Society
Dragons are communal animals. They live in clutches of varying sizes led by a mating sire and consisting mainly of she-dragons. Dragon hierarchy is such that the sire leads, senior she-dragons follow, then young she-dragons, and finally three year olds, who are not yet ready to mate. The hatchlings are raised by the entire clutch; after a she-dragon lays her eggs and seals the cave her hatchlings are treated like all hatchlings. Only when a she-dragon is carrying her eggs is she fiercely protective of her brood.
When not hunting, mating, or on the move, dragons often sunbathe and even play in lakes. Dragon clutches roam the Continent, flying from the Catha Hills up to the Verseche Mountains. In late spring of every third year, called a dragon year, the dragons return to the land of their birth, the Desert, to lay their eggs.
If a dragon dies, then the clutch avoids the area not wanting to reside in a place filled with painful memories. This action signifies a deep intelligence and sensitivity between dragons, especially as dragons not living at the painful times could 'see' and 'remember' those events. Such behavior was witnessed after so many dragons died of Plague near Rivenrock; the next mating season the dragons found new caves between Skybowl and Feruche.
Read more about this topic: Dragons (Dragon Prince)
Famous quotes containing the word society:
“A society which allows an abominable event to burgeon from its dungheap and grow on its surface is like a man who lets a fly crawl unheeded across his face or saliva dribble unstemmed from his mouth—either epileptic or dead.”
—Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)
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“The caretaking has to be done. “Somebody’s got to be the mommy.” Individually, we underestimate this need, and as a society we make inadequate provision for it. Women take up the slack, making the need invisible as we step in to fill it.”
—Mary Catherine Bateson (20th century)