Dragons
Dragons are perhaps the most amazing life-form in all of Nova Refuge. Upon their first arrival to the galaxy, Humanity was shocked to find the ancient dragons of their fantasies come to life and even living in and moving through the vacuum of space with ease. It is speculated that the Earth legends of dragons actually arose from Space Dragons that may have passed by Earth many millennia ago. Very little is known of the various types of dragons witnessed or thought to exist.
Legends
Dragons are very rarely encountered by Humanity, lending further credence to their legendary status. Space Dragons sometimes hunt types of Skrakki in asteroid fields and inhale Starlight Gas from gas giants, where Humans may witness them in passing and often at a great distance, should the Dragon either not notice them or allow them to survive the encounter. It is unlikely that the mysteries will ever be solved of how intelligent dragons truly are, what if any culture they have, how and where they came to be, and what they know of history and the nature of the universe. A few skeletons of Space Dragons have been found, seemingly laid to rest with ceremony, on the surface of some planets.
Helexith
Currently, the only group of Natives ever known to have socially interacted with any Dragon is the Mahlok. Helexith formed an alliance with Space Dragons at one point, using them for space travel and transport. This was how the Mahlok reached the planet Slasheth to conquer the Slashrim in the early days of their empire. However, the Dragons suddenly left the alliance, leaving the Mahlok to develop their own starships. Humanity does not know how this alliance was started or why it was ended.
Biology
The mysterious biology of Dragons has baffled Human scientists since their discovery. Though immense and extremely heavy, Dragons are capable of flight, and at least Space Dragons are capable of surviving on a diet found in space itself. The most commonly accepted theory is that Space Dragons inhale starlight gas and process it for energy as well as locomotion, superheating it inside veins on the underside of their wings in order to propel themselves through space or planetary atmosphere. The wings of Space Dragons have been known to glow various colors during active space flight, while at other times they seem to ride only on solar winds, using their wings as sails. Also similar to dragons of Earth legend, the Dragons of Nova Refuge are capable of breathing fire, and Space Dragons have been known to breathe intense beams of pure heat and light from their mouths, like a laser or superheated plasma. It seems to be starfire of the same type created by Human energy weapons using starlight gas. Few weapons are known to be capable of damaging any kind of dragon, particularly a Space Dragon.
Species
There are some known and other speculated species of Dragons. It also remains unknown if they can truly be classified as different "species" by the scientific standards of Humans.
Terrestrial Dragons
Very rarely, Terrestial Dragons occur on a variety of worlds, even including Terra Nova. Their scales vary according to their habitat, ranging from earth-colored to green-hued to the blue-scaled dragons that live in the sea. Some speculate that all dragons can fly through space like the legendary Space Dragons, and that this is how they spread to so many different worlds, but the truth remains unknown.
Space Dragons
The greatest of all dragons are the Space Dragons. They are generally solid black and covered in onyx spikes. They have brightly glowing eyes, usually green. They range from the size of a small transport to some reportedly as long as a capital ship. As mythical as Space Dragons are, there are even more legendary types that have silver scales, generally called Star Dragons, as well as the fabled Sun Dragon with golden-orange or even red scales. These Sun Dragons only exist in Sarran artwork, and it has a legendary status as "king of the Space Dragons." The Sun Dragon has become the symbol of Zygbar.
