Mikhail propped his legs up on his desks as he cracked open the book Grand Elder Maya had given him. He had woken up and gotten ready for the day not too long ago.
The training the previous day had proven too arduous. He had passed out after one duel among many and then magically found himself back in his tent.
And his ripped up clothes had been mended, likely the work of Atticus. It had stirred a warm feeling in his heart for a moment when he realized that fact, but his morning routine washed that feeling and those thoughts away.
Now, however, he had nothing to do and no knowledge of where his friends lived.
So he decided to be a little productive with his time, learning about the feared and revered dragons.
The light of dawn had yet to pour through the fabric of his tent, yet his eyes could see perfectly fine in the dark. Only, there were no colors. The colors of the world around him were gone and left things black and white, like the old TV Mikhail's grandma used to watch.
But everything was as sharp as ever, allowing Mikhail to read the pitch-black words against the gray pages.
It wasn't until Mikhail got a quarter of the way done with the thick tome that the light of dawn began pouring into his tent. He would have to leave for the Muscle Refinement Hall soon.
But, now that there was light, bringing the world of color back into Mikhail's vision, he began to fancy the idea of perusing through the paintings at the back of the book.
He looked upon the Espigagante again, and the Atheris, before flipping the page and beholding the form of the third listed species of dragon.
[The Wendigo]
[These dragons tend to have extreme personalities, and are extremely territorial in nature.].
Mikhail had to do a double take after he had turned the page…
Because this thing looked nothing like a dragon.
It looked like an extremely lanky humanoid creature, with strange beastial legs; or legs that bent backwards at the ankle before coming down to three threatening claws. Which is to say, that Wendigos walked on their toes.
The creature depicted had rough, dark gray scales covering its body, with a large mane around its neck. A spiky one at that, like that of a porcupine. And similar spines could be seen along its wrist. Its hands were eerily human-like as well, but with fingers that ended in a sharp claw rather than a nail.
As Mikhail continued to scan the painting, he noticed how its spine also had more pronounced spikes on them that continued downwards and along its thin tail. And how leathery wings seemed to hang from its back as well.
And its face… Its face was strange. Like its gray skin was hugging every contour of its deer-like skull. And on either side of its head, rather than ears, two antlers with multicolored cracks flowing through them could be seen.
It was hunched over and letting its arms dangle downwards, its body at a three-fourths angle while its head almost seemed to snap towards the painter's direction.
Underneath that haunting image was the description of it.
[Sufrido the Slovenly, circa 5,500. A gentle natured dragon that is as kind as it is ancient. Said to be as old as the world itself. Original painting done by Sakahla the Speedy.]
And on the next page over, Mikhail saw a more familiar looking beast.
[The Wyvern]
[These are avian dragons, ones that spend the majority of their time in the skies. Only ever stopping to feed or study things that interest them.]
The beast stood on two reptilian legs bursting with muscle, with fierce looking ivory claws. And its body was raised up, looking as if the beast was letting out a fierce cry. Its large open maw lined with viciously sharp teeth supported that idea.
And rather than another set of legs, Mikhail saw a set of wings.
The beast was mostly gray, with streaks of white going through its wings and multicolored cracks along its two horns.
[Tatang the Thief, circa 5,500. A crafty dragon that greatly enjoyed relieving the Pneuma of their riches. Original painting done by Shagar the Shepherd.]
Flipping the page over, Mikhail saw another familiar entity.
[The Leviathan]
[Dragons that hail from the sea. Truly awe-inspiring in scale and power. They tend to remain in the great Jabal Sea, but do occasionally migrate to progress on their path to power.]
A large serpentine beast was depicted this time, its scales mostly azure but with black and white streaks.
Rather than horns, this dragon had a great many fins around its head, with a long one going down its spine. The end of its tail also seemed to end in an ivory spear-head, with several spines coming off the sides.
The entire beast was depicted as being coiled on itself, its mouth open in what looked reminiscent of a grin, a threatening one considering it shared the same sharp teeth of its relatives.
[Anguila the Auspicious circa 6,500. A noble dragon that often meddled in Pneuma affairs, often to the chagrin of the Demon Clan. Original painting done by Jabal the Jubilant.]
'An auspicious dragon, huh?' Mikhail thought as he looked over to the next page.
Yet what he saw made him look at the book with a incredulous expression
[The Chameleon]
[Dragons that have forsaken their natural flight. In turn, they are the best elementalists. Their attunement to the elements gives them the uncanny ability to change colors at will.]
The beast depicted had three horns coming out of its face, pointing forward. It was laid down, and its body was covered in different bands of colors at random, looking rather psychedelic.
Its hand looked kind of like a Y, with three claws on the two offshoots.
And its tail had a similar spear-head structure to the one that Anguila had on the end of its tail.
[Jackson the Jaded circa 5,500. A cynical dragon who saw the world in a grim light. Original painting done by Shagar the Shepherd.]
He then turned to the last page of section thirty.
[The Drake]
[Dragons that have forsaken their natural flight, like the Chameleons. Unlike the Chameleons though, they are the best Martial Artists. Masters of the body who can perform feats of strength far beyond their level.]
This dragon had a variety of different scales, all of them a pristine white. It had long horizontal scales that covered the front of its legs, and long vertical scales that covered the sides of its abdomen and the bottom of its neck.
The most noteworthy aspects of this dragon were the spiked scales along its back and tail, and the six horns on its head. There were two large horns at the top of its head, two small ones a little behind its eyes, and two medium ones at the edge of its jaw.
Small, sort of round scales took up the spaces that went without mention.
Its eyes were gold, and it had vertical pupils, just like the rest of them.
And, like the chameleon, the painting depicted it lazily lying down.
[Longwei the Lethargic circa 5,700. A lazy dragon who reached the pinnacle of strength before growing content and living the rest of its long life in peace. Original painting done by Zhala the Zealous.]
Mikhail closed the book, and then stretched.
Judging by the intensity of the light, it was nearly the usual time he left for one of Grand Elder Maya's lectures…
'I might as well go now…' he thought to himself as he set the book down.