His Majesty's Dragons: World at War

[Charon]

Jake probably should work on that "getting a kid for Kunja" thing soon huh... Good thing that IIRC, the Air Force doesn't care so much where your kid came from, so long as it's your kid. Jake isn't the "settle down and get married" kind of guy.

[General Havoc]

I imagine the dragons would have something of a say in the matter.

[LadyTevar]

It would have to be two kids. Kunja would want the kid that's the most daring and crazed. Jebediah would want the 'quiet one".

This does not mean Kunja would get a boy.

[JimmyTheCannon]

Considering Tev and Black's kids from BB, that does not surprise me in the least.

[Charon]

Kunja would fairly well demand the boisterous one, and would look upon any child who does not get somewhat of a thrill out of dragon diving to be a shame upon their parentage. *nods*

[LadyTevar]

Considering Tev and Black's kids from BB, that does not surprise me in the least.

Go do a search of FanFiction for "Cycle's End". The Tahalshian kids as 20-somethings.

BTW: Havoc -- that must have been a short conversation for Cap and the crazy Spaniard. He got back to camp faster than Aequitus.
Or did you forget where you left him and just thought to be amusing?


Charon? I'd not be surprised if both kids liked DragonDiving. Jake and Kunja would be tossing them in the air from dragonback before they could walk, knowing him. Would give Judith a heart attack, of course.

[JimmyTheCannon]

...oh dear. I'm not sure I can take that.

[LadyTevar]

You're not their guardian angel any more, Officer Mike.

[JimmyTheCannon]

Heh. Yeah, it's been a long time since that... and Grey, babysitting for the clan. Poor guy.

[General Havoc]

BTW: Havoc -- that must have been a short conversation for Cap and the crazy Spaniard. He got back to camp faster than Aequitus.
Or did you forget where you left him and just thought to be amusing?

I did not forget anything at all. If Cap's back, one might want to ask where his conversation partner went...

[Hawkwings]

Ahh crap I'm late. I will get a profile up by tonight.

[General Havoc]

There's always room for one more victim. The Stukas are very hungry.

[Charon]

I'd imagine so. Hopes and dreams aren't very filling.

[rhoenix]

*laughing*

Now what we need is for Frostfell to go eat that Spanish Heavyweight's face.

[Charon]

If Kunja doesn't beat him to the punch of answering the challenge...

[Hawkwings]

Captain's Name: Emily Hunt
Captain's Age: 23
Captain's Description (physical and personality):

Emily is a trim, athletic young woman with sandy blonde hair and steel blue eyes. She grew up deep within the confines of the elite RAF dragon fliers, with both mother and father captains of great Regal Coppers. Accordingly, her life has been occupied by dragon-related activities for as long as she can remember, and the dragons of her mother and father were just as much parents as the actual biological ones. Originating from such a sheltered and reserved organization, Emily has always felt a bit too restricted, that her life was lacking in something else. Her grand escape and break with her old life was going away to university in Edinburgh, which was cut short after just one year when her father passed away and she was called back to take his place, commanding Luna. Having been captain and dragon for just under three years, Emily is still uneasy about the giant shoes that she has stepped in. With a veteran crew watching not only her back but her every step, she is determined to prove herself to them, to her country, and most of all, to her dragon. Emily is fond of cheesecake, stargazing, and ancient mythology.

Dragon's Name: Luna
Dragon's Age: 48
Dragon's Breed: Regal Copper
Dragon's Description (physical and personality):
A fine specimen of the Regal Copper breed, Luna measures 134 feet from tip to tail and weighs in at 45 tons. Her coloration is blazing gold and red to match the setting sun, and twin "racing stripes" of bright cardinal run the length of her back. Luna fancies herself the first and most important mother of Emily, and had a bit of a rivalry with Tiberius over which one was Emily's favorite. She was already fiercely protective of Emily long before her captain passed away, and now that Emily is her captain, that feeling has blossomed into a full-fledged bond. Luna's shock and grief at losing her old captain was mirrored by Emily's similar feelings over losing her father, and although consoled by older dragons in the squadron who had gone through multiple captains, it was this close relationship with Emily that was most helpful in accepting the loss and moving on. Nowadays, Luna is back to her old self - regal, placid, and wise. She is fastidious in her duties, exercises, and training, sometimes scolding Emily for not doing as well as she should. In a fight, Luna is of course a fearsome sight, overpowering her enemies with brutal and efficient blows. She also fancies herself a bit of an aerobat, which Emily has encouraged. Luna enjoys night flights above the clouds, the smell of cheesecake, and Roman history.

Background (both Captain and Dragon, please be as detailed as possible):
Luna was the dragon assigned to Emily's father, Captain Ernest Hunt. He was an average captain of the great Regal Copper, which was to say he was one of the best the RAF had to offer and received regular recognition for exemplary service. Like many dragon fliers in the RAF, he married within the organization, to another Copper captain - the daring and fiery Captain Victoria Meadows and her dragon Tiberius. They had one child, Emily, who was raised by either them, their dragons, or the other captains and dragons in the squadron. As Emily grew up, she was always around the dragons in the squadron, helping out with whatever duties she could and always eager for rides whenever the opportunity would arise. There weren't many other children around though, and when she started school she found herself in a foreign world, with almost nothing in relation to the other children. This feeling never completely went away, although it did get better as she grew older and could relate more to her peers. At the encouragement of both Luna and Tiberius, Emily decided to go far away for university, all the way to Edinburgh where she was to study archaeology. These plans were derailed though, when her father died after battling severe illness, and the RAF called her back to the squadron. It was always assumed that Emily was going to take over for either her father or her mother, and she had been not-so-subtly groomed for the role, but nobody anticipated it happening so soon. The poor timing was simply compounded by the political situation at the time, and Emily was quickly put into full formalized training.

