Kelpwings

Kelpwings, interchangeably Kelplings, are a dragon species created by Kelpwing in 2022.

Appearance

Kelpwings are a species of dragon built to survive in both the air and sea. This comes with a major evolutionary trade-off, as they are not as strong in either environment as species specialised for one or the other.

• They are typically light to dark green or yellow; rarely blue or purple.
• They have long, sleek bodies, containing huge muscle mass, giving them their powerful ability to survive in both the air and sea.
• They are highlighted by their yellow "buds" on their chest and back.
  • The sizes of these buds vary from tiny to extremely large. Generally, each "bunch" has 3-9 buds total.

• Their heads are topped by long, sleek, flowing, semi-transparent, green hair, resembling kelp/seaplants.
  • This hair grows and can be cut without any pain or difficulty. Their length also varies heavily depending on genetics.

• They have tail fins, providing their ability to generate huge waves.
• They do not have webbed claws/talons, though they are still powerful swimmers. Albeit not powerful enough to purely survive out at sea, but enough to hunt, survive, and traverse for an extended period of time.
• They have gills that are not visible, as they are hidden in the gaps/slits of the scales.

There is a lot more variation in the species, mainly because of their evolutionary history. Kelpwings/Kelplings are said to be the result of multiple species of dragons interbreeding and evolving, resulting in a species that is highly adaptable to both air and sea environments. Since all the dragons

Survival

A primary danger to Kelpwings is storms, as is the high possibility of windshear. It is not easy for Kelpwings to recover from windshear-induced mid-air instability. They are not safe in the sea either. Strong sudden rip currents can carry them far away almost without warning. These two especially affect hatchlings and younger fledglings who haven't had the chance to learn and adapt to such events yet.

Physical Development

Age tier	Approx. age	Average weight	Height	Wingspan
Hatchling	0-1 years	5-18 kg	0.35-0.65 m	1.2-2.2 m
Dragonet	1-5 years	18-50 kg	0.65-1.0 m	2.2-3.8 m
Fledgling	5-14 years	50-110 kg	1.0-1.4 m	3.8-5.8 m
Adolescent	14-25 years	110-260 kg	1.4-2.1 m	5.8-9.5 m
Adult	25-40 years	350-550 kg	2.3-3.1 m	14-20 m
Elder	40+ years	400-650 kg	2.4-3.2 m	14-21 m

Growth is accelerated during early development and progressively slows with age.

Flight Performance

Age tier	Comfortable speed	Max level speed	Max climb speed	Max dive speed	Typical flight endurance
Hatchling	—	10-20 km/h	5-10 km/h	20-30 km/h	0-0.5 h
Dragonet	20-35 km/h	40-55 km/h	20-30 km/h	60-80 km/h	0.1-1 h
Fledgling	40-60 km/h	70-90 km/h	35-45 km/h	100-140 km/h	0.2-3 h
Adolescent	65-90 km/h	105-135 km/h	55-70 km/h	170-230 km/h	1.5-7 h
Adult	~130 km/h	150-175 km/h	~90 km/h	~320 km/h	5-17 h
Elder	110-125 km/h	140-165 km/h	75-90 km/h	280-310 km/h	3.5-9 h

Flight Range

Age tier	Typical nonstop glide	Excellent-condition glide	Typical nonstop powered flight	Typical flight distance
Hatchling	10-100 m	~300 m	0.1-1 km	0.1-1 km
Dragonet	0.5-2 km	~5 km	3-10 km	5-15 km
Fledgling	2-8 km	~15 km	15-50 km	30-70 km
Adolescent	8-30 km	~60 km	75-200 km	150-300 km
Adult	40-100 km	150-250+ km	500-900 km	700-1,000+ km
Elder	35-90 km	~200 km	400-750 km	600-900 km

Glide distance depends heavily on starting altitude, atmospheric conditions, thermals, and ridge lift.

Swimming

Age tier	Comfortable swim	Fast swim	Maximum sprint
Hatchling	2-5 km/h	6-8 km/h	10 km/h
Dragonet	8-15 km/h	18-25 km/h	30 km/h
Fledgling	15-25 km/h	30-40 km/h	45-50 km/h
Adolescent	25-38 km/h	40-50 km/h	55-65 km/h
Adult	35-50 km/h	50-60 km/h	70-80 km/h
Elder	30-45 km/h	45-55 km/h	65-75 km/h

Flight Mechanics

• Dragons can hover and remain airborne at very low or zero forward speed if they generate sufficient lift through active wingbeats.
• Hovering is substantially more energy-intensive than normal forward flight.
• Dragons do not have a strict conventional fixed-wing stall speed.
• The tailfin provides additional flight stability and is used for underwater propulsion.
• Smaller dragons are significantly more susceptible to windshear because of their lower mass, lower momentum, and developing muscular control.
• Fresh hatchlings are flightless and must be taught to fly.
• Late hatchlings can perform brief flights but have poor endurance and wind tolerance.
• Adolescents approach adult flight performance but have not yet reached adult endurance.
• Adults have the best combination of mass, wing area, power, and endurance.
• Elders generally have lower physical performance than adults but can compensate through superior flight experience and wind-reading ability.

Habitat

The Kelpwings primarily live on land on the various islands scattered across the Thalora-Corvalia Cluster (also referred to as Thalora or Corvalia).

Communication

They speak a language called Strand. There are various dialects of Strand, varying by region. These dialects do not alter the writing; it only changes the pronunciation. Almost all Kelpwings can speak the unified version of Strand.

They generally have an Aussie-ish accent.

Way of Life

Kelpwings live their lives built off of the sea. Ordinary Kelpwings live their lives in coves on the mountainside or in huts on the slopes. They commonly work jobs such as fishers, farmers, merchants, artisans, and soldiers.