As far as I know true drakes (those that lived in the last era where mana was high) appeared together with their masters and creators the dragons back on the world.
But drakes themselves (those metahumans suffering through dracomorphosis) appeared at a later time. I'm wondering though when they started to appear.
Is there any info on that?
First, it is important that we make the distinction between true drakes and common drakes.
True drakes are draconic creatures that can turn into a single metahuman form.
Common drakes are metahumans that awakened and can assume a draconic form.
From shadowrun's wiki:
Drakes first came into the public awareness in the 2060s but appear to have been around prior to that in the Sixth World. It is said that in the Fourth World they were servants created by the dragons for dragons. At some point, drakes became capable of carrying on their traits to offspring.
Considering that last comment, i would say that common drakes have been around since magic returned, but they have been hiding since they are "free" from any dragon's control (unlike true drakes). Now, the person who is recognized as the first drake is not one of the true drakes from 4th era (earthdawn's setting), but a human who awakened as a drake after obtaining an artifact from a true dragon.
Ryan Mercury (aka Quicksilver) is a human turned into a drake that has been around since before the death of Dunkelzahn (August 9, 2057), but awakened when he obtained the dragon heart, which contains D's life force. In the trilogy, it is revealed that he was supposed to be a drake since the start, and that the artifact simply awakened his powers.
PS: There is more info about him on the Dragon Heart trilogy and the Clutch of Dragons 4th edition sourcebook.
After that, other common drakes began to awaken when the planet's mana levels rose again, in 2061 and 2062. Which match the appearance of SURGE awakened metacreatures aswell.
From Runner's Companion pg 59, interstitial material:
Drakes aren’t a SURGE manifestation. They just confused with them because they Awakened around the same time.
FrostySpeaking from experience?
SticksNo, but I did meet one of the first drakes to Awaken. Good enough?
Frosty
And on page 57:
Such spontaneous expression, designated SURGE, was first encountered in 2061, when the proximity of Halley’s comet placed the Gaiasphere in flux, causing localized spikes in ambient mana levels
So approximately 2061, though Drakes (as mentioned) manifest phenotypically later in life, so the exact date will be a little blurry. Since the UNESCO World Development report of 2070 mentions them it's clear they are present in significant numbers by then.
