#dracones mundi

[barksbog]

Fire Drakes!!!

they are soft, floppy and weighted!!

these are based on my friends @draconesmundi project. the fire drake design was completely done by her for Dracones Mundi. please give it a look her dragons are so good!!!!

___

you can adopt them in my shop:

barks-bog.com

[draconesmundi]

Happy Dracones Monday! Pebbled Wyrm!

Happy Dracones Monday, today's dragon is the pebbled wyrm or cocodrille! I took some creative liberties with the pebbled wyrm by arranging the dragon's osteoderms into discrete 'pebble'-like units to create a bony armour for it. The mythology didn't have much information on colours so I went for a nice mud colour as these are said to live on river banks in folklore. They have a symbiotic relationship with plover birds, which clean parasites from their teeth, and they sometimes eat a little monster called a hydrus which can chest-burst out of them 'Alien' style!

If the pebbled wyrm existed it would be my favourite animal.

[saint-nevermore]

a chibi for my good friend @northwyrm ^_^

[ask-the-xerivelm-council]

Introduction!

This is mainly to move the Other-Realm Explanations book to Tumblr without clogging main but. still

Feel free to ask the Xerivelm Council anything, about either themselves, the others, the Council in general, or Xerivelm.

Character Files

post directory

Venenum & Amy are not Council Members.

In character intros below the cut

(The scene is what seems to be a pitch black void, though all of the characters can be seen near-perfectly.)

(Amber sighs, looking at their notes, then at the Readers.)

Amber: Well, this is a new thing.

Sidera: Mhm!

Dominus: why am I here again?

(Sidera looks at Dominus, smiling under their mask.)

Sidera: because this'll be fun, my dear!

(Dominus sighs.)

Dominus: don't call me 'dear'.

(Amber rolls their eyes.)

​​​​​​Amber: Moving on, we're here to explain to you all the Other-Realm. For those that don't know, which is most likely most of you since it's a new thing, the Other-Realm is a Multiverse beside the Draconic Multiverse. The Draconic Multiverse, or DM, is the home of the Pantheons, Salha, Abyss, and the Mystic characters you are most likely familiar with.

Sidera: Other-Realm is home to us TimeWalkers and RealmWalkers, or, well, it's where we're from. Same with other Origins. There's also a few unnamed species from there, and Avians. I'm not entirely sure why the Draconic Multiverse just has.... I think 4? Species.

(Venenum looks at a paper, before looking at Sidera, then at the Readers.)

Venenum: Yeah, you're correct. Dragons, Draconics, Humans, Ferivs or Feriv-decendants.

Sidera: Oh cool! But anyways, this isn't about the DM.

Sidera: Also I think we should introduce ourselves, since we aren't exactly well known.

Venenum: true.

Amber: I am Ambulare Inter Sidera, but you may call me Amber Sidera.

Sidera: (tone teasing) you still mad about my name being your last name, my dear?

(Amber just sighs in response, causing Sidera to chuckle, which sounds similar to a pigeon coo.)

Dominus: I'm Ultima Vagentum, call me Dominus Flammis.

​​​​​​Sidera: (tone cheerful), I'm Finem Omnia Saecula, but I normally go by Sidera Noctis! 

Mutari: I'm Mutari Mundi. You don't need to know my other name. (Mutari chuckles.)

[latin-phrases-showdown]

Phrases already submitted :

Ad astra abyssoque

Ad astra per aspera

Ad infinitum

Ad nauseam

Alea iacta est

Amicus curiae

Amor patrie nostra lex

Amor vincit omnia

Arbor mala, mala mala

Audio, video, disco

Aurora borealis

Caecilius est in horto

Carpe diem

Carpe noctem

Ceterum (autem) censeo Carthaginem esse delendam

Cogito, ergo sum

Cubitum eamus ?

Damnatio memoriae

De omnibus dubitantum

Disco Inferno

Dulcet et decorum est pro patria mori

E pluribus unum

Et al.

Et cetera

Et tu, Brute ?

Formatia trans sicere educatorum

Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit

Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres

Gaudeamus igitur

Habeas corpus

Hic sunt dracones

Homo homini lupus

In loco parentis

In sæcula sæculorum

Ipso facto

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet etc.

Magnum opus

Memento mori

Mens rea

Non, si male nunc, et olim sic erit

Omne ignotum pro magnifico est

Pax romana

Pulvis et umbra sumus

Que sera sera

Quid pro quo

Reductio ad absurdum

Semper fi(delis)

Serius est quam cogitas

Si quæris peninsulam amœnam circumspice

Si vis pacem, para bellum

Sic mundus (creatus est)

Sic parvis magna

Sic semper tyrannis

Sic transit gloria mundi

Sine qua none

Sus cum morbo ius ?

