Song dragon

Song dragons, also known as "weredragons", were a type of dragon. They lived among humanity in the guise of human women.

"It's natural, particularly for song dragons. We differ from the rest of our kind in a number of ways, and one is that we're particularly at home in human guise. We spend the majority of our time that way. We have a legend that our earliest ancestors were entirely human, until a god blessed them with the power to transform."

- Karasendrieth the Song Dragon

Description
Song dragons resembled copper dragons in general shape, but they were more slender and possessed iridescent silver-blue scales. This made them bright and impressive in appearance. Some song dragons appeared not to have wings and instead flew using a magical organ located in their brains.

A song dragon possessed a unique alternative form, that of an attractive human woman aged between 20 and 30 years old. And occasionally - females of other humanoid races. Both male and female song dragons took shapes of human women. This fact, as well as greatly lesser numbers, made male song dragons an extremely rare occurrence.

Abilities
Song dragons could use a magical ability, similar to polymorph self, at will to adopt the form of a human woman. Each dragon had only a single unique human form. The change took a dozen seconds to adopt human form, and half that to change back, but rendered the song dragon immobile. It destroyed clothing, bonds and anything else confining the song dragon or human.

In human form, they lacked the dragon's physical traits and breath weapon. Regardless of form, they maintained full knowledge and awareness, and could use all their magical spells and abilities.

A song dragon had the innate ability to speak any language as with the tongues spell. It also had continuous true seeing. Depending on age, a song dragon could also cast the spells light, darkness, blink, feather fall, heal, plane shift, and teleport. It also cast the spells of a cleric and the Healing, Travel, and Trickery domains as arcane spells. Older song dragons, and those who reach the great wyrm stage of life, could use their innate magical abilities to cast protection from normal missiles, wall of force, reverse gravity, and polymorph any object. A song dragon could bestow effects of these spells via a simple touch.

Song dragons possessed immunity to poisons and electricity. They could see as if under the effect of the true seeing spell and it improved with the wyrm's age. Their minds were strong enough to not be affected by any mind-altering spells. Song dragons could only be harmed by magical means and by enchanted weapons.

These wyrms never really slept and consumed great amounts of food (anything organic, including carrion) without gaining weight in their human shape.

Personality
Song dragons eschewed the company of other dragons, choosing instead to live amongst humankind, aided by their alternate forms as young human women. Many were also talented actors. This made it extremely difficult to tell them apart from actual humans. They would reveal their real identities only when in great danger.

Many song dragons enjoyed seducing evil men while in their maiden forms, eventually marrying them, in order to slay the villains, revealing the true dragon form. These marriages often left song wyrms with amassed treasures and unlike other dragons, they enjoyed gaining treasures, not hoarding them.

They sought to protect and preserve the environment. To this end, they usually worked with or served the Harpers, good mages, and other people and organizations of similar inclinations.

However, to human civilization, they were rare and surrounded in mystery.

Music was the intrinsic part of song dragons personalities, just like pranks and jokes were among copper dragon. Song dragons were also known for their independence and lacking inclinations to acknowledge anyones authority over them.

Combat
A song dragon could breathe a cone of electric gas at its foes, long and  wide, sometimes reaching the length of  and with of. The exuded gas was blue in color and could silence creatures in its way, snuffed out mundane and magical flames, prevented discharge of fire, heat, electricity, and dispelled illusions. The gas created by song dragons' breath remained in place for up to 4 minutes and was unaffected by normal or magical wind.

In battle, they fought with their sharp claws as dragons or slashing blades as humans. They attacked quickly and without mercy. The dragons' back claws were just as deadly as their front paws, making flanking just as dangerous as facing these beast face to face. Song dragon could deal devastating harm when they punched from up above, rending the target with all four clawed limbs. They often sang joyfully as they fought, unless silence was wiser.

Homelands
Song dragons, along this their cousins - metallic dragons, were known to inhabit the Galena Mountains, Cold Lands of the Moonsea region. A family of song dragons inhabited an high-rise aerie not far from Relkath's Foot in Yuirwood, Aglarond. The aerie's song dragons were trusted allies of the city.

They dwelt throughout the lands of the Realms, bur were most common in the Moonshae Isles.

Relationships
Song dragons were known to sometimes act as agents of Erevan Ilesere, Corellon Larethian, and Selûne.

Olothontor, also known as the "The Minstrel Wyrm", was known to pursue song dragons' affections, even though he often was repulsing to many of the good-natured individual wyrms.

