Suva Anatomy Explained

(click on any part of the suva to jump to the appropriate section)

- General -
Diet | Life Cycle | Size      As the top predatores on Lliyani, suva dragons can pretty much take down whatever they want to eat. They are quite fond of the slow, uninteligent, cattle-like herbivores that humans and some sira herd in the wide open praries, though they usually only get one of those when one of the herders feels grateful enough to offer them one. Their usual diet consists of medium to large wild animals of similar intelligence, or perhaps lack thereof.
     Suva dragons age strangely. If unbonded, a suva can live indefinitely, growing and aging slowly. However, if a suva chooses to bond a faster-aging species, such as human or sira, they grow and mature quickly to match their bondmate, but also have relatively short lives compared to others of their species, lingering only as long as their bondmate. For more information on bonded suva and the effects that bonding with a short-lived race, please see the Bonding section.
     Suva mate for life, if they do at all. Not all do, as some of their chosen life paths either require their full attention, or they're simply uninclined. A "wild" suva pair produce one or two eggs, about a foot in diameter at it's widest point, occasionally three eggs in one clutch have been witnessed, but that is rare. However, as they all clutch at about the same time, or close to it, many suva choose to band together for the safety of all their eggs. The more eyes and claws, the safer the next generation. Sometimes a pair will choose to have their youngling adopted out, in which case, they leave the egg with Oracle, the eldest and most respected Lorekeeper in the realm. She cares for the eggs and teaches the hatchlings their foundation knowledge, then chooses the best fitting home for them to move into. For more info on clutch sizes of wild and fostered suva, see the Breeding section.
     Hatchlings are about the size of large housecats, maybe a foot long and two thirds as high at the shoulder. They are born blind, but within a day or so, their eyes open and they begin learning from their elders. Suva don't leave the company of their hatching caretakers for at least a month, while they grow and learn the basic foundations of their kind. When they do leave the nest, hatchling suva are about the size of a dog, three feet long and two feet high at the shoulder. Though at this stage of their development their wings are fairly small, and their neck, legs and tail fairly short, that changes quickly as they age from hatchling to youngling. By that time, their wings are larger, and strong enough to carry them on short glides, though they can't yet carry anything heavier than two or three pounds. Adult dragons are usually fairly large, measuring on average 60 feet from nose to tail tip, and 10 feet at the shoulder. However, those averages take in the full range of sizes. The smallest recorded dragon measured 40ft long, and 7ft at the shoulder, whereas the largest (other than Oracle, who reaches a full 100ft long, and 20ft at the shoulder, far larger than any other suva in history), was 70ft long and 12ft at the shoulder. A suva on the smaller range can carry one human or sira, but that is pretty much all. A large suva, on the other hand, can carry up to five riders.

- Head -      An adult suva's head ranges from four to six feet long, from nose to jaw line, with an added six to eight feet from their horns. Their eyes are on the sides of their head, though forward facing, like an eagle's eyes. And, also like an eagle, suvan eyesight is excelent in the daylight. However, as the light diminishes, so does their depth perception, which is why many dragons don't like to fly at night. Eye-color may also occasionally work as emotion indicators. While all suva have different color irises surrounding dark pupils, if one becomes extremely angry, their eyes will turn completely yellow, orange or red, depending on the severity of their anger. Some suva, those who are perpetually angry, may even always have single-color eyes, never really calming down enough for them to return to their normal color.
     Their mouth is beak-like at the front, though they do have sharp teeth in the back of their mouth. The horn on their nose is a glorified eggtooth, hardened and incorporated into their skull as they age. The nose itself is surrounded by bone and beak, though the fleshy part inside can be closed off when eating or swimming.

- Neck -      Suva necks are long and flexible, sheathed in thick muscle to hold up their heavy heads. They can be between six and ten feet long, and nearly a full quarter of the individual's full length.
     Some suva may be born with or develop special throat pouches just beneath their jaw; these are specialized for fire-breathers. Not all suva can breath fire, but even if they are not born with the ability, some can learn how, thus developing the telltale pouches. It is unknown how exactly they develop this skill, or what exactly is needed to breathe fire, but most suva seem to find what they need insitincively, possibly from proteins in the food they eat or minerals in the water they drink. Occasionally, a firebreather will have odd cravings, and need to find a specific food, such as fish or whole birds, feathers and all, which is thought to be connected with their ability to breathe fire.

