List of dragon breeds (Temeraire)

List of dragon breeds (Temeraire)

A list of dragon breeds in the Temeraire series.

British dragons

Grey Widowmaker

Native ancestor of the Greyling, this small dragon was once as common in Britain as the Yellow Reaper, but has been nearly hunted to extinction due to its terrible temper and habit of preying on livestock.

Greyling

Small lightweight dragon, camouflaged by its grey coloration. Bred more for speed than intelligence and weighs around 5 tons. They are the result of crossbreeding the larger, more aggressive Grey Widowmakers with the smaller, more even-tempered Winchesters.

Longwing

This middleweight dragon is capable of a vitriolic attack (spitting highly acidic venom) aimed with great accuracy, though only downward. As its name implies, it has an impressive wingspan, and distinctive markings ranging from orange to blue. One of its peculiarities is that it will only take female captains (a fact not recognized until Queen Elizabeth I, when she had her serving maid harness one). Longwings average a length of 60 feet (20 m) but have a wingspan of 120 feet (35 m). This 2:1 ratio of wingspan:length is unusually long in dragons, hence the name of the breed. The Longwing's acid and the Regal Copper's strength are the elite weapons of the British Aerial Corps.

Regal Copper

This heavyweight dragon exceeds all known breeds in sheer size (40–50 tons) and are related to the Bright Coppers (middleweights with unusually large air sacs allowing longer duration flight) and the Spanish Cauchador Real heavyweight dragons. Females are usually larger than the males. Regals breed infrequently making them very valuable. Only a handful of heavyweights approach their size, including Grand Chevaliers and at least one breed of Prussian heavyweight dragon. Regals are approximately twice the weight of Celestials/Imperials (40–50 tons vs. 20–25 tons). Regals are 110–120 feet long (35 m) on average and have a wingspan varying between 166–180 feet (50 m), and thus have a typical wingspan:length ratio of 1.5:1. Regal Coppers have vivid colorations ranging from red to yellow, and are very far-sighted. Regals have a top cruising speed of around 17–20 knots (35 km/h) and a top speed of a little over convert|20|kn|km/h. A favorite British tactic is to use Regals' brute force to "bulldoze" through enemy formations, opening them to attack by other British dragons.

Yellow Reaper

Middleweight dragons with golden coloring. Yellow Reapers are fairly common, weigh in between 12–15 tons, and are known for their even temperament. They are however rather slow, with a top speed of approximately 20 knots (with a top cruising speed of 17 knots), with even the larger Regal Coppers capable of faster (though not longer) flight. Reapers have contributed their genes towards almost every other line of British dragon, giving most British dragons their even temperaments, which is in stark contrast to Turkish Kaziliks and some Chinese dragon breeds. Yellow Reapers have an average wingspan of 80 feet (25 m) and are generally around convert|50|ft|m long (15 m).

Other breeds

*Anglewing: Smaller dragons, with oddly angled wings that allow them to make sharp, unpredictable turns. They are middleweights, weighing a mere 13–16 tons on average.
*Bright Copper: Native forerunner of the Regal Copper. Noted for their unusually large air sacs, a trait they passed on to their descendants, the enormous Regal Coppers.
*Chequered Nettle: A heavyweight dragon smaller than Regal Coppers but more common. They possess spiked tails which can be used in a manner similar to morning stars.
*Grey Copper: A pale green dragon occasionally used on the flanks of formations.
*Malachite Reapers: Cousins of the Yellow Reapers, with yellow-brown coloring with green highlights. Prefer the cooler climates of northern Scotland.
*Parnassian: A large middleweight dragon somewhat smaller than Celestials but larger than 12-ton Yellow Reapers by approximately 50% in weight (18 tons, top of the middleweight weight range).
*Pascal's Blue: A lightweight combat dragon (around 8 tons) with light blue coloring.
*Sharpspitter: A venomous breed considered too small for military use, that was cross-bred with the larger French Honneur-d'Or and the venomous Russian Ironwing to create the Longwings.
*Winchester: This lightweight dragon is mostly useful for carrying dispatches and quick, harrying flank attacks. Coloration brown and purple. Winchesters weigh 2–3 tons.
*Xenica: Little known. Like the Longwing, it only takes female captains.

Chinese dragons

Lung Yu ("Jade Dragon")

Fast moving lightweight couriers. Primarily green, these dragons are small enough in size to stand eye to eye with humans. Possess long delicate looking wings that taper and nearly reach the ground. Capable of fast and high-level travel, flying 120 miles (190 km) in less than four hours. Do not have riders, unlike Western courier dragons because of their exceptional intelligence.

