Drake afflictions, terms and conditions (Patreon)

Drake conditions

I decided to make a small post to expand on some of the terms used in their universe.

Bonding: a merging of two drakes. Bonding is conceptually similar to marriage and love and breaking yourself in half all at once. Each drake gives a part of themself to the other. They share one consciousness during the bonding ritual and for life can intuitively know if their mate is in danger, sick, dead, etc. they also take on traits of their mates personality. Bonding is frowned upon and is an inherited ability from Mistavian dragons whom bond for life. If even one bonded drake dies, the other will follow almost immediately. The sorrow and breaking of spirit will kill them. Similarly, forceably separated bonded pairs react irrationally and violently. For these hazardous reasons, bonding is the rarest and most frowned upon drake "disorder".

Imprinting: similar to a bond but this can be one-sided. An imprinted drake begins to inadvertently start the bonding process though it can't be completed without both parties sharing an imprint for one another. An imprint is deeper than human love and is a connection so deep that drakes will readily kill to protect those they imprint on. Imprinting has been selectively bred "out" of the vast majority of drake genetics, as it’s extremely dangerous. Nearly all military drakes have had the ability nullified as an embryo. A good indication that one (or more) drakes have bonded is the willingness to show physical affection. Normally taboo areas in their society such as forearm and wrist touching as well as hollow touching is common with an imprint.

Breaking an imprint CAN kill the imprinted drake. It’s not 100% fatal but it leads to lasting problems...

Broken imprint trauma: continuing from above, an imprint that has been broken or shattered either by chemical suppression, denial by the potential mate, death of the potential mate, or being ripped apart by other circumstances has a traumatic effect on the drake which was imprinted. A neurochemical imbalance occurs leading to bouts of hyped-rage, extreme depression and listlessness. Imprinted drakes are never the same once they have imprint trauma. They fear being close to anyone again (rightfully so if they survived) and will actively avoid connections so as to not feel the pain again. Imprint trauma is both a mental and physical condition. It weakens the body's ability to fight infection and disease and many with this condition will die of starvation simply because they’re too depressed to eat.

Albinism: extremely rare and passed on genetically. Other flaws are carried in drake albinism genes and therefore those found to be carriers of it or whom actively display albinism are almost always sterilized. Conditions that piggyback on the albinism chromosone: blindness, deafness

Cancers: drakes have evolved into cancer free beings. If something grew they have the technology to eliminate it easily and efficiently.

Chaos: the deadliest infection from their home world. No drakes alive carry chaos, however all augments carry a dead strain of the chaos virus. It is a death sentence to any who get this virus. There is no surviving it whatsoever. It is an adaptive sentient virus.

Amanathine disease: a disease caused by addiction to Amanathine. Amanathine is a crystallized radioactive isotope from the drake home world. It has an incredibly long decay and can therefore last tens of thousands of years, producing billions of watts of power. However, it is also a vital ingredient in Methamanathine which is a back alley street drug. The effects are superior strength and stamina and takers view it as a steroid, but this type of mana is toxic and not meant to be ingested. The disease eventually withers the mind and the toxins and harsh radioactive elements destroy vital organs. The effects can be undone but the "fix" of the mana drug is a hard one to give up.

Chaomanathine: a steroid invented by the govt by combining the chaos host virus with active Amanathine crystals. The crystals colonize at the base of the spinal column along with the false chaos-cells creating the spurs that all augmented drakes have. This is a powerful drug and dangerous. "Roid rage" doesn’t come close to describing it’s effects. In a biologically augmented drake, this chemical gives their body a permanent strength, speed, and resilience boost. Augmented drakes are stronger than ten or more normal drakes, the crystals of Amanathine being pumped in their bloodstream almost constantly. They are also far larger than their normal drake counterparts, with far less patience and much worse rage issues. They are practically invincible as even at deaths door an augmented drake's nervous system will signal for another chaomanathine boost and they will be flooded with the chemical to keep going.

Side effects are burnout. A drake that uses too much chaomanathine goes into a coma after they "come down" and are easily captured or killed at that point.

Toxic shock syndrome: similar to humans, drakes too have glands that are specialized for certain purposes. If the stomach, intestines or the acid gland in the roof of their mouth is ruptured, the toxins will spread in their internal organs and they will die within hours without treatment.

Lesser known issues-

Boneless Kill claws: An uncommon genetic disorder that affects the bones in the drake "dew claw" as their kill claws are not technically a phalange like the other toes, sometimes they are born without bones and hang limp at the sides of the foot. This also means that the drake with the issue cannot run properly and limps while they walk as the largest digit is the kill claw and has a large pad for aiding balance and weight distribution.

Ingrown talons: claws neglected so long they curl back on themselves. Often seen with very old drakes. It’s quite painful and can only be fixed surgically as the vein in the claw grows with the claw. This is why you file your claws kids!

Sea mange: similar to earth mange but caused by aquatic Protozoa and not burrowing mites. The Protozoa eat the flesh in the upper layers of skin causing fur to fall out in clumps. Tropical drakes are the source of this disease and are the most resilient to it. Northerns and southerns exposed may end up entirely bald before curing the affliction.