Draeca

 What? You think their size and nickname make them cute? Can 't even begin to count the amount of fellow monster hunters who lost their lives because of thinking that...  

-Monster hunter Etienne Montessart on the topic of draecas

Draeces, sometimes referred to as dwarf dragons are a small dragonlike lizards that roam the deserts of Var-Azim and the Lower Drylands of Meríndar. A draeca, unlike their distant kin the dragon, can not fly or breath fire. Instead, a draeca uses vicious talons and sharp teeth capable of slicing and biting through the most well crafted and thickest of armor. Draecas live in small packs, often called Draecari, usually ranging from 3 to 10 draecas.

Compared to their killing potential a draecas defense is poor to say the least. Their scales are thin and easy to cut through, especially on area near the belly and neck.

A draeca can have several different colors, mostly red or a dark yellow color. The pack leader of a draeca is often the tallest and strongest and may at times be slightly larger than the rest of its pack.

During the First Southern War a pack of draecas attacked a shipment of supplies that was enroute to the army of Meríndar that was sieging a Westenwoldian castle. This led Meríndar to abandon the siege and thus lose it due to a lack of supplies. Ever since the draeca became a near extinct species in Meríndar, but they are still plentiful in Var-Azim and the Upper Dragon Lands.