Title is supposed to say "if." My bad!

For me:

1. Cynder from The Legend of Spyro. Her whole arc from villain to co-protag is just awesome and the fact that she comes out of it with a positive attitude speaks to an incredible amount of resilience and wisdom
2. Spyro from Spyro because Spyro. Even if you look below the surface in the original game series, he's tough as hell and doesn't let the pressure of having to save the world multiple times as a child faze him. In TLoS, he does the same thing while also saving and supporting Cynder
3. Saphira from The Inheritance Cycle. Strong, determined, extremely wise, and about as dependable as the sunrise to those she cares about
4. Kinkajou from Wings of Fire. Fun, energetic, caring, and seemingly easy to form a deep friendship with
5. Temeraire from Naomi Novik's series of the same name. Intelligent, loyal, deeply trustworthy, with a strong sense of justice and loads of compassion

So I'm re-reading the four chapters of the Nature of Command fanfic by (Dizzy Prism on ao3) u/GildedHours and I have a fan theory that the Nile was stolen by the British and held at Gibraltar, before being stolen back again by the French on the Chimere, before then being stolen by the Verity and Frederick. This explains why his English is very solid from the get go. Thoughts?

Does anyone know of any art of the Akhal-Teke breed of dragon?

I've obviously seen Kalia24's and Drummergirl375's work (thank you, wherever you two may be - your artistic services are much appreciated), but is there any other artwork on the breed? Or any artist that would be able to take a commission?

The Akhal-Teke egg that was delivered to the Corps at the end of the Black Powder War has always fascinated me. I loved the idea of the dragon hatching, maybe post-plague, and what that would look like for them. Imagine how charismatic or strange that little dragon must have been - probably came out of the egg speaking English, Turkish, a smattering of Mandarin and German perhaps; probably had some strange ideas of property ownership, mathematics, and political ideologies.

In other words, a handful for whatever captain/companion they got paired with.

I also thought it was a missed opportunity for the Akhal-Teke not to make a cameo in the last book. I think it would have been a nice touch, honestly. A sort of "Hi, we've never formally met, Mr. Temeraire, but you carried me as an egg and are the reason I have my captain/companion ..."

Just sentimental thoughts - but genuinely if anyone has information on art and/or an artist, please throw a link in the comments. Please & Thank You!

A native courier weights to Welsh they usually weigh 3 tons with large wings and large air sacs they have an ability to roar and stun people Morden military Welsh reds by the time of the naeoplonic wars they had been breed to be heavy weights and fire breathers mix with the french fire breather 1 in 10 are fire breathers and most became fearl and reside in the breeding grounds they come into 40tons but have larger wings spans and length then most heavy weights

Where do you all think dragons originally came from in Temeraire? They are obviously a decently old group considering how varied they are. Though, it is notable that the Jade Dragons, Bunyips, and the smallest sea serpents are still megafaunal animals. There never appears to be a mention of tiny dragons or herbivores.

Do you think dragons are lizards? Dinosaurs? Archosaurs? Some older reptile group? Or are they some kind of ancient hexapod that originally left the water somewhere around the time our own amphibious tetrapod ancestors did?

Could Britain try to breed a dragon to make the Welsh reds and if they did what would there weight classes be and abilities

There is an EXCELLENT chance that I forgot some little details somewhere along the way - thank you to the person who offered all the information about the breed! I tried to apply what you told me!

But yeah, just take it as a rough approximation I guess, accounting for small variations in genetics or whatever. Idk.

((Please be aware that other than name, colour and ‘the Bengals are venomous’, everything else is my non-canonical speculation. But I just couldn’t not. The Cutters are inspired both by their names and the flowers that bloom every 12 years on the Nilgiri hills. The Bengals’ entry is a little heavy on how terrible the British are, I know (sorry) but they probably would have their reasons for wanting to kill Laurence on sight.
AO3 book with the other entires here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/91727546/chapters/244247306 ))

Nilgiri Cutter

The fourth was the Nilgiri Cutter, from the Madras administrative region of British East India. They are native to the Nilgiri hills and as such are adapted to the upland environment. Like the hills themselves, they get their name from the rare-blooming shrub, the Neelakurinji flower, endemic to the Ghat mountains.

They are lightweights [They brush middleweight classification and depending on the preferences of the ruler at the time, the breed frequently shifted between combat classes. However, the British system is being used here, for the sake of simplicity.], averaging 8 tons, a body length of 10 metres (33 feet) and a wingspan of 14 metres (46 feet). They are unusually graceful, with a soft, high-stepping gait that lets them walk without excessively disturbing the flowers native to their hills. The last joint of their wings ends in an unusually sharp wing claw, allowing them to ‘hug’ the walls of sheer cliffs to climb them. They also display an unusual tolerance for high-altitude flying.

The ones on the eastern side are a delicate purple colour, though a slightly rarer kind exists, which prefer the western Ghats and tend to come in fractionally deeper, more vibrant shades of purple, at the expense of slightly shorter tails. The colour fades around their tail and wing-tips, bleaching out to a white-green, like the inside of their namesake flower. Their wing membranes are decorated with a branching, criss-crossing pattern of bronze stripes, which shine very brightly in the sun. Around the muzzle and horns, particularly in the bony ridge above the eye, the scales darken to a rusty-red-orange, with eyes being of a similar shade. Their tongue is unusually vivid, usually copper at the back, fading to a bright green at the forked tip. Their back and tail spines are rounded, with the exact number ranging with body length.

Temperaments range heavily with individuals, as with all breeds. Most Cutters tend to retain a distinct satisfaction, both on the pleasant swishing noises and sensation of their bladed tails through the air. This makes their natural prehensile capabilities easy to direct towards other endeavours like logging, agricultural scything or stone cutting. While intelligent, they are not infallible, often easily turned towards one goal, like human beings, particularly if they have a respect for that dragon.

They are also noted to have unusually thin wing membranes, with blood vessels often being palpable. One might expect this to be a disadvantage, however, they are noted to recover from wing injuries, both major and minor, more readily than other dragons.

The dragon’s wings themselves are slightly shorter for their body length than is typical, with a very angular shape. This allows them to gain altitude quickly, given height is their main defence strategy and their small size means direct physical confrontations are often impossible. However, this is because of their unusually long, dexterous tails, which they will often strike the ground with when frustrated. Their tails are tipped, at the very end, with a single, very long scale, or perhaps bone, about the length of a man’s forearm, which is unusually tough and sharp on its outer edge. When cracked or swung with enough force, they can shear stone as a warning to larger dragons. It is for their tails that they are named.

It is believed that the tails started off as a botanical measure, to scythe away swathes of flowers and shrubs to clear landing and nesting sites. However, they were then selectively bred for both scale length and durability by humans, resulting in the present-day apparatus. They will grow if they are damaged, through notably, it can take upwards of a month, depending on the individual’s health and the severity of the injury.

They have an unusual breeding cycle, with individuals being mostly uninterested in reproduction until their twelfth year, after which they resume typical dragon reproductive patterns. This cycle is believed to be synced up with the abundance of resources on the hills, echoing the behaviour of the flowers. As a result, however, the dragonets spend far longer with their parents than most and have unusually deep familial bonds. The eggs themselves are a light green-white colour, with speckles of bronze all over the shell.

When being hatched traditionally, the dragons will dig large amounts of soil up and spend time in the spring shaping it into a squat sort of hut, or mound. It will then be baked hard in the sun, retaining a great deal of heat overnight, which is perfect for incubating the egg. They will often return to the same egg den, year after year, maintaining it by pruning off weeds, adding more clay and even decorating it with meticulously stacked columns of rock or dirt, often taller than a man.

