Raising a Dragon

For many hunters, dragons are a menacing threat, to be feared, avoided, hunted and killed. But for a few, they represent the challenge of conquest. With enough luck, and a whole lot of resources, it’s possible to find and hatch a dragon egg, and raise the dragon to become your companion in both the forest and the arena.

### Finding an Egg

The most obvious place to find a dragon egg is in the **dragon’s lair** at Dragon Rock. However, first a dragon must be lured to attack the kingdom, and then the dragon must be injured enough to retreat to its lair. Only then can the lair be entered, and with enough luck, and a spare dragon scale shield, you might emerge from the cave alive, and with a stolen egg in your backpack. Eggs can also occasionally be found in a treasure chest, purchased from the Traveling Merchant, or won in the Lottery. Once you have an egg, you can keep it in your backpack until you are ready for the next step.

### Hatching the Egg

When you’re ready to hatch the egg, take it to the **Dragon’s Nest**. It will take about 5 days for the egg to hatch, but you need to keep it warm by covering it with wolf hides. You need to place a fresh hide on the egg every day. If the egg isn’t kept warm, it won’t hatch.

### Caring for the Dragon

Once the egg hatches, the real work begins, as dragons need vast amounts of food, especially orc meat, boar meat and dragon meals, to grow and thrive. To feed your dragon, go to the **dragon’s nest**, and you’ll be asked if you want to feed it, then you can choose an item in the food category in your backpack. Feed it until it doesn’t want any more food, and check on it every few hours to make sure it doesn’t get too hungry, or it will fly away and be lost to you forever.

Juvenile dragons hunt in the forest and retrieve items for their owner. As your dragon grows and matures, it will eventually reach level 10. You still need to make sure to feed it enough, though; if you don’t, it could drop a level as it gets weaker. Mature dragons assist in arena combat, flying in randomly like a very strong tag team partner. The amount of damage your dragon does is based on its level times your normal damage, so a level 10 dragon does 10 times your normal damage when it assists you in battle.

### Riding a Dragon

For the rare knight that manages to raise a dragon to adulthood, the ultimate reward is being able to ride the dragon over the forest, hunting orcs from above, beyond the reach of their weapons and claws. While riding the dragon over the forest you can kill orcs while being safe from their attacks, but you won’t gather resources such as foraged foods, gold from gold carriers, or serfs from serf traders. The dragon will eat the orcs you kill, helping to meet some of its daily food needs. Of course, to ride a dragon, you need to equip a dragon saddle. You can ride your dragon once it reaches level 7.

### Dragon Lore

If you visit Dragon Rock, you may meet an old woman with stories to tell about the dark times when dragons once roamed the skies over this kingdom.

*“In times past, dragon eggs were found from time to time. Big as a human head, and hard as stone. Some people put the eggs in a nest and hatched them. They tried to tame the dragons and use them as weapons against their own kind. The rearing consumed vast amounts of meat and time. But the young animals were unpredictable. As soon as the young dragon reached a certain size, it ate its human food donor every time and flew away. Because of too many failed attempts, the number of dragons grew and finally the attempt was given up. The king at that time issued a decree, which is still valid today. Every dragon egg must be destroyed immediately.”*

*“Back then, before the dragons were finally chased away, there was an exceptionally brave knight. While others hid like cowards in caves and forests, this knight knew no fear. His name was Recke. With a well-aimed shot, Recke managed to bring down an approaching dragon. Weakened, but full of hate, the dragon attacked the glorious hero. No one knows why, but Recke withstood the fiery attacks close at hand, unharmed. The battle raged for several days, but in the end Recke had the upper hand, and the badly injured dragon finally surrendered. Contrary to all claims, Recke did not kill the beast. On the contrary. He cared for the creature, and eventually succeeded in taming the beast. Recke thus became the first, and so far the last, dragon rider of all the kingdoms. This event heralded the turning point. Recke the Dragon Rider united the humans and the orcs, who marched together into battle against the dragons, while Recke glided through the air with his dragon and led the army. But perhaps he left for a new world, after completing his task here. We will never forget him.”*