Other Modes of Movement

gain speed by diving initially. Failing that, a dragon takes flight by leaping into the air, giving itself a boost by snapping its tail downward and pushing off with its hind legs.

Once airborne, a dragon stays aloft with deceptively slow and stately wing beats. The wings develop tremendous lift and thrust on each stroke, allowing the dragon to coast for brief periods. To further conserve energy in flight, a dragon makes use of any updrafts it can find. Under the right conditions, a dragon can soar for hours with little effort. A dragon attempting to fly a long distance usually begins by finding an updraft and spiraling upward to a comfortable altitude, then soaring from one updraft to another. Dragons can quickly cover great distances in this manner.

A dragon in straight and level flight holds its body fairly straight, with its neck and tail extended, its front legs tucked under its chest, and its rear legs thrown back. The dragon’s powerful neck and tail, along with the frills on its back, help keep it on course. Although a dragon’s wings do not resemble a bird’s wings, a dragon uses its wings as a bird of prey does, with smooth, steady downstrokes and quick upstrokes.

Wyrmlings are much less majestic flyers than older dragons; they have smaller wings and are forced to beat them furiously to stay aloft. They resemble fluttering bats when in flight.

Despite their vast wingspans, dragons can fly through relatively narrow openings simply by folding their wings and coasting through.

Most dragons have difficulty executing quick maneuvers in the air. They prefer to make wide, slow turns, using their tails as rudders. If a more violent maneuver is necessary, a dragon uses its head and tail to turn itself, and it can also alter the shape and stroke of its wings. Even so, a dragon has a wide turning circle, and only the smallest and most maneuverable dragon can turn within its own length.

Many dragons have perfected some acrobatic tricks to help them maneuver in tight spaces. The first of these is hovering. Normally, a dragon must maintain some forward momentum to stay in the air, but some dragons can beat their wings with enough speed and efficiency to halt their forward motion and hover in place. While hovering, a dragon can fly straight up, straight down, sideways, or even backward. Hovering takes considerable effort, however, and a dragon can do little else while it hovers. The downdraft created by a hovering dragon is considerable, and can create huge clouds of dust and debris. Some dragons can even use this downdraft as a weapon.

Other dragons can take advantage of their supple bodies to perform a wingover—a sort of aerial somersault that lets them change direction quickly. The dragon thrusts the front of its body upward and twists its body into a spin. This maneuver allows the dragon to turn in place through an arc of up to 180 degrees while maintaining its present altitude.

“Not every dragon falls upon you like a thunderbolt from the heavens.”

—Stewart Debruk, dragon hunter

A dragon doesn’t have to take to the air to demonstrate amazing speed.

RUNNING OR WALKING

A dragon on the ground moves like a cat, and can be just as graceful (though the bigger dragons tend to lumber along). When it’s not in a hurry, a