Newtprester Resina

Newtprester Resina, commonly known as Tarworms, is a species of small dragon endemic to temperate freshwater swamps. A harmless, lazy, social creature, N. Resina can most easily be found in high-end ovens for their peculiar, but predictable, quality of fire. Their diet of small bugs and swamp flowers, and lack of natural predators, indicate that their intricate flames may be a product of their social groupings, rather than a defensive mechanism.

Despite N. Resina’s strong resemblance of sea wyrms, they are more closely related to the Eastern Loong than any Western species. N. Resina are easily identified by their size (at most five inches long, including the tail, and three inches wide, excluding the legs), their four long, but fatty, legs, and the sticky, black excretion covering their skin. This substance makes their skins bitter and tough, but the flesh below is buttery and smooth, especially in domesticated varieties.

N. Resina are one of the few known species of dragons to be completely amphibious, with individuals having been observed to spend all or none of their lives underwater. Certain, far-removed breeds, such as those found tame in the Meteoric Temple, even possess a capacity for brief, wingless flight, amongst thinner specimens.

In order to exhale fire, these dragons must first inhale swamp gas, which is stored in their diaphragm. Upon exhalation, an exothermic reaction begins to chain. Curiously, this reaction seems to be untenable above 400F, and as a result, secondary fires burst in the main cloud as the temperature fluctuates. Anthropologists speculate that these creatures produce the infamous “Will-o-Wisps” which lure travelers deep into swamps. In order to make use of this strange property, chefs release bottles of methane gas into the Tarworm enclosure fifteen minutes before needing the fire. Once burning, such a flame can last for over an hour, depending on the size of the swarm of N. Resina.