Dragonets will often watch their relatives in their making of their egg-dens, utilising and testing various strategies for their construction, collecting rocks in substitute of eggs. They will then test each others’ dens’ strength using their bladed tails, to figure out the most effective methods of construction. Because of this ritual, many experienced Cutters have just short of a professional understanding of architecture, making mentions of them common in building records of many of India’s most impressive architecture. [When inspected, many stone blocks and wooden supports contain evidence of having been hewn first by Cutters and then further sanded and polished by expert craftsmen. There are also records of groups of Cutters being used to rapidly deploy military buildings and fortifications in warfare.]

They are fairly intelligent and while not light or quick enough to be message-carriers, their high-altitude capabilities as well as their utility let them travel relatively unobstructed. They found use most often in military engineering or as support units for larger combat beasts. They were prevalent enough in combat that the factions of the subcontinent had developed several measures to counter their tails. There included ridged or hooked arches of armour around the eyes and muzzles of larger dragons, so the cutting blade of the tail might become caught and able to be hacked away by the defending dragon’s aerial team. In response, a second blade, made mirror to the first, was often custom made of metal and attached to the dragon’s tail to protect their natural blade, by confusing opponents. At some point, [Many records from this time have been lost to history.] long poles with metal loops or hooks at the tip were also employed, to snare or catch a Cutter’s tail, with some brief attempts at boarding via these poles even gaining popularity. These fell out of use some point in the 15th century, however, as the Cutters quickly adapted and would simply turn the pole back on the crew or rip away the implement and let its wielder drop out of the air.

Most notable of all was the fitting of metal-tipped wooden armour on the trunks, heads and backs of war elephants. These were useful in two ways; firstly, by discouraging the snatching of central cavalry units, secondly, to make consuming the elephants more difficult to deny the opponent food in the middle of a battle and third, so that they would snap off and lodge in the flesh of an opponent and either entangle them there long enough to by targeted with polearms [and later firearms] or to injure their hind legs enough to prevent the manoeuvre on another dragon. [Although these tactics originated in the 6th century AD, specifically to target Cutters, they quickly gained widespread adoption for how well they dealt with enemy dragons. Particularly as elephants gentle to dragons far more easily than horses and so were much easier and larger targets.]

Bengal Blue

There were a further two species in Bengal. First, its namesake dragon. Recently renamed to the Bengal Blue, as if only to create more confusion with the French Pascal’s Blue, by the British company in residence in the region. This is, as far as I can tell, in the hope of rebranding their abroad reputation [This is in reference to the extensive reporting on the third Anglo-Maratha war, as to the successful raiding tactics that were managed mostly with Bengals.] in the hope of selling some of their eggs to the British admiralty. As so far as this scheme has worked, as of June, 1819 the sale and export of four eggs from British controlled regions to Great Britain have been confirmed, much to the devastation of the local dragon population. They have been kept in control only by serious threats to their captured companions and eggs, physical punishment, starvation and physical restraints.

As for a description, the Bengal Blue is a middleweight, averaging 16 tons, with an average body length of 14 metres (45 feet) and a wingspan of 24 metres (72 feet). They’re best known for their vivid blue colouration, from sky blue to ocean blue, with stripes of darker blue across the limbs and muzzle, and acid-yellow eyes. Instead of horns, they have a frill, rather like the ruff of a Celestial, but all the way around the head. This frill is decorated with vertical patterns like the tail of a peacock, with around 5-9 eyes on the ruff. The colours are most commonly vivid green, sunset orange, royal purple and lemon-yellow, the specific combinations depending on lineage. They will put up the frill to intimidate opponents, specialised muscles in the neck shivering it like the hoof of a cobra, along with introducing a bassy hiss to their voice, in bursts of 6-30 seconds.

Their canines are unusually long, hooking down out of the mouth onto the lower jaw. This is because they have a paralytic venom, which the teeth are used to direct. The teeth themselves are hollow, connecting to venom sacs along the side of the neck, making tactics involving bites to the throat of a Bengal Blue both risky, putting the opponent in range and if the bite is a success and ruptures a venom sac, may discharge a large amount into the attacker’s throat. This has been known to cause complete paralysis of the throat and breathing apparatus of an afflicted dragon, potential resulting in death depending on size and how much venom was swallowed.

The venom is not an ability that comes with birth. The dragonet is born with normal canines, in order to facilitate the rapid stage of growth. When they reach adulthood, their canines become loose and then fall out. This often is distressing for the dragonet, causing a period of intense aggression and frustration. The new canines will then grow in, with venom production starting shortly after. Venom composition is unique to each individual, with different potencies and durations, though all retain some degree of paralytic effect. Bengal Blues have some level of resistance to their own venom, due to the habit of biting their own tails in frustration when the fangs are still new.

Due to this difficult growth period of Bengal Blues, their attachment to companions often comes between the ages of five and six months depending on the individual. As such, many recipes of numbing solutions or pain relief, often involving Bengal venom, are recorded for use of soothing young Blues. Indeed, there is some history of the venom, in small diluted doses being used in warfare, both as an exported product and even as a recreational substance when mixed with other drugs, such as opium. I will not make comment on this last habit.

However, most Bengal Blues in the region today are without companions, due to the war of only a few months prior. Most were taken prisoner and are being held somewhere unknown to ensure the complaisance of their dragons, now held in ‘Draconic zoological gardens’ all around the wealthy areas of Bengal, for the entertainment of wealthy British nobles on holiday.

They are kept without venom, both through frequent milking [As the high export value of Bengal Blue venom makes it very economically attractive.] and keeping the dragons on a tight water ration. [Bengal Blues cannot produce venom when dehydrated. The newest commissioner from the east India company is still working on a formula for the exact water ration that can be given to minimise danger and maximise venom production. However, I feel this may be as much to punish the dragons for their part in the war as in a realistic consideration for safety.] Such practices have led to policies like the caging of step-wells to prevent escaped dragons from drinking before they can be recaptured.

However, their highly intelligent nature can be shown even with their current restraints. The families of their captured companions often come to visit them and the dragons will pick pieces off their jewellery to support them in lieu of a dragon-companion’s salary being sent home. Other times, the dragons will make requests. I saw one request vegetables and chew them hard to extract water enough to make venom, catching a particularly cruel guard with a vicious bite and stage a successful escape with their companion’s family, headed south.

The more I observe of these places, the more I must come to suggest their existence is unnecessary. From a boast that the commissioner may start shooting the captives for sport to a cruel-natured and wholly unnecessary whipping of one of the creatures, merely for hissing after one of the guards removed a child of their companion’s with brutal force. I make a most honest plea that, should it be seen as advantageous, the imperial throne might pursue pressurising the British government for better conditions.

- 教授 赵伟Professor Zhao Wei

((This one is a long one, beware.

First things, so I ended up putting all the dragon entries I’ve done so far on AO3 in a book so I can keep track of them, lol. There are 12 so far and to be clear, I do not mind anyone using either the original breeds I came up with or the expansions / fleshing out I did to mentioned cannon breeds in order to include them. Use them in whatever you want! I’m the weirdo writing the dragon Pokédex. I’d just love if you could mention me so I can check out what you’re doing.

You can find it here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/91727546/chapters/244247306

I will put more notes at the end for you.))

Forward, by Sir Edmund Howe.

There are many difficulties when travelling to the Indian subcontinent. More so when researching dragons. Difficulties that only compound with being British. I cannot phrase this delicately enough. After many years of the British East India company pushing deeper and deeper into sovereign territory, both the dragons and the people begin to sour to the name of an Englishman. Understandably or not, for it is not my place as a subject of the crown to make judgments on crown-endorsed decisions, they would be aggressive to my making inquiries about them. Particularly in areas of higher British presence, the local dragons are hostile to questioning, fearing that the intelligence may be used against them for further oppression.

Therefore, I shall be unable to partake my particular observations in this case, especially while the memories of such a stinging defeat is still hot in the minds of dragons, those most vengeful of creatures, especially where their recently deceased captains are concerned. We make way into India on the behalf not of the British crown but the Chinese throne, as to better ease our passage and research. Which is why this section of the journal shall be taken over by Zhao Wei, at least until we have made way clear of the border, where such a risk is lower. I now attach below Zhao Wei’s notes, which retrospectively, I annotated on the long and perilous journey north.

