THE FALSEROCK LIZARD (DRARD'LE)

The Falserock-Lizard is, though only a small animal of up to three handspans size and only found in abundance in some parts of the Ráhaz-Dáth, possibly the most hotly discussed beast of its size. Many of the known animal and especially versified lizard researcher state that it is just a small lizard, despite its wings, whereas the famous researchers Aini Siuu and Lutius Strongleg and with them most common people say that one must be blind to not to see, that it is a miniature dragon. There are arguments for both sides and obviously more research is needed to clarify the true nature of this beast.

Appearance.
The Falserock Lizard is hard to discover, as long as it sits motionless, for it is able to change its colour to the rock it sits on and hide before your eyes. This may be the reason as well, why it looks on the first sight like a little lizard with amber eyes, a handspan or two long, pregnant females three including tail. Only at a second glance the folded wings are recognised as such and some other features, which make it appear like a little drake. Generally this beast looks like a lizard, with its legs protruding from his sides, the movable eyes on the side of the head. What it makes different from most other lizards is its skin and the wings . The skin is evenly covered with tiny scales which are able to change the colour in a matter of a few blinks only to any needed hue or pattern of colours. Strongleg reported even a shorter time span when the little life was in danger. On the belly and the underside of the legs it is rougher and quite hard to protect from the often spiky underground.
The two wings are protruding symmetrically from the animal's back, shortly behind the neck at the height where the front legs are located. The first wing joint sits near the spine, the next in the middle of the wing, a last shortly before the wing ends. When spread out, a normal male has a wingspan of about three handspans or slightly more. They are folded together in a quite unusual manner. The joint near the spine moves to the head, the upper wing closes up to the body, the tip of the wing moves first to the body and then up, so that it lies nearly parallel to the upper wing, but protrudes a few nailsbredth over the raised head when the wings are entirely folded together, forming a small angle. The tips are hard and acuminate and can be used in this position as a weapon in situations where flying is not possible or not advisable. When stretched out, they look like a delicate built little work of art, with the gracile finger bones clamping the fine leathery skin. In the sunshine, this skin appears to be translucent, a closer look shows the same fine scales which cover the whole body.
But the wings are not the only features which make a lot of people believe that it is in fact a little dragon. All along the spine, from the the nose to the tip of the tail it has long thin spikes not too different in shape and position on the body from those of his bigger "cousin" the norrak, the drake living on the slopes of the Norong'Sorno.
One feature that the Falsereock Lizard has in common with some lizards and snakes is the long red tongue which it seems to use for smelling, but its sticky properties also help to catch smaller insects and other food. Its little white sharp and numerous teeth however favour again its relation to dragons.

Special Abilities.
The most outstanding ability of the Drard'le is of course the colour changing. Despite thorough researches, it is not yet possible to say how it is done. The Drard‘le are able to imitate any colour and any pattern the underground may have. How the lizard "sees" what colour this special part of ground has and to which colour it has to switch to match this ground is the biggest puzzle which might not be solved soon. The only chance to find a lizard sitting is when it has chosen a soil with a pattern so difficult that it takes some time to get the pattern right. But a very observant look is needed to recognise this. And if one comes near to verify it, then the Draard‘le might change its mind and frighten you away with the a sudden display of the brightest colours, the most impressive it is able to produce. Strong oranges and fiery reds may suddenly change to an intense blue or vivid green never seen in a plant or other living thing and all that on a time scale of a few eyeblinks. Normal predators are so surprised that the lizard wins the few moments it needs to either fly or run away and hide or to ram its poisonous wingtips into the aggressor. Only the amber eyes show always the same colour. This colour changing is most often the only chance to find a Draard‘le at all - accidentally.
Not so spectacular abilities are their speed when running and their easiness while flying up to great heights during mating. - Pregnant females are soon after mating not able to fly anymore. They grow larger wings instead which they spread out during the morning close to the ground. There they rest for several hours and absorb the water which condenses under their wings.
These larger wings can be used effectively when folded tightly to the body as weapon against smaller predators. The tips are poisonous and are able to harm anyone who comes in closer contact with them (see Habitat/Behaviour).
Falserock Lizards aren‘t able to shed their skin like other of its kind, they simply grow, the scales getting bigger with age.
Strongleg, their passionate researcher, claims, that these beasts have the strange ability to induce the feeling of unease in sentient or half sentient beings. It is not confirmed from any other researcher, and even Aini Siuu, who disputes with him when their dragon relation hypothesis comes up, puts this down, but let‘s listen to Lutius Strongleg‘s words:

"When I approached, with nothing in mind or the thought to feed them, I 'was allowed' to come nearer and they even came near enough without fear so I could touch them slightly. Some brave ones even climbed on my rucksack, over my shoes and up my trousers. However, if I came to their resting place thinking 'I'll kill you', I soon fell sick, not very much, but I lost the interest in searching for them. And if I persuaded me to go on looking out for them - I couldn't see any, all were hiding and had the colours of the rock they were lying on."

