His Majesty's Dragons
"Sir, they're approaching fast... incredibly fast..." The 2nd lieutenant cried out, pointing towards the horizon as a large fleet of France's ship appeared largely against the sun.
"They'll be here in less than an hour... prepare her men!" The captain shouted, as all the sailors busted into action and began to prepare the mast, the cannons and were sure to make sure their ship was in shape. She was one of many of the British fleet and fear did not strike him nor any of his commanding officers. Napoleon's navy was something to look at, but nothing to be feared- he was confident in their numbers and their Navy skill was far beyond that of any Frenchman.
"They're awfully gutsy to be approaching us head-on like this..." The captain's first commanding officer inquired quietly, to which the Captain paused and then nodded in agreement. It was odd for them to be so bold when clearly their five ships were outnumbered twice. It could only mean that either this was a tactical diversion or...
"The sky!!" One of the men cried out, pointing and immediately the Captain's heart sank. There in the sky was a fleet of at least twelve dragons- a familiar blazing mottled red in the lead.
"Water! Prepare for water! As soon as that devil comes down, fire as quickly as you can!" He cried, signaling to the other ships with green and red flags to inform them of the danger ahead.
The roar was deafening as three of the dragons descending, two large Yellow Reapers smashing into the mast as the blaze of guns went off. One of them gave a cry of pain, staggering in wing beat as it flew lower for a moment, trying to climb higher. Its wing was badly shredded however from the fire and immediately it plunged into the water, along with its crew. Satisfaction ran through the crew, until a cry rang out.
"Behind!"
Indeed it had only been a distraction and the Flamme-de-Gloire opens her jaws wide and unleashed a blazing fury upon several of the ships. Cries for water rang out amongst them as they struggled to put out the flames, as more dragons descended with eager attacks. Gunfire rang out less frequently now... the struggle to put out the flames serving quite the distraction.
"Oh bloody hell..." The Captain said quietly as he noticed that the French ships were closing in and not even half of the dragon fleet had descended upon them yet.
Welcome to the historical time of Napoleon, where war rages mainly between France and Great Britain. Historically, this world mirrors our own in every way except for one very important aspect- Dragons are also involved. Everything else is, for the most part, the same- historical figures like Marco Polo, Napoleon etc... they exist. The same technology as back then exists, save for some leather harnesses that are used to equip dragons with bombs and other humans to ride.
In this world, Dragons make up a force called the "Aerial Corps"- a fleet made for fighting by air. Every country utilizes dragons in such a manner, although how they utilize them varies from country to country. There are several different types of dragons that generally vary from country to country as well, although trades have been made and breeding is of utmost importance. Dragons are extremely valuable and prize-worthy.
Every dragon has a "rider". How one becomes a rider, again, varies but in Great Britain they train boys (and some girls) from age 7 or so to train to work in the Aerial Corps. When they have proven themselves (after working ground crew or flight crew for a dragon- see below), they can be chosen to attend a 'hatching'. A hatching is when a dragonet is about to hatch, and when the egg breaks loose the chosen rider takes a small harness and attempts to harness the dragon. If the dragon accepts the rider, it will go into harness and the two are bonded forever until one of them dies.
Dragons are EXTREMELY protective of their riders and will do anything to save the life of their rider, even against orders. Also, most dragons are very intelligent and are capable of speech which they learn while in the egg. Some dragons vary in degrees of intelligence (some only being able to think simple-mindedly) while others, such as Chinese dragons, are incredibly smart and bred for such. Other dragons are bred for size, abilities, speed of flight etc...
Harnessing can happen by accident and can vary- what I have told before is Great Britain's basic practice. If an egg were to hatch 'accidentally', then a dragonet might randomly choose a person close to them as their rider. Also, dragonets have been known to deny a chosen rider and then a few more are offered. If a dragon refuses to be harnessed, they are deemed 'feral' and sent to breeding grounds.
There are wild dragons, but they are off in less populated areas and are not thought of well.
