Spurred by how I (surprisingly) have not written about this as well as the angry actions of such creatures in Game of Thrones in the last few episodes, I think it's time I write about a topic I know a fair good amount about.
Cue the giant wingbeats!
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Like always, I start this off with some music to fit the topic:
Long before The Elder Scrolls video game franchise and George R.R. Martin wrote about our favorite Targaryan who has claim to the last three of her house's signature beast, dragons were already the well-established lords of high fantasy when it comes to mythical creatures. Traditionally shown as fearsom fire-breathing monsters born of nightmares and the bane to most fictional lands, the dragon has come to be almost larger then it's own massive legend.
But, what most don't realize or fail to remember for that matter, is that there's more then one type of dragon. And it's pretty surprising the number of types there are.
However, one has to tred carefully in the shadow of a Western dragon. In this type there are even sub-types of dragons. Let's go exploring for the cousins, shall we?
Wyvern A wyvern is not so different from the common image, save for that he has only two legs and, perhaps his most striking feature, his barbed scorpion-like tail ending which delivers a lethal poison. Large enough to kill elephants with either it's claws, tail or powerful bite, the Wyvern is something Western explorers in Africa claimed to have seen. Marco Polo on one of his expeditions, writes that he encountered Wyverns for himself but who knows if these beasts were real or not. They are even harder to kill then normal dragons, due to the enviroment in which they live in. These have appeared in the popular Kingdom Hearts video games as an enemy. 
Lindworms Not as glorious as the Wyvern or the Dragon, the Lindworm lacks wings. At times he even lacks legs as well, and generally does not have a fiery breath. In replacement of this, it's bite is lethally poisonous. Think on the level of the modern-day Komodo Dragon, who's reputation is as fierce as it's mythical namesake. In mythology, the World Serpent Niddhoggr in Norse stories could be seen as a Lindworm, for he was large enough to circle the world and it often shown with no legs or wings. Niddhoggr was also supposed to be one of the beasts unleashed during the End of the World but perhaps I shall write on that myth another time....
And those are just the ones off the top of my head.
You can find dragons everywhere though, in their Western format. Game of Thrones features three by the names of Drogon, Viserion and Rhaegal as well as the sigil of House Targaryan (specifically a Hydra), the classic epic Beowulf (terrible movie though, trust me) and everywhere in between. The books of the Inheritance series use dragons as companions for their Riders, but they're still dangerous to begin with. Even Falkor the Luck Dragon, in The Neverending Story is by all means a Western-based dragons. Video games like The Elder Scrolls, Oblivion and Dragon's Dogma have them and HOW can I not mention everyone's dice-based tabletop game Dungeons and Dragons? I'd have to role a d20 to save myself from the damage I'd take!
Dragons seem to pop up everywhere, though, and not just in Europe. The Celts also had dragons in the usage and designing of their intricate knotwork and art, which often depicted dragons. The Vikings as well drew them quite often. While they are more commonplace in the lore of that continent, they also from time to time appear in the Americas as well.
In North America, the legends of the Dragon are few and far between. It's not generally known if the Native Americans of the country had legends of a dragon-like creature but there is one story which does lead to a small belief that they may: the beast is known as the Piasa Bird.
""The Piasa bird is said to have flown over the "Great Father of Waters" thousands of moons before the white man came, when magolonyn and mastodon were still living." The Piasa, or Piusa, means "the bird that devours men" or "bird of the evil spirit". Early drawings depict it as part bird, reptile, mammal, and fish. The colors used in early paintings symbolize war and vengeance (red), death and despair (black), and hope and triumph over death (green)."- Illinois Department of Natural Resources
A Native American creation, the Piasa Bird has little information on the whereabouts of it's mythology. A picture of this hideous and ferocious beast was found on the cliff bluffs in Alton, Illinoise by explorers. The legend of the Piasa says that it "swooped across the beach and carried one away. From that moment on, the Illini were terrorized by this incredible and blood-thirsty monster." . He's still there on the bluffs, preserved for everyone to see: personally I don't think I'd like to encounter him for myself.
More often then North American dragons are the ones seen in South American and Mezo-American cultures, like the Aztecs and Mayans. Here, dragons were not just feared but often worshipped and put on the status of gods and deities as well. Probably the most well-known god who shares his fame with dragons is Quetzocoatl, a god who is often represented as a shimmering and shining serpentine dragon. You aren't going to see four-legged fire spitting monsters here. Dragons in this region have no legs, no fire powers and are covered in feathers. They moreso resemble giant carnivorous birds, for that matter. With how they are surrounded by birds like the Harpy Eagle, one of the larger birds of prey in the world, perhaps it is only natural they thought of their dragons to resemble these flying predators.
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You'd think I'm done with the subject of dragons, don't you.
Wrong! Next time in the blog, we cross the lands far and wide and head to Asia and other ports unknown for their own interpretations of the popular dragon myth and legend.
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