Difference between revisions of "Caesar"

Latest revision as of 08:12, 31 May 2015

Character Profile[edit]

Biography[edit]

Caesar was the son of Arkady and Wringe, both ferals from the Pamir Mountains. As an egg, Caesar was placed under Temeraire's care by Arkady with specific instructions on the care of the egg, most importantly to ensure that its captain would be very rich. Caesar's egg and two others were sent with Temeraire to Australia in 1808 on the transport ship HMS Allegiance. William Laurence and John Granby thought that Forthing might be a good candidate for the egg, but Jeremy Rankin was sent after them on the HMS Beatrice with orders to give him the next dragonet.

Temeraire was distressed at the prospect and told the egg about the mistreatment and death of Levitas, Rankin's first dragon. At one point, he even suggested to Laurence that the pair of them should kidnap the egg and carry it away from Rankin, but the egg hatched before they could carry out this plan.

The dragonet had good conformation, with strong shoulders and dextrous front claws, and showed a strong self-willed streak from the start by tearing up the leather hood which Rankin had intended to throw over its head. While dismissing Temeraire's warnings about Levitas, it still interrogated Rankin about his status and prospects before accepting him as captain. It then rejected Rankin's proposed name of "Serenitus" and insisted on naming himself, considering "Conquistador" before deciding on "Caesar". (Iskierka was the only other dragon in the Aerial Corps previously known to choose its own name.)

Temeraire was taken aback by Caesar's self-indulgent demeanor, and ultimately agreed with Laurence that Rankin and the new dragonet were of similarly unpleasant dispositions and deserved one another. Perhaps having learned something from his mistreatment of Levitas, Rankin did consult Caesar for his opinion more often and did not neglect or abuse him.

Caesar was something of a complainer. He took heat-stroke and had to be carried by Temeraire for several days after they set off into the Australian continent. He showed little concern for the other two eggs that had been his shipmates aboard the Allegiance, and which Temeraire brought with them on the expedition. When Tharunka's egg was stolen by natives, he was uninterested in the ensuing search unlike Temeraire and Iskierka, two dragons who seldom agreed on much but were both driven to the extreme to get the egg back.

Shortly after Kulingile hatched from the last Allegiance egg, Caesar was in favor of letting him die, and often grumbled over sharing food and having to carry him. Later, after Kulingile's air sacs inflated properly, allowing him to fly and achieve a natural rate of growth, Caesar seemed to be in resentful denial of being outgrown.

After returning to Sydney, Caesar did not protest Rankin's desire to quash an apparent rebellion, even though they were not ready to take flight until the altercation had apparently died down. Laurence and Temeraire prevented them from interfering, to Rankin's fury.

John Macarthur privately spoke to Caesar to help convince Rankin to stay at the Sydney covert, instead of leaving with the deposed governor Macquarie. It is not yet known whether Caesar and Rankin ultimately decided to stay or to go.