Comments on: “You want to know WHAT?”

By: Elizabeth Moon

Elizabeth Moon — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:31:53 +0000

The dragons in Paks’s world are…a tad unusual, even for dragons. After I finished the first book (25 years ago, roughly), I wrote some short stories set in the same world, and one of them involved a mercenary who happened to be the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter (sort of thing) and came under a compulsion to visit the Father of Dragons. That story was never finished, but it taught me what my dragons were like and something about their reproductive processes. There’s a bit about the dragons’ eggs in Paks’s world in the story “Judgment” in MOON FLIGHTS (first published in THE DRAGON QUINTET.) A dragon arrived in the middle of the second book of the new group, quite unexpectedly and to the dismay of characters who thought they’d all been banished ages ago by Camwyn Dragonmaster. (The dragons have an entirely different view of Camwyn’s importance.)

For those interested in the Paksenarrion-world books (and the new one coming out in March), there’s a lot of background on the website I listed here, and discussion on its embedded blog.

By: Eowyn

Eowyn — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:01:53 +0000

@ Eir de Scania – the implications and images from your comment are impressive (I’ve heard how grumpy male elephants are if collected via one methodology … the trick is to have the jeep already moving when you shoot him with the tranq antidote). I hate to THINK what a Dragon would do in similar situations.

Elizabeth, I love all the images in this blog and now have to go and start reading Vatta’s War (working on Gird at the moment).

By: Eir de Scania

Eir de Scania — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 16:23:39 +0000

I imagine dragons to be built more like pterodaktyls, light-weight, efficient breathing system and so on.

I also imagine that while their courting rituals are in the air, the actual mating is on the ground, or they will have the same problems as whales do. Dragons lay eggs, that much is known from folklore.

Artificial insemination on dragons is not something I would recommend. Or even mention in front of the sapient ones.

By: Terie Garrison

Terie Garrison — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:36:56 +0000

Yeah. At least I have enough reptile knowledge (having once bred snakes) to extrapolate out the draconic gestation period. Whether I came close to being right is another question entirely!

By: Ginger

Ginger — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:29:38 +0000

It depends on the kind of dragon. Most seem to be of lizard lineage..

By: Gloria Oliver

Gloria Oliver — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:05:10 +0000

Awesome post! And looks like in asking questions you’re keeping at least the vet and his people entertained. Heh heh

By: Stephen Deas

Stephen Deas — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 19:58:20 +0000

If your vet does know anything about draconic reproduction, do please let me know

By: Jason

Jason — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 19:53:27 +0000

You’ve got to figure dragons are pretty much the same as Komodo dragons and Dinosaurs right? Where it gets confusing is Griffins.