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jack...never knew what contemporary name these beasts had been classified with, their exterior was overlapping scales, reminiscent of the scales on a bird's feet, or an armadillo or crocodile... except that they were not firmly anchored, and could either lay flat, appearing much as the other scaled saurians or modern reptiles, or be raised away from the body... the erect form looked like hairs standing partially on end... I speculated that it allowed air circulation closer to the skin if the creature became overheated, or served to make them seem larger than they were when threatened, or both...
...The scales were vividly coloured, the bases concealed when they lay flat even more so, so the sight of a Pyranthus flaring his scales was unforgettable, iridescent colours flashed dizzyingly across his body and his head was surrounded in a ruff that was practically a plume...
...They ran on two legs, the legs whirring comically as if they orbited small circles about their knees, except when one was approaching one... could tell it was one of the bipedal dinosaurs, and the rough size, but I discussed it with Clive, dear Janet, and we agreed no residue of the marvellous scales was likely to remain... and of their most astonishing feature...
...a liquid spontaneously flammable in air, we experimented and once ignited it burned with a white fury... of two liquids, one which self-ignited on contact with the oxygen in the air, the other having a high ignition temperature, but which once burning not even immersion in water could extinguish, thus the creature was able to safely expel the mixture from glands under the mouth, but once anything had been doused in the aerosol there was no saving it... the pyranthus feasted on the charred corpse...
...were mostly very pleasant, curious beasts, which never ran with our enemies, but when we came upon a small herd, resting after a hunt of flock of another species we surprised them and several came forward to defend their herd... incantation was able to suck the vitality from the liquid before she was further... did not pursue us as we retreated, but we would surely have been lost if...
...obviously they did not quite breathe fire, but their jet ignited not far from their mouths and to all intents and purposes... not quite avian nor quite reptilian, just as dragons... a pack venting gouts of fire in full display array was a truly impressive sight but... were positively pleasant, one of the sights of the valley we felt would have justified the whole excursion, we respectfully and affectionately called them by the scientific name we had invented, and somehow "dragon" seemed unworthy both to them and the idea of a dragon...
...The scales were vividly coloured, the bases concealed when they lay flat even more so, so the sight of a Pyranthus flaring his scales was unforgettable, iridescent colours flashed dizzyingly across his body and his head was surrounded in a ruff that was practically a plume...
...They ran on two legs, the legs whirring comically as if they orbited small circles about their knees, except when one was approaching one... could tell it was one of the bipedal dinosaurs, and the rough size, but I discussed it with Clive, dear Janet, and we agreed no residue of the marvellous scales was likely to remain... and of their most astonishing feature...
...a liquid spontaneously flammable in air, we experimented and once ignited it burned with a white fury... of two liquids, one which self-ignited on contact with the oxygen in the air, the other having a high ignition temperature, but which once burning not even immersion in water could extinguish, thus the creature was able to safely expel the mixture from glands under the mouth, but once anything had been doused in the aerosol there was no saving it... the pyranthus feasted on the charred corpse...
...were mostly very pleasant, curious beasts, which never ran with our enemies, but when we came upon a small herd, resting after a hunt of flock of another species we surprised them and several came forward to defend their herd... incantation was able to suck the vitality from the liquid before she was further... did not pursue us as we retreated, but we would surely have been lost if...
...obviously they did not quite breathe fire, but their jet ignited not far from their mouths and to all intents and purposes... not quite avian nor quite reptilian, just as dragons... a pack venting gouts of fire in full display array was a truly impressive sight but... were positively pleasant, one of the sights of the valley we felt would have justified the whole excursion, we respectfully and affectionately called them by the scientific name we had invented, and somehow "dragon" seemed unworthy both to them and the idea of a dragon...