Humans:

There are three human political parties, Desarac, Sandorr, and Vahamar.  Most people fall under one of these three groups, and each rider needs to sign under their party to compete.  The largest is the Vahamar, a party that believes dragons are only useful for labor and fighting and cannot be intelegent.  Many also fall under the Sandorr party who believe dragons to be equil to humans in intelegence and purpose.  The rarest group are the Desarac, literally dragon worshippers.  Very rarely does someone compete under this party due to the physical danger to dragons.  More information on these parties can be found later in this book.

Humans can be anything.  From dragon riders to railway employees to the corner butcher or the keeper of the city inn.  If you are a rider though, you will either need to create your dragon or find someone to play your dragon in the story.  Humans may also have housedragons, dragons that do not compete but instead serve purposes around the home or at a place of business.

Dragons:

While a few dragons live in the wild, most in these times know no life but captivity.  Hatched in a hatchery owned by the government, they can be purchased when young for a very small cost and trained to do nearly anything.  Some dragons grow up with their riders or owners, some are purchased by adults who use techniques to grow them in size and in streingth at unnaturally young ages for a quick fighter.  At a certain age dragons who are not selected are sent off for sale and auction around the nation or shipped abroad.

» Life of Dragons
In the wild, Dragons could be seen as lazy creatures. Known to live for up to 800 years, they would much rather lay on a sun bathed rock and watch the day pass, spend time with family, or hunt for food. The life of a tame dragon is much different. Being bonded with a human allows the human who owns them to control what they do with their day. For those who remain house pets, or are too young to fight, they may enjoy a similar life to that of a wild dragon. Some dragons assist their owners with the human's trade. Examples of this could include helping farm, or keeping a fire lit for a blacksmith or locomotive engineer if the dragon is a fire breather. Those who have cold breath could have their human grow to be a grocer, who can use the dragon's breath to keep produce fresh. The possibilities are virtually endless in a world without electronics. For these chores, a small number of unchosen young dragons and veteran dragons with no rider but few wins are kept for sale as a labor force. Wild or tame, it must be remembered that dragons do have the instincts and abilities of predatory animals. Their attitude is based on their human's attitude when they are bonded with one. Just as they are living creatures, they also are powerful weapons, and must be treated as such at times.
Of course, most of the dragons in captivity are used to fight. They live the life of a traveler, carrying their human some of the time, walking beside them at others. Fighting against other dragons to improve their skills, and competing in other smaller competitions and tournaments to gain credentials that would allow them to enter higher ranks. The dragon's human remains astride their back in the fight till the end although in most cases the dragon is the one doing most of the fighting. Both members of every team hopes to one day earn a win the Golden Wing Cup. The human for money and power, the dragon - for gold and for mating rights. Dragons find stones and gold make comfortable bedding, and the best nests for when they take a mate.

Although dragons live much longer than humans, they mature much faster as well. Young dragons are leathal by the age of one, can fly by the age of 3, can carry a human by age 7 and reach full maturity around the age of 10. It is common for a dragon to come into season for the first time not long after reaching full maturity, but when necessary (as is so with tamed dragons) the dragon can control their instincts and urges.

» Hatching in Captivity
Unlike in the wild, where dragons keep their eggs and raise their young, eggs are taken and kept in a large hatchery in the Hall of the Dragon's Paw, where the Dragon Riders meet for the Golden Wing Cup. When a dragon egg hatches, the young dragon is taken to a nursery in the same building, where they are nurtured until a human chooses them. If not chosen within five months of hatching, the young dragons are sent out for use as labor, others are painlessly put to death if it is decided that they cannot be used. This is due to the fact that any dragon over five months old is less likely to be chosen, becomes harder to train, and is too costly to support.

» Being chosen and Forming the Rider's Bond
Many humans are interested in owning a dragon, thus nearly all hatchlings are chosen within their first three weeks out of the egg. At hatching, young dragonlings have many of the same markings and colors as they will for life, and many humans choose by appearance. Any special abilities, such as fire or cold breath, can be determined upon hatching as well, for those that want a dragon with such an ability. Selection is not limited to hatchlings however, and older dragons may be purchased and bonded with. Some cases have shown that successful bonds of the older kind can grow into some of the stronger relationships, but more times than not an older dragon will reject the human and break the bond.
Once a human has chosen their dragon, the dragon and human both are taken to a balcony on the top floor of the arena building, where the human's thumb, and a soft scale between the dragon's eyes are both pricked (for children and hatchlings) or a dagger slice across the palm and between the dragon's eyes is cut (for adults) to draw blood. the two wounds are placed together, and held in place for no less than four minutes. although seemingly meaningless at first, the dragon begins to show an unnatural fondness for the human within a day, and is safe to handle afterward. Over the first years after the bond, the human will find themselves with new abilities and strength flowing from their dragon.
Dragons live longer than their humans, although bonded humans are known to live years longer than average for humans. Those dragons who have won past tournaments are allowed to live as service dragons among humans, some take new humans, most offer services to train young dragons. In some occasions a dragon may be forced into the sale market as a labor dragon or a shortcut purchase for someone who dosn't care to go through the training process with a young dragon. Some occasionally manage to escape to the wild. However, those dragons who never once reach the best twenty at all in their lives of competition and do not recieve offers for purchase within a month are forced to lay down their lives, seen as not being worthy of continuing life. Concerned riders, or humans who do not compete, may pay to register their dragons to be spared this penalty.