Tamquam Alter Idem

Ultima forsan

Ultima latet, ut observentur omnes.

Utere, non numera

Veni, vidi, vici

Veritas temporis filia

Vita brevis, ars longa

Vivamus, moriendum est

[mysticallty]

Until I finish the official lists

Have some of my most prominent characterz

Draconics

Salhans

Blaze Luminae - overworked god of Balance, and secondary god of Death. Leader of the Celestial Pantheon. She/they

Dawn Shadow - strict god of Death who has little control over her powers. Part of the Celestial Pantheon. She/her

Clara Ventus- blind god of Magic & secondary god of time. Very motherly, and bakes a lot. Part of the Celestial Pantheon. She/her

Nox Ventus- god of Redemption & Creation. Clara's younger sister & is a human-draconic hybrid. Celestial. She/her

The Fallen Elites

Vizerxa Mortem- god of Observation and Strategy. Leader of the Fallen Pantheon, and killed the previous leader (Light Song). Very secretive, but one of the most empathetic gods. She/they

Star Seer- Vizerxa's advisor, and god of Prophecy & the MindScape. Only is in the Fallen Pantheon because he follows whoever has the longest lifespan, and he is the oldest living deity, being the Grandson of the original Salhan god of Death & Destruction.

Amatus Maren- god of Weather , Life, and Loyalty. Sadistic & playful, is often called the Storm King due to his power. Fallen. He/him

Genesis Ventus- God of Hopelessness, Pain, and Vengeance. Has very poor eyesight. Very sarcastic and somewhat hostile, and has no understanding of morals. Fallen. She/they/it.

Snow Sky- God of Knowledge. Fun-loving and suprisingly chill for one of the main followers of Light Song. Fallen. She/her.

Videns Luminae-Mortem- secondary god of Chaos and the MindScape. The Guide of the Vengeful/basically controls Salha & Abyss's version of hell and tortures horrible people. Very playful and chaotic, and loves science and art. Has no understanding of morals. Is Vizerxa's younger sibling, and adopted by Blaze. She/her

Mendacium Deorum- god of Lies. A war general & mercenary who's known for being unkillable, since no one's figured out how they lost their mortal life. Neutral god. They/them

Verum Deorum- god of Peace & Truth. Mendacium's older sibling. Rather quiet and kind, though is cursed to be completely unable to lie, forcing them to say everything on their mind & their true thoughts. Neutral god, they/she.

Abyssmals

Evex Quili - god of Weather and Promises. Leader of the Abyssmal/Vixeran Pantheon, and the cause of the current severe drought & famines in Abyss.

Voru Ceveru- god of Life and Light, and Evex's main follower. Highly sadistic and egotistical.

Cobra Sequix - god of Victory and Courage. Energetic and pretty socialable. Has a habit of befriending people others are scared of. She/her

Viper Sequix- god of Death and Magic. Cobra's younger sibling, and very reclusive and shy, partially because of Voru. They/them

Origins

Ceriex Saecula- current ruler of Origins. Seems really regal and kind, but is very uncertain of themself unless stability is actively needed. Any pronouns.

Exeveru Saecula- Ceriex's nephew. Known across the M.M for being rather helpful and calm. He/him

Sidera Noctis- Exeveru's younger sibling. Chaotic, unpredictable, and highly sadistic. Pretty flirty, and tends to focus on beings they find pretty. They/them

Mutari Mundi- the Technology Spirit, who controls most of Other-Realm's internet. Very glitchy, thanks to Sidera. Any pronouns

Dominus Flammis- harsh and cold, and tends to be rather aggressive, especially if Sidera is involved.

Humans

Amaranth Adams- a normal human who's more or less dragged into chaos by others, but wants no part in it. Unable to feel fear, and is just done with life. She/her

Magnus Sentry- a magician, who's also one of Amaranth's good friends. Likes playing tricks on others, but is rather calm.

Pandora Siqrae- A sorcerer apprentice who is forced to work for Sidera. Hates their job, and is terrified of Sidera. Pretty socially awkward, and easily startled.