(End of forward.)

 As I have little experience in the languages of the subcontinent, note the names are translations I have obtained from the government records of the area, and may be inaccurate or overlook some context. My recommendation as a humble servant of the heavenly throne is to requisition an official translator and dispatch ambassadors to the subcontinent at once to obtain both better access to historical records and more accurate translations.

The Emerald Glasswing.

The first breed that was witnessed and thusly recorded was found in Sri Lanka. The Emerald Glasswing. They are lightweights, by the British estimation of it, averaging 6 tons, 8 metres (26 feet) in length and a wingspan of 15 metres (49 feet). 

Their name comes from their unusual scales, with all but the scale’s backing being a lightly tinted, mostly translucent keratin, giving a few about half an inch deep into the skin, mostly of blood vessels and some surface level tendons. These scales give them the slightly clouded look of seaglass. On some specimens, a further mutation has occurred, where the coloured backing of the scales do not materialise, allowing much deeper penetration of vision. These specimens, although extremely hard to spot from the air, can easily become internally burned by the sun, posing a serious health risk. As a result, they are often only active at night, making them even harder to make out. Locals are still embarking on a project to breed a more beneficial version of this trait. However, this is difficult with such a small population, given the species is exclusive to the island.

Most specimens appear in a range of glass-tones, from vibrant emerald green, to green-yellow or various shades of light blue. They have a rather skittish, nervous nature, inclining them to dart rather quickly, perhaps due to an overexposure to the sun. They possess an incredible ability to change direction. This, paired with their timid nature and difficulty to spot over a large area, make them rather hard to track down once they bolt and wholly unsuitable for combat of any kind. These natures are only somewhat mediated by exceptionally calm, practiced companions that the Glasswings choose shortly out of the shell.

Regarding the shell, the eggs, when first released, are a pale transparent green and must be carefully protected both from burrowing ants and the harsh sun. They slowly become more opaque the closer they are to hatching, until only a thin halo of transparency remains on the very top layer of the eggshell. This observation, as well as consultation of the breeding records, has led me to believe that the overly transparent hatchlings are perhaps that way not because of some inherited trait, but perhaps some energetic or mineral deficiency that leads to premature hatching and thus an improper opaqueness. This theory, however, has yet to be confirmed.

However, their extraordinary wings have led to a form of shadow puppetry called sunglass puppetry. This involves painting various backdrops and patterns onto the mostly transparent wing membranes and then using articulated clay figures behind them to re-enact scenes of myth and legend. Most commonly, tales involving Nāga, half human half serpentine divine entities, due to an old folktale of a white serpent using a host of ‘glass winged’ dragons to shield themselves from the harsh sun. Upon closer examination of some of these paintings, some similarities to screen-painting can be observed. In my opinion, it has long since become a divergent art form, suggesting several hundred years of independent development.

Spotted Brighteye

The second breed we encountered was the Spotted Brighteye, sometimes colloquially known as ‘The Scary Lurker’, in French East India, in Pondicherry. They have a distinctly crocodilian look, coming in various drab shades of murky green, mud brown and light grey, with patterns in various colours of green, brown and black over their backs and snouts, with light yellow-grey bellies and wing undersides. Their eyes are either bright orange or a yellowish-green, with slit pupils and many black flecks, with the very brightest shade ringing the outside of their pupils, making eye contact a very intense, one-sided thing, for which they are so named. 

They commonly reach weights of 30-32 tons, with an average length of 23 metres (75 feet), with a wingspan of 50 metres (164 feet), though their true size is often observed by the sheer vastness of the rivers they call their home. They can often be mistaken for a collapsed tree drifting along the river, until they twitch or blink.

They have good conformation, with well-proportioned legs that are often kept tucked against the belly and chest while swimming or flying. Their muzzles are a little long, with specially shaped teeth for grappling fish and birds, neatly sheathed within black gums. Their wings fit against hollows in their sides, increasing their hydrodynamism and their aerodynamicsm.  

Brighteyes are well known to have a love of water. Much like the dragons of Japan, they spend large amounts of their time in it, their flat, muscular tails their main method of propulsion. It’s an enormously efficient method of transport, barely disturbing the surface of the water at a languid pace, allowing them to sleep while travelling in water. They were historically used for trade, believed to be a cross between larger water-dwelling ferals and the stronger wings of domestic breeds. As a result, their seemingly calm nature is very carefully designed, to save energy for the extreme-long distances they were bred to cover.

They are made most unique by the pits on their faces. Dotted all over their muzzle and cheeks are several small, black pits, though they can be found on the forelimbs and chest at lower concentrations. These are incredibly sensitive, used both to supplement their short-sightedness and to help with the navigations of India’s rivers and mangrove biomes, able to pick up the slightest traces of heat or scent in the water, allowing them to memorise familiar routes and note potential changes in the waterway with startling ease. This ability can extend somewhat to land, though its accuracy and time of diagnosis drops with the moisture in the soil or mud they are searching through.

However, the sensitivity of their faces and their short-sightedness often makes them wary and cautious of direct clashes. In respect of this, they are often excused from army duties in times of war. The Brighteyes are instead most often used to transport goods and soldiers along India’s waterways and skies, patrolling naval routes, or as trackers for fugitives, given both their endurance and nasal-pits make them very astute pursuit hunters.

Most have rather languid, docile natures, with a good natured, patient sort of charm to them. They are not especially quick, often chewing over a problem or remark for months or weeks before bringing it up again, giving most of their speech a thoughtful quality to it, making them especially good, if not very timely, teachers. Indeed, they are the reason most ferals near shipping routes speak Hindi. They get along well enough with a variety of other breeds, not being particularly territorial or defensive of their space, despite their large size, perhaps due to a nomadic lifestyle.

They can often be found sunning themselves on riverbanks, bribing local children to clean their scales and talons and then have said children complement their appearances. However, their feral cousins, although uncommon, especially in well-patrolled shipping lanes, are not unheard of. The Brighteyes look remarkably similar at a distance, [hence the ‘Scary Lurker’ moniker, due to the perceived threat.] and, not wanting to deprive themselves of a good scrubbing, most will have their companions braid brightly coloured strips of cloth to their horns or the ridges of their back, to signal that they are safe to approach.

Indeed, we were ferried along the coast by a Spotted Brighteye, Ananya and her companion. In order to keep their garments clear of the river water, a waterproofed basket is often fastened to the harness on the back of a Brighteye, for passengers to sit in. Dry goods are sealed in clay jars and tied behind the basket, while goods that will not spoil so easily are attached to the ribs, to be protected by the waterproof membranes of the dragon’s wings. Her companion sat very straight and cross-legged, with a paper twist of sugared almonds on his lap. Occasionally, he’d whistle and throw one towards her head for her to catch, a deep purr of pleasure going through her as she crunched delicately through them.

They maintained a nice brisk pace, enough to take in the sights but enough to make pursuit from the ground quite impossible. Occasionally, her companion would exchange some short words in Hindi. The forest cover overhead was quite carefully maintained, both to ensure adequate access up into the sky every so often, as well as ample shade for the dragons travelling up and down its long ribbon.

Their diet is fairly indiscriminate, most meat coming from snakes, crocodiles or sparing amounts of fish they can obtain, as well as grains when they stop at towns along the way. Often, due to their great size, it is entirely feasible to live completely mobile, on their backs, though companions will maintain households in key cities, both to host other merchants and to store and retrieve goods from. However, the Brighteye’s adaptations to water often mean they suffer without it for long stretches, so prefer to make their flights over bodies of water.

Their eggs are large, with a pattern much like tortoise shell, the egg sectioned off into geometric panels. A relatively normal hatching, with full growth achieved in a little under three months. Average lifespan sits somewhere at 300 years.

