Lesser Dragonling / Drake

The lesser dragonling, or drake, is a cat-sized flying reptile that looks like a miniature dragon: fine red-brown scales, small horns, needle teeth, and a long barbed tail far longer than its body. Playful, clever, and vain, it haunts wooded hills and cave mouths, guarding a tiny hoard of bright trinkets. A drake communicates through limited telepathy and a range of animal sounds, from a contented purr to an angry growl. Despite its size it is a dangerous little hunter: its stinging tail injects a venom that drops victims into a deathlike sleep for days. It can shift its scale colour to vanish against foliage and shrugs off much hostile magic. Drakes sometimes choose a worthy person as a companion, but they demand pampering and abandon any master who proves cruel.