Spirits

Venenum Herba- a rather calm and uncaring(?) Spirit(human???) Who's almost completely unknown. She/her

Vizerivu- Ruler of essentially the equivalent of Hell. Pessimistic and quiet, avoiding most people. Can be rather snarky. they/them

Klerkure- ruler of essentially heaven. Rather optimistic, welcoming, friendly, and calm. she/they

Caul- the ruler of the in-between/neutral Afterlife. Is deaf. Really just doesn't care about anything anymore. Used to be one of the Sorcerers for the Ruling Gods. They/he

Major Gods

Zenza Vezexe- god of Order and Tragedy, ruler of the Megaversal Pantheon. The Dying God, and is pretty faded from being forgotten. Strict but kind, and generally very contradicting. they/them

Zelura Vezexe- Incarnation of Chaos and Karma. Zenza's first creation(?) and does anything it takes to make them suffer. She/they

Merivu Vezexe- Incarnation of Time and Death. Ruler of the Afterlife. Calm and curious, and doesn't quite understand mortals. They/them

Doomsday- The Incarnation of Destruction, but pretty chill. One of Zenza's best friends. They/them, responds to he/him too

Life- Incarnation of Life and Creation. One of Doomsday's closest friends, and always tired . Is rather kind, but tends to drift asleep during conversations from exhaustion.

Inxau- incarnation of Insanity and Madness. Zelura's main creation. Just a sadistic shit, honestly, and the ruler of the MindScape, sealed there by the rest of the Pantheon. Technically serves an important purpose. They/it.

Others

Z- God of the Archives, and head Historian. Can manipulate reality in the Archives, making it whatever they want. Z is incredibly unnerving to most people, even with their mask, inexplicably triggering an Uncanny Valley effect for anyone that interacts with them. They/them

[dragonfelling]

Some art for my friend NorthWyrm :)

Check out my Carrd on my pinned post for how you can support me

[draconesmundi]

Happy Dracones Monday! Firedrakes!

Happy Dracones Monday! This Monday we're looking at four dragon species at once, the firedrakes! Here they are, approximately to scale with eachother.

The glitterdrake is the smallest, the size of a large lizard or small cat. They live in laurel forests on Macaronesian Islands, in the Atlantic near Africa. Glitterdrakes aren't based on mythology; I put them on Macaronesia because I couldn't find Macaronesian dragon mythology but I am trying to put dragons EVERYWHERE on the map. Also, putting these dragons on an archipelago of islands means I can have a lot of island subspecies and colour morphs - glitterdrakes represent colourful fantasy dragons, so having them come in every colour (sapphire blue, ruby red, emerald green, royal purple, burning gold, shining silver etc.) was important to me.

The Welsh dragon is smaller than the other European firedrakes at 1.5 meters. They are no less fierce - there aren't any common firedrakes in Wales as a common firedrake cannot maintain a territory there for long. Originally I had the Welsh dragon as a subspecies of the common firedrake, but decided that this dragon had so much personality and folklore that it could get it's own chapter.

The common firedrake is found in Western Europe, 4m long. When designing these I noticed in a lot of heraldry dragons don't seem to have horns? Ears yes, but hornless? Also I noticed that dragons in heraldry tend to have the dorsal finlets from the back of the head to between their shoulders, but no further, which is something I have kept for all my firedrake species.

The viridian firedrake is the largest firedrake species, over 5m long. They are found in Eastern and Southern Europe, and in Russia. I based their appearance on old storybook illustrations to make them look very 'classic', which is why they have horns and cheek frills compared to the more heraldic and hornless common firedrake.

Rant about the term 'firedrake' under the cut! :)

In other creative works, these are called 'classic dragons', 'European dragons', 'true dragons' and 'Western dragons', but I am not a fan of these terms - 'true dragon' implies other dragons are untrue dragons, which is nonsense. 'Western dragon' or 'European dragon' is largely accurate (the 4 legged 2 winged dragon design is common in Europe and the West) but there are other Western and European dragons (wyrms and wyverns) and I find these terms confusing when other types of dragons are taken into account. Also, some Asian dragons also have 4 legs and 2 wings. 'Classic' dragons... serpentine and wyrmish dragons are more classic than 4 legged 2 winged firebreathers, etc.

I went with 'firedrake' as a term for these dragons because 'drake', 'drachen', 'ddraig', 'drac', 'drak' and 'dreki' are all words for dragons like this in European languages, and because firedrake is a word used in literature like some translations of Beowulf and, of course, Tolkien's Legendarium (firedrake comes from Old English fȳrdraca). I think it's a good word that easily conjures up fire breathing four legged, two winged dragons without making them more 'true' or 'classic' than other dragon types or tying them specifically to 'European' and 'Western' countries.

