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Narakka River Dragonry
A quick note: The dragons found here are based on those in the Dragon's Blood trilogy (or is it a series now?) by Jane Yolen. I have tried to keep all information as accurate as possible, and will note in parentheses (like this) when I have had to guess or make something up. I recommend that you read the books (Dragon's Blood, Heart's Blood, A Sending of Dragons) before going any further, as some things may not make sense otherwise.
The nursery's dragons (and those bred here) are listed below. A '02' as the third number in the ID code indicates a hen, or female capable of breeding, '01' a cock, or full male; '04' and '03' are female and male dragons that have been rendered sterile, usually those classed as 'beauty dragons'--pets. Owners are listed by Nexus Forums username.
Currently there are no dragons ready to be adopted out. When more become available, they will be listed here and on this page. Each dragon comes with its own trainer if desired, but it is permissable to create one of your own instead. To recieve a dragon, either post a reply in the Austarian Dragons thread, or e-mail Samber at [email protected] with your choice. You may not take a dragon that someone else owns or has claimed. Dragons and trainers need to be up within a week of my posting the images. This shouldn't be too hard, since all I require is a page with the image and *correct* stats, plus a link back to this page. More is better, though! I would prefer that you not alter or redistribute these dragons in any way. If I find out that someone has, that person will be added to the Blacklist (which will hopefully never exist) and have the dragon in question marked as abandoned. The same rules apply for beauty dragons as for fighters.
Female Austarian dragons may lay hundreds of eggs at a time, with only four or five hatching. (Sometimes more, sometimes less.) Of these, not all will be fighter material: hatchlings that are weak or low in the packing order will be culled; those with unusual or interesting markings are gelded or spayed as beauty dragons, while the rest of the culls are sent to the Stews. One or two of the others are kept by the breeder, and the rest are sold. If you'd like to breed your dragon here, the procedure is as follows: Make sure that your dragon is a cock or hen of Level 2 or higher, and thus allowed to breed. If the dragon is currently engaged in a fight, you must wait for the fight to end before breeding your dragon. Decide whether you'd rather have your dragon mate with a randomly rolled wild dragon or a dragon of my choice. Tell me either by e-mail or, preferably, by sending me a message on the Nexus forums. I need the name of the dragon and its gender, level, and url. I'll roll up the hatchlings, separate them into culls, beauty dragons, and fighters, and color images for the beauties and fighters. The hen's owner gets first choice, the cock's owner gets second. (All they see is the ID code, though, and a short description. Not the image.) If one parent is wild, the owner of the other dragon gets first choice. I have the option of third choice, if I want it. I probably won't, but it's there if I do. The rest of the hatchlings, if there are more, are put up for adoption.
The main purpose of the Austarian dragon is to fight. (Admittedly, it is useful as a food commodity as well.) Fights provide gold and renown for breeders and trainers, tourists to the planet, and an outlet for dragons' natural aggressive tendencies. Before the KKs (convicts sent to Austar IV, then a penal colony, for their crimes) began training them and breeding the wildness out, dragons fought to the death. They were nearly extinct by the time humans arrived on the planet. Now care is taken to make sure that fights in the Pits do not end in death, and bloodlines are checked carefully for any signs of Fool's Pride (a compulsion that makes the defeated dragon try to force his opponent to kill him, not always bred out of the blood entirely). There are two kinds of Pit: the Minors, for First Fighters and less successful dragons, and the Majors, the best of the best. Rules and procedures at each are similar. I've decided to assign rankings to dragons based on number of fights won--this way it will be easier to keep track of which dragon is allowed to fight in which pit. (This is not an Austarian tradition. It is an innovation by a gal who can't figure out how else to work it.) An explanation follows. Level 0 = First Fighter or 0 wins. A Level 0 dragon is one that has not yet won a fight, and may enter only in the Minors. Level 0s have the following moves: Stand, Hindfoot Rise, Great Upset. (All right, so the Great Upset originated with Jakkin and Heart's Blood and we all know it, but we're going to use it anyway. It's a good move. Sneaky.) Level 1 = Minors, 1-3 wins. Gains new move: Defense. Level 2 = Minors, 4-9 wins. Can now breed. Level 3 = Minors, 10 wins. Now fights in the Majors. Level 4 = Majors, 3 wins. Gains choice of new move: Grandstand, Flyby, Endure, Evade. Level 5 = Majors, 6 wins. Gains choice of new Level 4 move. Level 6 = Majors, 9 wins. Gains choice of new Level 4 move. Level 7 = Majors, 12 wins. Gains remaining Level 4 move. Level 8 = Majors, 15 wins. Gains breeding bonus (round up insted of down on split rolls). In a fight, the trainer/owner selects five of the dragon's known moves (she can choose the same one multiple times). Each move is keyed to a different ability and has certain uses. Stand keys Strength, and will always beat Great Upset. Hindfoot Rise keys Ferocity, and will always beat Stand. Great Upset keys Cunning, and will always beat Hindfoot Rise. Defense matches the opposing dragon's move, calling for an ability check. Grandstand keys Heart, and will always beat Stand and Endure. It matches Hindfoot Rise, calling for a cross-ability check. Flyby keys Agility, and will always beat Hindfoot Rise and Grandstand. It matches Great Upset, calling for a cross-ability check. Endure keys Stamina, and will always beat Great Upset and Flyby. It matches Stand, calling for a cross-ability check. Evade keys Speed, and calls for a Speed check. [May only be used once per fight.] I know it's complicated. Sorry. All you really need to know is what level your dragon is, which moves it knows, and that this is really just an uber-complicated game of rock-paper-scissors.
Only the Narakka Minor Pit is open right now, since there aren't yet any dragons of a level high enough to fight in the Majors. To enter, send me an e-mail at [email protected] or PM me on the Nexus forums with the following: your dragon's name, level, URL, and five known moves, in order. The five moves can be the same. Your message should look something like this: I would like to enter Masque of the Red Death (lvl 0) in Narakka Minor Pit. His url is http://www.freewebs.com/mintlilly2/masque.htm. His five moves are: 1) hindfoot rise, 2) hindfoot rise, 3) great upset, 4) hindfoot rise, and 5) stand. You will be added to the list. Once the desired number of slots have been filled, the fights will run. Opponents are chosen randomly. I will e-mail/PM you with the results, which will also be displayed on this page. If your dragon attains a new level with choice of move, I will ask you to make a selection. Otherwise, don't ask.
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