Dragon
(Page in Progress) This page, when it is finished, will provide a brief summary of Dragons (the entire species) in the Temeraire series, as well as listing how they have made a difference to history. It will also link to all Dragon related pages that currently have no links. Alternatively, it might make sense to simply collate the information from the other pages, most of which are rather small, onto this page.
Dragon Characteristics
Dragon-Human Relationships
In most circumstances, a dragon's companion (sometimes "Handler" or "Captain" in areas like Europe, which generally only use dragons for military purposes) was the human who harnessed the dragonet at birth. The dragonet permits the human to do so, and to give the dragonet a name.
In the Aerial Corps, dragons had enormously close relationships with their captains, generally ones of mutual affection and respect. However, this was not always the case. Captain Jeremy Rankin was neglectful of Levitas to the point of abuse, but could not be removed from his post because Levitas continued to obey his orders and to crave Rankin's love and approval. Other dragons were less tolerant. Majestatis purposefully "mislaid" his captain and chose to live in the breeding grounds instead. The partnership between dragon and captain could also be ended by the captain. Perscitia's captain gave her up after she made it clear that she would not fight, as she found the prospect of injury in battle frightening.
In most cases, however, the relationship with the dragon generally became the most important one in the captain's life, making it very difficult to live a "normal life" during the captain's off-duty time. This led to the aviators' developing a culture largely set apart from society, and not well-respected by it for this reason, despite the extraordinary sacrifices they made for their service.
Dragons tended to be both protective towards and possessive of their captains. A dragon could be removed from battle by the capture of their captain, as the dragon would surrender to prevent the captain being killed. The possessive attitude of dragons towards their captains in some ways bordered on their attitude towards property. For example, when Minnow snatched the captain off the back of a Defendeur-Brave during the Battle of Shoeburyness, the Celestial dragon Temeraire interpreted this as "stealing" and made a mental note to keep her away from his own Captain, William Laurence, even though Temeraire had already knew that Minnow had no interest in being put in harness.
Inherited Dragons
Many larger dragon breeds had long lifespans, and the dangers of battle aside, they were likely to outlive their captain. Dragons found this fact painful and difficult to accept.
Aviators often had children with the intent the child would enter the Corps and provide a new captain for their dragon upon their own death or retirement. It was thought that having a new captain who had some connection with the former one would make the transition easier for the dragon. Emily Roland, for example, was intended to become Excidium's captain upon Jane Roland's retirement.
The inheritance system did not always work out, however. Rankin was an example of the downside of the familial tradition of service. Rankin's grandfather and father had been captains to Celeritas, but he refused to accept Rankin, who was clearly ill-suited for the Corps. Since Celeritas did not have the heart to ban Rankin from the Corps entirely, Rankin harnessed the unfortunate Levitas instead.
Catherine Harcourt's situation illustrated another pitfall of breeding oneself for one's dragon's sake. When Harcourt became pregnant by Tom Riley, she hoped the child would be a daughter she could train up for Lily, as her dragon was one of a breed that would not accept male handlers. However, the child proved to be son and therefore unacceptable to a Longwing as a captain.
Dragon-Human Relationships In China
Unlike in Europe, where a dragon's companion would usually be chosen for them prior to the hatching of their egg (except for a few instances where the hatchling chose someone other than the person prepared for them, such as what happened with the Celestial dragon Temeraire), in China (and presumably other eastern nations), the dragon hatchling would choose their companion themselves some fifteen months after hatching. In the meantime, both the young dragons and the potential companions attended school together, cared for by elder dragons. This allowed the young dragons to judge the virtues of their potential companions before choosing one of them; something that could prevent a dragon ending up with a neglectful companion. However, when shown this practice in China, William Laurence remarked that this also had the side-effect of weakening the bond between the dragon and its future companion.
Since not all dragons in China were employed in warfare, not all companions were necessarily "Captains" in same sense as in the Aerial Corps. Unlike in Britain, where all Captains were male, with the exception of the handlers of the Longwing and Xenica breeds, all dragon "Captains" in China were female. This was due to an old legend concerning a woman, Hua Mulan, who had run away to war and become companion to a dragon. Upon discovering her true identity, the Emperor of the time had decreed that women could serve in the Aerial section of the Chinese military. With warfare being considered a low occupation for a dragon, and girls generally being offered for active service in lieu of boys during times of conscription, all dragons serving in the military had female Captains.
Dragons, Gold & Property
Humans often believe that many dragons have an "inborn fascination with jewels or precious metals." It might be closer to the mark to say that dragons have an inborn fascination for anything shiny or flashy. Temeraire as a dragonet mistook pyrite for gold until Laurence explained the difference to him. Arkady, who as a feral dragon did not have the background to make such distinctions, was quite overwhelmed when Admiral Jane Roland presented him with a brass chain and a medal (a dinner platter) inscribed with his name. Even Temeraire, who knew brass was worth less than gold, bristled a bit over the size of Arkady's medal. Temeraire was also drawn to the bright, spangly jewellery he saw dragons wearing in bazaars along the Old Silk Road, even after Laurence explained that it was only tin and glass.
