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@steward-of-the-pen

I think you just gave me an idea. Correct me if I’m wrong but the nature of the dragons as to whether they’re biological/magical/mechanical was left unstated right? And you’re thinking of a story where people viewed tech as some spooky stuff right? What if the dragons were the old tech? Here’s my pitch:

There was once a time, back when the technology level of the world was at its apex, when the areas of robotics flourished. During that time, robots with various levels of sentience- from cat to almost-human (perhaps even human?). These came in a wide range of sizes, applications, and aesthetics, but all tended towards draconic in some aspect. Then, some Great Background Disaster (TM) happened where society collapsed, and mankind’s level of technological knowledge regressed back to…some point. However, the craftsmanship of these robots enabled them to survive, and with a long-lasting power source they were able to persist. Thus, as humanity gradually recovered to their present-day tech level (Steampunk, if I remember correctly?), dragons have been classified in three categories according to size:

• Wyrmlings/Dragonlings: From the size of cats to large tables. In the past, these were designed as mechanical pets or servitors (with the occasional frame designed for espionage or surveillance), and continue to serve as such in the present day. They have sentience ranging from that of a cat to near-human. The most populous kind of dragon.
• Drakes/Wyrms/Wyverns: Around the size of cars/horses. These were designed as beasts of burden, vehicles, platforms for rugged tasks, and military matters. Wyrm and Wyvern are technical terms, with the former referring to a Drake that is landbound and the latter referring to a Drake that operates mostly (if not exclusively) in the air. Same range of sentience as Dragonlings, and while populous they are not as populous.
• Great Dragons: Alright, now we’re getting to the exciting stuff. These awe-inspiring beasts are incredibly diverse in their intended application, from air/land military superiority platforms, to massive communication hubs, to autonomous server hubs. They are for the most part sentient on the level of humans, though the passage of time and the potential existence of some prototypes mean there are a few with bestial intelligence. The rarest of all kinds.

Now that the taxonomy is done, here’s my idea of aspects of their…biology? Dracology?

• Reproduction/Manufacturing: While they do not reproduce as organic dragons would, yet with the passage of time these automatons still exist. That is because a sizable minority (say 18-25%?) of Great Dragons are actually autonomous factories known as Hatcheries. Either through servitors, humans bringing tribute, or its own endeavors, these Hatcheries acquire natural resources (iron, wood, etc.) and process them to manufacture new dragons. While a given Hatchery can fabricate a variety of dragons and even draft blueprints for a given need, they tend to be limited by their industrial hardware capabilities (i.e., one designed to produce drakes will probably be too large-scale for dragonlings). Additionally, machinists who have acquired the knowledge and skill my create a frame; however, it still needs an intelligence core provided by one of these Hatcheries. Hatcheries are, to man’s knowledge, restricted to drakes or dragonlings. No means of manufacturing Great Dragons whether via Hatchery or man’s craft have been discovered, though that could be a plot point.
• Lifespan: Dragons operate on an incredibly advance power source, with a general rule the smaller ones are less long-lived than the larger ones. That said, if  Dragons also can artificially extend their lifespan via hibernation whereby they reduce power consumption to a bare minimum. That said, running out of power for a Dragon is not fatal so long as their power source can be appropriately recharged, though this may be problematic in their own right (i.e. if your computer’s battery dies you should be able to either plug it in or get a new battery, but attaching it to a windmill probably won’t work). That said, the intelligence core of the dragon is irreplaceable if damaged, in the sense that whatever personality (if applicable) was on it cannot be replaced, even though a substitute intelligence core could be physically replaced.
• Aesthetics/Capabilities: So, for here I’m going to advocate two different aesthetics. For dragons that have survived from the Old Age or are reproduced using Old Age blueprints via Hatchety, I want to advocate a more sci-fi aesthetic (to use power as an example, they might have solar panels or a reactor). For those with frames designed by man, they would have a steampunk/current tech level aesthetic and capabilities (ie possibly steam/coal driven).

What are you guys’ thoughts? It also gives the added reason for them sleeping on gears and other miscellaneous parts because hey, those could be useful.