Arsani Dragon

Arsani Dragons are a female-only breed of dragon given out on Valentine's Day 2013. They are only capable of producing more Arsanii during a certain period in February, though are breedable year-round (but only producing the male's breed of egg). Each scroll/account is limited to 2 of these eggs to prevent hoarding. Arsani is an Azerbaijani word that means "Hive," therefore they can be called Hive Dragons.

Arsani Dragons were the first holiday dragon to have a Spriter's Alt for the creator of the concept, Walker, making her the first non-spriter to get a Spriter's Alt.

When sorted by "Breed" they are listed as "Valentine 2013 dragon" on a users scroll.

Egg
"This egg is a deep pink."

Hatchling
"Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. It keeps trying to give you pieces of its nesting material as a gift."

Mature Hatchling
"Aww... It’s a cute baby dragon. It keeps trying to give you pieces of its nesting material as a gift. And look! It has grown wings! It must be close to maturing."

Adult
"Arsani Dragons place a heavy emphasis on community. They are born with the innate ability to sense the emotions of others in their own species, and therefore take great care to ensure the happiness of their brethren. It’s not uncommon for them to give gifts and affection to those around them without warning. This good-natured giving extends far beyond the reaches of their own kind. Anyone who gains the friendship of a Arsani Dragon is likely to receive food, pretty rocks, and occasionally even flowers at regular intervals. The shared connection of the Arsani Dragons also allows them to draw on each other’s strength when performing feats of magic, making them some of the strongest spell casters yet discovered."

Sprite Artists

 * Corteo (All)

Extra Information
Walker the concept artist of the Arsani Dragons released the following information on the forums: “ ''Dragon Species Name: Arsani Dragon (Plural is Arsanii)(In Azerbaijani hive is, "arı şanı." I altered it a bit to make it Arsani, but it does have its roots in a translation.)

Size: The average is around 15’, but can vary depending on age and other factors.

General Behavior: Arsani Dragons live in hives, the size of which is only limited by the abundance of food and water in their habitat. They’re a hive minded species, which means group identity takes precedence over individual identity. Each Arsani functions as a ‘worker bee’ for the hive, each with different functions and jobs depending on their talent; however, unlike a true bee hive, Arsanii do not have a ‘queen’ of any sort. Each worker has equal status to her sisters. Since they place such heavy emphasis on group identity, the hurt of another Arsani Dragon is akin to a hurt of their own. Because of this, they go out of their way to ensure the safety and happiness of their hivemates (covered in description). Arsani in captivity substitute this hive for the dragons and humans they are raised around. In their minds, they will often see their friends and family as extensions of themselves (quite literally). They provide them with the same sort of care and affection as they would hivemates. Intelligence is relative. The larger the group they are raised in, the higher their IQ becomes. Arsanii from the largest of hives can even be more intelligent than humans (although, not by much). They consult their hivemates in almost everything, and the combined power of their intellect often leads to many creative and interesting solutions and answers. This effect is also mirrored in captive Arsanii; the more they experience at a young age, the higher their IQ tends to be. If raised in the company of loving humans and dragons, their intelligence levels out around that of a toddler (although, this is boosted considerably if another Arsani Dragon resides with them). A neglected Arsanii with little socialization usually does not live long, but if they manage to make it to adulthood their intellect remains at that of a canine. This same theory also applies to their magical abilities. It’s common practice not to keep more than two Arsanii in a household, because otherwise the spells they cast may be too strong for their keepers to contain (if ever the need should arise). This way no one gets hurt when an Arsanii casts a defensive spell out of fear. However, most of the time, an Arsani Dragon will use their magical abilities for altruistic reasons. They’re enthusiastic to aide in spells, which makes them good company for magicians and white dragons in particular. The most common type of defensive magic they perform is shields to block attacks, but if someone outside their own person is in danger they can (and will) go on the attack.

Mating/Parenting Behavior: Arsanii are extremely open to almost any mate during their breeding season. They only breed their own kind for a narrow window of time near the beginning of spring, so they’ll usually settle for the nearest available and willing male. The species itself has no set mating rituals, but they will often mimic the practices of the male’s species in order to best attract his attention. However, they do have a slight preference towards magically inclined breeds (magis, blacks, whites, etc.) in order to strengthen the next generation’s magical abilities. The concept of parenthood doesn’t exist in the normal sense in an Arsanii hive. No matter which of the dragons lays an egg, all of her hive mates have an equal responsibility in raising the hatchling, whether it be of their species or not. Some Arsanii hatchlings can’t even pick out their own parent from the rest of the group, but it’s not something they suffer for. Hatchlings are smothered with attention, love, and occasionally discipline from the whole hive. In captivity, an Arsani mother expects the others around her to play a role in raising her young. If the humans or other dragons fail to interact with the hatchling, they’ve even been known to move them from the nest and drop them at the human’s/dragon’s feet. Because of their love of company and socialization, Arsani Dragons are more than willing to raise and lay eggs of other breeds in the off season.

Habitat: They are adaptable to almost any environment and can live just about anywhere. However, they have a preference for the rainforest because it’s easiest to find their favorite foods (any sort of sweet fruit) there. They are less common in places where the environment doesn’t support large groups of dragons (like the desert or volcano).

Communication: Arsani Dragons communicate almost exclusively through their mental link. If talking with other species, they use that telepathic abilities that almost every dragon species shares. Their vocal chords are underdeveloped because of disuse. Although they can make soft sounds, they are usually completely silent. However, they are extremely expressive in their body language, especially if raised in captivity away from the ease of instantaneous communication.

Death/Mourning: The death of a hivemate hits an Arsani particularly hard, especially since they experience the process of dying (at least emotionally) jointly with them. Arsanii have long periods of mourning, sometimes lasting for years at a time, and many elaborate rituals regarding death. The most common is leaving a daily gift/offering at the deceased individual’s place of rest. One has to be particularly careful with an Arsani in captivity that has recently lost someone. If left alone, they’ve been known to turn to necromancy (one of the few dark magics they do practice, although only in times of extreme distress) in their grief, and occasionally they will succeed in reviving the corpse as a zombie. This situation can be particularly dangerous if the deceased was also an Arsani Dragon. When the zombie reawakens, they will sometimes retain their mental connection to the Arsani that revived them. This alters the personality of the living Arsani and makes them extremely fierce, to the point they are impossible to control.'' — Walker