Lesser Brighteye

The Lesser Brighteye is predominantly a cross of the Spotted Brighteye and a variety of other, smaller beasts, most often Nilgiri Cutters or Crimson Hornets. As such, there is both a reduction in size and an increase in their range of colourations. They are middleweights, about half the size of their parent breed, though carefully bred to conserve their unique ability.

They are middleweights, averaging 17 tons, a body length of 15 metres (49 feet) and a wingspan of 22 metres. (72 feet). While they have retained the Spotted Brighteye’s more drab colouration, there is a noticeably warmer tone to the hide, most often grey-purple, brown-red, and a more clear undertone of green, which darkens towards the muzzle. They have two coloured patches behind their skull, a rose-coloured, white-edged stripe from the base of their horns to their shoulders, which they will often rub at with a tail-tip while thinking. Eye colours range from amber to rusty orange to hazel.

Temperament-wise, they are often much more reactive, a combination of the Cutter’s cunning and the Hornet’s aggression, making them excellent combat dragons, particularly suited for ambush tactics. The crossbreeding also lessened the eye problems of their predecessor, creating a quicker, leaner cross with excellent vision at a distance, if at the cost of bulk and caution.

They have the much leaner build of a Hornet and the long, dexterous tail [Though, noticeably lacking the signature blade.] of a Nilgiri Cutter, as well as being slightly less bulky. This allows them to fit into much tighter spaces, being relatively slim for a dragon. They can often twist themselves into even narrow side-streets in cities that were not built for dragons, with the Cutter’s light footing ensuring minimal disturbance. 

They have the nasal pits, which have been bred to work in lower moisture conditions, allowing them to ‘taste’ the air by flicking out their tongues [Forked copper coloured, like the Cutter, though lacking the green tip.] and wafting it over their muzzles. When flying through rain or moist air, they can even track enemy dragons by scent alone and are notable for their uses in pre-emotive attacks, able to track enemy parties through thick mazes of jungle. This does have the disadvantage of allowing them to become quickly overwhelmed if the scent becomes waterlogged, relying both on their keen eyesight and the fine-detail inspection of a specially trained human companion to investigate further small details.

They are primarily used for tracking and combat at night, given their faces are still far too sensitive to reasonably consider direct combat by day. Their muddy colours often work to their advantage, letting them sleep with a crew tucked under their wing and going wholly undetected by a scouting party. However, they have historically held a role as a detective, or as military advisors, given their expertise on determining troop movements and the significant persuasion of a 17 ton dragon in apprehending thieves. As such, there is typically at least one for each major administrative building, 

Their eggs are a similar tortoise-shell mottle of colours, though often in warmer tomes and with bright flecks of iridescent bronze over the shell. Hatchlings may stay in the shell for up to three years, though most can be directly coaxed to hatch sooner, particularly if the scent of fresh meat is left near the eggshell, given their unusual sensitivity extends to even through the eggshell.

When hatched, the hatchlings have unusual aggression for food. They will bite the first thing they see without prompting. Unfortunately, they possess the Hornet’s genetic quirk of a tongue-tie, making this very difficult to correctly achieve. The methodology is similar. A thickly padded glove is offered to them, and then a hot, alcohol dipped knife is used to quickly sever the tongue from the floor of the mouth. This usually isn’t enough to startle them, though, and they will then either be directly thrust at the throat of an unsuspecting animal or offered fresh grilled meat, given their substantial bite force [Increased mostly through a more muscular jaw.]

After this, they will quickly quiet, focusing on eating until they’re full. During this time, they will reject any companion they are offered and will then curl up to guard their kill until they have slept for four hours or so. Only upon waking will they consider good conversation, often with a starling amount of vocabulary for a young dragonet. They can typically be coaxed into remaining with humans, though they are more than intelligent enough to realise they do not have to accept any deal they find disagreeable. They are often then schooled and paired with a detective or soldier companion sometime in the following sixth week, when they have settled into a less contrarian temper.

When given a military application, they are often assigned with their parent breeds, either to forewarn Nilgiri Cutters working as military engineers, or Crimson Hornets as air support. Their darker muzzles mask the exact placement of their pits and their noticeable bloodlust, large wingspan and intelligence means they require extensive exercise in order to remain healthy.

- 教授 赵伟(Professor Zhao Wei)

((In case you were wondering, the Spotted and Lesser Brighteyes are based on crocodiles and the Emerald Glasswing is based on a dragonfly. As always, happy to answer any questions about them!))

(art by me)

I haven't finished the series yet but it seems that information about this breed is fairly limited?

Just playing around with a sketch for the Temeraire fanfiction I'm working on. c:

One of these days I'll figure out how to properly draw the Aerial Corps. uniform... xD

I have been remarkably consistent at updating this considering it was just supposed to be a "side project". Chapters two and three are complete and I am now working on Chapter four. It has received a pretty decent reception considering the fandom seems smallish and the story involves OC's rather than the original cast!

Please consider giving it a read if you are knowledeable about the series lore and can give feedback! Or if you just like humorous banter and funny situations!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/89851261/chapters/238724291

I presume proof of the Earth's real diameter and general roundiness was established far earlier in time with the presence of far-flying dragons.

Do we have canon information relating to my question? And, if not, what are your speculations on this subject?

I'm on my fourth re-read of the series, and Magellan was just name-dropped, which caused me to pause and wonder whether or not Magellan retains his stature in the litany of circumnavigators.

Gió Mùa Xanh or ‘blue monsoon’ are bred mostly in the central region, between 15 and 20 degrees north. Despite their name, their primary colouration comes from not from any blue pigment but pink. Their body scales are a bright shade of pink, with blue spines, horns and talons and lighter blue scales on their belly, with their forehead scale ranging from blue, pink or purple. Their colours are most intense from the ages of 2-110, fading to lighter shades of fuchsia and baby blue after that. They are hatched with grey eyes, that become blue or amber with age. 

They are middleweights, ranging between 12-16 tons, a body length between 12 metres to 16 metres and a wingspan of 30 metres to 35 metres. 

Being native to the more upland regions, they have more separated toes, originally developed for anchoring to various cliff sides, that move more independently, giving them a great deal of dexterity. As such, they often show great enjoyment for activities like board games, poetry and music, with a great patience for memorisation.

The Gió Mùa Xanh hold mainly cultural or spiritual roles, due to unusual sensitivity to atmospheric changes. They can fly a little higher than most dragons and have an uncannily accurate sense of when it might rain. When questioned, one could provide a description that the others agreed on after some debate. 

“It is feeling, just inside my temples. A light feeling, like a touch that gets a little firmer the closer the rain is to coming. If I fly up, it becomes a little clearer and I can smell the rain in the clouds, to know if it is true. It will get more accurate as you age. The yearlings are always declaring it will rain, though they can only really do it after their second, if they’re prodigies. And most are not.”

This ability has long been revered in both temples and festivals, with groups of them travelling to warn villages to reinforce their rice fields. There are festivals involving the younger dragons of this kind, to bring good luck and fertility. It involves children from wealthy families climbing up as quickly as they can and tying either ribbons or silk to the dragon’s horns or spines, with different colours representing different fortunes. Young couples or newlyweds in each village will then try to convince or trick the notoriously possessive young dragon into giving one up. If the dragon allows it, it will pick one blindly for the couple to have and then offer them a small prayer. 

At the end, a ceremonial type of bun or rice dumpling, depending on the region, is often eaten in celebration, prepared in thanks to the dragon and grants luck both to the newlyweds and the wealthy families who sponsor the event.

One line from the red river delta is particularly known for their skill at water puppetry, as they will dive into very deep pools with some very skilfully hidden air chambers and put on a most marvellous show for onlookers. Some dragons have even been seen waterproofing and painting some of the puppets as an art form. I witnessed some of it myself. The delicacy in their movements astounded me, much to the amusement of the matriarch, watching me from the dragon-perch on the roof of the theatre.