Song dragons of Waterdeep were allied with the Confluence, the organization who sought out and opposed dire plots and threats posed by creatures like doppelgangers and lycanthropes against the city of Waterdeep.

Usages

 * Sonorous Scale was a magical item crafted using a scale of a song dragon. The scale was patterned with gems and metals and was enchanted as shapeshifting piece of jewelry, a protective item, and a theft deterrent.

History
The prevalence of song dragons in the Moonshae Isles caused some researchers to theorize that they originated there.

Essembramaerytha, as "Essembra", was a famous adventuress of the Dalelands in the 10 century DR. The town of Essembra in Battledale was named for her, standing on the spot where she was supposedly born.

Once, a pair of accidental sightings of women transforming into song dragons triggered a panic, as rumors spread that evil mages were turning their enemies into dragons.

One notable song dragon, Ammaratha Cyndusk, adopted the pseudonym Maerjanthra Shalace. She was so skilled at portraying a human that she fooled Elminster. He eventually had a child with her, and only found out that Ammaratha was a dragon well after the daughter was fully grown.

In 1339 DR, Taraunramorlamurla, also known as the Keeper of Secrets, revealed her song dragon identity to Mirt the Moneylender and Durnan, two of the masked Lords of Waterdeep. Taunamorla informed them that she arrived at Waterdeep circa 1350 DR, on behest of the elders of her kin. She was to handle a problem of draconic nature and decided to stay in the city, falling in love with its pace and inhabitants. Since her arrival, the song dragon acted as a guide and contact person for the dragons who lived in Waterdeep in humanoid guise, she protected and subtly influenced the masked Lords. She also revealed that the benevolent dragons, including song dragons had a hand in crafting Ahghairon's dragonward, allowing certain wyrms to dwell freely in the guise of mortals of Waterdeep.

Karasendrieth, a song dragon of Impiltur who attempted to stop Sammaster's Rage of Dragons in 1373 DR. The song dragon and her allied succeeded curing the rage and gaining renown and recognition.

Circa 1374 DR, Serenescales of Waterdeep sought out adventurers to visit the Moonshae Islands and bring back to her a lone and rare male song dragon.

The city of Waterdeep was warded against dragons via Ahghairon's dragonward that seeped the wyrms' strength, preventing them from harming the City of Splendors. Shortly after the first wave of Spellplague the gorget of the Songdragon was enchanted to shield a song dragon from being affected by the dragonward. Despite the unstable magics of the time, the gorget remained unaffected and functioning post Spellplague. Eventually, the gorget of the Songdragon ended up in possession of Rhinzen Halnian, and later - stolen by Tennora Hedare.

Organizations

 * Sisterhood of Essembra, a small and secretive sisterhood of half-song dragons who lived in Battledale.

Individuals

 * Alrue Crownshield, a song dragon who posed as an ordinary human shop girl at the Wyrmworks of Silverymoon.
 * Ammaratha Cyndusk, a Cormyrean song dragon mother of the half-dragon daughter of Elminster Aumar - Narnra Shalace.
 * Araemra, or "Longtalons", a young song dragon ally of Serenescales's.
 * Essembramaerytha, also known as the legendary adventurer Essembra, was an old song dragon wyrm by 1374 DR.
 * Faelrae Garthammus, a mature female song dragon of Hawkgarth, the Border Kingdoms.
 * Ilden Garthammus, one of the elusive male song dragons who resided in Hawkgarth.
 * Karasendrieth, a female song dragon who lived in Impiltur circa 1374 DR.
 * Meliordianix, the matriarch of the song dragon family of Relkath's Foot.
 * Taraunramorlamurla, or "Serenescales", "Taunamorla Esmurla", or "Keeper of Secrets" of Waterdeep.

Rumors & Legends

 * Song dragons were commonly mistaken for metallic dragons due to benign nature and rarity.


 * Another common misnomer is when song dragons were referred to as "weredragons." Unlike actual weredragon-lycanthropes, song dragons were true dragons, their bite did not spread lycanthropy, nor could they be "cured" from the draconic "affliction."


 * One popular legend among song dragons claimed that they were once humans until receiving a blessing from the gods, transforming them into the creatures known as song dragons.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Halls of the High King
 * Novels
 * Elminster's Daughter • The Rage • The Rite • The Ruin • Realms of the Dragons: "The Keeper of Secrets"
 * Stardeep • The Spectral Blaze • God Catcher
 * Stardeep • The Spectral Blaze • God Catcher

Connections
Sangesdrachen