So are dragons real in WOT verse?

[False Dragon1991]

I mean I thought it was strange that nobody really made the connection between the Seanchan (Raken/To-raken) apart from once when Rand sees a painter put wings on his flag. 

 

So, do you think this creature was around during the Age of Legends and thats where the image is taken from? With the raken/toraken being related to it? Or is it just simply the artist of Lews Therins flag took the wings off for artistic reasons (magic makes it fly not wings?) off a raken which he used as a point of reference? 

[Suttree]

Few answers on this:

 

 

Interview: Apr 6th, 2001

Dromen and Demonen Chat (Verbatim)

lowlander

Are there any dragons (like real dragons (=animals)) in Rand's world? If not where did they get the idea of dragons?

Robert Jordan

There are no animal dragons of any kind in this world. The people speak of a man called the Dragon. They know that the banner that has a certain creature on it was the banner of this man and they have taken to calling this creature the dragon. To them it is a simple association with the name of this man.

 

 

Question

And are dragons definitely not the same as raken and to'raken?

Robert Jordan

Definitely not. Definitely not.

Harriet McDougal

Oh that's an interesting question.

Question

But, I mean the name [sounds?] the same. . .

Robert Jordan

But no, they're definitely not. They're definitely not.

Harriet McDougal

They're flying creatures.

Question

They're like a dragon image.

Robert Jordan

Yeah, I know they are somewhat of a dragon image. But no, they're definitely not.

Harriet McDougal

Oh, cool. That's a wonderful thing to have noticed. That's great.

Robert Jordan

Although who can say what may be said in the next Age? Remember, things get repeated, things get distorted. And what the next Age believes is true history of a previous Age may not be in any way close to what actually happened. So who knows?

Question

So was . . .  In the Age of Legends, a dragon was a completely symbolic thing? It did not refer to an actual creature?

Robert Jordan

Not to an actual creature. But beyond that, read and find out.

Question

Did they have dragons like . . . ?

Robert Jordan

No, it was symbolic at that time. There were no dragons flying around in the Age of Legends, no.

Question

And did they have [inaudible...]

Robert Jordan

They named this man the dragon as a symbol. And his banner was a dragon as a symbol.

 

 

Interview: Nov 8th, 2010

TOM Signing Report - Sarayne (Paraphrased)

Question

Did dragons ever exist in the Wheel of Time? Are they actual mythological creatures? (In the Wheel of Time)

Brandon Sanderson

The creatures don't exist in life. They know the symbol is a dragon, but they don't know where it came from. Maybe it's one of those things where the symbol remained, but the meaning was lost.