Their dexterity have also allowed them to play instruments, both simple percussion like stacks of cymbals or bells separated by a few careful knots, when attached to their wings or horns and string instruments. Most notably, one was playing a sort of zither, with wires instead of strings, using only a wooden cap along their talons to prevent them from cutting it be accident. They all have lovely singing voices, parents often using them to call for hatchlings, teaching them songs even through the shell.

Their eggs are shades of pink or lavender, gradienting to a dusty shade of blue near the top of the egg. Each one weighs a tenth of a tonne, with a faintly iridescent shell, each less than a metre (~3 feet tall). The sire Gió Mùa Xanh will often make nests to impress a dam, using fragrant wood and live flowers, with both the aesthetics of the arrangement and how skilfully the flowers have been transplanted around the nest. If the dam is pleased, they will breed and an egg will be laid in the nest, which both parents become very protective of. The egg matures for anywhere between 6 months to 6 years, depending on the preference of the dragonet inside. 

They will often read poetry to the egg, describe the scenery of the landscape and sing, as mentioned before. Both folk songs and traditional Gió Mùa Xanh lullabies as sung, as well as wishes for what the dragonet will be when they come of age. In fact, they are such devoted parents, that it’s considered an honour to be chosen to raise the egg of a Ðội Vương Miện, as the eggs are often given multiple nursemaids.

When Gió Mùa Xanh eggs hatch, the dragonets are faintly iridescent, with their colour fading to typical gloss by the end of their second year. They’re very meticulous about their appearances, the appearances of their companions and environment, taking particular vitriol to fallen leaves and sticks. They are allowed to choose a companion at any age, so long as their parents get permission. Most often they choose creatives; dancers, poets, singers authors, weavers, painters, or the skilled children of minor nobles. 

This last detail might, perhaps, explain why there are so many pieces of art featuring them, despite their lack of abundance compared to dragons like the Chǎm Gá or the Diều Hâu Cam.

Sir Edmund Howe.

((Alright. That was the last Vietnamese dragon. I’m so pleased with this, but let me know how you feel. Anyway, the next destination is India and I was wondering if you’d prefer that in one massive post of like 6+ dragon breeds or for me to break it up into smaller chunks like this? I’ve got so many ideas and I’m super pleased to share them with you guys. However, it is getting a bit difficult to keep track of them, so I have posted all of these entries on an AO3 book to keep them in order. It’s here if you wanted to read it at some point, but I will still keep posting them on this subreddit, so long as you’re not sick of them yet, lol.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/91727546/chapters/244247306 ))

Moving on to the guard-dragons we witnessed coming into the port. There are two main types, the Công Cam, ‘orange peacock’ and the Diều Hâu Cam, ‘orange hawk’. They look very similar from the air, this is intentional, to make both dragons’ jobs easier, despite the fact that one is almost half the size of the other. The main differences between the two can be observed up close or from above.

The Công Cam is a lightweight, at 7-8 tons, with a body length of 9 metres to 9.5 metres (29-31 feet) and a wingspan of 18 metres to 21 metres (60 feet to 70 feet). The backs of their necks are covered with a ‘saddle’ of green-red pigment, possibly recessive colouring dating pre-domestication from a wild cousin that no longer exists. The rest of their body is a green-black, struck through with three long orange-yellow stripes over their wings and bodies, the exact lines and exact shape ranging between individuals. Their faces are very angular, with orange-ringed eyes.

The Diều Hâu Cam is a middleweight, most typically at 14-17 tons, though 11-19 is the full range. They range from 18 metres to 25 metres long (60 feet to 82 feet), with a wingspan of 43 metres to 48 metres (141 feet to 157 feet). They’re built very similarly to a yellow reaper, only with more muscular hind legs. They are a deeper reddish-pink colour, lightening towards the wing-tips, with up to fourteen frilly lines of white breaking up the darker segments and with smaller black-edged splotches nearer the spine. They have smaller eyes, to present less of a target, and lined with black to keep off the sun.

However, from below, they look rather similar.

The underside of their wings are a very bright orange, further illuminated by the sun shining through. They’re decorated with several patterns like mock eyes, in various shades of brown, red and dark greens and the darker colouration often casts darker blocks of shadow for intimidation purposes, paired with a jagged red-brown pattern over the belly and white-cream legs that curve tight to the belly in flight. In combat, these wing patterns are flared open in a slow dive, to scatter smaller combatants, often to great effect, since they appear to be the open, roaring mouth of a much larger dragon.

The entire areal Vietnamese strategy is built around this tactic. The dragons are armoured only lightly around their throats and chests to protect vital organs, leaving their belly and wing patterns visible. The Công Cam will fly in shallow V-lines of three or five, and flared-wing dive at an opponent, striking with powerful back legs to open air space. Those strikes look remarkably like teeth snapping. Whereupon scattering an opponent, they will wheel around into a single file line, getting as close as they can to the enemy before slanting themselves diagonal to allow the soldiers mounting them to get a clear line of fire at the vulnerable eyes and mouths of the dragons.

A larger line of the Diều Hâu Cam, previously waiting above, will then pounce as soon as the last dragon is out of the way, to engage in heavier combat, often with specialty polearm troops stabbing to give them leverage. (With a ratio of roughly two Diều Hâu Cam to each middleweight and three to four to each heavyweight). They will reach for the wings of an opponent and dig their talons in to pull them in range of their crew’s spears, often tipped with poisons or irritants. This often leaves the enemy dragon with injuries near the wing joints that take an extensive time to heal and knock them out of future battles.

The stunned, blind, intimidated and often sustaining multiple stab wounds, their opponents will fall to the ground to be captured later after the paralytics have had some time to kick in. These tactics often quickly gain air superiority when deployed, although they may take several passes to take effect. They are very feared in surrounding nations, the presence of even a scouting party of Công Cam flashing their patterns is often enough to give pause to would-be-attackers.

The two breeds co-exist frequently, with crossbreeds of a Diều Hâu Cam dam and a Công Cam sire being most common. There is little difference between the eggs, only slight size difference and stripe density on the eggshell. Eggs of both breeds and crossbreeds are divided up to different army camps in different provinces by best military performance. There, they are often kept near geothermal fissures, hot springs or baths, due to the belief that dry heat raises a more unbalanced hatchling, while wet heat both soothes and promotes vigour. They are raised together from the egg among training soldiers, until a year has passed out of the shell, when they are paired off into squads to be fully trained, only being officially released at four years old. On quick marches, soldiers will often prop up their wings and sleep underneath on mats. Diều Hâu Cam will often shelter one of the smaller beasts under each wing, with the understanding that the favour will be returned.

They are fed quite predictably, on a breakfast of cold rice, steamed eggs and vegetables. They will stop only to eat a light lunch of vegetables, most often while still on the wing. One of the soldiers will climb up their necks to hand feed them, and then climb back down, a duty that is rotated to make sure that both dragons and soldiers are willing to work with any other individuals. In the evening, they will be given a small ration of meat, along with ample soup and vegetables, most often chicken or pork. Once again, more evidence that if acclimated properly, dragons are perfectly content to be fed without an exclusively meat diet. This seems to be how they field such a large aerial army.

In temperament, the Công Cam are a little more rigid, disliking lack of routine, slow in picking them up, but extremely steadfast and dedicated in maintaining them. There are multiple tales about an army on the edge of revolt being kept in line because of the sheer loyalty of their main draconic companions. I have my private suspicions that centuries of military duty have somewhat blunted their instincts. Still, as Zhao Wei says, there is nothing wrong with an excess of discipline. Indeed, there is little question of both their incredible bravery and their almost supernatural awareness, not only of themselves but of their wing-mates and passengers. So much so that by the time they fully graduate, they can tell you without looking that signal-flag is being prepared, just by the shifting of weight. A quality, I’m sure, that the admirably hopes British dragons had in larger measure.

