Chapter 112: Bonds Of Friendship And Ties Of Duty

*One of the interesting points to consider when analyzing warfare is to remember that the individuals who decide the course of it make decisions within their own biases and perspectives. While this may seem to be an obvious point—Emperor Romanos III, an inexperienced commander, thought that war was decided by large battalions and thus it was on these large, ponderous formations he depended and lost at Azaz, to name a memorable such defeat—this fact also plays off in more subtle ways.*

*Consider the case of Kagan Drago Bludvist. The man reportedly spent several years hunting and poaching dragons, and resented the anti-poaching laws put into place and enforced by the Song Dynasty protecting those same dragons. This attitude managed to embed itself deep in his psyche by all accounts, informing his strategy when he advised his predecessor, Kagan Berk, on the conquest of the Song Dynasty as a first step prior to taking their dragon nests.*

*But from an objective viewpoint considering objectives and strategy—gaining dragons and using them in conquest—such a strategy was foolish and pointless! What could the Song have hoped to do to prevent Drago's dragon riders from flying past them, and forcibly enthralling the nests deeper in their territory? The few token guardsmen working to prevent poachers from accessing the nests that the Song held as sacred would have been easily dealt with and the dragons forced into subjugation. Once that was done, the Pechenegs could have then used their augmented force to conquer not only the Song, but all of the empires and kingdoms in the region and beyond in short order.*

*But Drago, by his own admission later on, saw the Song and their laws as a barrier that prevented him from accessing those self-same dragons, and thus, to his mind, they had to be dealt with first before the dragons could be accessible. To him, the dragons were* owned *by the humans who claimed the land their nests sat upon, and thus those humans would have to be conquered before the dragons could be taken as spoils of war.*

*For another example, consider Emperor Henry the Black and his actions…*

*—The Wing And The Ax, Queen Marshal Astrid Haddock I, undated draft, Waterford University Archives*

## Major Events

* News of Berk accepting their petition and putting it before their Thing reaches the Bog Burglars. Godwif and her followers decide to leave the Bog Burglars.
* Sigurd and his friends arrive at a dragon nest at the Black Sea. Hookfang tries to convince them to join the Romans, but they refuse.
* Astrid and Spitelout discuss their problems with setting up a standing army.
* Elder Khursa offers Kagan Drago his granddaughter Kelebek's hand in marriage to legitimise his rule. Drago agrees.
* Mulan and Shang discuss going to Berk and try to come up with an argument to convince the Emperor and the other councillors to let them go.
* Camilla and Merida discuss having Eret as a concubine.
* Ryker reports to Viggo on the developments with Delilah before asking Viggo about when he'll sire an heir for their pocket kingdom.
* Mac Bethad tells Taskill he plans to have Dagur and the Berserkers ride their dragons to augment their forces.
* Kurya wakes up from his injuries. His guards report this and Grand Councillor Kuanfu begins interrogating him.

## Characters

### Humans

* Sigurd Trondsson
* Dogsbreath Rolfsson
* Gunnar Bræsisson
* Gudmund Hallvarsson
* Astrid Hákonsdóttir clan Haddock
* Spitelout Clodgallsson
* Drago Bludvist
* Khurşӑ
* Fa Mulan
* Li Shang
* Cami Berthasdóttir
* Merida Dunbroch
* Eret Eretsson
* Hiccup clan Haddock
* Thuggory Mogadonsson
* Heike Eretsson
* Jyette Markussdóttir
* Valka Zephyr Hiccupsdóttir
* Asta Rhonda Hiccupsdóttir
* Wulfhild of Norway
* Heather
* Fishlegs clan Ingerman
* Ryker Grimborn
* Viggo Grimborn
* Taskill Thaddeusson
* Mac Bethad
* Kurya
* Grand Councilor Kuanfu (first appearance)

### Dragons

* Hookfang
* Redsnout
* Pílahridh
* Gunnar's dragon
* Thengill of Georgian nest
* Kudret (Kurya's dragon; first named appearance)

## Analysis

### Epigraph Tie-In

* The epigraph mentions that there was little the Song Dynasty could do if Drago and the Pechenegs had just flew over their lands and claimed the dragons. This attitude is reflected by Mulan and Shang when they decide they have no hope if the Pechenegs comes back and fight smarter.