Keenan Taylor
@talesofkaimere
Scientific Illustrator and Fantasy Author
Two of the Laughing Sisters (red) and one of the Blackthorn Banshees, two of the three female dragon packs in the northern territories of Ka’he Kahn Island where Pact of the Dragon takes place.
A selection of dragons we’ll meet in my upcoming novel, Pact of the Dragon:
Gorgons are a kind of palathere, one of the major Permian Island herbivore clades. Most palatheres are small and nocturnal burrowers, but the gorgons and behemoths have grown enormous, being among the most abundant and successful herbivores on the archipelago. Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqeX...
1. Common Wyvern 2. Roc 3. †Giant Mormolycan 4. †Giant Chimera 5. †Eastern Bear Croc 6. †Mountain Wyvern 7. †Giant Tapir Croc Cousin 8. †Fuckass Anomodont 9. †Giant Hodgepodge 10. Meridian Behemoth 11. †Meridian Oliphaunt 12. Questing Beast 13. Bird 14. Stallion Bird
This draft of Pact of the Dragon is 241 thousand words. It was 14 thousand in April. Matters may have gotten *slightly* out of hand. Off to my editor she may need a liiiittttle more time than we anticipated.
Megafauna that thrived on the pre-dragon savannas of Occidia and Western Meridia:
They use shred-stalk papyrus, a linen thread lock, and beeswax. I used copy paper, ribbon for Christmas presents, and Burt’s Bees Lavender Vanilla lip balm. Basically the same materials.
Quick letterlocking concept for Pact of the Dragon. Way I was taught eons ago had the hole through the text so wanted to make a portion without text to be folded and used for the lock. I mention a few different styles but this is the only one I show, so wanted my own version to make sure it worked.
Here we have a Pachypanthera trying to defend his Juxia kill from a much larger Titanophoneus, while a Jian dromaeosaur looks on hoping for some scraps, Nemicolopterus hide on the other side of the microraptor's tree, and an African leopard waits to see how this all plays out.
The hylobatomid pithedactyls, a once-thriving cynodont sphinx clade, is even attributed with giving dragons their spitting venom!
Sphinx is often seen as a paraphyletic grouping in a lot of Assembly literature. Many animals, including basal draconiiformes and even a group of cynodonts, have sphinx in their common name.
There are many wild relatives, including horned heavyweights and social giants.
Sphinx is strictly applied to a group of cat-like therocephalians found on Kaimere's Permian Islands. The bast is a small member that has been domesticated for companionship and pest control. Cheers to @shinygander.bsky.social for the thumbnail! Link to episode: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo3X...
A selection of native birds and beasts from Mokao Ka’he Kahn, the island on which a vast majority of Pact of the Dragon takes place:
A selection of Mexican dinosaurs commissioned for an upcoming program at a local library: Acantholipan, a nodosaur with a large spike somewhere on its back. Xenovenator, a dome-headed troodontid. Mexidracon, an ornithomimid freak with long hands. Magnapaulia: BIG PAUL.
Though feral dragons are primarily derived from the now-extinct mountain wyvern, the dragonriders are said to have incorporated both green and common wyverns into their domesticated stock for a range of traits.
Luhokewa the Copper Guardian is an old dominant male we meet in Pact of the Dragon. The green pigments in his skin and fur are relics of early integration of jungle wyvern into the population of domesticated mountain wyverns. He bears tall horns and long beard of a resident buck.
Snagglehorn is one of my dragon characters and I'm so excited to design him. Was inspired by these fuckass goats with extra and wonky horns. Most dragon bucks shed horn sheaths in winter or spring but not Snagglehorn. Inspired by cervids that get 'devil's antlers' and don't shed.
That said, much of their flight is gliding, sometimes with wings only half open. They have several more neck vertebrae compared to common wyverns and dragons. Their venom also is more of a focused jet and is more potent than the wider spray of common wyverns and many dragons.
Some predators, however, thrived. Among those for whom the new status quo proved a gift was the laelaps, a small, versatile omnivore that thrived in this new context.
When the dragons broke free of subjugation to their riders, they quickly hunted many large prey animals to extinction. Many predators reliant on these herds suffered or died alongside them.
The Laelaps, Therocephalian Hound of Kaimere Link to episode: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNtW...
Some mosasaurs and a mosasword. The sigil of Clan Vugalanex, a noble Briken family, is a roaring white serpent. Their ancestor was said to have been saved from drowning by an albino mosasaur. This motif is often worked into their swords, such as that of Lord Anakules, here.
The Ka’he Kuln sphinx is, at around 30-60 kilos, the largest native predator on the island of Mokao Ka’he Kahn, though invasive feral predators ranging from laelaps to dragons. Bast are around 2-8 kilos have been domesticated, being popular pest control and house pets.
Roo-hogs are hopping, horned therocephalians with numerous species found throughout the Permian Islands. They are formidable combatants. Numerous species, including the Septenian roo-hog or Satyr, have been domesticated. Link to episode: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni3t...
Working so much on a spitting cobra-inspired dragon has me contemplating other projectile venom concepts. This is a multituberculate that ‘spits’ venom from its foot spurs.