Wild Dragon Encounter Safety Protocols

The International Dragon Research Institute (IDRI) mandates these critical safety measures for any potential dragon encounters. Remember: No photograph is worth your life.

Basic Encounter Protocol:

Upon sighting a dragon, immediately assess wind direction. Dragons rely heavily on scent and you must stay downwind. A sudden shift in wind direction led to the fatal Schwarzwald incident of 1993, when an experienced researcher was detected by a territorial male Bavarian Forest Drake.

Distance Requirements:

• Maintain minimum 500 meters from any adult specimen
• Double this distance during mating season (late autumn)
• Triple distance if hatchlings are observed
• Immediate evacuation required if the dragon raises its neck scales or begins deep chest breathing

Essential Equipment:

• Heat-reflective emergency shelter (rated to 2000°C)
• Dragon-grade fire suppressant (standard extinguishers are ineffective)
• Infrared monitoring device (dragons are detectable by heat signature up to 3km away)
• Wind direction indicators (minimum 3 types in case of equipment failure)
• Emergency signal beacon (standard GPS devices often malfunction near dragon bioelectric fields)

Critical Signs of Aggression:

• Neck frill expansion
• Tail elevation above 45 degrees
• Scraping of front claws against terrain
• Deep, resonant humming (indicates preparing for flame)
• Scale iridescence intensifying (particularly in mountain species)

Draconic Warnings:

Dragons mark their territory in writing before they defend it with fire. The claw script is cut into stone at a lair mouth, along a boundary, or across a hoard door, and IDRI records misread inscriptions among the leading causes of fatal encounters. Every field agent is required to recognise these three on sight:

• orkh khern. ma gor. — "My territory. Do not enter." The boundary marker. You are at the edge of a claimed range; the distance rules above apply from this stone, not from the dragon.
• ma gor sker enk. — "No enemy enters." The threshold warning, cut above a lair mouth. The word sker (enemy) is how a dragon describes anyone it has not been introduced to.
• tsok! — "Stop!" The bare command. Spoken, it is the last warning before the humming begins. Carved, it means the same thing.

The full list of warning and threshold inscriptions, with what each means for the person reading it, is kept at Draconic Inscriptions: read these before you enter. The Draconic language pages explain the rest.

If you observe ANY of these signs, initiate emergency protocols:

• Freeze completely - sudden movement triggers predatory response
• Slowly deploy heat shield while maintaining visual contact
• Begin careful retreat only after the dragon has shown clear disinterest
• Never turn your back - dragons interpret this as prey behavior