Dragons are treated the same in most areas of Western Europe. They are kept to special bases to be trained in Nova Scotia (for England) and that is where riders and their dragons learn how to do military formations and use their proper talents. Dragons are not allowed in big cities, due to the fact that the entire population would panic and flee, etc. People who go into the Aerial Corps are usually social outcasts, for they are not thought highly of in 'high society' for becoming so attached to dragons and plus, they're not super social being raised in the Corps since 7. In times of military action, many dragons are kept in military bases where large parts of land are set aside for them. Special cattle/sheep is raised for the dragons as well, so they are fed regularly etc.
Some large dragons have crews assigned to them. Their rider is the leader or Captain, but crew are kept aboard to attend to the dragon if it gets hurt in flight, to drop bombs below or they are specially trained to fire rifles in air at other dragons and their crews. "Boarding" occasionally is attempted, where one dragon's crew attempts to board and kill the other crew. Rarely do enemies kill riders, but prefer to keep them alive so that their dragon does what they wish. If a rider were to be killed, the dragon usually goes wild and rampant.
In this RPG, you will be playing as a rider or dragon. You may have two sign-ups- one rider and one dragon. NOTE: If you sign up as a dragon, you are NOT to give your dragon a name. The person who will be your rider will give you a name. Heh! Because that is how it works in the RPG and makes things a LITTLE interesting.
For a list of the different dragon breeds, go here: Dragons!
No Chinese or Japanese breeds are allowed in this RPG, yet. Due to the fact that China is very secluded and a totally different ballpark than any other country.
If you wish to be a rider from a different country, go ahead but please be sure to give a reason as to why you'd join Britain. All riders will be new and starting out in Nova Scotia for training, although I will allow a few people to sign up as a vets who are there to help "train" the newbies.
If you have questions, feel free to ask. :3 This RPG will be run much like my Naruto campaign, in which a lot of direction and events will happen, along with some fun art and music.
Enjoy!
SIGN UP FORM- RIDER
Name: Arianna Fletcher
Age: 17
Gender: Female
Appearance: Arianna is considered tall for a woman, being around 5'8" with a thin build. However, toned muscles can be seen from her small framed if given the chance to expose some of her skin, showing that she is not one to be mistaken for a 'fair lady'. Her skin is pale but considered tan for a European- having spent many days in the sun on aerial missions as flight crew for other dragons in the past. Her hair is a sun-bleached blonde, matching her fierce olive green eyes well although it gives them a bit of stark contrast. Unlike most women in the Corps, she is well endowed and has a difficult time hiding her gender and thus usually doesn't make a point in doing so. This usually makes things difficult when working with other branches of military (they not being so fond as having women, thinking it crude and rash).
Personality: She was born into a poor family and placed into the Corps because her family could not afford to keep her or her brother, and so as a pair they were sent in. She has had decent schooling however and unlike most of the younger Corp members, she continues to read and practice her writing. She realizes she is more feminine than most of the women in the Corps (who usually are flat-chested and wear men's clothing), and because of this she is usually wary around any male- they tend to get rowdy, being so far away from towns usually and secluded from women when on duty. Because of this, she can be very blunt and harsh in her tongue to keep men away, but when gaining favor with someone who treats her with respect, she is incredibly polite and cheerful. Fiercely loyal to her comrades, she believes in duty before herself and would sacrifice accordingly.
Nationality: British
History: Arianna was born into a higher middle class family, but poverty struck them when the war hit and hurt their incoming supplies in trade. She was the youngest along with her brother in a family of seven, and her family was unable to afford to keep both of them. So in honor, they sent the two of them to the Corps- who were desperate for men (and women). Arianna has been training to perhaps harness a Longwing egg, although with so few of them available it seems that her chances might not ever come.
She has been in the Corps for a good amount of years, although she is still considered new since she came into the Corps at age 14, not 7 like usual. Thus she has had to work extra hard and has often fought to show she can learn quicker than most and still be in the ranks with those who have been in the Corps for much longer.
Dragon: Natilai (Kna-til-eye), Longwing (Classy Cat)
Relations: She has an older brother in the Corps as well. (Anyone may play him if they'd like).
