Dragons

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Companions • Description • Development • Equipment • Habitats • Treasure

• Companions
• Description
• Development
• Equipment
• Habitats
• Treasure

In Good Company
(Clockwise L-R) Dragons: Arkady, Maximus, Iskierka, Temeraire, Lily, Volly. Captains: Tharkay, Berkley, Laurence, Granby, Harcourt, James by Daniel Govar

Dragon-Human Relationships

Western Europe

In western Europe and Great Britain, dragons associated with humans only in a military context. The first human to feed and harness a newly hatched dragonet (see Development) became its particular companion, often called its "handler" or "captain". If the dragonet accepted the harness and a name, it would form a deep and lifelong bond of affection with its companion. Sometimes a dragon rejected the first candidate offered to it, in favor of finding a different companion among the surrounding group.

Yet other dragonettes, rejected all humans and would either take off for the wilds or the humans would move them to one of the Breeding Grounds where they would still be feed. A captain's relationship with their dragon generally became the most important one in their life.

Military dragons

In most circumstances, a dragon's captain is the human who harnesses the dragonet at birth. The dragonet permits the human to do so and to give the dragonet a name.

In the Aerial Corps, dragons have enormously close relationships with their captains, generally ones of mutual affection and respect. However, this is not always the case. Capt. Jeremy Rankin is neglectful of Levitas to the point of abuse, but could not be removed from his post because Levitas continued to obey his orders and to crave Rankin's love and approval. Other dragons are less tolerant. Majestatis purposefully "mislaid" his captain, in a water trough and chose to live in the breeding grounds instead. Minnow and Moncey eluded all of the aviator candidates that surrounded them at hatching. The partnership between dragon and captain could also be ended by the captain, Perscitia's captain gave her up after she made it clear she would not fight.

In most cases, however, the relationship with the dragon generally becomes the most important one in the captain's life, making it very difficult to live a "normal life" during the captain's off-duty time. This leads to aviators' development of a culture largely apart from society, and not well-respected by it, despite the extraordinary sacrifices they make for their service.

Dragons tend to be both protective towards and possessive of their captains and some crew members. A dragon can be removed from battle by the capture of their captain, as the dragon would surrender to prevent the captain being killed. The possessive attitude of dragons towards their captains in some ways is the same as their attitude towards property. For example, when Minnow snatched the captain off the back of a Defendeur-Brave during the Battle of Shoeburyness, Temeraire interpreted this as "stealing" and made a mental note to keep her away from Laurence, even though Temeraire already knows that Minnow has no interest in being put in harness and to have a human companion.

Inherited dragons

Dragons have a long lifespan, the dangers of battle aside, they are likely to outlive their captain. Dragons find this fact painful and difficult to accept and will more then likely accept a new captain if it is someone that they are familiar with and who shares their grief over the demise of their previous captain.

Aviators often had children with the intent that the child will enter the Corps and provide a new captain for their dragon upon their own death or retirement. It was thought that having a new captain who had some connection with the former one would make the transition easier for the dragon. Emily Roland, for example, is intended to become Excidium's captain upon Jane Roland's retirement, where as Excidium has had two previous captains before Jane, her mother and grandmother.

The inheritance system does not always work out, however. Rankin was an example of the downside of the familial tradition of service. Rankin's grandfather and father had been captains to Celeritas, but he refused to accept Jeremy, who is clearly ill-suited for the Corps. Since Celeritas did not have the heart to ban him from the Corps entirely, Rankin harnessed the unfortunate Levitas.

Catherine Harcourt's situation illustrated another pitfall of breeding oneself for one's dragon's sake. When Harcourt became pregnant by Tom Riley, she hoped the child would be a daughter she could train up for Lily. However, the child proved to be a son and therefore unacceptable to a Longwing as a captain.

Asia

Unlike the European practice of assigning a dragon's companion before the egg hatched, in China, the dragon hatchling chose its own companion about fifteen months after hatching. In the meantime, both the young dragons and their potential companions attend school together, cared for by elder dragons. This allowes the young dragons to judge the virtues of their potential companions before choosing one, which could prevent a dragon from ending up with a neglectful companion. However, when shown this practice in China, William Laurence remarked that this might comparatively weaken the bond between the dragon and its eventual companion, the reply was that forming an attachment too early resulted in too-close of a relationship.

It is certain that many Chinese dragons appeared to lead more independent lives without constantly associating with a particular human. Temeraire and Laurence met a number of Celestials and Imperials without ever learning who their human companions may have been, nor observing any great loneliness for an absent or lost companion. Perhaps some of the apparently unaccompanied dragons had been bereaved long enough to develop a philosophical acceptance of their loss, but if so, evidently they had not been given a new human companion to fill the gap.