»»» Species of Dragon - Details »»»

» Wyvern - 2 wing 2 leg

Due to their generally smaller size, Wyverns are the most agile of the dragon breeds. unlike other dragons, Wyverns are able to use their tail to balance themselves on two hind legs, much like one would see some predatory dinosaurs standing. Instead of forelegs or arms, these dragons have a pair of wings with extra wing fingers to allow them to stand on all fours using their wings as if they were forelegs.

SPECS: (See the bottom of this post for details on how measurements are taken)
Average length | 19.8 feet (6.04 m)
Average Height | [upright]8.3 feet (2.52 m), [all fours]5.5 feet (1.68 m)
Average Wingspan | 27.7 feet (8.45 m)
% of dragon pop. | 22%
Male:Female ratio | 2:1
Average attack specs| flightpeed:8 groundspeed:6 strength:4 agility:9 defense:5 focus:7 Endurance:6

» Western - 2 wing 4 leg
The most common species of dragon, western dragons could be seen as the bulkiest dragons. The strongest of the dragons, the biggest downsides to riding a western are their slower reaction time and flight speed. However they make up for these with fast land speed and can throw a lot of weight into a vertical drop when flying. Most of the dragons who have developed breath abilities such as fire, or 'frozen breath' are of this breed.
SPECS: (See the bottom of this post for details on how measurements are taken)
Average length | 24.5 feet (7.47 m)
Average Height | 5.8 feet (1.77 m)
Average Wingspan | 35.6 feet (10.85 m)
% of dragon pop. | 46%
Male:Female ratio | 3:5
Average attack specs | flightpeed:6 groundspeed:9 strength:8 agility:6 defense:7 focus:5 Endurance:9

» Eastern - 4 leg
Many consider the eastern dragon to be the most elegant of the dragons. Many of these dragons develop ornamental appearing scale patterns on their enlongated, somewhat serpantine bodies. Although flightless, they can fit into areas other dragons can't, and can press themselves closer to the ground or shift their bodies easier to avoid attacks.

SPECS: (See the bottom of this post for details on how measurements are taken)
Average length | 29.2 feet (8.90 m)
Average Height | [upright]5.6 feet (1.71 m)
% of dragon pop. | 32%
Male:Female ratio | 10:9
Average attack specs | flightpeed:0 groundspeed:8 strength:7 agility:7 defense:8 focus:8 Endurance:8

Dragon's Length : Is measured by running a rope against the dragon's scales from the point directly between the front of the nostrils, along the very center of the head, along the spine, and to the very tip of the tail.
Dragon's Height: Is the direct measurement between the top of the dragon's eye ridge to the floor, when the dragon is standing in an average relaxed stance with head looking straight forward.

Attack Specs: Are the ratings between 10 (best) and 1 (lowest) for various abilities.
>>Flightspeed: Is the speed a dragon can move when running
>>Airspeed: Is the speed a dragon can fly
>>Strength: Is the amount of force a dragon can push in an attack
>>Agility: Is how well the dragon can maneuver and react while moving at full speed
>>Defense :Is how many or how hard a dragon can take in the way of attacks
>>Focus: Is how aware the dragon can remain in battle. This takes in count watching the opponant as well as surroundings (as to not injure non-involved creatures or items) and paying attention to their rider.
>>Endurance: Is how long a well trained dragon can fight before becoming too tired to battle.
Quote
When stating dragon size for your profile, if you desire to do so, use these equasions to keep the same proportions as average.
L= Length
H=Height
W=Wingspan

Wyvern:
H=(L/3)x1.25 (replace 1.25 with .88 for "all fours")
W=(L/5)x7

Western:
H=(L/4)
W=(L/5.5)x8

Eastern:
H=(L/5.25)