List of Other Fictional Dragons

Everyone seems to want a list, whether they are going shopping or pursuing other fictional dragons. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Other Fictional Dragons * Dragons remain fixtures in fantasy books, though portrayals of their nature differ. For example, Smaug, from The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, who is a classic, European-type dragon; deeply magical, he hoards treasure and burns innocent towns. Contrary to most old folklore and literature J. R. R. Tolkien's dragons are very intelligent and can cast spells over mortals. * A common theme in literature concerning dragons is the partnership between humans and dragons. This is evident in Dragon Rider and the Inheritance Trilogy. Most notably it is featured in Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series. Dragons in Pern (genetically modified fire-lizards, which were Pernese natives) are ridden by "dragonriders" to protect the planet from a deadly threat, the Thread. * In Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea series, the portrayal of dragons undergoes significant changes from book to book. In the original, they resemble Smaug, with unbounded greed for hoards of precious jewelry; later, they grow in stature and nobility, to become virtual demi-gods who speak the "Language of Creation" as their mother tongue. Later still, it is revealed that they share an ancestry with humanity, and that some rare humans (always women) can change into dragons at will (or they may be considered as dragons who can take human form at will). * The dragons in Harry Turtledove's Darkness series, a magical analogue of the Second World War, are beasts, highly pugnacious and under complete human control. In the storyline they are the analogue of fighter planes and dragon riders are obviously intended to represent fighter pilots of the Luftwaffe and the RAF. * The short story The Dragon by Ray Bradbury is set simultaneously in the recent and distant past, featuring a pair of knights setting out to fight what they think is a dragon. After they are killed by it, it is revealed that the "Dragon" is actually a steam train. * In Robin Hobb's Realm of the Elderlings series, dragons and humans coexisted in the distant past. Their essences became mixed in some cases, producing scaled humans referred to as Elderlings, or small, rubbery-skinned dragons, called "Others" and treated as abominations. Humans carved living dragon statues out of special living stone; these statues were later used as a weapon against the Outislanders by King Verity Farseer of the Six Duchies. o Hobb's dragons would begin life as sea serpents, who would swim upriver to a special beach where they would cocoon themselves and hatch as dragons the next year. After a natural disaster changed the shape of the land, the serpents could no longer find their cocooning grounds and remained in the sea, as the cataclysm wiped out all but two of the dragons. * Dragons in Christopher Pike's Alosha series also start life as legless, wingless, tailless, and without fire; in this form, they are known as Kouls. Later in life, a Koul develops legs, a tail, wings, and fiery breath. To do this, a Koul must risk its life for protection of others, learn to swim, and take a literal "leap of faith" from a high place. * In the present-day fantasy novel Collinsfort Village by Joe Ekaitis, mural painter Dorian di Drago (a 40-foot (12m) tall dragon) gives up flying on the same day a famous aviatrix disappears in 1937. * Dragons are mentioned throughout the Harry Potter books and a baby dragon appears in the first installment and dragons later play a significant role in the fourth. They are portrayed as having strong magic (even in their blood), but they do not exhibit any hints of intelligence or self-awareness. Within the series, dragons are considered very dangerous by most characters (Rubeus Hagrid being a notable exception) and private ownership of dragons is illegal. * Dragons have been portrayed in several movies of the past few decades, and in many different forms. In Dragonslayer (1981), a "sword and sorcerer"-type film set in medieval Britain, a dragon terrorizes a town's population. In contrast, Dragonheart (1996), though also given a medieval context, was a much lighter action/adventure movie that spoofed the "terrorizing dragon" stereotype, and depicts dragons as usually good beings, who in fact often save the lives of humans. Dragons can also be passionate protectors, just like the dragon in Shrek and Shrek 2, who displays her affection for a donkey. Reign of Fire (2002), also dark and gritty, dealt with the consequences of dormant dragons reawakened in the modern world. * In the popular Real Time Strategy game series "Warcraft", dragons are very intelligent and divided into five distinct tribes, each ruled by an "Aspect", or overlord dragon. The different tribes are Red, the life dragons, ruled by