Dragon Myth Book
From TemeraireWiki
At an unknown date, the dragon expert Sir Edward Howe tranlated a selection of dragon tales from Asia and collected them in a book along with his notes on the origins of the stories. The book was published in 1805 under an unknown title, One copy being sent to the Celestial dragon Temeraire.
This article contains what is believed to be the stories mentioned.
Contents
Story of the Yellow Emperor[edit]
- Known Plot:
- Story: Historical
- Real World Equivalent:
Story of Raiden[edit]
- Known Plot:
- Story: Historical
Story of Xiao Sheng[edit]
- Known Plot: A story in which a minister to the Emperor of China swallows a pearl from the treasury, and becomes a dragon himself.
- Story: Mythical
- Real-World Equivalent: The story of Xiao Sheng is a well-known Chinese tale, except in the myth Xiao Sheng is a peasant boy who discovers the pearl beside a river, buried in an area of grass that always remains green.
Story of "the Dragon who made it rain during the drought"[edit]
- Known Plot: A story mentioned by Temeraire, where a dragon made it rain during a drought by carrying water in his mouth.
- Story: Mythical
- Real-World Equivalent: Presumably, this story refers to the Chinese folk tale "The Four Dragons" [1], in which four dragons make it "rain" over parched land, by carrying water in their mouths. However, this is open defiance of the commands of the Jade Emperor, who had previously ordered them to do nothing, and he tells another god to drop a mountain on each dragon. In a final act, the dragons turn into rivers, nourishing the land forevermore.
It should be noted that, while clearly mythological in our world, in the Temeraire universe, parts of this story may have actually happened to some extent.