Thus, dragons appear to be attracted to jewellery not because of its monetary value - a human concept in any case - but because it can be used to boost their status in draconian society. A dragon displaying flash and glitter - what might be called, in 21st century terms, "bling" - is making a statement that they are ready, willing and able to defend their hoard against challenges from other dragons. Behind the psychological importance of social status lie some bluntly practical reasons a high status is preferable. When food and warm, dry sleeping spots are in short supply, it's the high status dragons who get what they need and the low status dragons who must do without unless a high status dragon chooses to share. A dragon who no longer cared about maintaining their status would be in fact a dragon who no longer cared about staying alive.
Under normal circumstances, it would be almost impossible for a dragon to willingly give up status items to which they had formed an attachment. Among other consequences, this makes it impossible for humans to ask dragons to transport large amounts of gold and jewels for long distances on the humans' behalf. By the time the journey is over, the dragons will have become attached to their cargo and simply won't give it back.
The concept that gold and jewels also have monetary value and can be used as "capital" is not natural to dragons but one that they acquire quickly from humans. A handsome pavillion does just as well for displaying one's social status as a lump of gold - perhaps even better, because it's larger - and dragons readily grasp the principle of using one to purchase the other.
With purchasing power comes the human concept of "property". As Temeraire pointed out, if he bought a cow he could eat it, if Laurence bought an estate they could live upon it and if Laurence bought him a jewel, he could wear it. This does not shed a good light upon the human practice of using money to purchase other humans as slaves or to purchase dragon eggs.
A dragon's natural understanding of property is somewhat differently founded - a dragon displays their jewellery for the sake of making a statement that they are able to defend it. To leave property lying about undefended is, in a dragon's view, an open invitation to help oneself. To leaving property lying about and then argue about its disappearance after the fact is plain nonsense. Thus when Temeraire and the ferals were attacked by Turkish dragons after helping themselves to Turkish cattle, Temeraire sniffed that "those dragons had no business lying out of sight like that and leaving the cows for anyone to take, if they did not like it."
Obviously, the difference between human and draconic concepts of property has the potetntial to create conflict. Humans rely on their property rights under the law to keep their property safe even in their absence, an idea that is nonsensical in draconic terms. Sir Edward Howe noted that this was true even in China, where dragons routinely used marks to purchase goods against accounts held in their own names and disdained to use false marks. "They will without hesitation or any consciousness of shame seize any opportunity which offers of taking a beast from an unattended herd or stall and never consider leaving payment behind; this is not viewed by them as any form of theft." From a dragon's point of view, the herdsman or stall-keeper had no business leaving the beast unattended for anyone to take, if they did not like it.
Draconic Jewellery
Like humans, dragons appear to enjoy owning and wearing jewellery for a variety of reasons, including personal vanity and in order to display and possibly increase their social status among other dragons (see Dragons, gold and property on this point.)
Jewellery for the head and neck appears to be particularly favoured - collars, necklaces, tiaras, headpieces of all sorts, etc. Some African dragons have piercings made in their upper lips in order to accommodate ivory and gold rings. Chinese dragons, besides adorning their heads and necks, sometimes also sport rings on their talons or talon sheaths of precious metals adorned with jewels.
However, the only record of a dragon wearing bands on their forearms is of the mesh message carriers worn by the Jade dragon couriers of China, such as Lung Yu Ping. The fine mesh depends from a silk and gold collar around the dragon's neck and is fixed to their forearms and talons by golden rings. It may be argued that this is not purely jewellery but rather a sort of working uniform.
There are no records of dragons wearing bands or bracelets on their rear legs or tails. There are also no records of jewellery worn in piercings along the wing edges or otherwise attached to the wings. While non-combattant dragons such as Celestials may display head and neck jewellery unsuitable for violent activities, it would seem that no dragon enjoys wearing items that might hinder their flight performance.
There does not appear to be any difference in the jewellery worn by male and female dragons. Temeraire was given a set of gold and silver talon sheaths "such as his mother occasionally wore" on the occasion of Laurence's adoption by the Jiaqing Emperor. On another occasion, when preparing to meet with the generals of the British army, he considered borrowing a spangled net of chains, to be draped over his ruff, from Iskierka.
The materials used in draconic jewellery vary with availability, both in terms of geography and in terms of the dragon's or their human companion's personal wealth. As mentioned above, African dragons wear jewellery made of ivory as well as other materials. Temeraire saw dragons in bazaars along the Old Silk Road wearing jewellery made of tin and glass, presumably because they could not afford more costly materials. On the other hand, the dragons of the Chinese Imperial court wore jewellery made of gold, silver and precious stones.
A few materials used in draconic jewellery are discussed in detail below.
Pearls
Pearls are associatied with dragons in Chinese myth and legend, as for example in the tale of Xiao Sheng. Certainly they appear to be a favourite gem among Celestial and Imperial dragons. At her first meeting with Temeraire, Lung Tien Qian wore "a deceptively fragile necklace of filigree gold, studded with more topazes and great pearls." Lung Tien Chuan was first seen by Laurence seen wearing "a net of gold draped from his ruff down the length of his neck, studded with pearls." Lung Qin Mei came to give Temeraire his lessons wearing "an elaborate collar of silver and pearls."
