#dragon hierarchy

[lucica-stuff]

Dragon Hierarchy

So, the last few weeks I've been pretty sucked in by the HTTYD fandom. I've always been a fan, but this time it's gotten really bad 😅.

And rewatching the movies/shows, reading the many fanfics on ao3 and writing my own stuff for it (that I'm probably never gonna post), made me think of something. How are dragon hierarchies structured?

Since there doesn't seem to be much information canon-wise about it, I've made up my own headcanons. And I'm interested in further discussions.

1. King

Or as we know it, The Alpha. The highest position in the dragons' hierarchy. We know that the Bewilderbeast is the 'The King of Dragons'. According to fandom.wiki, the dragons under his care are called 'Primals'. Every dragon, including Queens, falls under his jurisdiction.

They are described as providers, protectors and, as we know, possess the unique abilty to manipulate other dragons' minds, which is why they naturally become alphas in the hierarchy (keep in mind that this doesn't need to be the case e.g. Toothless). The position can only be earned through challange, but due to the Bewilderbeasts behavior and personality traits, such challanges are not likely to happen. A dragon can only become King/Alpha if they have won the challange against a Bewilderbeast, although they don't get the species-specific abilities.

Furthermore, since Bewilderbeasts are actually described as a rather reclusive type of dragon, they don't take much part in their nest's daily life. Exception to this could include: providing food/shelter and settling disputes. But otherwise, they don't do much.

2. Queen

They rule over a nest of dragons. Like the King, their job is to protect the dragons within their nest, but in comparision to the King their main job is to nurture. Their job is to take care of the nest's inhabitants. I would like to call them 'Life Givers', so you can better picture what I'm trying to get at.

The Queen of a nest is usually the strongest and most nurturing dragon, who has proven that they are able to provide the best (e.g. the Fireworm Queen). They are either appointed or become the Queens by nature. Queens are usually female because of their natural instincs to nurture their nest and take on the role of 'Mother to All', but a male dragon can also become Queen if they have proven themselves (this does not mean that they are a King).

I would like to point out that the Red Death is an exception of this, not the rule. I believe that the Red Death (as a species) has similiar abilities to the Bewilderbeast or the Death Song, but in contrast to the Bewilderbeast, they don't have the ability to manipulate/command other dragons. The Red Death from httyd1, used fear to abuse her abilities and position as Queen to get the dragons within her nest to do her bidding.

3. Nest

Which is ruled either by a King or a Queen, consists of a flock (or many flocks) of dragons. These nests are made up of different dragon species, where either a pack/herd of dragons join or a solitary dragon joins for survival benefits.

Nests may be formed for the benefit of many different species.

4. Herds/Packs

Some dragons are not suited for solitary life, which is why they form packs or herds. It's for survival as well as socialazing.

Packs or herds may appoint a dragon as their leader, but it's not required. Furthermore, they may also decide to join a nest to gain benefits.

5. Solitary Dragons

Some examples to which dragon species form packs or herds.

Herds: Thunderdrums, Smothering Smokebreaths, Terrible Terrors, Gronkles, Razorwhips

Packs: Changewings, Night Terrors, Dramillions, Speed Stingers

As we know - mostly from the shows/series - that some dragons far more enjoy a more solitary kind of life.

However, they may decide to join a nest or form a flock with other dragons. A good example for this is the Monstrous Nightmare or the Hideous Zippleback, which we have seen either lives solitarily or joins other dragons for survival advantages. This depends on how social their species is.

Boneknapper Dragon/Armorwing

Typhoomerang

Death Song

Skrill

Cavern Crasher

Thank you for reading! ❤️