In Dracones Mundi I really try to get a huge diversity of dragons across to the readers. There are around 68 dragon species in this project, only 4 of which are firedrakes. I want to show readers there is more to dragon mythology than "here is a western dragon, they are evil and associated with fire, here is an eastern dragon, they are good and associated with water" - I want to dig deeper. I want people to know about azhdarha, about cuélebres, about coameh. So I'm shining the spotlight away from these firedrakes and trying to make them a small part of a much larger discussion. :)

[northwyrm]

hello! happy sts

what's the piece of draconis mundi's narrative you are the most proud of? (like the evolution of two characters' interactions or a particular character growth for example)

- @vsnotresponding

Hello! Happy Storyteller Saturday!

Dracones Mundi doesn't have a narrative, sorry, no characters or anything, just a book of dragon drawings and dragon 'facts' (things I made up like 'stoorwyrms are the largest species' and 'cockatrices eat naga' and 'viridian firedrakes are larger than common firedrakes'). Lots of lore but it's a Field Guide rather than a Story :)

[saint-nevermore]

Yo could I draw one of your wyverns having a yell with one of my wyverns as a nevverse/dracones mundi crossover? I just really dig your wyvern designs

yes 100%! go hog

[draconesmundi]

What species of dragons are found in Africa? What clades do they belong to?

ooo so I was wanting to do a Smaugust Post about this but I was unsure how, so I'll just reply to this question with 12 very rushed dragon doodles...

(edit; to be clear this is in my creative project Dracones Mundi, not 'real dragons' or a comprehensive list of mythology. Dragon designs inspired by mythology)

Click the 'keep reading' to learn more!

West African Rainbow Serpent (Dracovermidae: Afroserpens iris)

This dragon is specifically a 'west African rainbow serpent' to differentiate been this and the Australian rainbow serpent. The West African Rainbow Serpent is based on West African folklore (Vodun tradition among other things, deities such as Ayedo Wedo etc.) and the physical design is based on an art sculpture of Ayedo Wedo a friend sent me a picture of (black head, white neck collar) + some snakes I like (spots with dark rims) + rainbow gradient.

Grootslang (Dracovermidae: Afroserpens magnus)

A gigantic dragon with diamond eyes said to live in caves under South Africa - looking into South African caves to discover there are vast bodies of water in huge caves was an experience - the above design is a loose idea, the final Grootslang for the Dracones Mundi project may look different...

Elephant Eating Serpent (Dracovermidae: Afroserpens aethiopicus)

Based on bestiaries saying 'big serpents in Africa wrap elephants in their coils'.

Chicken Headed Serpent (Afroserpens gallocephallus)

I might merge this design with the existing cockatrice design (see further below), only time will tell...

Nile Serpent? (Dracovermidae: Dracovermis hydra)

Huge serpent found in the Nile, and in the Mediterranean. Inspiration for Apep/Apophis in Egypt, but also for the Hydra in Greece.

Congan Plated Dragon (Testudracidae: Stegosuchus monstrum)

Large dragon that lives in the Congo Basin - inspired by Mokele Mbembe, Emele Ntouka and Mblieu Mblieu Mblieu

Dinodrakes (Drakonidae: Dinodrako...? )

Silly dragon I put on Madagascar - not inspired by folklore, these are just funny dinosaur inspired dragons. Mr Razzledazzle and his beautiful big wife.

Green Wyvern (Megaviperidae: Megavipera virida)

Based on Europeans slapping a little green dragon on maps of Africa for 'Aethiopia', 'here be dragons'. Also this is Saint George's dragon, so in versions of the legend where the saint fights the dragon in Libya I decided to put the green wyvern in Libya. Green wyverns therefore have a wide distribution in Dracones Mundi as Saint George has fought the dragon throughout North Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

Kongomato (Megaviperidae: ?)

A swimming dragon that lives in Zambia - it can grab boats with it's powerful jaws, swim with it's powerful tail and has huge wings. I am not certain on this final design, working on it...

Cockatrice (Medaviperidae: Basilliskos gallimimus)

CHICKEN DRAGON. Very deadly. Found throughout the world, including Africa.

Jaculus (Megaviperidae: Pteraserpens jaculus)

Jaculus, the javeline serpent, can fly at intense speeds, stabbing prey with it's sharp face.

Terrorsaur (Megaviperidae: Pteroserpens...?)

Silly dragon based on "what if janky cartoony green pterodactyls are dragons?" and then I found a lot of cryptozoology places 'pterosaurs' in central Africa. Playing with this concept, nothing solid yet.

...

There are some other African dragons that I'm not sure about including - Ninki Nanka is something I have had on my radar for a while but I could not find enough info on it to write or draw something (recently looked it up again and there is more info wow... Okay next draft will include Ninki Nanka!!!!)

and Akhekhu which I had in a previous draft then abandonned. Might put him back in. Not sure if he's dragony enough?