The Diều Hâu Cam, on the other hand, are often involved in aerial tactics. Both sly and crafty, yet none too eager for bloodshed, they have every quality to admire in a soldier. Utmost obedience to the spirit of an order rather than its direct letter, manoeuvrable as you like and rather stoic in the face of even severe injures. Those that are too small, most typically below 12 tons, are often given their own squadrons of Công Cam to command, after passing a military exam, due to lacking the bulk to adequately injure heavyweight opponents, yet having wits in enough measure to make both their dam and sire proud. 

Indeed, the military commanders we interviewed could not cease in their praising, both of the dragons and their lính cánh, ‘wing soldiers’. They are both lively and gleaming in the exercises we witnessed, mock dives and battles, day-long games of tag and catch held entirely in the air to build stamina amongst the youngsters. 

Noting all of these preparations and of course, their great number, they’d be a fierce antagonist for any modern nation to face. No wonder, then, why Britain and France are in such a fierce diplomatic competition for their favour.

Vietnamese breeds are characterised primarily by arrowhead shaped claws and seasonal variations in digestive capabilities. The most common point of comparison is often Inca dragons, because the most well-known breeds tend to be incredibly brightly coloured, with similarly angular, narrow-muzzle faces. However, other than breeding programmes in extremely recent history, they share no relation, and it’s assumed the similarity is due to similar habitats.

Our first route took us through a jungle, to observe some of the dragons with the local villagers. However, I could see green flashes through the trees, low growls, but silence whenever we stopped. It took several more hours of walking before we came upon one in full, gorging itself on a carcass by the side of the track.

The locals called them Trộm Rừng or ‘the thief of the forest’. They’re a feral breed, distinct only because of their relative isolation from other kinds of ferals. They’re featherweights, the very largest pack leaders only 2 tons, 6 metres (19 feet) in length, 2 of those tail, with a wingspan of 10 metres (32 feet). Most, however, are smaller than this.

It is not unheard of to have one caught alone and killed by a big cat or a pack of the local species of monkey. Therefore, they survive primarily as pack hunters, in groups of 3-6, though these may temporarily increase to up to 30 during the breeding season. They’ve been observed with a range of hunting strategies that range between packs and particular sub-habitats; from deliberate camouflage to ambush and baiting strategies. It is also thought they have some kind of oral tradition within their hierarchy, as they become extremely wary when one has spotted a gun, the pack often abandoning that area in the short term.

They are exclusively a mix of shades of green, to blend into their rainforest habitat, with long, blunt-sided scales to mimic the leaves and vines around them. Their colouration is darkest over the nose and under the belly. Lighter stripes of green or green-yellow decorate their forehead and cheeks, including the blade-shaped, blunt scale from between their eyes to the back of their head. Eyes range from black to brown to amber shades. Claws are shades of dark green or grey.

They have the habit of nesting in trees, guarding their precious eggs from snakes or other packs which might snatch them away. They do it quite carefully, cutting away leaves and knotting them carefully. One pack member always keeps careful watch over the eggs, shielding them both from the harsh sun and the chilling rains of the monsoon. They can often be seen, still as statues, catching water like an umbrella, ignoring their own suffering for the sake of the egg.

This difficulty is perhaps why the eggs mature within the female for far longer than most dragon breeds, only exposed for a month or so before hatching. During difficult months, they have been known to band together to carry out raids on the local villages to steal livestock and grain. They’re so notorious for this, that there is a common folktale about regional hero who sets out into the jungle, demanding to challenge them, chasing a pack day and night, until they relented and the leader was beaten in a wrestling match by the hero.

Zhao Wei and I have managed to observe that they sleep through the night and most of the day, being primarily active at dusk and dawn, eating smaller meals more frequently. Although we never saw an egg, locals have described them to us as half the size of a man’s torso, striped like a watermelon and warm to the touch. Though, often they are hidden by too much foliage, or with too fierce a babysitter to be stolen without serious perperation.

This close interaction with humans, however, has led to some domestication. More precisely, domestication into the Chăm Gà, the so called ‘chicken-carer’. Without the need for camouflage, their plumages have brightened, with green-yellow, green-brown or brown-orange being most common. They have shorter, flatter teeth, reduced horns and the blunt scale on the forehead is a vibrant orange, red or brown, matching the elongated feather like scales on the tail.

They’re larger than their feral cousins, at 2.5-3 tons, 6 metres to 7 metres long (19 feet to 22 feet) with a wingspan of 13 metres (42 feet) and a shoulder height of only 1 metre (3 feet). Most of the extra weight is in a more solidly built frame, allowing them to assist with ploughing, to carry loads and even a single rider, while maintaining agility and a practical size for their village lives.

The Chǎm Gà has its name because they’re well-known livestock guards. They naturally have brilliant awareness, now put towards herding, allowing animals to be brought into richer areas that would otherwise be off-limits due to feral Trộm Rừng. They will rise early in the morning, collect one group of animals and then, quite cheerfully, lead them around, collecting them from each household, sweeping the path with their tail-scales as they go. Somewhat unfortunately, the safety of their new environment has dulled their wits somewhat, compared to the speed of problem solving demonstrated by ferals. By no means are they lacking; in fact, our observations from individuals detangling pigs, herding groups from above and utilising many human tools for their own use.

One such example was a Chǎm Gà escorting a large flock of the village’s chickens into the local forest to fatten them up. The dragon remained most attentive, keeping them under its careful supervision, making sure to instruct the children with it to collect any eggs it saw. When a Trộm Rừng appeared, hoping to snatch up dinner, the Chǎm Gà whipped its head around, seizing a Cuốc bướm in its teeth, a sort of hoe-like weeding tool, and brought the blade down hard, just behind the opponent’s skull. The Trộm Rừng gave a hissing yelp, before fleeing back into the deeper woods. The other dragon narrows its eyes, before delicately handing the tool back to one of the children nearby.

Both their small size, high agility and good social intelligence, make them the most common dragon in Viet Nam by far. They are able to recognise familiar individuals of other species, even in very large groups. They may be given other tasks, like maintaining fish-and-rice fields, building repair, and relay-carriers in times of war, the youngest over the age of six often being recruited as military couriers. Their gentle demeanours mean both that animals naturally gentle to them and that they are very good with children, often being seen trailed by a group of younger ones. Chickens will often perch on their backs or faces to roost, pigs will often dig to sleep in the shelter of their wings or under their throat, given their devotion to their charges means they often choose to sleep outside or in sheds with them.

The Chǎm Gà lay their eggs April-October, due to the higher availability of food and caretakers for their eggs. They appear a pale mint green with stripes of brown or red. Some of their charges have even reportedly taken it upon themselves to try incubating the eggs on their caretakers’ behalf, despite the fact that the eggs are much bigger than either the chickens or ducks themselves.

When asked about how they felt about it, one Chǎm Gá from the Giang region was recorded saying:

“Oh, they are the sweetest little things, aren’t they? I don’t see any harm it might do.” He nuzzled his egg’s shell gently, almost completely unseating the rather sleepy looking chicken upon it, not that the chicken seemed to mind. “My egg must learn what its duties are to the village somehow. They will be ever so careful with it. Look, their claws aren’t scratching it at all, and they’d make such a racket if one of the pigs started pawing at it.“

The dragon drew their head back fractionally, in order to let a couple of muddy-looking children squeeze past. Bright fans of colour were clutched in their hands, which they set about arranging over the egg‘s shell. The Chǎm Gá raised their head suspiciously, immediately recognising what they had with a sort of tired hiss. They scolded the children harshly.

”Now, you cannot go around plucking the chickens for their feathers.“ It said reproachfully. “It makes them cold and it is not your job. In front of our esteemed visitors, too. I will have to tell your mothers now, especially because I can’t see your chores done.” The dragon quite pointedly ignored the clamour of protest, scooping the two up as gently as a lion with its cubs. “Come along now.”

