Feral

unknown artist

## Species Notes

Refers to a dragon who roams free, and refuses a handler. Aviators live in fear that a dragon egg they are assigned to will go feral (as often happened with Longwings when they were presented with male handlers).

However, some dragons are simply born into the wild and know no other way of life, as was the case with the group of mountain dragons Temeraire's crew encountered on the trip from China to Turkey.

That group presented an interesting look at how dragons behave without humans around to influence them. It is worthwhile to note that dragons do have their own natural language called Durzagh which is only spoken in "in the Pamirs, and the Karakoram" (BPW, 54). They also organize themselves into tribes with leaders and other positions of importance.

They have their own tradition of storytelling, which involves a complicated pantomime.

In Britain, there are feral dragons in the Pennines mountains. These dragons are convinced by Temeraire to serve as messengers during Napoleon's invasion of Britain in 1807 in exchange for food.

Ferals of all variety are found throughout Euorpe, mostly in the mountains regions where they have been pushed away from human settlements.

## Arkady's Ferals

A small group of twenty ferals, led by Arkady, is known to live near the Pamirs for some time prior to 1806. Around this time, the Celestial dragon Temeraire travelled through the mountain range, and they decided to follow him to Istanbul to see the Sultan. Upon arrival, they instead stole animals from the fields and returned to their lair, before later being recruited by Tharkay, who had travelled with them earlier, to aid in Prussia. The campaign was abandoned, and they fled with Temeraire and many Prussians to Britain, where they joined the British Aerial Corps, although they were more likely to ignore orders and follow their own instincts or Iskierka.

Arkady's Ferals:

* Arkady - Leader of the ferals.
* Wringe - One of Arkady's "Lieutenants", and also his mate.
* Molnar - Another of Arkady's "Lieutenants".
* Gherni
* Hertaz
* Lester

## Russian Ferals

from *League of Dragons*

The true Russian ferals, not the escapees from the breeding grounds, are small green and sparrow-brown, with narrow heads and large bony crests atop them in stripes of oranges and yellows. Some of them present pale-grey scales and grey eyes, suggesting a relation with the Russian Greys.

They relayed messages along to other ferals to discover where the Prussian dragons are being kept by Napoleon.

* Bistorta
* Molic

## Persian Ferals

from *League of Dragons*

They were convinced by the French to stop or slow the advance of the Imperial Legions of China in exchange for territory. Temeraire spoke to their chief, Tushna, convincing him to accept the Chinese gifts in exchange for letting them cross their territory; additionally, he also offered them to benefit from the concord they were creating, which intended to give dragons rights and a political voice in a sensible way.

* Tushnamatay

## Iberian Dragons

According to Wellington, most of the 300 ragged Spanish and Portuguese dragons he had at his disposition were "half-feral", being unclear if he meant that they were related to feral lineages, if they had been recently incorporated to the Aerial Corps and/or if they just lacked discipline.