Naluru

A massive elder dragon, legendary and feared by the locals for her size and power. Unlike Wagahaya, Naluru is well-known to all - not because she's on friendly terms with any of the humans, but because she patrols her territory not infrequently, and a dragon of her size is hard to miss. Catching sight of her is considered good luck, provided one isn't a farmer (or worse, a sheep.) Her hoard has been spoken of in eager whispers in every tavern and child's bedside in the north, a supposed king's stash of jewels and gold; trying to find the dragon's riches is a popular pastime for the bold or the easily-bullied. Naturally, their true location is unknown.

Naluru herself is strong and quiet with a steel sense of purpose. With more than a thousand years of life experience under her belt, she is wise to the ways of the world - wise enough to know that avoiding contact with humanity is preferable to engaging with them at all. She has a competitive nature and enjoys testing the mettle of any adventurer unfortunate to wander too close to her home. Other dragons, too, of course. She rarely smiles. As of late, she has been seen less and less around the area. And while she previously avoided killing humans, her behavior in that regard has changed in the past few decades. No one has seen her up close and lived in a long time.

Wagahaya is her mate, but they've separated for reasons unknown.

cultural information about white dragons

Like most dragons, white dragons are largely solitary creatures; as such, they never formed a tight society the way humans did. Instead, they live either alone, with a mate, or with offspring. Each white dragon has an expanse of land it considers its territory, with space to roam and available food. That said, these territories usually share borders with each other, and in this way, the white dragons remain in contact with one another, maintaining a "neighborly" relationship. It's normal for a white dragon to be surrounded by friends on all sides, even if they don't see one another regularly. In this manner, white dragons share information and history with one another even without a centralized society. White dragons have a rich oral history, as well as a storied collection of dragon poets and orators, whose words are remembered for thousands of years by being passed between friends and from parent to child. And while they do not have pen or paper, it isn't uncommon for white dragons to inscribe bones of their prey with poetry or with tales of the hunt, should the hunter consider it worth preserving. Stolen human treasures often suffer the same fate - though there are some humans who would consider a blade or goblet engraved with dragorunes to have higher value than one without.

White dragons revere the weather, as it directs their lives the same way it directs the lives of all who live in the frozen tundra of the north. During blizzards or periods of intense cold, the dragons will all gather together in one area in order to share body warmth - a rare occasion for the solitary dragons, and thus, many of them actually look forward to the darkest and most chilling days of the year. These gatherings are often festive, with dragons swapping hoarded treasure, stories, and news. It's also when many white dragons find a partner they wish to breed with; "going flying with [x] next spring?" is a common phrase used to tease the young and shy.

Because mating and laying eggs is only really viable in the warmer months during the informal breeding season, there is a strong division in white dragon society (as in many dragon cultures) between sex and romance. A white dragon may have many sexual partners with whom they bear children, but only one "mate" who they share a romantic bond with. Naluru, for example, has laid several eggs in the past, but her relationship with their fathers is no more than friendly - her bonded lover is Wagahaya, who in this case is another female. White dragon chicks are typically raised by the mother alone due to the species' solitary nature, although in cases of breeding between a bonded male and female, it's not unusual for the father to also be more present. Neighbor dragons often assist the mother when needed, as well. Perhaps due to their extremely long lifespans, mother and child often grow apart after the first century of the child's life when they become more independent; unlike humans, the relationship between parent and offspring isn't a permanent tie.