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Post by Captain Eleanor Hawke on Sept 3, 2014 7:26:09 GMT
Because I think it's important to talk about aviator customs to help everyone get immersed in the world.  As most people haven't read the books, Barnaby and I have provided key information on aviator and dragon life in the Settings board, linked below, but I think these things are worth discussing so I've made this thread for the purpose. Dragon BreedsRanks in the Aerial CorpsHawke's Compendium of Background Information
----------------------- Oh, I just realised we forgot to state that a captured dragon isn't expected to enter combat on the side of their captors. The usual procedure is to keep the captain imprisoned to ensure the dragon's good behaviour and the dragon is sent to breeding grounds in the captor's country where it's provided with food and company. So then the imprisoned captain's nation loses a combat beast (some of which are extremely valuable) and the captors hope the dragon will mate and produce eggs which can be taken from the breeding grounds and harnessed. Dragon eggs are highly regulated in Europe. |
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Post by Sir Barnaby Howard on Sept 3, 2014 16:02:16 GMT
Yeah, a captured dragon is kindof like a captured human. They have other loyalties that would make them difficult to trust if they were attempted to be taken into battle. But its even worse because they don't even need a shank to be deadly.
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Post by Kit Marlowe on Sept 3, 2014 16:32:43 GMT
The difference being, human prisoners aren't assigned personal harems. |
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Post by Nathaniel Derrick on Sept 3, 2014 16:36:03 GMT
The life of a captured dragon is a good one. No work, feasts and freakin all day, no expectations beyond.
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Post by Captain Eleanor Hawke on Sept 3, 2014 17:12:37 GMT
But they are separated from the human who is usually their best friend/family substitute, which appears to be more important than all the rest. There's clearly a parental bond between some captains and dragons they have harnessed from hatching, though it may be the opposite for captains who inherit their parent's dragon. Even dragons who are mistreated by their riders still crave their presence. Also, I think this has gone beyond the point of the thread (and that's partly my fault) so I have separated it off into a new thread. It's not fair on our dear admin to clog up a necessary thread with this conversation. Discussion of aviator customs is good though so I think the conversation should be preserved |
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Post by Sir Barnaby Howard on Sept 3, 2014 18:29:56 GMT
Thank you for moving these into a new thread. |
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Post by Captain Eleanor Hawke on Sept 5, 2014 13:40:58 GMT
The training covert in the books is the Loch Laggan one, which is currently over the border so we'll need to establish a different training covert somewhere. But that's definitely a castle. The dragons don't have stables, they tend to sleep out in the open or they might pick a secluded area where trees offer some cover. Some dragons in a breeding grounds later dig out the grounds to make dens so there's that option too.
But yes, essentially a covert is a military base with an officer's mess, bath houses, bedrooms, classrooms and training areas. Large courtyards for dragons to set down in of course. Also, if the covert is also home to eggs waiting to be hatched, there are special quarters where the eggs are monitored in a warm environment. Loch Laggan has a steam room accessible via the baths.
The canon coverts I can recall in England are Dover and London. There might be more but I'd have to double check, else we'll need to invent them. I made up the Tynemouth one because of the Earl of Northumberland being stationed in Tynemouth at the time Eleanor was born, and it also makes sense in regard to the threat from Scotland.
I've never really thought about the role of the church in coverts. Seems logical that they'd have them but to be honest the characters don't really go to church in the books! Not on the page, anyway. Now I am wondering if they'd do open air services for the dragons too. I've a feeling some of the non-aviator people in the books think dragons don't have souls but there's no reason a dragon couldn't have a religious belief if raised to it.
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Post by Jonathan "Ashen Jack" Asheton on Sept 5, 2014 17:02:31 GMT
Don't really need to invent castles. We're well into the period where castles went into decline and were replaced by artillery forts. Cannons almost completely did away with their usefulness. Star forts would have been the peak of defensive fortifications at this point in history.
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Post by Captain Eleanor Hawke on Sept 5, 2014 18:18:25 GMT
Oh, I didn't mean that religion is never mentioned in the novels, because it is at times and there's even a missionary character in one of the novels. I just don't recall mention of the aviators going to church. I'm sure at least some of them must but I suppose Novik just didn't really write about it. I can't remember any mentions of a chapel in the coverts, but that's not to say thy shouldn't be there. It makes sense there would be a chapel or church of some kind, though if the covert is close to a city perhaps the aviators just go to church there.
England has lots of castles so I'm sure any of those could be used for the purpose. The description in the book suggests that Loch Laggan was built against the mountain for the purpose of the dragon covert but if we want castles, there's plenty to go around. I'm not 100% sure that all coverts have to be in castles, the Loch Laggan one was the easiest for me to look up as it's the one that appears the most. To be honest, in this setting, old Catholic monasteries and convents would work for newer coverts. I probably ought to try finding a description of the Dover covert and the London one (though the latter is stated to be largely unused by the 19th century).
I feel like there are some forts like Zack describes on the south coast. I may have even been to one of them. Not sure about other places.
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Post by Nathaniel Derrick on Sept 5, 2014 18:42:04 GMT
There were definitely star forts at this point in time, and some even stand to this day- Star Castle probably being the most popular because it's a hotel now.
EDIT: To name a few, Star Castle would be constructed about 7 years after this game's time, and Pendennis Castle would have existed for about 50 years near Cornwall. Tilbury Fort is probably the most historically relevant for this period, for obvious reasons three years later.
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Post by Jonathan "Ashen Jack" Asheton on Sept 5, 2014 18:59:31 GMT
My point was that we're well passed the medieval period and its technology at this point in history. While armor is still worn by some, it's largely ceremonial (think conquistadors) as muskets have made it pointless. Artillery has made castles useless at best and a liability at worst, with forts replacing them. Countries were rushing to hire italian engineer/architects to design star forts for them. Heavy swords have been replaced by rapiers. The matchlock musket has completely replaced the longbow, with wheelock pistols around but expensive. The flintlock wont show up until 1610 and won't have widespread use until 1630. The cannon (namely French cannon) is the king of the battlefield.
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Post by Nathaniel Derrick on Sept 5, 2014 19:33:23 GMT
The cannon (namely French cannon) is the king of the battlefield. Especially when it's being flown around by a 20-ton+ pissed off dragon. |
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Post by Nathaniel Derrick on Sept 5, 2014 20:31:04 GMT
There are still castles around, but yeah, not entirely useful when you've got cannons in play. More of a death trap than a shelter, and coverts would probably be fairly prime targets for attack. Likely just an oversight by the author.
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Post by Jonathan "Ashen Jack" Asheton on Sept 5, 2014 20:35:07 GMT
Well castles were still used as HQs on occasion, but more as status symbols then for any actual defensive purpose. There was a gothic architecture revival in the 18th century where they built castles simply as artsy houses rather than for any defensive use. In all honestly with dragons, defensive fortifications in general would mean a lot less, so it's probably more that castles and their accompanying grounds are pre-existing structures that happen to be large enough to house dragons and crew. Abbeys and other abandoned religious buildings were also commonly used as HQs for this reason.
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Post by Captain Eleanor Hawke on Sept 5, 2014 20:35:19 GMT
They probably don't need to be defended unless the country is under invasion. Navies are becoming more important now so the Corps' first duty is to protect the coastal areas. The Loch Laggan covert is in Scotland so it might have been used for defensive purposes at some point. I think the issue here is whether the coverts in game are new or old buildings converted to aviator living quarters. I'm sure a mix of both is realistic.
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