðsormr and Niðhögger break their bonds and wreak havoc upon the worlds of men and gods.
Rahab: An Old Testament Dragon mentioned in Psalms. He was bested by Yahweh.
Rainbow Serpents: Cosmic Dragons who travel the Dreamtime and serve as right hands to the Creators. Aido Hwedo, Minia, and Degei are but a few Rainbow Serpents who have helped shape the world. In Australia, the Rainbow Serpent is one of the most powerful totemic figures of the Aboriginal peoples.
Remembrance of Names: Solemn event in the life of every True Dragon when they, quite literally, remember their name. This usually happens in a Dragon’s third year, though some youngsters are more precocious than others. For Dragon keepers and their Dragons, it is a time of great celebration.
ropen: Small, bipedal pseudo-dragon from the rain forests of Papua New Guinea. The ropen can be easily mistaken for a large fruit bat but is actually one of the last descendants of ancient pterosaur/proto-Dragon hybrids from the Triassic Period.
Rustam: Hero and dragon slayer from ancient Zabulistan.
ryu-jin: Generic water dragon spirits in Japan. They’re very important to the island nation, which depends so extensively on water for health and livelihood.
Ryu-jin: The Dragon King who lives in the sea off the coast of Japan. His daughter fell for a human and their descendants became the imperial line of Japan.
Saints Petroc and Carantoc: A brace of medieval Welsh saints who, when challenged to remove pesky Dragons, were wise enough to approach the tasks with words and faith rather than swords. Their approach may be indicative of the long-standing Welsh affinity for Dragons.
Shen Lung: The spiritual Dragon who rules the rains of China. The Emperor alone could display his likeness.
Sire: A breeding male Dragon.
Sovereign Plumed Serpent: aka Gucumatz. The Cosmic Feathered Dragon of Maya cosmology (see Popol Vuh). Gucumatz joined with Heart of Sky and brought the world into being. It took them several tries, but eventually they got it right. With creative duties behind him, Gucumatz transformed. See Vision Serpent.
Tanakh: The Hebrew Canon.
Tiamat: Cosmic Dragon of the ancient Near East. Tiamat was Chaos personified. Her downfall led to the Creation of the World and the dawn of civilization.
Trans-Atlantic Transmigration: An exodus of a passel of adventurous European Dragons who were fed up with the rampant anti-Dragon sentiments coursing through Britain and the Continent in the Dark Ages. Shortly after the Saxon invasion of the British Isles, they heeded the call to “Go west, young Dragons!” and crossed the Atlantic. In the New World they made their way among the enchantments of North America.
tree-skimmers: An arboreal class of pseudo-dragons who soar and glide through the jungles, real and concrete. In the wake of lost forest habitat, some have adapted to the glass-and-steel of metropolitan areas. They can be found by observant dracophiles hanging out on skyscraper ledges and in the company of cathedral gargoyles.
True Dragons: The three species of big-D Dragons: Western or European Dragons, Eastern or Asian Dragons, and Feathered or Southern Dragons. All others are pseudo-dragons. Accept no substitutions.
Tyr druics: Cornish earth dragons—diggers—who can be found in abandoned tin mines and sauntering across Bodmin Moor beneath the full moon.
Vision Serpent: A transformation of Sovereign Plumed Serpent, he is the Cosmic Feathered Dragon who perches atop the Mesoamerican foliate World Tree. He brought civilization to the people and was invoked as a war god when necessary.
Vritra: Three-headed Vedic Chaos Dragon. Vritra drank the waters of the world dry, only disgorging them when defeated by Indra and his thunderbolt.
weyr: A Dragon community. In the old days, a weyr could easily accommodate five to seven enchantments. Unfortunately, everything is down-sized today: modern weyrs are two to three enchantments large at most.
Weyrsickness: aka Dragon Despondence. An ailment of the spirit which can afflict Dragonlets just out of the egg, especially those who are orphaned or abandoned. The best course of treatment is time, affection, and liberal doses of Weyrsickness Remedy.
World Association for Dragons Everywhere (WAFDE): A global organization whose sole purpose is to preserve and protect the world’s Dragons. WAFDE serves as a resource center for Dragon keepers and dracophiles, is charged with inspecting and licensing Dragon lay-bys, and works with various mundane conservation organizations to put an end to poaching of Dragons and the more familiar creatures integral to their ecosystems. http://mackenziesdragonsnest.com/WAFDE.html
wyrms: Massive, legless pseudo-dragons frequently found in underground caverns, wells, and old mines.
wyverns: One of the most recognizable of the pseudo-dragons, the wyvern has wings but only hind legs. Much smaller that True Dragons, wyverns frequently bore the brunt of Dragon-hunting zeal and were mistaken for True Dragons by artists no less than Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Paolo Uccello.
Yggdrasil: The World Tree in Norse cosmology. The Dragon Niðhögger is coiled around its roots, noshing away as the spirit moves him, until such time as he gnaws them through, heralding the Twilight of the Gods and the world’s end.
Zu: Cosmic Dragon from ancient Mesopotamia. Zu was the consort of Tiamat and sire of her wild, unruly brood.