Overall name: The Many
Gender: Hermaphrodite
Appearance: A deep black, which fades into the color of each head along the neck and shoulder area, with the under-body and more vulnerable and thinner scales being a lighter color, reaching a light gray with the stomach. It has the form of a standard dragon, but without wings.
History: The Many squabbles often with itself. It's heads aren't very cooperative in most situations, so without being able to agree on a name, most of them simply decided that what the primitive humans they'd been mooching off of had been calling them could work. Recently, they left that tribe, as it'd been killed off by disease, and without being used to hunting, settled down in a river valley to fish. Each head is able to hold a rod, and with only one stomach to feed, it's an easy task, and they've been getting better at it with the time. Some of them dislike talking about their history, and sharing a body means it's difficult to get The Many to reveal exact details.
Lair: Home; A cave in the valley wall.
Lair location: A river valley. In a forested area, though cliffs rise on either side, there are rugged paths that allow passage up and down. The valley stretches for a good length, several miles at least, and is inhabited by little but animals. Some territorial sentient creatures have made their lairs here, but none are in the immediate area, and hopefully there will be no issue.
To the south is a range of mountains, and rumors have it that a civilization of religious and secretive dwarves live there, having been exiled for their heresy from the rest of their kind. It is still unknown whether they are cultists of dark powers, or simply as secretive as every other dwarven nation. In either case, noone has found them and returned to tell. Those that have disappeared may have simply stayed too long, until one of the many predators of the mountain took their lives. Or perhaps something darker...
To the north, a vast forest stretches, though large clearings have recently been made by the humans who live there. They have recently come into contact with the elves who are reported to live on the edges of the forest and in the swamps far to the northeast. Because of the highly amicable nature of most elves, as well as their technological expertise, the humans have advanced rapidly, utilizing the efficient wood-cutting techniques perfected by the elves to clear large swathes of ground for farmland, and to feed their new, steam-powered contraptions. Without the magic of the elves though, the forest cannot replenish itself. In desperation, the elves have tried to set up negotiations with their neighbors, who are even farther away, such that it is not entirely sure who they are, for better fuels. If they cannot gather a large enough supply to trade to the humans, or the forest is not able to sustain itself, they may resort to violence to prevent the complete destruction of the habitat.
In the north-west, the forest becomes slowly sparser, eventually turning into mere woods, then scrublands, before turning to plains. Here, a large society of turns have created a feudal kingdom, and it is currently in the middle of a crisis over the throne. The old king has been killed in battle, and in his old age, had become senile at times. Due to this, he had declared two heirs. One, his son, a dashing young man raised to be king, but with a cruel streak, the other, his nephew, who knows little of management, but is beloved by many. Neither wants the war; the king's son realizes it will tear his kingdom apart, while the nephew abhors violence, but fanatical supporters and power-hungry stewards have pressured them into it.
To the west, the land quickly breaks up, as part of the ending mountain range, foothills and small valleys being common, before declining slowly to the sea. Merfolk and a community of goblin fishermen have created a thriving trade, and have formed a swiftly growing alliance and town, beginning trade with farther countries. But with more money, comes more greed, and bandits are becoming overwhelmingly common. Rumors abound of a charismatic bandit forming an army to try and take control of the region, but views diverge on whether he would help the poor or make himself rich. Either way, the local bourgeois have begun setting up a rudimentary security force, though it is yet ineffective. The region is rapidly expanding and growing in population, and with such a place, anything could be possible.
In far off lands, there are whispers of an empire overtaking the world, using any means necessary to add more area to itself; from incredible bribes to military force, from religious conversion to starting revolutions against oppressive governments, nothing seems to be able to stop them. In other locations, trade is booming and the world is beginning to enter a period of great technological progress. A famine is heard of in a small monarchy with a good ruler. A plague is heard of in a large republic. A new magocracy has been founded by a group of material enchanters. A great war is being fought by two large, nationalistic countries noted for their proximity to each other. Many smaller countries are swiftly becoming involved, creating a chain reaction.
More races and lands are being discovered all the time, and some revolutionary scholars, calling themselves scientists, claim that there is no edge to the world; that it simply goes on forever, but only a small amount is land. These people claim that certain points of the world warm or cool the area around them and that this set of continents is in between two of them. This is met by scorn and opposition by those who note that if the world went on forever, the sun would have to be infinitely far away to not hit it somewhere.
Lair history: The valley was cut long ago, by the mighty river, but the width of the cliffs, and it's orientation, allowed the sun to reach inside, and there bloomed a thriving ecosystem, where dark and light sit side by side. Giant spiders trap deer; soaring eagles catch fish. It is one of the largest rivers in the area, but being at the bottom of a valley meant there was little use for travel or trade, and so only a few communities lived there. They began to move or die off once larger, more mobile, creatures began calling it home.
Permanent Special Traits:
Head Regeneration (2 new heads for each old cut off [reapplication is allowed]. Maximum total supported is 11 heads at one time, past this point, if a head is cut off, only one regenerates), fire and ice prevent the head stump from growing a new head.
Selected Special Traits:
Aquatic Wings - Able to fly or swim at a high speed using it's wings.
Supplementary Gills - Able to breath underwater as a supplement to holding it's breath; it is not indefinite.
Opposable Thumbs - Curiously, having lost one of it's claws on the right forepaw, and two on the left, it grew back in such a way that it has what might be thought of as opposable thumbs.
Regenerative - Heals very quickly; lost limbs can be replaced in as little as three months. Small appendages and organs will grow with two, rather than one.