So, every year, for Christmas, I make drawings for friends and family, to go with the Christmas presents I give them. Usually the drawings are not Christmas-themed, but every year I do pick a theme to follow. Last year’s theme, for example, was “Characters from Sandman.”
This year’s theme was my own characters, the dragon princes and princesses from my in-the-works story, Vanadys. This is actually the first time I’ve drawn the dragon forms for the majority of them.
Here they are, from oldest to youngest:
To give a little background story here: In the world of Vanadys (a fantasy world that’s a sort of mix of steampunk and medieval fantasy) all dragons are immortal shapeshifters. In their dragon forms they’re essentially sexless. so in order to reproduce they have to take on the shape and form of either a human, an elf, a dwarf or a wight.
Dragon children are born in the shape their parents conceived them in, and live their childhoods in that shape. When they reach puberty, they start being able to take on their dragon shape; usually the first transformation is caused by some big emotional moment (and can come as a it of a shock!). After that, the kids might “go dragon” if sufficiently angry or upset, so it’s important for them to learn to control their transformations.
When they have complete control over their dragon transformations, they can also learn to take on other forms… though most of them keep a fondness for their original form.
When they have perfect control over their transformations, all dragons are expected to travel the world for three years, without any contact with their family. This is known as the “coming of age journey,” and when a dragon has finished these three years they are considered adults.
Valdrak, the dragon king, has lived for thousands of years and has had fifteen children with twelve different partners. These fifteen children form not only the dragon royalty but are also the judges and law enforcement of dragon society, there to not only enforce the few dragon laws but also to act as mediators or judges in personal feuds between dragons.
Well… twelve of them do. The three youngest – Nilus, Ruzika and Kiriani — are latecomers, born much later than the rest, and are still considered too young to take on the duties of the dragon royalties. They’re still in the middle of their education, though Nilus is old enough that he’s finished his coming-of-age journey and has started to accompany his older sister Shayna to learn from her.
You can identify a Dragon Prince or Princess on the plain gold ring in their right ear. This ring is not only a mark of identification, but can also magically create clothes for them to wear in their non-dragon form. It can create all kinds of clothes, but only one outfit at a time, and only in various shades of the owner’s preferred color (with golden embroideries or buttons).
I’ve presented the fifteen Princes and Princesses before, but I thought in this post I’d say a few words about them as individuals:
Lintila (sun elf)
The oldest of the Princesses; technically she’s the heir to the crown if something should happen to King Valdak. She’s everyone’s “cool big sister,” an excellent diplomat with a particular gift of the gab. She’s one of the rare dragons who is married; her spouse is another elf-born dragon named Sylvana.
Color: Magenta.
Aldor (human… probably)
Cheerful, carefree and laid-back to the point of being lazy, Aldor is nevertheless a reliable and trustworthy individual. Usually happy to kick back and take life easy, when he does choose to act he strikes hard.
Color: Brown.
Rashak (moon elf)
A bit of a grouch and a loner with limited patience for the world in general and people in particular. Not a bad person at heart, though, and he has a soft spot for animals.
Color: Black.
Verena (human)
Though she’s a tall woman even in her human form, Verena is quiet and unassuming. and usually doesn’t call a lot of attention to herself. She has occasional psychic flashes and can sometimes predict the future, so on the rare occasions when she speaks it’s a good idea to listen.
Color: Green.
Reneth (dwarf)
With the traditional dwarfish sense of business and profit, Reneth has her hands in several smaller and larger businesses around the world. Non-dwarfs (including a number of her siblings) might call her greedy and money-obsessed, but she insists she just appreciates the value of things.
Color: Pink.
Obayana (wight)
Obayana is big, in every way. Even in his wight form he usually towers over everyone (except Aldor), and his personality is also rather larger-than-life; he’s as boisterous and excuberant as Verena is quiet as withdrawn He loves food, drink, adventure and tall tales.
Color: Bronze.
Reet (wight)
The easy-going social butterfly. Amicable, extroverted and always happiest when she can be among as many people as possible, Reet is friends with everyone… and more than friends with quite a few.
Color: Purple.
Zelen (moon elf)
The mysterious Zelen is a skilled shapeshifter and an amazing actor. She can take on almost any form or role, and excels as a spy and an infiltrator, but she lets very few people in close. Not even all her siblings know the real Zelen, just the calm and patient mask she presents to the world.
Color: Blue.
Elya (human)
Unlike Zelen, Elya is always very much, and very unashamedly, herself. Open and honest, often to the point of bluntness, with a bit of a sarcastic streak, but also artistic and creative with a true passion for visual arts in particular.
Color: Orange.
Lynn (dwarf)
The resident “mad scientist” of the group; Lynn is an inventor and a tinkerer who’s responsible for more explosions and property damage than all the rest of the Princes and Princesses put together,. But some of her ideas do come in useful…
Color: Indigo.
Darak (dwarf)
Lynn’s twin brother, and a bit of a sleuth. Darak is a calm and generally unflappable guy who’s good at seeing connections and noticing details that others miss, and has a particular knack for logical deductions. He’s not much for violence or physical confrontations, preferring “intellectual confrontations.”
Color: Caramel.
Shayna (sea elf)
Graceful, elegant, patient… and incredibly lazy. The youngest of the original twelve; Shayna would rather catch up on her sleep or just drift around wherever the winds or sea currents may take her, than do any actual work. Too bad for her she’s currently forced into the role of mentor for the far more energetic Nilus.
Color: White.
Nilus (wight)
The oldest of the three “latecomer” siblings, and old enough to having started learning about his duties as a dragon prince (with Shayna as his reluctant mentor.) Nilus is upbeat, always helpful, and more than a little quirky. He carries a magic satchel that contains pretty much everything he might need.
Color: Teal.
Ruzika (wight)
The “wacky middle child” of the three “latecomer” siblings. Ruzika is an energetic, enthusiastic, impulsive and extremely talkative young dragon princess. She’s currently on her coming-of-age journey in which she gets involved with the adventures of Vanadys, the fallen goddess…
Color: Red.
Kiriani (wight)
Nilus and Ruzika’s younger sister and the youngest of the Dragon Royals, 15-year-old Kiriani is still living with her wight family and having regular “dragon time” with her father so she can learn to have perfect control over her dragon form and her transformations. She’s a bookish dreamer, rather calmer than her older brother and sister.
Color: Yellow.
Simply Day Robyn 
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