There is one kind of Falserock Lizard, which differs slightly from its brothers in other regions of the Ráhaz-Dáth, that is the variety living on the nor'sidian black slopes of the Norong‘Sorno. They are similar in every aspect to the normal Drard‘le, except that that they are slower with colour changing and sometimes keep their black colour despite sitting on a blue flowering falserock cactus and - they are able to spit fire. It is of course only a small flame emerging their tiny mouth, but a hot one nevertheless. Aini Siuu is convinced, that this has to do with their diet, that the falserocks on the volcano have extracted substances from the soil which produce combustible gases in the stomach of the Deliz. How they are initiated is however yet unclear.

Territory.
The Drard'le lives in abundance in the Lands of Pain and at the foot of the Norong'Sorno, the hotter parts of the Aj'Nuvic Grounds and in all other parts of the Ráhaz-Dáth, where it is hot and the ground is not sandy, but covered with rocks, pebbles and solid earth. The steep sunny slopes of the Narfost cliffs are their most favourite territory at the rim of the northern Ráhaz-Dáth. - Rumours has it, that they live in Aeruillin as well, but this continent is not well enough researched yet and their existence there not confirmed.
Until recently nearly nobody managed to keep them in captivity, all died soon after some time despite all efforts to provide them with the right food and warmth. However, recently a first attempt was made to provide them with a habitat which matches exactly the conditions in the Ráhaz-Dáth and so far it seems to be successful: The Falserock-Lizard artificial habitat is the "animals garden" near the Big Library in New-Santhala. In this newly built temporary attachment made of glass and wood to the south side of the Big Library the guests from the south have found a new home, which they, as it seems till now, have accepted. So far none of the little creatures has died, though they live there for over a year already. However, great effort was put in providing them with their used surroundings. They have an area of about 300 square peds to live in, and the building is about 30 peds high, in summer the roof can be removed entirely to allow the Draard‘le to fly high. The ground is covered with pebbles and stones imported from the Ráhaz-Dáth, and the most important thing: Falserock cacti are planted in a much higher density as would occur in nature, to provide the lizards with the needed diet - apart from the usual worms, mice and insects. At present 30 individuals are living there, including the Norong‘sorno variety. They have not yet reproduced though, due to their young age.

Habitat/Behaviour.
The Falserock Lizard likes hot, dry weather. It rests on rocks and waits for prey passing by. However, around midday, when the Injèrá is high in the sky and the rocks which have absorbed the heat of the sun get uncomfortably hot, it looks out for falserocks to sit or lie on them for the rest of the day, for they are less hot than a real stone. This behaviour was the cause for their naming as Falserock Lizard, at least among the researchers.
Most times they run or fly away, when attacked. But sometimes, if this is not possible or advisable, they can, as already mentioned above, use their folded wings to attack a smaller predator, like the firebird or the aka‘lol. Then the head moves forward, till it is in line with the rest of the body, the wings, normally forming a small angle between upper and lower wing are pressed tightly against the body, so that the tips which are very sharp and covered with a lethal poison, produced in special glands in the wings, move even farther forward than usual and reach several nailsbreadth over the outstretched head. The attacking itself looks rather funny for an outside observer. The lizard jumps forward and back, like a little fighter, trying to scratch its enemy and insert the poison. During this time it emits a sound similar to a "drrrd". Most times, it is successful. The poison slows its predator down immediately - time to run away or finish it off together.
Every group of freshly hatched lizards stays together till the time of mating comes near, hunting, resting and sleeping in the same place, though they don‘t nestle together, but choose a distance of a few lizard lengths to each other. Co-ordinated defence seems to help them to survive the attacks of predators better, either by confusing a hunting bird with the display of colours or by attacking a snake or other ground hunting animal as a group.
However, only lizards of the same origin are hunting and living in such a social group, they all will observe calmly the death of another individual not belonging to their group which has strayed too far away from its own sisters and is hunted down. How members of the own group are recognised, either through smell or for us indistinguishable features of their appearance is not yet researched. But it is known, that this "bonding" happens in the first fifteen minutes of a lizard‘s life.