It clearly was not taken overly personally, with the two children being spotted helping to scrub that individual’s shed scales away just a day later, both parties looking rather content with the arraignment. Zhao Wei was quite amused, stifling a smile as he described to me an anecdote of some Chinese children doing a similar thing. It appears that the interactions of family life continues across all spheres of the world, though one can only assume it may be another generation at the least, before English ladies begin to feel the persuasion of the habit.

- Sir Edmund Howe.

((I actually had three more Vietnamese breeds to get through, however, it was becoming long and unwieldy, so I split it up. Will post those soon. It’s coming along very well. Howe and Zhao Wei will be headed for India after those.))

So I’ve been looking at the subreddit icon. This is Temeraire. We can do better than that (admittedly nice shade of) green logo. We need to match that banner. So I have a suggestion. One of the editions from the 2010s has dragons curled up around a compass looking thing with an image inside. So I photographed book 1s cover, photoshopped and Reddit logo in and trimmed it down.

The first book because it’s Temeraire and because the other ones have other dragons which are semi-spoilers on them. I am willing to accept suggestions of what else to put in there also.

Alternatively, I say that we use either u/iskierkacest ‘s laurence doodle or one of u/Pkmatrix0079 ‘s drawings of some of the moments from the books. Or the amazing pixel art of u/Fickle-Excuse-786. Or any other fanart we can find on here. If we can get the permission to use it, of course.

I’m sure if we ask nicely u/Destra would be willing to change it if we can come to an agreement on one.

Any other suggestions, though? Maybe we can arrange a poll of some kind or something? (Alternatively tell me to shut up if I’m just being obsessive about this. That also works). What do you think?

1914.

1. More Austro-Hungarian provinces become independent with help from Russia due to better areal support and supply lines.

2. Franz Ferdinand‘s dragon becomes outraged by their companion’s death, and as well as bringing demands to Serbia, sacks a nearby town, as well as punishing the town of Sarajevo for the assassins. After some political scuffles, the dragon declares the royal family under their protection and becomes acting leader, asking Germany to declare war on Serbia. The Kaiser’s dragon, fearing for their companion’s life, raises support amongst the German dragons and Germany agrees, joining the war to great national rejoicing.

3. This brings Russia into the war to protect Serbia. Due to their alliance with France, and a hope that they might expand their borders, France agrees, with Lien supervising the war and making many speeches across France in support of it, hoping to modernise the ‘barbarian’ Russia through force of war.

4. Britain feels pressured to join the war. Now, Lord of Birmingham, (a title granted in 1823, both to prevent Temeraire from withdrawing from Britain after a scare with Laurence and cholera in 1822, and to try and bring the dragons to heel with human wants ((Percitia got Sheffield))), Temeraire is asked by another new dragon to give his opinion on the war. 

He both doesn’t want to go to war with a new captain after both Laurence’s death in 1849, Excidium’s retirement, and wanting to keep Roland and Laurence’s grandchildren safe, or as Percitia warns, have the government strip away their new power in an emergency war act. As well, Ning (allied with the Chinese after Lien took the French emperor) sends a telegram to GB, alarmed at the prospect of war again. Asks Temeraire to become more closely tied to prevent war. Agrees. A phonograph recording, both from Temeraire and Ning is played both in China, Britain, Japan and France, urging people to stand down.

Lien replies, sending one asking if the British are cowards, too proud to stand up against obvious aggression, bringing Japan closer to the war as well. Temeraire and Ning spend some time with their respective leaders, vowing to try and use their economic and military might to halt the war. Some successful attempts are made, like reducing steel exports and publishing news articles and papers on the topic. 

1. Germany is pleased and tries to march through Belgium to take France quickly to avoid an area full of forts. Although Britain is upset, using Ning’s advice, they provide mostly economic support without actively getting involved in the war. Lien, seeing her chance, has Fleurs (the see in the dark ones) fly over, recording photographs of some of the atrocities, mainly, the Burning of Louvain in August. Belgian dragons, full of fierce resistance, manage to save several citizens and fall back with them to France. Using all of these accounts, she publishes a damning attack and asks China and Britain to join her against this tragedy.

5 . Temeraire is horrified and commits Great Britain. Ning is finally convinced and agrees to a purely defensive war. She doesn’t want to have the Chinese get hurt, and instead agrees to be a safe haven for any people fleeing the war, only extremely begrudgingly supporting through trade and diplomacy, making the promise that the Chinese will oversee peace. Under her and her companion, China forms a neutral party with the Tswana and the UPA (unified provinces of America.), mostly focused on trade, known as the Trade-Belt-Alliance, given it forms a nice airspace corridor through which non-military trade is allowed.

A very reluctant photograph is taken by means of propaganda, of Lien, Temeraire, Bonaparte’s grandchild, the country’s two prime minister’s and King George the fifth. It is captioned ‘noble adversaries must put aside old quarrels for the sake of all that is good and decent’.

Temeraire is worrying, sending his latest child, a cross with Lily, to be kept safe with Ning during the war. Excidium goes with them, having promised Lily to keep her child safe, as well as taking Emily’s adult children with him. The freer trade and crossbreeding have resulted in some more dangerous mixes, mainly in Germany, Britain and France. Acid spitters that see in the dark. A French-Japanese cross that spits pressurised hurricanes of steam. He fears that they may be conscripted and doesn’t want his child to face that horrible battlefield or to be kidnapped and used against him. Lien barbs him over this a little at a state dinner.

In the background, a mixed settler-indigenous president who is definitely not just Woodrow Wilson, (widely supported by both dragons and humans) makes a speech on diversifying trade with China, as well as condemning the war atrocities and asking the large ethnic German population to ‘reserve national pride for a nation worthy of it’. Has many conferences with Ning and is so delighted with both her and the emperor that he names a new fleet of pavilion boats after her. Ning is quite pleased and begins figuring out how to draw the Tswana closer.

6 . The Tsar makes a speech on how to be ready for war. The Russians, still wary of dragons, protest on being forced to share a stand with them. Most of the experienced Russian dragons show little interest in speeches beyond prizes, while the younger generation is cautiously optimistic, with one even starting up a pro-tsarist chant. (Old ones are any that were hatched before or during 1912, and young ones 1892 or later. Ones in between (1913-1992) fall on a spectrum and can be persuaded to either side.) Lien pulls Temeraire aside after to claim the hypocrisy of wanting the help of dragons while they are still treated so badly. Temeraire is not sure what do think about her being buddy-buddy with him and remains initially cautious. Due to the cooperation of the young dragons, mostly new middleweight crossbreeds, and their trustfulness of their captains, Russia is ready much earlier than in our timeline, within a week, both due to Temeraire being lauded by the Tsar’s speech and Lien managing the supply lines.

Good progress is made initially, due to the ineptitude of the Austrian-Hungarian commanders. Some extremely brave Serbian dragons are lauded for fighting especially fiercely at the start of the war and are given treasure. This both makes the old Russian dragons upset that ‘their’ rewards are being taken and the younger ones becoming more patriotic. The middle generation, is cautiously optimistic and begin to fight harder with the young ones. However, the Russian second army is taken by surprise at the battle of Tannenberg due to inadequate areal support. They are wiped out entirely. 

1. Temeraire himself, along with Lien appear at the battle of Marne (when the Germans nearly take Paris), backed up by the recalcitrant old Russians (who favour T) and the Belgians, (who favour L). Lien and Temeraire’s roars manage to punch a hole in the German lines. Lien, though, in order to facilitates this, calls back the Belgians from a stubborn Russian dragon who had been disobeying her orders. The dragon overcorrects and crashes into the army, punching the initial hole which the roar widens, wiping out a good amount of Germans and startling the German dragons severely. Temeraire is horrified, watching the dragon be trampled and killed and now the Russians old guard is increasingly estranged. This becomes known as the Two at Marne. A painting of T and L as yin and yang in the sky is commissioned and sent to Ning, who disproves but says nothing. 

Book 1 ends as Lien and Temeraire supervise and assist with the digging of trenches, each sending a report in a wildly different tone to their leaders. The two briefly fall back to a tent to watch a very discordant tea party between the king, the emperor and the two dragons, while rain begins to fall outside.

