Very little is known about this elusive dragon type, and descriptions of Ironlungs’ appearance, behaviour and characteristics vary widely in historical and archaeological records. What is broadly understood is that “wild” Ironlungs—WhelpS raised entirely by dragonkind—are unheard of, raising speculation that this type of dragon evolved, or was created, by human beings and dragons with deep arcane and scientific knowledge. Ancient records depict Ironlungs in secret conclaves with alchemists, enchanters and natural philosophers, and a famous etching that hangs in the bedroom of Duke S———‘s favourite mistress shows the anatomy of an Ironlung’s eye. The drawing, dated to about 700 years ago, shows an eye with clockwork interwoven with the muscles that shape the eye’s lens and control its focus. Observers speculate that the mature Ironlung can control its field of vision, giving it the capacity to see things that are very far away or very small. We have no diagrams of the other sensory apparatus of the Ironlung, but it is possible that their auditory and olfactory senses are as powerful—and as finely controllable—as their eyesight. The name “Ironlung” comes from an ancient account of a legendary poetic recital, in which humans and dragons competed to win a golden cup. The winning poet was a dragon mage who recited a three-hour ballad without taking a single breath. This could mean that the dragon has robust control of breathing—or that it has the capacity to broadcast its speech telepathically. In the current Era of Dragons, people have been finding what look to be Ironlung eggs in strange places: on the most forgotten, dusty shelves of laboratories, in the forges of talented blacksmiths, and resting on the blasted, scarred workbenches of alchemists and tinkerers. A famous travelling circus, known for its skillful use of theatrical tricks, found what looks like an Ironlung egg in a stage magician’s box, and they are selling tickets to the hatching.