Other: Arianna is quite fond of Natilai, enjoying conversations with her whenever the opportunity presents itself. The harnessing of Natilai was rather pleasant and she was relieved to find that the Longwing was even-tempered and quite intelligent. It doesn't bother Arianna that her dragon is a bit shy, although she often encourages Natilai to be a bit more outgoing. Natilai's egg was acquired through a series of trades with the Spanish- at first they were to trade the longwing egg for a fire breather. However, the egg was sent back just before Napoleon came to have a prominent hold over them. The Spanish had decided to not go through with teh trade, from the pressure of the French. She is not quite sure how Natilai came to know French, although she thinks it might be due to the French-Spanish border and perhaps the egg was along the lines of inspection.
DRAGONS
Name: Emily Elizabeth Matilda "Django"
Breed: Kazilik
Appearance: She is a very large dragon, being considered a 'heavy weight'. Still being young, she has not reached his full size yet- which is 110 feet, but she is only 60 feet in length at the moment. Still, Emily "Django" is quite beautiful despite her rather fearsome appearance- a nice row of black spine-like thorns protrude from her spine all along her body, and two great, slightly curved-upwards horns protrude from her head, attached with fine-like spines along the back side of her face. She also has two distinct smaller horn supon the top of her head, above slightly before and directly above her snout.
Her coloration overall is some-what odd of a Kazilik. She has a brilliant shade of red all over her body, but instead of having colors of mottled green and black markings, she instead has brilliant gold and black markings. All of her horns, talons and spines are black, blending nicely into her overall red color. However, along the underbelly and the inside folds of her wings are sunset gold colorings- patches of it occurring along the rim of her wings as well. Her eyes are also a golden color, but are not slitted to look like a snake's eye but more of a cat with intelligence behind them.
Personality: She is quite sure of himself and tends to be extremely impatient. She does not enjoy long periods of pointless resting and sometimes will amuse herself, which resorts to mischief on occasion. She is very battle hungry, as is a common trait in her breed, and often needs to be soothed or told off so she doesn't dive into battle at every chance (which Alexander fails to do at times, much to the dismay of his comrades) She is very protective of Alexander, to the point where she will not let him ride upon any other dragon other than herself. She realizes she is not like most of the dragons in Britain, and because of this she often feels as if other dragons treat her differently. (This will be fleshed out more as she develops.)
Languages: Turkish, English, French
Talent/Ability: She breathes fire, training so that she can exceed five minutes of fire breathing at once although she is up to only three. She is not as agile as the other dragons, being a heavy weight but she is quite strong and often fails to realize that she should be careful do to keeping her special ability, instead of brashingly pretending to be a Regal Copper and using their 'bashing' technique.
Other: Emily was stolen from the Turks when in the egg by the French. It was placed upon a ship heading to France, when a British ship intervened and captured the ship and its containers. The egg was an extremely valuable find, and it swiftly was sent to England where it hatched. (thus explaining how she knew the languages). Upon hatching, she claims that she had been hungry and Alexander had some spare food within his pocket and then after a short while, she deemed him 'worthy' of being her partner. Their adventure on the sea to Britian was remembered by most, much to the dismay of the sailors- for she often would try attacking anything that she thought was challenging her- whcih was occasionally a sailor or two. Alexander seemed to find this 'all in good sport' although some of his comrades did not find it QUITE so funny. She's now almost full-grown, and since then has grown very fond of Alexander although she snarks at him on more than one occassion.
Name: Arael
Breed: Xenica
Appearance: Arael is a middle-weight dragon, being about 55 feet long and having a large wingspan, being about 90 ft (so about almost twice his length, although not as impressive as a Longwing). His body isn't bulky in appearance, but slender and more thinly built although his length and wingspan classify him as a middle weight, even thoughs he is only about 11 tons in weight.
His slim body gives him a rather elegant look and his lack of spines and very few horns make him look less fiercesome. Two whitish blue horns protrude from the top of his head and there is a little spiney frill about his jawline, but it is quite small and nothing more than to look perhaps like decoration. Fin-like frills run down his spine as well, but there are no horns and the 'fin-like' appearance doesn't have the jagged edge that fish would have. Towards the end of his tail is more of a flipper-like patch of flesh, much like a dolphin has but matching his spine protrusions. Between his claws are also similiar webbings.
His coloration is pale blue overall, with patches of black coloration upon the tip of his snout, tail and upon the ends of his wings. His underbelly is white, with a few flecks of white almost 'paint spatterings' upon his feet, which gives him a comical appearances as if he had gotten into a batch of fresh paint.
