Update Thread 39: The Newer Beginning

[Mamorien]

Chapter Trigger Warnings: Explicit Minor Character Death, Explicit Act of Atrocity (mass murder), Explicit Act of Abduction

Scylla: Boulder-class dragon
Overview: High-stealth, pack-oriented dragon optimized for terra-urban supremacy.  Instinctive ambush tactics render the dragon highly effective in the close quarters of the tunnels of terra-urban environments, and the telescoping neck allows the dragon to attack and retreat with its main body remaining unexposed.  In addition, they are skilled pack hunters, to the point where the ancient Greeks assumed that a pack of Scylla was a single dragon; this tendency can be trained in terra-urban units, allowing significant close-quarters synergistic combat effectiveness.  Above ground, they are only primarily of military use in congested areas, where the dragon's slower speed and larger core body will not allow them to be targeted easily. 
Breath Type: Ethylbenzene/Oxygen-melted mineral projectiles.  Due to the telescoping nature of the neck and throat, Scylla have a biological valve that will inhibit firebreathing when the neck is past half-extension.  Scylla will preferentially consume mafic rocks over felsic rocks to fuel their projectiles, as the viscosity of the felsic magma risks damage to their tissues.  As a result, Scylla magma projectiles tend to be of low viscosity and closer to a spray. 
Identification: Medium Size.  Dark brown to gray-black scales and hide.  Four legs with digging/shovel paws capable of grasping only large objects; moderate single wing-pair.  Bilateral spike rows along thorax's frontal plane, parallel with belly, used for anchoring in tunnels.  Long armored head with jaws optimized for grasping and crunching, single nose horn used for digging.  Central thorax roughly egg-shaped.  Most significant feature is the extensible neck; normally in a contracted position, with a length of half that of the thorax, it can extend out to four or five times the length of the thorax, and still maintain flexibility at joints.  Purple eyes; iris width varies minimally on mood; secondary eyelids shield against bright light.
Strategic Role: Terra-urban supremacy; urban supremacy; close-quarters infantry support
Known Weaknesses: Scylla are highly pack-oriented; removing their packmates, especially their riders, will typically put the dragon into full fight-or-flight mode.  At full extension, the neck is highly vulnerable to injury along its length.  In flight, the Scylla is also very slow.  If injured in open air, Scylla are known to develop agoraphobia as a result.
Phenotype Cluster: B5^F3-SØSØS1+MØTØT5+
Populations: Small to Moderate.  Originally located primarily around sea caves in the Aegean Sea and Black Sea, Scylla have never have had significant success in spreading from their original territories.  However, the Turkish Empire has had a successful breeding program in keeping their numbers up for conservation purposes, and many of their urban infantry units are paired with Scylla, to the point where it is those units' signature dragon breed. 

This week's A Thing of Vikings starts in Nidaros, where Ruffnut gets to hear Father Henriksson's full confession and learns of his final stratagem. After a brief cut to Sigurd and the other dragon Varangians stopping to rest on the eastern shore of the Adriatic, we pick up with Yngvarr tracking down God-fearing kidnappers. In Cornwall, Hiccup and Astrid discuss who should be running and who on the back of their (currently ground-bound) dragon, until Gunvor and Toothless settle the matter. In Nidaros again, Ruffnut is reunited with her children, then helps Magnus and his thanes settle a dispute about loyalty and trust. On the Adriatic shore, after a night's approximate rest, Sigurd gets a sitrep from Gunnar. In Cornwall, Wulfhild sees a pagan and A Downed Dragon demonstrate that love than which it is said no man hath a greater. And we close with Sigurd and company returning to a Constantinople in flames...

https://archiveofourown.org/works/104089...s/38295548
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12639117/66...Of-Vikings