Bonsai Dragon

Bonsai Dragons (Parvidraco arborens) are miniature dragons in the family Eudraconidae, much like bonsai trees, which they are named after. Their species name, Parvidraco arborens also reflects this, meaning "Little Dragon Tree". They are incredibly small, with most being the size and weight of a bottle of water. They can come in many different hues and colors, with some having thick fur or feathers instead of scales, depending on the climate they live in.

They mainly hunt and eat small insects, as well as fruits, but they are not against scavenging larger prey that other creatures have killed. Bonsai Dragons are pursuit predators, and use their wings to chase down their prey, often outspeeding them.

Bonsai dragons are highly intelligent creatures, many would argue sapient. These dragons life in large communities and are able to use magical abilities that are said to rival their larger cousins. They tend to use this intelligence and magic to hide from most, if not all creatures of the realm.

Abilities
Bonsai dragons are capable of flight and elemental breath from birth, the elemental breath varies depending on their bloodline, as well as their climate. There is no external way to tell what element a dragon can breathe until they breathe it. But, fire is the most common of the elemental breaths.

Bonsai dragons can also learn to manipulate the magical energy of the world, with many different classes of magic. Mind-affecting, Elemental, Illusion, and Weather-affecting magics are a handful of the many classes that Bonsai dragons often specialize in.

Culture
The bonsai dragons stay far away from humanoid civilizations, due to very old stories passed down from generation to generation. The tales tell of dragon ancestors peacefully living with their hoards of precious items, when out of nowhere, humans would seek them out and slay them for wealth and fame. Many Bonsai dragons fear this fate, and thus, stay hidden.

Religon
The Bonsai dragons believe that when their bodies die, their spirits join the night sky as stars. This is called the Dream Realm. It is said that the more joy you felt and the more joy you spread in life, the more power you have as an ancestral spirit to protect and care for your descendants. The only threat that opposes the ancestors is being forgotten, as if everyone that lives forgets a soul, they fade and they cease to be.

As for what their afterlife is like, no one knows for sure, nor do they want to know, as they believe that prying into this well-kept secret will anger their ancestors, and thus their soul will be sent to a dark world with no stars to light their night, and where they will experience an eternal nightmare. Stories tell of wrathful spirits pulling living souls into their realm in an attempt to bring their misery unto others, thus bringing forth nightmares in the living world. Tales also say the more misery you feel and spread, the more powerful you are as a dark spirit, but also, the harsher your punishment in the Land of Nightmares.

Similarly, good dreams are brought by the ancestors in the stars, as well as prophecies brought forth in dreams. Although, these prophecies are rare and hard to prove. Thus, most prophecies are heeded, but taken with a grain of salt.

As for gods, that does not exist in the beliefs of The Lands Beyond. The closest that can come to a god is an incredibly powerful ancestral spirit.