Draco choukansii

We call ourselves Chouka rather than Dragon which is a man-name for all the Kinds. My Kind is not born of this World or of its biology. We are far flung, exiles from a distant place, 1,500 light years distant in the direction of what thy present astronomers call Orion. All of the main stars are large, much larger than the yellow dwarf this World calls a Sun. Our sun, too, was a yellow dwarf slightly smaller than Sol.. It is not visible to thee here without the aid of powerful telescopes. However, there is one star that is only a few light years from what once was our small system of worlds. It is in the sword of the hunter below the great nebula. Tis called, Na'ir al Saif.

Our legends say we are refugees, scattered forth from the our world before it became inhospitable to life. How many other worlds beyond harbor our Kind we do not know. We are but few, remnants of what was. We live upon an island we call The Refuge. There all the Kinds, both ours and those of this World have come to live in safety and peace.

The Refuge is a construct, built by the great Dom'Chouk Elder, Valnicar and his cohorts, the Dom'Chouk Porgo and his mate, Agnai, over a millennium ago. It exists, phase shifted from this reality by but a few seconds and is forever removed from danger by those that would exploit or kill all who are there. We rebuild and grow in numbers as do the other Kinds amongst us. The Refuge increases its size as the population grows and provides us with all we need. From time to time we leave on our forays to learn of the rest of the world and to gather those of the Kinds who seek refuge amongst us. Such is our history.

Anatomically speaking, we resemble Dragon Kinds, but not as large in most cases. At full size, we are only twelve feet tall from the top of our heads to our feet although from tip of muzzle to tip of tail, we may be eighteen to twenty feet long. We have a wingspan of over 30 feet and despite that we are excellent fliers. The essence of our existence is freedom of flight. We are capable of remaining in flight night and day, even able to sleep in the air. Our navigation senses allow us to detect land far beyond a horizon before we can see it. We can tell what shape it is, how much there is and even if there is life. We also have a homing sense that allows us to navigate in all conditions of weather, night or day, to bring us home.

Below are pictures of some of my family and myself. when younger. I hope they will allow thee to learn something of our Kind and see that like thyself, we are People with hopes, aspirations, dreams, and fears. Above all, despite the way we appear, we are simple farmers and fisher folk who only wish to be allowed to live in peace. We are no threat to thee or thy Peoples.

This is my grandfather, Kingcred, in one of his authoritative moods. He is an Elder of the Dom'Chouk and wants me to someday reach his level of wizardry. I am a Hrouk'Yon class wizard now. My grandfather says I will soon be a first level Dom'Chouk. I am not so sure. It is a lot of responsibility and I am apprehensive of what I will have to do.

This is my grandfather, Kingcred again with my father, Dobreen, when he was young. He had eaten something that made him sick. Grandfather is helping him get rid of it by tapping the reflex point on his back. It causes one to cough and spit back what is inside.

This is me grabbing an Imfi. They are not animals but People like us only smaller and furry. They have extraordinary telepathic power and are linked with each other all the time. We are partners in exploration with them. This one is a friend of mine. His name is Hralp.

This is me and Hralp again. I am giving him an "airplane ride." He enjoys it and shares his experiences with all the other Imfi in the ground. I am am expert flyer and like to do acrobatics. It took Hralp a while to catch on, but he is very enthusiastic about flying now.

This is my father and grandfather when father was a lot younger. He had become Samo'Chouk class wizard and he gave my grandfather a gift in the form of a living image my grandfather was able to enter and be with friends long gone. Later, my father took him to Yosemite for real and they had a great time.

My grandfather is a very strict teacher when it comes to safety. In the moment pictured, I wished I wasn't there. He grew up in a time when flight close to the ground or near geographical features like mountains and forests and hills could conceal enemies who would like nothing better than to claim a youngling's life, or any other for that matter. I flew close to treetops and Grandfather sprang up before me. "Surprise!" He came after me. I made a frantic attempt to escape and almost did before he caught me by the tail, dragged me in and tickled me senseless. At other times, he has bitten my tail, legs, feet, neck. I wasn't harmed, but it shocked me! He only wants me to learn to be safe. I can't fault him for it. I love him, so I learn.

When I was old enough to learn to fly, my Grandfather assured me it was easy. I wasn't so sure about that. He said my instincts would kick in, my wings would spread and I would be fine. He took me up to 10,000 feet and dropped me. Here I am imitating a rock! "WE-HAW-HEE-HOO-EEE!"

I have other pictures but they are not finished. When they are, I will add them here so everyone can see them.

N'Hreh'Leh!

Back Thou Goes!