This installment of the My First Monster Manual blog series is the Cactus-flower Dragon.
Environment: Dry arid regions, deserts
Monster Type: Friendly
Color: Blue scales, yellow underbelly, pink wings, red tongue, yellow horns/spine Ridge/claws, green eyes
Features: Wings, Two legs, Long tail, Long tongue
Abilities: Flight, Acid Resistance
Recommended Equipment: Favorite food – acidic nectar of a Carnivorous Cactus
Introduction:
The Cactus Flower Dragon is a tiny brightly colored species of dragon. Measuring only 1.6 SBLs in length due to an extra long tail with a 1 SBL wing span. Horns crown the head of the Cactus Flower Dragon and span down the spine. The most distinguishing feature of a Cactus Flower Dragon is an incredibly long tongue. The long tongue is a unique adaptation allowing the cactus flower dragon to consume its favorite food; the acidic nectar of a carnivorous cactus. The cactus is commonly found among the dunes and crags of great wastes.
Investigation:
We departed the small fishing village of Urlsin securing what few fresh supplies we could. Crossing a great waste without a pack horse slowed our daily progress across the vast arid desert. We moved between crags to stay out of the sun. A great waste contains more life than one would think being such an inhospitable environment. We passed the time by documenting and observing the local flora and fauna. One of the more interesting flora was a small spiny cactus with bright pink petals surrounding a pool of sweet smelling liquid. A closer look revealed the remains of insects and the bones of animals decaying inside the pool.
Observations:
We observed several large flying insects meet their end to these cute little cacti. When they landed on the cactus, the petals pushed them into the sticky acidic pool of nectar. One day as the sun was getting low, we made a new monster discovery. A small blue dragon with pink wings was circling around a cluster of the carnivorous cacti. My assistant and I began to worry, we feared the dragon would become another tragic meal for these deadly plants. We hesitated to scare it away. Instead, we waited so we could make as many observations of the dragon without disturbing it. The dragon stayed in the air flipping around to each cactus in the cluster. The dragon flicked its tongue out dipping into each acidic pool. It was amazing. The small dragon consumed the acidic nectar that killed everything else that touched it. After tasting each cactus, the dragon settle on one and drank its fill.
Conclusion:
Since we started our journey across this great waste, we hadn’t encountered many monsters of note, until, we saw the Cactus Flower Dragon. It was a small dragon but with incredible acidic resistance able to make a meal of deadly carnivorous plant nectar. My assistant had the most brilliant idea; we dug up the cactus that the small dragon seemed to prefer and put it in a small pot to carry with us. We figured it would at least help keep insect pests from bothering us; and if we were lucky, the small blue dragon will come find it for another meal.
Post Script:
We woke well before dawn to travel in the cool morning before the sun got high and the day became too hot. We were delighted to see the small blue dragon came back for another taste of the cactus. My assistant named her Sukie. Hoping to convince her to continue to follow us, we gave her several of the treats we bought from Beatrice’s Candy shop.
About:
The Cactus-flower Dragon is part of our “My First Monster Manual” blog series where we will feature each of the monsters we are considering for inclusion in our new children’s book. Click here to learn more info on My First Monster Manual.
Artist: Daniel Johnson – squaredmotion.com
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