Temeraire himself was quite taken with the gold and pearl necklace Laurence presented him with when he was only a few weeks out of the shell and treasured it affectionately even after it had become absurdly small for his size. Later on, when Laurence bought him a larger and grander platinum pendant, set with sapphires around a single large pearl, Temeraire commented on his own love of pearls.
Platinum
The platinum of Temeraire's pendant will be of interest to students of metallurgical history. Although the first European reference to platinum appears in 1557, a consistent process for obtaining malleable platinum was not discovered until the late 18th century. Chemists did not realize that they were working with ores containing other platinum group metals (ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium and iridium) and therefore obtained inconsistent results in their experiments.
In 1786, Charles III of Spain provided a library and laboratory to French chemist Pierre-François Chabaneau to aid in his research of platinum. After several months, Chabaneau succeeded in producing 23 kilograms of pure, malleable platinum by hammering and compressing the sponge form while white-hot. Chabaneau realized that the infusibility of platinum would lend value to objects made of it, and so started a business with Joaquín Cabezas producing platinum ingots and utensils. This began what is known as the "platinum age" in Spain, which was to last until 1808 when Chabaneau's laboratory was destroyed during an invasion by Napoleon's troops.
Platinum jewellery for humans had been available previously. Louis XV of France (1710-1774) had declared it the only metal fit for a king. However, prior to Chabaneau's discoveries, it would only have been available in small quantities. Thus, at the time Laurence purchased the pendant for Temeraire in 1805, platinum jewellery designed for dragons, particularly larger dragons, would have still have been a relatively new item on the market, quite fashionable and expensive.
Dragon Breeds
Currently, some fifty dragon breeds have been named. More breeds are known to exist, but the name for these breeds are currently unknown, and as such are not listed.
For a complete list of the known breeds, see Dragon Breeds. More detailed information on the various breeds can be found on their respective pages, as well as on the pages for Dragon Weight Classification & Dragon Breed Physical Characteristics.
Travel Speed & Range
Unfortunately, a conclusive list of the dragon breeds in regard of their different speeds of travel, as well as the distance they might be able to overcome in a day has not been published yet. The use of such would surely be immense, but undoubtedly a list of that kind would have to be a project of many scholars, as one alone would not be able to know the details of all the different breeds.
As a note, the Jade dragons of China are listed as being able to travel 120 miles in two hours, making the average speed 60 miles per hour (about 52 knots) for this journey. This is the fastest sustained flight speed yet mentioned, but short bursts of speed (especially if while diving) would likely be much faster than this.
Dragon Special Abilities
Several dragons are known to have special abilities not shared amongst the other breeds. These include;
- The ability to spit acid - Shared by the Longwing, Ka-Riu and Copacati breeds. Two other breeds, the Sharpspitter & the Ironwing, are known to have similar abilities, though with significantly reduced results.
- The Divine Wind - Unique to the Celestial breed.
- The ability to breathe fire - Shared by the Flamme-de-Gloire, Flecha-del-Fuego, Kazilik, and at least two other unnamed breeds.
- The ability to spit water - Unique to the Sui Riu breed.
Dragons in Battle
Aerial Corps is one such
(The French equivalent being the Armée de l’Air)
Dragon rigging
In the British Aerial Corps, and possibly in other parts of Europe, combat dragons are fitted with several types of harnesses, including a light duty harness, travelling harness, and heavy combat harness. The harnesses consists of thick leather straps held together with large metal rings. On the belly of the dragon, the harness consists of a net (referred to, unsurprisingly, as the 'belly-netting') in which bombs, gunpowder, and some of the crew are kept. A depiction of a Yellow Reaper's rigging appears in the back of the US edition of His Majesty's Dragon, and can also be found here: [1]
The Crew travels from place to place upon the back of the dragon by means of a series of carabiner hooks and rings: the crew member would unclip the hook (attached to their belt) from the ring, move foreward (or backwards, sideways, etc...), and re-clip the carabiner the carabiner when they have reached their location. If moving a relativlely long distance across the dragon, you would unclip and re-clip several times. While this method is rather slow and tedious, you remain attached to the dragon's harness most all of the time, which is extremely important should the dragon perform a manuever such as a roll. Such a manuever would result in many of the crew falling off the back of the dragon if they were not held on by their carabiners.
Harness fitting and rigging is the responsibility of the dragon's ground crew, with the main responsibility falling upon the harness-tender.
Dragon Coverts
A dragon
Britain
- Dover covert
- Edinburgh covert
- Falmouth Covert
- Loch Laggan Covert
- London covert
- Middlesbrough Covert
- Portsmouth Covert
- Weymouth covert
- Pen Y Fan Breeding Grounds
- Breeding Grounds in Ireland, Halifax & Gibraltar
France
China
In China, Dragon coverts do not exist in the traditional sense. This is because Dragons are treated as citizens in China. Instead, large buildings called "Pavilions" exist for dragons to live in. These can be both privately owned by a single dragon, or shared amongst many.
![[1]](http://www.naominovik.com/gallery/v/artwork/yellow_reaper.jpg.html){kind=link}