Personality: Extremely intelligent and quite curious, he is often asking questions about anything that seems even remotely curious. However, with his intelligence also comes a very relaxed attitude- his not quick to anger nor is he quick to any sort of action. He listens to orders readily, but isn't afraid to ask a question if he disagrees with the "intelligence" of the order. He often likes to watch the other dragons as well, quite curious by their varied personalities.
Languages: English
Talent/Ability: It is rumored that his breed (being a bit rare and not well-catagorized) was derived from Sea Serpents, although that is a guess as to his breed's odd knack for water. Having slightly webbed feet and obvious adaptation for water, he is an excellent swimmer and can hold his breath underwater for quite a time. While he isn't the best fighter, the fastest nor the strongest, his scales seem to be of a thicker, more hardened density which shows by his few scars compared to the other battle-ready dragons.
Other: He is a sucker for roasted lamb, something he was accidentally fed as a dragonet. hence, he loves his meals cooked.
I'm doing a super awesome combo post... to spare most of you from reading a story. @_@ Oh and I changed Emily Elizabeth Matilda or Django's size, she's younger than the rest of the dragons I think, so she's only 60ft in length at the moment. :3 Fits better for the beginning.
Introduction
[ Location: Aerial Corps Training Base #2 - Nova Scotia ]
The warm spring air rustled along the grass and rose to the trees in the early morning. Large rising hills with a few slated gray jagged rocks come forth from the greenery. The Aerial Base was rather large, covering a great deal of the southern tip of the island. A few acres were penned up with cattle, sheep and goats scurrying about and grazing- occasionally giving a bleating call if they were startled by the scent of dragons with the wind ever-changing. A large lake and stream were included in the grounds, glinting off the sun's rising rays that reflected serenely off of the surface.
The place itself was like an extremely large fortress. A few sheds were created from stone where many of the groundsmen worked- creating metal buckles, leather harnesses and other handicrafts that were needed for the dragons. Large walls surrounded the base, creating a very large entrance-like courtyard before the main, towering castle-styled housing for the riders. Within the entrance were several large, flat stones that many of the dragons made a habit of sun-bathing upon. Today was the inspection day and a day of rest, where the training master would look over his "students" and then assess how to train them.
The Nova Scotia base was known for its reputation as the 'quick training' facility- used for riders and dragons that needed to learn formations and fighting tactics quickly. And indeed, with Napoleon rampaging across Europe, Britain's call for more military enforcements grew. One of the special quality of the bases, was that the training master was actually a dragon- something that surprised many of those who newly join the base. A handful of new students had been brought in, while a few others had been there longer but all in all, everyone's training was to end around the same time. Training that usually took years was supposed to be complete in three or four months.
Arianna sat down in the mess hall as a hired servant approached her. She wore a more casual attire that day, although made sure to look respectable for when the inspection would arise- she wanted to look nice in front of Natilai for the observation of the training master. A long flowing black skirt, aired out slightly with flat, smooth-toes shoes- she doubted Natilai wanted to go flying today, not with all the work they had done previously. A simple form-fitting white undershirt, with a black over jacket that sported her bars that showed her three gold bars upon her right shoulder, marking her as a captain although they didn't have a real dress code- being aviators, they usually were all a little unkept when compared to the Navy.
"What will you be having, Miss?" The servant inquired, and Arianna waved her hand slightly.
"Whatever is the usual for today." Arianna flashed a smile as the servant nodded and ran off.
Arianna had her hair wavering about her shoulders, reflecting its golden gleam in the mess hall's light- no need for a tight bun today, for she knew there was a break of training to welcome newer Captains and their dragons. Her strong olive gaze flickered over the mess hall, seeing how it was quite empty- which wasn't uncommon. No doubt the newer members would eventually trickle down, and she had the habit of waking up quite early.
Arianna and her beloved Longwing, Natilai had been at the base for about two weeks to begin their training. It was neccissary for them to start early, being that a Longwing and her Captain were usually leaders in a formation. They would signal the other for formation changes using flags and usually were the focal point of a formation. Longwings, with their incredibly accurate acid-spitting abilities, were vital for attacking ships and usually were the focus of attention for enemies. Kill the longwing and the ships wouldn't be as prone to being attacked, since Dragons had to risk a ship's guns if they were to swoop down low.