It was during this time that Victoria and Tiberius were pulled from the front lines and placed into a strategic planning role. This was due to both the need for experienced eyes - both human and dragon - at the planning table, as well as Victoria's deteriorating health. More than one officer has expressed worry that she will soon be unable to command, leaving Emily in the situation of being the inheritor of two heavyweight dragons.

As the war progressed and deteriorated, Emily worked hard to master both her dragon and her crew. She faced an impossible task of course, or at least that was how she saw it, but was not about to let that show to anybody. Luna could obviously tell how Emily was feeling though, and took on a mentoring role with the same grace and patience that she had in the mothering role. After a far too abbreviated training course, and with the war reaching what looked like a final desperate stand, Emily was pronounced fit for command and sent to the front lines of the sky.

[Comrade Tortoise]

I thought I would post these for everyone.

The spanish captain
[youtube][/youtube]

The spanish dragon
[youtube][/youtube]

[General Havoc]

Regarding the proposed Regal Copper, a couple of things to fix:

First off, 52 tons is a bit large, even for a Regal Copper. I've tried to keep the weights of various canonical breeds in keeping with their book citations, but I have dozens of breeds to balance against, and some alterations have had to be made. Coppers are Standard Heavyweights of-the-line, on the large end perhaps, but not Super-heavyweights (Superheavies are not permissible as player dragons). As such, I've pegged their weight as between 43 and 46 tons (there are outliers of course, but try to keep close to those numbers). This would still make you the largest dragon in the squadron by quite a long way, and larger than anything in the German arsenal with the exception of particularly big Jotunmeisters. Given what Jotunmeisters are, that's only to be expected.

Secondly, I'm not sure what a Regal Copper who fancies herself an aerobat would look like. Heavyweights don't usually tend to go for the same gyrational spinning maneuvers that their smaller cousins employ, though I suppose there's nothing stopping them if they want to try. Just bear in mind that these concepts are relative.

Thirdly, purely in theory of course, one might be able to produce dragon-sized cheesecakes, if one were, for instance, lavishly supplied with ingredients. And insane.

Fourthly, while I appreciate the difficulties of the situation you described in your background, the Royal Air Force would almost literally move heaven and earth to ensure that a veteran Regal Copper was not kept off the front line, particularly during a moment when the nation was fighting for its very existence against a horde of German dragons more than twice their number. I confess, I don't have an obvious solution for what they would do, with a sick captain and in the absence of an obvious inheritor (one cannot captain multiple dragons), but they would seek for anything possible to keep that Copper in the air: A first officer perhaps, anything. I suppose it's up to you what they wind up doing, but bear in mind the Air Admiralty's utter desperation to keep what few heavyweights Britain has up and fighting to defeat the Blitz.

Anyway, forgive me if this all sounds pedantic, but I do tend to apply a more critical eye to Regal Coppers than I would to other, non-heavyweight breeds. Assuming you can make the adjustments required (mostly it's the weight thing), then I think this will work fine. Lord knows you all are gonna need all the heavyweights you can get.

[rhoenix]

FYI - since he doesn't know anyone's name, I had to keep my post general. Franklin's flying distraction for Jebediah right now, to make sure he, Judith, and Nathan escape.

[Hawkwings]

Yeah I have no issues with changing the weight, I just guessed based on the fluff piece in the wiki description. I'll drop it down to 45 tons. Is the length fine?

For "aerobatics", I pictured something more like this:
[youtube][/youtube]

Like you said, it's all relative. It's more of a character quirk than an advantage in combat.

You'll note that Luna enjoys the smell of cheesecake. She hasn't really had much opportunity to eat much, obviously. The "likes" description for Emily and Luna are to show their close connection with each other.

Finally, regarding Tiberius, I wasn't quite sure either. Maybe he's being kept as the final reserve, a sort of guard for important people in London if they are being overrun and need to flee. Nothing better for breaking a blockade in the sky than an angry armored heavyweight blowing straight through.

Is there some resource besides the wiki I can read for more information about the setting?

[JimmyTheCannon]

Well, there's the books, for one...

[Charon]

I remember going to an air show where we got to talk to some pilots of a B-1 bomber. My mom asked if he could do a barrel roll in it. He said "Oh yeah, you can tip it over and it'll roll over nice and easy. Of course, we aren't supposed to do that."

[JimmyTheCannon]

Well, if you believe movies, you can even do a barrel roll in a helicopter (thanks, Murdock!). Whether it's actually possible or not? No clue, but I wouldn't try it.

[frigidmagi]

Ask the Serbians.

????

For the record Klater Sturm grabbed Theodore and pulled him away from the fighting, the rest of you be damned. I assume my captain was chatting with various peoples.

So is Captain Rankin still happy to have his unit back? Is it everything he imaged it would be?

[Hawkwings]

I'll be away for the weekend so you probably will not hear from me until sunday night.