Author notes

pg 208

daidaishar

on Oct. 18, 2007

You can't be ambitious if in the world of power dynamics you don't exist.

This is what Drake ment when he said his namewas more of a title.

Humans developed similar systems too in some places. I'm guessing that most folks have heard of the Spartan hoplites, and there's also the Ottoman Janissaries. Both groups were the most feared fighters of their day, and the systems operated by starting children at a young age and teaching them that the state was more important than their individual selves. More on them later.

You can see some examples of the other family lines. These are all groups from in and around the British isles. Drakes' tend to display family traits most strongly because of their status as physical manifestations of the family (Bahamoot can make beliefs and ideas impact reality). The dragon on the previous page was "our" Drake and has the gold wings, brown mane, and extra, overlapping plates on his legs typical of families from the Southeast of Britain. The dragon on the left of this page is an example of traits from across the channel (multiple horns, pattered scales, dimmer wing colors, pale plates, and a dark, blue-ish mane) while the one on the right is a more northern breed (longer, lighter mane, heavier horns, earthier colored wings, darker plates, extra, but not overlapping plates on the legs, and extra fur along the forelegs). The families do mix, so these are just typical traits (Our Drake's family has some of the southern blood so his brothers have the multiple horns and a few spots).

Family traits aren't as apparent in human forms (think of how hard it is for us as humans to tell dogs of the same breed apart, it's like that for them in their human forms) The colored belts and shoulder pads are their family colors. The fellow in the middle has black stripes and sash over his family colors to show that he is an instructor and acting on behalf of the school, not his clan (although holding such a position shows lots of skill, and so brings honor to his family). Questions about family traits? : http://hurrocksfardel.createmybb.com/showthread.php?tid=12

I've also posted redos of pages 7, 8, and 9 (with slightly different dialogue)

replies:
re jccomics: looks like you'll have to ask his family for permission first.

re Luneko: yup, that was our Drake. I'd been using his family up until now for the illustrations.

re Tali_demonic: ^_^ I've been cumpulsivly doodling dragons for as long as I can remember.

re worstcase : hope these ones are ok too ^_^

re Meg Overhill: thanks ^_^

re Will: thanks, I'm glad you're liking it.