Theraxx

Description
The Theraxx are among one of the oldest races known to Theophia. They are a large bipedal race of dragons. They stand approximately 10 feet in height fully grown. They have 4 horns that grow behind their eyes and a small nose horn. As the male Theraxx grow older they develop small hornlets on their jaw line. They also have a row of bony spines that run along their back all the way to the end of the tail, which is tipped with a bony, arrowhead-shaped spike. Their entire body is covered in thick scales; they also have 3 different types of scales. On their head, hands, feet and at the joints they have varying sizes of plate scales, similar to a Crocodile's. On their neck, back, tail, and parts of their limbs, they have thick, leaf-shaped overlapping scales. These scales are the Therian's primary natural defense. They also have large overlapping plate scales that cover their entire underside, which are similar to the belly scales of snakes. They can come in a variety of different colours, such as dark greys and browns, crimson reds, forest greens, and burnt orange. They primarily eat meat but are able to eat some fruits and herbs.

Biology
The Theraxx life cycle starts in an egg; Therians can lay up to 3 eggs in a clutch and it takes 3 months after conception to lay the eggs. After 6 more months of incubation, the newborn Therian is born, fully developed, and capable of walking, seeing and eating. Although they are unable to fly or breathe fire as a hatchling, they must grow and learn such skills. As they grow older, their horns, spines, and wings will grow larger and stronger. It takes, on average, 25 to 30 cycles for a Theraxx to master flight and fire breathing. Once they reach 100 cycles they are deemed fully mature and have the right to find a mate. When a Theraxx does not have a mate they will have bright yellow markings on the ends of their wings and under their eyes. Once they have mated, the markings will quickly fade away leaving grey markings instead. Unlike other creatures, Therians do not grow weak as they age, but instead they will continue to slowly grow and become more strong with age. It is only when they reach their final cycle they will grow weak and slowly die.

The Theraxx possess incredible strength due to their natural rapid muscle growth. This also allows them to be fully capable of surviving on their own when they are born. Unlike other creatures, Therians have a dynamic metabolism; in their juvenile and adolescent years they have a high metabolic rate which allows them to grow and reach maturity faster in comparison to other species. When a Theraxx reaches maturity their metabolic rate will slow to about a quarter of its original speed, but when put into a angry or fearful state, their metabolisms will increase again. With this adaptation, adult Therians are able to consume less and therefore have more food for their young. Theraxx are also able to greatly slow their metabolism to less than ten percent than that of normal rate when they feel ill. This is meant to drastically cool their core body temperature which will usually stop or slow the illness or infection. Theraxx have wings which they use for flying, as well as hollow bones and a special third lung to assist in flight. The wings of a Therian are reinforced with massive muscles that allow powerful wing beats. They are also capable of hovering and gliding. Their wingspan will range from twenty-two to twenty-eight feet. Each wing has four digits: three "fingers" and a small '"thumb'", each tipped with a claw. The third lung is actually a modified stomach that holds a lighter-than-air gas byproduct created by the Therian's powerful stomach acid. The Theraxx are also able to "breathe" fire, this is done by creating an oxidizing fluid in modified venom glands in their lower jaw. The venom glands have large muscles surrounding them that can contract, sending the flammable liquid out from the back of its throat at high speed. This fluid ignites upon meeting oxygen. Therians will use fire as a last line of defence as the fluid is very biologically expensive to make. The Therian's fire breathe range is around ten to twenty feet, depending on the individual and how much fluid is used. The Theraxx are also effectively fireproof, with their thick bony scales and thick hide. Theraxx take little to no damage from fire, even their eyelid has a bony plate to shield their eyes from the flames. Therian scales not only make the species fire proof, but it also is a great natural defence, protecting a Theraxx from both the elements as well as any potential enemies. The scales of a Theraxx are very hard and rigid, effectively functioning as a natural suit of armor. The scales are also great insulators, as Therians live in a cooler climate and deal with harsh winters. All of the dorsal scales are connected to small muscles which allows them to raise their scales up to release heat and help them cool off if they become too hot. The one major downside to Therian scales is that it takes an extremely long time to regrow them if lost. Unlike lizards or snakes, they do not shed their skin and regrow new scales. Therians also have superb senses, including: full-colour vision capable of focusing in on targets very far away, a great sense of smell, and above average hearing. Their sense of touch and taste, on the other hand, are sub-par due to their thick hide, claws and lack of taste buds. Theraxx also have many natural weapons at their disposal, including teeth and claws. Therians have a mouth full of long, sharp teeth that are both thick and have a serrated edge. This is coupled with a powerful jaw that is able to apply over 900 pounds per square inch of pressure. Their fingers and toes are tipped with thick sharp claws and their tail is tipped with a twelve inch long edged bone spike in the shape of an arrowhead. The Therian's most powerful weapon, however, is both their mental capacity and natural ability to use magic. Having a large brain allows them to think very deeply and plan for any situation. It has taken the Theraxx many eons to reach this point in their development both physically and psychologically and they see themselves as the pinnacle in strength, power and wisdom.