Arianna tilted her head upwards in thought. She had heard rumors however, about a Kazilik fire breather being caught by a British ship, but she wasn't sure if it was already hatched and used in the breeding grounds or in egg. In anycase, she heard most fire breathers had horrible tempers... something that probably couldn't be harnessed well. There was a Spanish fire-breather in the base as well, and she thought that they were better suited for the corps. Far better trained...
Her meal was brought to her just as another figure entered the mess hall- a new captain, by the look of it. She took a scoop of her eggs and took a bite, chewing more thoughtfully than necessary as she eyed him curiously.
"Ohhhh... this is dreadfully boring! I don't want to wait my turn to eat, I want to eat now." Emily Elizabeth Matilda, or Django, protested. A few of the herdsmen were letting cattle loose to feed the dragons, but all at once she watched as the larger dragons went to eat first- it seemed to be an unsaid natural law to let the Regal Coppers and the Longwings eat first, themselves being larger breeds. Django even noticed a Grand Chevalier going with them, perhaps quite aware of this unsaid truth.
One of the herdsman looked warily at her, but he had enough courage to speak. "Yah best wait yer turn, n'less yah wanna try tah weasel yerself in and git squashed."
Django immediately swiveled her head about around to look at him dauntingly with bright liquid eyes of gold. The man cowered slightly at this, being used to dragons but being a little... unnerved. He hadn't ever been around a Kazilik before, but he knew what they were capable of in battle- usually for the enemy.
"Squashed? Squashed?!" She balked, turning again to watch the larger dragons snatch up the cattle. "I will not be squashed. I am quite large myself!" She puffed out slightly, steam escaping through the tips of some of her spines along her back. She was already through the gate as she nosed her way through some of the middle-weights, who were about her size at this point. She immediately saw one of the newly released cows and in her excited hurry, she opened her jaws wide to snatch it. However, a puff of blazing fire escaped her jaws and lit the poor thing on fire, causing it to let out a terrific bellow as it did maddening circles. A little startled at her random outburst, she quickly gathered herself and immediately pounced upon it, tearing away at the flesh.
"Curious..." A smooth, low rumbling voice spoke to her, as a few other dragons gawked at her but then went back to their eating. She could hear another dragon comment about how she was rather loud.
Emily Elizabeth Matilda raised her head from her gory mess of seared cow flesh, to see a pale blue dragon, about her size, looking at her calmly as he walked past.
"Why are you staring at me?" She demanded with a huff, practically enhaling her cow protectively as if he were going to eat it, despite walking away.
"You can breath fire, just like that one over there." He motioned his muzzle slightly towards dragon with bright red markings spattered upon his body, eating another cow. "His name is Simeon, and mine is Arael." He added in politeness, sitting down near the entrance of the gate.
"Hmph, well, I am a better fighter, I am sure. Alexander says so." She said with finality before swallowing the remainder of her cow. She was growing and had a vigorous appetite, swiftly scrambling over to a sheep to snatch it up as well, much to the protest of the herdsmen- the sheep was not meant to be released, only cattle this day but alas- they failed to stop her from goring the sheep as well.
"Waiting on your dinner?" A familiar dragon asked to Arael, who seemed to give a dragon's way of smiling with a nod.
"I believe this time they're adding some spice to it." He said with a calm air, although the other dragon snorted- not understanding why meat had to be cooked. But the aroma of something fresh wafted into the air, and immediately Arael turned about, swinging his tail in anticipation to see a piked cow brought to him, steaming.
"Mmm... delicious!" Arael said happily, sinking his teeth into the juicy flesh.
[ Feel free to do whatever you'd like. You can be a Captain who has been training at the base already or someone just new. Feel free to eat at the mess hall or go out to your dragons (they should be done eating soon and back at the entrance or they can go out into the fields and suchs). Do whatever you'd like, the "inspections" will happen about midafternoon or so. :3 ]
+.{His Majesty's Dragons}.+ [Starts!]
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