Lung Qin ("Imperial Dragon")

These heavyweight dragons have interbred in a manner that has increased their intelligence. They form the elite of the draconian officials. They have blue to black markings. Occasionally, matings between Imperials will produce a Celestial. Imperials, like Celestials, weigh around 20–25 tons, and are not expected to fight. Imperials are virtually identical to Celestial in appearance; a frill of horns around the head and tendrils above the mouth are the main differences in appearance.

Lung Tien ("Celestial Dragon")

These heavyweights are the personal dragon companions of the Imperial family. They have the same markings as the Imperials, but as they mature gain a distinct ruff. Highly intelligent, fast fliers, maneuverable (they have the unique ability to hover), they have another mysterious ability known as the "divine wind", a sonic roar with extremely powerful concussive force, one of the rarest and most powerful draconic abilities. There are only eight known Celestials. Celestials weigh approximately 20–25 tons and usually do not fight in combat. Their exact top speed is not known, although Temeraire is often said to be doing convert|25|kn|km/h as a fast cruising pace and still not flying at his maximum pace. Lien, his elder cousin, is said to be even faster. Celestial top speed, judging from their fast cruising speed of 25–30 knots (50 km/h), would be around 30–35 knots (60 km/h) in good weather. This top speed makes them faster than all known heavyweights, most middleweights, and even rivals that of the fastest Courier Dragons. Temeraire is said to be only a few feet shorter in length than a sizable Regal Copper, a breed which varies between 110–120 feet (35 m) in length (if weight is proportionate to length (10% increase in dimensions results in 33% weight gain)). From the usual wingspan:length ratios of 1.5:1 we can infer that Celestials/Imperials are approximately 100–110 feet (30 m) long and have an impressive wingspan of 150–165 feet (50 m). Because Celestials weigh so much less than other heavyweights like Regal Coppers (20–25 tons vs. 40–50 tons) and have similar sized wings, their wing loading is much less, thus allowing Celestials' much greater maneuverability, endurance, and speed.

Other breeds

*"Emerald Glass": These dragons tend to enter the military. They are green with red markings and typically slow-witted, compared to other Chinese breeds, noted for intelligence.
*"Scarlet Flower": Another dragon that tends to enter the military. As their name implies, they are bright red.

French dragons

*Chanson-de-Guerre: ("Warsong" or "Song of War"). Heavyweight dragons, colored shades of orange, yellow, brown, and ivory of approximately the same weight as Imperials/Celestials (20–25 tons). They are France's most common heavyweight dragon breed.
*Chasseur Vocifere: ("Vociferous" (or "Ferocious") "Hunter"). Small lightweight courier dragons.
*Defendeur-Brave: ("Brave Defender"). A heavyweight with a hooked tail.
*Flamme-de-Gloire: ("Flame of Glory"). Middleweight dragons with fire-breathing abilities, an ability greatly prized among dragons. In the series, England captured several during the Battle of Agincourt, but they all died out before the English could start a fire-breathing line for their own Aerial Corps. The prominent example of this breed is Accendare, a Flamme-de-Gloire that has battled Temeraire.
*Fleur-de-Nuit: ("Nightflower"). A nocturnal heavyweight dragon with dark coloring and excellent night vision. It is easily blinded by bright lights. These are often used in spying or night-time raids or maneuvers.
*Grand Chevalier: ("Great Knight"). Heavyweight dragon with a pale belly, which camouflages it from below. They are almost as large as Regal Coppers, and as such must weigh around 35–45 tons. These dragons are relatively rare and are the larger of the Chevaliers, thus they are called Grand Chevaliers.
*Honneur-d'Or: ("Golden Honor"). Oddly named, these dragons are actually barred red and blue.
*Papillon Noirs: ("Black Butterfly"). A middleweight dragon colored with green and blue stripes.
*Pêcheur-Couronné: ("Crowned Angler" (or "Fisherman")). A middleweight breed that is very common.
*Pêcheur-Rayé: ("Striped Angler" (or "Fisherman")). A middleweight dragon with no special abilities that is very common.
*Petit Chevalier: ("Little Knight"). This breed of Chevalier is called "Petit" Chevaliers due to their smaller size in comparison with Grand Chevaliers, although both are heavyweights. Petit Chevaliers are more common than Grand Chevaliers and are larger than Chanson-de-Guerre and Celestials/Imperials. They are thought to weigh around 25–30 tons.
*Poux-de-Ciel: ("Sky Louse"). One of the smaller breeds of dragons, but able to take on middleweights in groups.
*Plein-Vite: ("Full and Quick"). A lightweight courier breed. Very fast but have little endurance, they carry one rider that is usually a young officer or teenager.
*Roi-de-Vitesse: ("King of Speed"). A lightweight.