History
Long before the Therian Era the Theraxx has been the dominant race in the northern regions of Theophia. Therians first lived in small family groups and fought amongst themselves for territory and food. As time when on they began building tools, then eventually structures. Each family group had their own form of language, but within these groups they never had real leadership. It was not until one Therian by the name Tharovend in one of the largest groups took the roll of their leader in the group, he was also the wisest of all the Therians at the time. Later he decided to go to the other groups near his and make friendly relations with them, he did so successfully and later invited them all to his group for the first inter-group meeting among the Therians. With the meeting, Tharovend convinced the other groups to speak his dialect and form an alliance. After several years of development between the multiple groups of Therians, Tharovend took the final step to creating a civilization. He proposed that under leadership and unity their race would be able to rule all of Theophia and bring harmony and advancement to their race. Once this proposition was made his disciples when out to gather all other Therians across the land and spread Tharovend's words of wisdom and that action brought all the Theraxx together to start the Therian Era.

Shortly after there unity, King Tharovend and all the other Therians banned together to build their capital city, Vanderrok. Vanderrok not only was the capital city it was also as a massive castle that lied at the base of the north eastern mountains. After 1000 cycles the castle quicly became crampped and over populated, so three other cities were constructed several miles away from the capital. The three cities Varlot, Nexteron and Grandrax also served as both fortresses to help protect the capital but also where great resource collection facility's with fresh water springs, minerals and plentiful food sources. Later on the cycle 4912, a new castle's construction began in the Crested Valley, but the construction was halted near completion due to an especially harsh chain of winters and it was left unfinished. The Theraxx lived harmoniously and was very prosperous for many millenia, until a sudden event would ruin everything that the Theraxx worked so hard to achieve.

On the 8587th year of the Therian Era, one of the greatest Therian mages, Arch Mage Drütok stumbled across Pure Dark Magic. When that happened him and all others in the room where transformed into the Doraxx, a cruel, corrupted and more powerful form of Theraxx. After the incident Drütok and the others fled the capital, the Therians best trackers where unable to find any trace of them. The remaining mages decided to destroy all notes on the magic Drütok and the others practiced before the incident and also proclaimed the room to be forbidden and was also barricaded for good measure. One month later Drütok and more Doraxx Attacked and captured the city of Grandax overnight. There was no Therian survivors, with the attack being so swift, the Theraxx had no idea what had happened till it was too late. The Doraxx quickly stormed Nexteron and also took it over, but there was a few survivors that were able to spread word of the Doraxx menace and allow the rest Kingdom to prepare. With the recent turn of events the Dark Era was born. One cycle later, the Doraxx did a multi pronged attack on both on Varlot and Vanderrok, with Drütok leading the assault on the capital. Verlot successfully defended the attack, but at a heavy cost, while Vanderrok fared much worse. Vanderrok was taken over in three days, the main keep falling last at the hand of Drütok. The last Therian in the capital to fall was King Sorgex, who fought valiantly against Drütok till the bitter end in hand to hand combat. Drütok then after killing King Sorgex took his crown and named himself King Drütok and claimed Theophia as his own. Little did King Drütok know, that the kings sons fled the capital and assisted Verlot and the eldest son was named there new king by birth rite. He decided to leave the main cities to the Doraxx and flee to the still incomplete Crystallak Castle. The remaining Therians finished Crystallak Castle but its surroundings were far to barren and hostile to support a growing and weakened population. It was then decided to be abandoned to later serve as a advanced magic research and military training headquarters. One cycle later the Therians then regained their strength and began construction of a new, larger and stronger castle in the west, the construction of New Vanderrock.