Vlakorados

Appearance:

Vlakorados is a massive serpentine beast, having the body of an elephant, and the neck and tail of a great serpent. The head itself is small and horse like, more than appearing draconic or serpentine. It has pebbly tan skin, a cream colored belly, and an iridescent purple stripe running down its side, about a hand's width across. It seems more like a cow than a terrible dragon, but fuck does it look like a dragon with a tiny head and no wings.

Closer Inspection:

Vlakorados is a beast of burden, and given its size, it is very good at this task. While its long tail makes it poor for pulling any sort of wagon, it is large enough to carry a pavilion sized howdah or outpost sized tower on its back. It can easily support a dozen people as passengers, or a siege weapon and the crew that mans it.

Examination Time:

The Vlakorados is a massive herbivorous reptile that seems to have draconic heritage. It has a thick hide that is resistant to arrows, and bashing weapons. It can be cut, and large or magic weapons have full effect against it. it is resistant to magic, and despite its size, it is hard to hit with spells. Smaller spells snuff out against it, and large spells have as likely a chance of glancing off of it as actually hitting it. They are also moderately intelligent, perhaps as smart as a trained dog.

The creature is sexless and is neither male nor female, it simply is. It cannot reproduce, having no reproductive organs. It is typically controlled via a magic link between the driver and the beast, and when in the field, it has two drivers.

History and Origin:

There is not one beast named Vlakorados, but rather there are a number of them, and that is the name of the creatures. They are artificially created from stolen dragon's eggs and subjected to powerful ritual magics. When the egg hatches, instead of a baby dragon, there is a baby vlakorados. They are implanted with controlling magics the day they are hatched so that they can be trained and controlled by a driver. Part of the magics remove the sex of the beast so that they are undisturbed by the violent urges to reproduce, and to keep the means of creating more of the living engines within the hands of the people stealing dragon eggs and making the creatures from them.

In war, Vlakorados are walking fortresses and can break armies with ease. Cavalry is unhorsed by their presence, and militia footmen break and scatter rather than even attempt a phalanx against one such beast. The magi who create these beasts will use them as walking mage towers, and as living conduits. A mage attuned to the Vlakorados they ride will have more power available to them and can increase the resistances of their beast. In past wars, the mages would ride at the rear of their hosts, and then once the battle was engaged would throw spells from the towers on the backs of the Vlakorados. This would occur as other Vlakorados, clad in armor and bearing archers and spear throwers on their back advanced to break enemy formations and trample walls.

A wounded Vlakorados, or one enraged because of the death of its driver, is a terrible foe. They can rise up on their rear legs and deliver horse crushing stomps. They can also pivot on a rear leg and lash out with their long tail. Even a well-braced phalanx will be smashed to flinders and corpses by the force of this impact. If fatally wounded (and the head is not removed) a Vlakorados can release a single breath weapon attack. Known as the Rainbow Wind, this is a multi-elemental attack and deals a modest amount of magical damage, and includes the fire, ice, lightning, holy, wind, water, and shadow types. Almost nothing has full immunity to the dying breath of such a beast.

Other Usage:

Such beasts are rare and are not used lightly by those who own them. They are not relegated to agricultural tasks or mundane tasks of hauling heavy loads like other beasts of burden. They are well kept and well cared for, prized beasts and the pride of those who create them. In the rare instances when one passes, none of it goes to waste. The head and the heart are removed and given a hero's funeral, and the graves of Vlakorados are monuments and wonders to behold. Thankfully, they rarely die. Few are foolishly committed to suicide attacks, they are protected and supported when they are brought to bear, and outside of war or calamity, they live for centuries. 

The parts of the beast not buried in a consecrated mausoleum are rendered down. The hide is used to create massive amounts of very high-quality leather goods, most notable heavy leather armors or storm-resistant cloaks. The meat is broken down by butchers who have been blessed, and it is distributed through the city. In times of dire war, the army receives it instead. The bones are used for alchemical purposes, the same for the associated organs and viscera.

General Reception:

The Vlakorados enjoys a mixed reception. To the magi-centric nations that create them, they are symbols of power and national pride, and pride in magical prowess. The peoples who oppose them tend to see the great beasts as a symbol of oppression and magicratic tyrants.

The dragons have a different perspective. They see the stolen eggs and the abominations that were created from them. This has caused a blood feud, where the might of dragons is matched against nations that wield tremendous power. The dragons tend to go after the vlakorados first, and in doing so, tend to be picked off by dragonslayers, beastmasters, and archmages.