Japanese dragons

*Ka-Riu: A Japanese breed also capable of vitriol.
*Sui Riu: This Japanese breed can ingest and violently expel large quantities of water. They are invaluable in both a military and fire-prevention capacity.

Prussian dragons

*Berghexe: ("Mountain witch") A Prussian middleweight.
*Mauerfuchs: ("Wall fox") A lightweight Prussian courier.

panish dragons

*Cauchador Real: ("Royal Conqueror") From the Spanish Pyrenees, this large heavyweight breed is one of the ancestors of the Regal Copper
*Flecha-del-Fuego: ("Fire Arrow"). Spanish lightweight breed that can breathe fire. It has a black body with white wings. It has a red slotch across head. Its shoulders and neck are red. It has horns and a frill like the Kazilik. It weighs (8-10) tons. (40-48 ft) it is around the size of a Gray Copper. The males have horns and frills like the Kazilik. It can breath fire up to convert|50|yd and can mainatin it for 1 1/2 minutes. They are extremely fast and manuverable. They have wings like the Anglewing so they can make fast and sharper turns than most dragons. (That is how it set fire to Nelson's ship and was unscathed)

Turkish dragons

*Akhal-Teke: A Turkish middleweight.
*Alaman: A lightweight Turkish courier.
*Kazilik: Renowned for their fiery tempers as well as their fiery breath, these Turkish heavyweight dragons are bright red with green and black markings, and are covered in dangerous spines and horns (a Kazilik is the dragon featured on the cover of the American paperback version of "Black Powder War"). Kaziliks combine two traits not commonly found together, being both heavyweight dragons and fire-breathers, and as such are highly desired by other countries like Britain. Evidence suggests they are extremely bloodthirsty from birth and can have contrary temperaments. Kaziliks are perhaps the most valuable of all heavyweight combat dragons (Celestials do not typically fight), with the British paying the Turks nearly half a million pounds for a single egg (making it nearly 10 times more valuable than a Regal Copper egg). Iskierka, the sole British Kazilik, is noted as being as long as Temeraire, a Celestial, which would mean fully grown Kaziliks are approximately 100–110 feet (30 m) in length (almost as long as a Regal Copper). Kaziliks have a fire-breathing range of 80 yards (70 m) (twice that of a French Flamme-de-Gloire), and can breathe fire for continuous periods of five minutes at a time.

Other dragon breeds

Feral dragons

While not a distinct breed, some feral dragons may be of full-breed or mixed breed types of dragons. In the series, the breeds to which Arkady's troop of feral dragons belong have not been established, while it has been mentioned that smaller dragons - such as the Grey Widowmakers - are feral in nature.

African dragons

Although the breeds have not been identified, Kefentse and Mokhachane may be of distinct African breeds as they are dissimilar in appearance. They are characterized with stylized pierced jewelry, including gold and ivory tusks.

Kefentse is described as a reddish-brown heavyweight with a double row of patterned spikes and about the size of Temeraire.

Mokhachane is a light to middleweight dragon, golden in color. An artist's rendering of him is on the cover of "Empire of Ivory".

Breeds from other areas

*Copacati: An Incan breed capable of a vitriolic attack.
*Dakota: A brown middleweight from the North American Great Plains tribes. Colored with 'warpaint'-like stripes of red and green.
*Ironwing: A Russian breed with a venomous bite.
*Lindorm: A Scandinavian dragon, possibly an ancestor of the Malachite Reaper.

Other draconic species

*Kiao — A sea serpent. One specimen in the Indian Ocean measured nearly two hundred fifty feet long while only twenty feet thick. Smaller specimens measuring twelve feet or less have been found in the Atlantic, while those in the Pacific are rarely seen and no size measurements are mentioned. These may be non-sentient or it may be due to the lack of contact with humans that this species exhibits none of the dragon-like intelligence seen even in feral dragons.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Temeraire (series) — Temeraire is a series of novels by Naomi Novik, comprising His Majesty s Dragon (released as Temeraire in the United Kingdom), Throne of Jade , Black Powder War , Empire of Ivory , and Victory of Eagles . The novels are works of both fantasy and… …   Wikipedia

  • List of fictional dragons — This is a list of dragons from works of fiction. For dragons from legends and mythology, see List of dragons in mythology and folklore. Dragons in literature * Ancalader, the dragon bonded to Jermayan in The Obsidian Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey… …   Wikipedia

  • Naomi Novik — Born April 30, 1973 (1973 04 30) (age 38) New York Occupation Writer, computer programmer …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”