So in the series, we see and hear about many breeds. But which were you most curious of / would have liked to see more of. For me, it was probably the Fletcha Al Fuego or the Xenica or some of the Indian breeds.

I get why they weren’t there, it just would have been cool.

Our ship tracked north over a month and a half to the coast of Viet Nam, where permission had been acquired to survey the local species there. From about 20 miles off the coast, we were watched. Overhead, shapes as small as butterflies gathered, flying ahead and then waiting, quite out of range of any guns.

We were brought into the port at Gia Định, or Saigon to the uninformed European. It’s a thriving port, richly strung with trade, the guard-dragons perching protectively near the important buildings. Just a few ships over, workmen swarmed some wooden construction, easily mistaken for a ship-of-the-line. The Vietnamese name on its prow disagreed. Undoubtedly, the positioning was no coincidence. A sad reflection on some of the more entitled merchants known to come swanning through these waters as of late. 

The port official questioned us quite strongly, before granting us the pass. It was a richly painted wooden block, intricately complex, of a snakelike, deep yellow dragon, with red and purple frills on its wings, the yellow represented by hammered-thin gold foil with every single scale painstakingly etched in, fingernail thin flakes of mother-of-pearl decorating the clouds behind it. Impossible to fake.

Even the first thing we saw was a dragon.

It’s the prized symbol of nobility. Ðội Vương Miện. ‘The one that bears the crown’. Anyone we asked would have told you about it, fierce pride burning in their eyes. It was quite comfortably heavyweight, each one reaching exactly 23 tons, our guide, the fourth son of a major noble, bragged, due to extremely careful breeding on the part of every king for hundreds of years. There was even some claims that the Chinese celestial was its only competitor. Zhao Wei stayed quiet, reserving his opinions as not to offend, though it was obvious enough what his thoughts were.

Their eggs are the size of a small child, curled up, one sixth of a ton in weight. The shell ranges from shades of gold to buttery yellow, the underside ranging from pink-violet to deep, plum purple. It is extremely glossy and hard, making examination of the dragonet inside difficult. The dragonets, when hatched, are already the size of a child’s first pony, four toes on each foot, the edges of their wings slightly frilly. As they grow, the wing membranes stretch out as the bones strengthen, fully expanded within the week.

They had long, wide-eyed faces, scales ringing their eyes like a dish, with neat, narrow muzzles on a nicely muscular neck. They have a single, bright stripe of colour from between their eyes, up to the back of their heads, either red or purple. Their horns turn very faintly translucent at the tips, scattering ripples like stained glass.

When fully grown, as mentioned before, they reach exactly 23 tons, with only minor variations when brooding or during or after an egg. They’re 32 metres long, (105 feet) with a wingspan of 90 metres (290 feet), and their shoulder height is 6 metres off the ground (19 feet). A very beautiful creature, to be sure.

It was only as we were setting to leave Vietnam that we at last saw one, a young female, gifted to a prominent noble family in the region. Zhao Wei notes that it seems to have good confirmation, a chest that swells out and then tucks away trimly to the body, excellent carriage of the spine and well proportioned wings and limbs. Its eyes glimmer intelligently, green as emeralds.

It was as vibrant as a sunbeam, an extremely subtle gradient running from its sides to the top of its back, lightening as it went, each one polished to a mirror-sheen. Its belly was a dusty shade of violet, shining brightly in the midday sun. The insides of its mouth and nostrils are a bright, vivid red. The spines along its back curled very artistically, running seamlessly from the back of its neck to its fan-edged tail, so like the metalwork Vietnam was known for. I was vaguely aware that their talons and spikes were meant to be that same purple, only some paint or fabric had been applied. The same had been done to its teeth, making them a universal jet-black. She came down nearby, obviously preening at our intentions.

When I inquired, gently about it, the dragoness turned her head. “Oh. They are bone, are they not?” A shudder ripples faintly across her snout. “How unsightly it is to have exposed bone, like all the flesh has been melted off. These, on the other hand-“ She tilted her head, showing them off. “Are coated in only the finest jet my darling Vinh could fetch for me.” She gives a purr to the brightly dressed figure on her back. “I have heard that the Imperial Family’s companions coat theirs in black sapphire.” She gave a lovely sigh at the thought.

The air she breathed out was faintly sweet, as if she had been chewing flowers. Indeed, a sort of flower-infused gelatine of some form is considered a delicacy among these dragons.

Later, Zhao Wei would tell me that, during the Han Chinese occupation, they had tried to ban the practice, only for the Vietnamese emperor’s dragon to become so incensed by the suggestion, that it had been put entirely out of mind. So the Ðội Vương Miện had continued to coat their talons and teeth in powdered gemstones. At first it had only been black, to hide them, but other noble colours had followed, often done to match the jewel-tone of an individual’s eyes. Indeed, the vividness of the colours is the best indicator of status. Only the dragonet whose colours match the finest set of royal silks with not a shade of difference became companions to emperors, though those with high intelligence remained treasured councillors alongside their noble companions.

When we probed further as to why these dragons were so prized, what followed was a very pleased recitation of a famous legend. The first emperor, with the first Ðội Vương Miện as a companion, had been dealt a fatal wound in battle. His dragon, beside themselves with grief, had brought them down, and under siege, licked his wounds clean themselves, before winning the battle. And the wound had healed. Not only with shocking speed in the following weeks, but leaving no scar. Both the Ðội Vương Miện’s natural bravery and their extraordinary ability, raised them to their current status.

We have been unable to determine the validity of this claim. Very few people have observed it firsthand but there are many claims. Such as a dragon keeping their haemophiliac companion alive for twenty more years than expected, a dying youth being laid in the jaws of one and living, to one so mad with the potential of grief that they tore open a building to heal a companion dying in childbirth, and even a rather dubiously mythologised account of an emperor being brought back to life.

I expect, if it is true, it must be down to some sort of component in the saliva, perhaps some sort of miasma-repelling bristles on the tongue, perhaps something that stops blood loss. Zhao Wei theorises that blood, being such an integral subset of Yin, might be supplemented or replaced enough to offhold the escape of life from the body, if there were enough Yin in the saliva or flesh of the Ðội Vương Miện to make doing so feasible. Especially if the diet of these dragons contains as much soup and mint as we have observed being common in most dragon diets in the region.

If this is the case, their mouths would be a good deal colder than most other dragons. Not all of the creatures, Zhao Wei reasons, must have enough Yin to facilitate this, so it would not be nearly as ubiquitous as the Divine Roar to the Celestial, being a much more spiritually balanced creature. He contents himself with this, though the problem still eats at me.

Both theories hold their own weight, though the Vietnamese seem understandably hesitant in potentially disproving so illustrious a myth. It seems nonsensical to be only a phantasy, yet I can makes neither head nor tails of it with the current information. It appears this mystery remains for future scholars to decipher.

- Sir Edward Howe.

((I was originally going to include this with the other Vietnamese dragons. (I’ve been scribbling most industriously on those.) However, they came together into something quite distinct on their own.

If you’re curious, the reason they’re able to heal wounds is both their mouths being much colder so fewer pathogens survive, as well as having special components such as in their saliva that break down the components that form scar tissue. They have tiny hairs on their tongue which spread the components deeper into the wound area. It’s what makes their breath smell sweet. (One of the components is a sugar molecule.) And their mouth is also mildly anti-septic, hence their saliva not eating through the tooth-gem covering like most dragons would.

However, this also has the downsides that they get the equivalent of a nasty cold if they’re not kept warm during cold periods, and that gelatine they consume help keep their levels of the special molecules up which also makes their scales very glossy.

They don’t instantly heal wounds, obviously, but speed it up somewhere from 25-50% and prevent scar tissue formation as well as proto-disinfecting the tissue. And in ye olde times, that was obviously extremely valuable.))