Encyclopedia of Lesser Known Magical Creatures- Entry 1

Encyclopedia of Lesser Known Magical Creatures

Entry 1- The Spider Breathing Dragon

By- The Fort Knight

The spider breathing dragon has remained a mystery to most the general public for its unusual habits and living arrangements. Like most dragons, they are very solitary creatures (yes, not all dragons live on their own). However, they do not seek riches or fly through the air looking for prime real estate to snatch up. They primarily live in dark, wooded areas and burrow down in what I have come to call a dragon pit due to the fact that it is a pit that a dragon lives in.

What makes the spider breathing dragon such an elusive creature, is the fact that the giant spiders it produces create a nest around the dragon pit. The common traveler would assume that there were only giant spiders in the area and would either run for his life or proceed to be ensnared in their webbing. Unless, of course, he was the Fort Knight (me), in which case he would embrace the challenge and live to tell the tale. After the spiders have captured their prey, they drain it of its blood and become blood drunk for a night. Aside from dancing and playing loud music, the spiders also become abnormally reckless, seeking out more prey rather than waiting for the prey to find them. This is a trait only seen among dragon breath spiders (not to be confused with dragon spiders or spider dragons, both are completely different things, obviously). After their drunken hunt, whatever spiders have survived proceed to bring the carcasses of their victims to the dragon to feed him. Within the next moon, the dragon will breathe more spiders to repopulate the area. This counters any losses that may have occurred during the hunt.

The dragon's relationship with the spiders seems to influence its appearance. I had the rare privilege to see one up close after a forest fire which spontaneously happened and had nothing to do with me. Since the spiders had burned to death or evacuated the area out of sheer fear, I could get a closer look at the beast. Despite what lore may say, the spider breathing dragon does, in fact, have wings. Due to their lack of use, the wings are the size of a human's arm and look quite comical compared to its massive size (the largest spider breathing dragon ever recorded was forty-nine meters long and weighed nearly two thousand stone. This discovery is credited to the Fort Knight [me]). Since it never needs to leave its pit, the dragon becomes increasingly obese and slowly becomes indistinguishable from the mud and earth it inhabits.

Being so large and nearly immobile, the only defense the dragon has is its ability to breath spiders or spider eggs. On most occasions it will breath spiders that hatch within the sack located along the dragon's throat. This usually occurs when the dragon is in good health and has been fed on a normal basis. If it is not in the best of conditions (like it has been breathing in smoke from a forest fire for roughly two hours) it will instead breath spider eggs, once again from the egg sack near its throat. These are incredibly sticky and victims are often trapped in a pile of spider eggs unable to move. The eggs will hatch within two nights and the young spiders will eat their victim (unless of course the victim was the Fort Knight, in which case, he would survive).

The last mystery of the spider breathing dragon is how it breeds. It would seem that the ancient creature actually forms a larger egg within its egg sack after it reaches an optimal size (thirty meters long and about one thousand stone). The eggs take years to form and a spider dragon may only produce two eggs during its entire lifetime. After it has formed a full sized egg (one meter in diameter and weighing fifty stone) it will launch the egg out of its mouth through the air only at night. The eggs are often mistaken for falling stars since they crash down creating craters. This is the start of the dragon pit. Upon impact, the egg cracks, allowing the newly born dragon to begin its descent into the earth. It is believed the reason for sending the egg far from the original dragon pit is to not create an overlay in hunting grounds for either dragon's spiders. On my encounter, the beast attempted to release its egg before it died of natural causes (i.e. forest fire), however I managed to catch it in the air before it crash-landed and cracked open. The dragon egg and the bones of this fearsome creature are on display at The Fort Knight's Institute of Magical Research.

Important Facts-
Originally discovered by - The Fort Knight
Only know survivor of a Spider Breathing Dragon attack- The Fort Knight
Only known owner of a Spider Breathing Dragon egg- The Fort Knight