Eodai

Eodai are elegant creatures. They're around the size of a large draft horse and have the build of a deer; they're not exactly dragons in the traditional sense and, actually, it is argued amongst the scientific community that they are not dragons at all. The wardens, the class that eodai are connected with, will argue differently.

Eodai look remarkably like deer. They have long, thin legs that end in small, black feet. These feet look like hooves, but they aren't; they are actually very specialized feet and eodai walk on their tip-toes. They have sharp claws on the ends of their toes and a poison barb just behind them. Also, eodai have a small, deer-like head at the end of a thick, long neck. Their heads are shaped like a wedge and they have very long tongues to get the nectar out of flowers. Eodai are herbivores and enjoy eating fruits and evergreen trees' leaves.

Eodai have very small, hexagon-shaped scales that are very smooth and lack a lot of luster. Eodai usually come in very, very bright colors and tie-dye patterns, but their scales can change to any color that the dragon wishes. Most eodai keep their scales green or brown, but it depends on the individual eodai as to what color they keep their scales. If they have a pattern on their original scale color(s), this pattern will always be present, even when the dragon changes colors. The true bright colors of the eodai are to attract mates. The most complex and colorful the eodai, the more likely they are to find a mate.

Eodai have a mane of very thin ribbons of scales around their necks; from afar this mane looks to be made of hair, but up close one can tell that is constructed of razor-sharp scales banded together to look like hair. Touching a strand of these scales will almost certainly break the skin and likely cause bleeding. Manes grow thicker and longer as the dragon ages and the very oldest eodai have manes dragging the ground below them. In Evercrest, these manes are usually kept groomed by the wardens as to not become unruly and tangled.

Eodai also have antlers. Like a deer, these antlers grow more points in them as the animal grows older, but all eodai-- regardless of gender-- have these antlers. Eodai do not lose their antlers yearly and often use their natural magic to actually turn their antlers into woody vines or small trees. The oldest eodai are known to have antlers the size of real trees and whole ecosystems on their head-- this amount of weight is only able to rest atop eodai's heads because of magic.

Eodai's tails are usually the same length of their bodies and have scale hair (like their manes) tufts at the ends. These tails also occasionally have spikes on them and some can have the scale hair down the entire bottom of the tail. Their tails are thin and pretty much weightless; the dragons often keep them twirling behind them like a sauropod's tail.

Eodai do not have wings, which is the main problem within the community with their classification as dragons. For Evercrest's incoming classes, eodai are rounded up weeks prior to the exams around Evercrest so wardens calling their dragons don't have to wait days for their dragon to come to them.

Eodai are regarded as sacred beings by the drow tribes of Alluum and, since eodai live a very long time, many eodai are considered gods. Eodai are solitary creatures and they often protect drow tribes. They are very quiet and are often not seen, generally laying on the forest floor and not being seen. Mature eodai hibernate for years until they need to wake and eat again; younger eodai have to eat once every month or so to sustain themselves. Across Alluum, eodai are regarded as forest guardians and are often viewed as the wisest of all dragons.

Eodai saddles are similar to saddles you would put on a horse. They are usually natural colors, green or brown, unless both the Eodai and the warden decide on something different. The differences between a horse saddle and an Eodai saddle, however, is that the front of the saddle is larger to protect wardens from the Eodai's mane. They are also placed further back on an Eodai than a horse.