So in this current roster of African dragons we have 6 inspired by African folklore and mythology (Grootslang, Rainbow Serpent, Nile Serpent, Congan Plated Dragon, Kongomato, Chicken Headed Serpent) 4 inspired by European mythology saying 'this lives in Africa' (Cockatrice, Green wyvern, Jaculus, Elephant Eating Serpent) and 2 I made up just for fun (Dinodrakes and Terrorsaurs)

[draconesmundi]

Happy Dracones Monday! The Atlantic Sea Serpent!

Happy Dracones Monday! Today's dragon is the Atlantic Sea Serpent - in previous drafts I've called it the Stoorwyrm (after Orcadian mythology) and I might go back to stoorwyrm as I love the word 'wyrm', but I worry this makes it sound like it's a Scottish Dragon Only when I intend for this to be THE sea monster of the North Atlantic. Terror of the seas! Macropredator specializing in eating sharks and cetaceans.

(This is a sea serpent design for my dragon project Dracones Mundi, find out more @draconesmundi :3 )

[draconesmundi]

What does the first dragon look like? So the most recent common ancestor of all the other dragons.

(Disclaimer: this is for my Dracones Mundi creative project)

This is a doodle of Protodraconis from the Late Jurassic of Asia. The first dragons were tiny and relied on spitting 'burning' venom to deter predators - even small therapods like Guanlong would prey on these little guys. They evolved a relationship with thaumaphagic bacteria ("magic bacteria" or "fairy dust") to add some 'oomph' to their threat display, a haunting bioluminescent orange glow!

I may change Protodraconis' final design to have more frills and flamboyance, but I wanted to just illustrate the small humble terrestrial croc, so size chart and general shape were more important than finer details.

[draconesmundi]

Happy Dracones Monday! The Grey Wyvern

So, you go to the cinema to watch the latest block busting dragon movie, and the dragon is once again a grey spiky wyvern. Why is that? In the world of Dracones Mundi, the grey wyvern is a desert dwelling dragon native to North America. It hunts small mice and lizards around rocky crags, and, for some reason, are very easy to tame to perform tricks.

Back in the day the small wyverns were let loose on miniature sets, these days they perform swooping flights and spit venom 'fire' in front of a greenscreen. With some movie magic, they are scaled up and made to look gigantic and terrifying in films. Whatever your opinion on actor animals, these dragons are responsible for the public idea on what a dragon 'should' look like. Spiky, fierce, dark and bristling with spines.

For more dragons every monday, follow my project @draconesmundi

P.S I know irl the reason we get grey spiky wyverns in films is down to making realistic looking dragons, but I just aesthetically love them and despite all my dragons aiming for 'realism' I wanted to pay a tribute to this trope

[draconesmundi]

Dracones Mundi infographics to explain some of the dragon design features in my project :3

Image IDs in alt text or below the cut:

A labelled diagram depicting a dragon’s head. Labels are: ear slit. Wattle on horn that looks like an ‘ear’. Dorsal finlets made of thick skin. Overlapping osteoderms like Vancleavea (accompanied by Vancleavea fossil photo). Overall appearance inspired by pseuedosuchians, including extant crocodiles (accompanied by skeletal mount of Prestosuchus and a photo of a baby Nile crocodile). Smoother scales on belly for sliding though mud into bodies of water. ‘Beard’ or jaw wattle of thick skin. Rear venom fang, full of cytotoxic venom. The dragon can ‘spit’ like a spitting cobra, and the cytotoxins are similar to those found in puff adder venom. Lots of different snakes inspire dragon venom (accompanied by diagram of snake skull).

A dragon family tree accompanied by a paragraph of text. Text reads: There is a lot of morphological diversity in Dracones Mundi – dragons all evolved from a type of pseudosuchian, and had a basic ‘four legs and a long tail' body plan. Many families have atrophied their hind limbs, many have small legs and more serpentine shape. Dragon wings are not limbs, but patagium spread between osteoderm spokes, so there is a diversity in wing size and function (display, thermoregulation, camouflage) beyond gliding (only the flying serpent family really use them for gliding…). Flight is achieved by magic.

The dragons on the family tree are: turtle dragons, such as the cucafera. Firedrakes, azhdar and long are in one family. ‘Beast dragons’ such as the tatzelwyrm. ‘Feathered serpents’ such as coameh. Wyverns and cockatrices. Flying serpents or ‘amphitheres’. Wyrms and serpents. Sea serpents and lake monsters.