Alexstrasza; Green, the dream dragons, ruled by Ysera; Blue, the magic dragons, ruled by Malygos; Bronze, the time dragons, ruled by Nozdormu; and Black, the earth dragons; formerly ruled by Neltharion, before his betrayal of the other for aspects and his ascension to the lofty title of Deathwing. The Warcraft dragons tend to disassociate themselves with the other races of "Azeroth". They only get involved when the world itself is in danger. * In Robert A. Heinlein's novel Between Planets, the sentient inhabitants of Venus are huge flightless dragons, who are described as highly intelligent with an enormous aptitude for scientific research, who are very warm and friendly to humans. Since humans can't prononce their real names, they habitually take - while conversing with humans via a special device - the name of a prominent past human scientist (the book's main dragon protagonist calls himself "Sir Isaac Newton"). * On the lighter side, Puff the Magic Dragon was first a poem, later a song made famous by Peter, Paul and Mary, that has become a pop-culture mainstay. The poem tells of an ageless dragon who befriends a young boy, only to be abandoned as the boy ages and forgets him. This is sometimes suspected of being riddled with references to the drug Marijuana, though the authors have publicly ridiculed this notion. * Some stories give accounts of dragons in human form, notably the fourteenth-century French story Voeux du Paon[3] tells the story of Melusine, a beautiful woman who seemed faithful but refused to take communion in church. When confronted, she turned into a dragon and fled. She has been depicted in Russian art of the 18th century as a woman's head on a dragon's body.[3] The Earthsea cycle relates of Tehanu and Orm Irian, each of whom was a dragon in human form who acted as a diplomat between her races. * Another famous dragon is Spyro the Dragon who is the main character of many video games. In the first game he was portrayed as a small purple dragon with wings, four legs and the ability to breathe fire, charge with his horns, and glide short distances. As the game developed he was able to learn to swim, climb, and use power-ups. In the game Spyro: enter the dragonfly he is able to learn other breaths including bubbles, electricity and ice. Later, in the game Spyro: A Hero's Tail bubble-breath was replaced by water breath. In the latest installment of Spyro, The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning, he is shown as a young dragon while the game describes how he came to be. In this game water breath is replaced by earth breath. Also this game includes melee attacks, breath bombs, and fury attacks, which can all be upgraded with special gems. * Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels describe two types of dragons: Noble Dragons (Draco Nobilis) which are typical European-type dragons, which are extinct by the time the books take place but can be summoned by magic or created with a lot of magic and imagination; and the Swamp Dragons (Draco Vulgaris), which are the size of small dogs, bred as pets, and, due to their complex, fire-producing anatomy, have a tendency to self-destruct. * The Strong Bad Emails on the Homestar Runner website feature a dragon named Trogdor the Burninator. * The Breath of Fire series of Role-Playing Games made by Capcom, have their story revolve around the recurring hero, Ryu, who is a Light Dragon, who needs to defeat the Dark Dragons and ultimately, a goddess by the name of Myria, who is an enemy of the dragons. In the third game, nothing is mentioned of a war between the Light Dragons and the Dark Dragons, only of a war between the Brood (the race of dragons) and the goddess Myria (or Tyr). Note that 'ryu' is Japanese for 'dragon', which is the name of the main protagonist of the series, who is a dragon. * The Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft includes many dragons, one of which is named Onyxia. Onyxia is a major dragon boss and requires a multiple-man raid consisting of 20+ separate players, all working together with a certain plan of action designed to hopefully defeat her. Almost all the dragons depicted in the game are about five times the height of a player and are massively powerful elites, which means each one is a type of boss and therefore much harder to kill than a normal creature. The other dragons in the game are smaller, pocket versions of the full size dragons, called whelplings. These are much easier to kill and are not bosses at all. If one is lucky enough to kill the right whelpling, in some cases the loot collected from the dead creature can include a whelpling pet (which can be summoned to fly alongside the owner of the pet at will), which is extremely rare on the game and can be sold for several hundred gold. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * This list has been obtained in whole or in part from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.