- Body -      Suva have a large, sturdy set of ribs, and a breastbone similar to that of a bird, supporting thick, powerful wing muscles. Their most promonent organs are their powerful lungs and huge hearts, taking up nearly two thirds of their body space. The remainder is taken up with an efficient digestive system. Females carrying eggs may seem to have gained a little weight around the middle, though the eggs are so small and few in number that it won't affect her figure or weight much.

- Tail -      An adult suva's tail makes up a full half of their body length. It's long, prehensile, and thin at the end as to be whiplike. It, like the neck, is sheathed in strong muscle, and can be used in flight as a stabilizer, or to help steering. Suva tails, like a cat's tail, can be a way of measuring emotion; normally a happy or peaceful dragon will swing their tail and twitch it's tip, like a contented cat. Angry or playful dragons will lash their tails, or if they're really in a rage, keep them stock still. Agitated suva may simply twitch the tips of their tails, as though wishing to lash out but restraining the urge.
     Much like an elephant's trunk, suva tails are an all-purpose limb. They can do a disturbing ammount of damage if weilded for that purpose, or they can be surprisingly precise and controlled if that's what is called for. They can support heavy burdens (suva have been observed sitting on their own tails, much like a stool), or manipulate small instruments, sometimes better than their claws can.

- Wings -      All suva have two wing fingers and one 'thumb', the largest and strongest wing finger acting as the leading edge of the wing. Their wings are stretched with an elastic leather membrane, connecting the wing fingers to eachother, and the smaller of the two to the body, ending just before the tail begins. Their full adult wingspan reaches an impressive hundred feet for the largest dragons, and sixty feet for the smallest ones.
     When they're born, suva can not fly. It takes untill they're nearly adult in size for their wings to be large enough to bear their weight. However, youngling suva begin exersizing their wing muscles almost from hatchlinghood. They are able to glide a short distance before fully being able to fly, but untill adulthood, it is not reccomended to put any substantial weight on them, as it might injur their fragle, still-developing wings.

- Fore Legs -      Heavy chest muscles and defined shoulder blades define a suva's forequarters. Their forelimbs are just as long as their hind legs, sometimes giving them a top heavy or built look, and truely, they have very strong arms and claws. All suva have four fingers, though some may work to develop semi-opposable claws. Or they can be born with it. It is unknown whether suva began with opposable thumbs and evolved out of them, or the other way around. Either way, suva can manipulate some tools, though for most, jewelry making and other intricate manipulations are out of their range.

- Hind Legs -      Powerful hind leg muscles are needed for the leap it often takes to get a suva airborn. Suva have four toes on their hind legs, each sporting a large, sharp talon. Their hind feet are much larger than their forepaws, thick and broad, they can be dangerous weapons that help the dragons bring down their largest prey.
     Suva can stand, and indeed, walk on their hind legs, though this is rarely seen, as they prefer the stability of four legs to the uncertainty of two.

- Companions -      Though a companion is not technically a part of the suva's person, they can often seem like an extention of it's self. Not all suva choose to travel with companions, but to those that do there are certain bonuses. Such as another set of eyes and ears to observe, an extra pair of hands or paws to manipulate tools, and another point of view and set of experiences with which to view the world.
     Companions range in intensity from friendships and "busyness partners" to bondmates and lifemates, the closest of bonds that a suva can achieve. Companions can be riders, a human or a sira, or another such small being able to ride comfortably, though they don't have to be. Any other races that cannot ride, such as another suva, whether platonically or as a mated couple, can be companions also. They are either partner to the suva's personal life code, like police that have partners to back them up, or a bondmate, completely devoted to eachother, sharing thoughts and emotions and, occasionally, even pains.
     Sometimes, companionships are temporary, the suva moving on when it's work is done, leaving the companion to return to their normal life. Except, of course, in the case of bond- or lifemates. In cases like this, a suva will not choose to bond, but rather move from place to place, choosing a companion for the length of their stay there, often an impartial, or well known and trusted member of the community.

Return