In this context, Lung Tien Lien's devastation at the loss of Prince Yongxing may have been anomalous, intensified by other dragons and people avoiding her for her "unlucky" coloration.

China

In China, it is the dragon who chose their companion and not until 15 months after hatching. In the meantime, both the young dragons and the potential companions attends school together.

Since not all dragons in China are employed in warfare, not all companions are necessarily "captains" in the same sense as in the Europe. Indeed, warfare is considered a rather low occupation, which is why all dragons employed for military use had female captains.

Japan

Africa

Americas

North America Natives

South America Incas

References

Dragons are large, intelligent creatures that are present throughout the world. They are found in the wild living in shelters, both solitary and in groups. They come in several different feral varieties, and have been selectively bred by humans into many more breeds with varying characteristics.

Find lists of dragon breeds and their particular physical characteristics here.

Anatomy

All known dragons are quadrupedal and have a pair of wings above their shoulder joints. They are covered in overlapping scales or armored plates in a variety of colors, and can have horns, frills, or spikes about their head, as well as spikes or fins both in ridges down their spine and distributed over their back. They are warm blooded. See Draconic Taxonomy.

Eyes

Dragon eyes have slitted pupils and come in a variety of colors. In darkness, they reflect light much like a cat's, and nocturnal breeds have milky white eyes that are highly sensitive to bright light.

Mouth

Dragons possess serrated teeth, arranged in groups at the front and back of their jaw, with a gap in the middle, somewhat like a horse. Temeraire is able to carry infant Iskierka safely in this space.

Their tongue is narrow and forked, and used to assist their sense of smell.

Ears

Dragons have ears which have been seen flicked in irritation or pricked up in interest.

Feet

Most dragons have four talons on each foot, with the exception of some Chinese breeds such as the Imperial and Celestial.

Wings

Dragon wings comprised of thick, webbed, and sometimes translucent skin stretched between five or, as seen in Celestials, six spines. The wingspan of a dragon is often slightly longer than their body, nose-to-tailtip.

Air Sacs

The ability to fly is credited to the presence of air sacs, located behind the lungs. These are filled with low-density gas, and can be compressed by exhaling, making the dragon heavier as a whole. The air sacs of some heavyweight dragons such as Regal Coppers have been known to be disproportionate to their size during growth, which causes the juvenile dragon to be excessively buoyant. Dragons that experience this phenomenon are expected to reach at least 25 tons in weight. Kulingile was one example, and was seen nearly to float before "growing into" his air sacs.

Tails

Most dragons drag their tails upon the ground, but some, such as Celestials, carry them off the ground. The tail can be used to gesture or signal to other dragons while in flight.

Scales

Scales come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and textures. Many Asian dragons have smooth glossy scales, while Central American dragons have elongated, rough-edged scales that act much like feathers, and can be raised or "ruffled" up when they are agitated.

In some dragons, seen particularly in Russia, the scales are fused into armored plates instead.

Size

The colloquially stated weight of dragons is altered, as described by Sir Edward Howe, to signify their size rather than their actual mass. For example: the largest dragons, Regal Coppers, are measured at 10 tons, but are considered 30-50 ton dragons in practice and in determining their weight class. This discrepancy is credited to the presence of their air sacs.

"Those who have had the opportunity, as I have, of seeing a Regal Copper side-by-side with the very largest of the Indian elephants, who have been measured at some 6 tons themselves, will I hope join me in preferring a scheme of measurement which does not ridiculously suggest that the one, who could devour the other nearly in a bite, should weight less than twice as much." -Sir Edward Howe, December 1795.

The smallest of dragons can weigh less than 2 tons and stand nearly eye-level with a man, as seen in Jade Dragons. The very largest, Regal Coppers, can weigh as much as 50 tons and have a wingspan of 150 feet.

An adult dragon's size is partially determined by how much and how often they are fed during the first few months of life, and by their environment. In feral populations, larger dragons are common in warmer climes, while colder environments can only support smaller individuals.

Coloration

Colors vary widely throughout dragonkind, and similar breeds are often distinguished by differences in coloration. In general, the most common colors are greys and browns, followed closely by blues and yellows. More uncommon colors include shades of red, green, and even purple. Very few dragons have a true black hide, and none are naturally white. Some dragons also exhibit a natural iridescence.

Most dragons have some amount secondary coloration and markings, which can take the form of stripes, spots, and gradients. These accents are mostly present on the wings.

Abilities

Aside from the use of their claws and teeth, some other natural offensive abilities are present among dragons, but are uncommon. These include venom, poison-spitting, acid-spitting, fire-breathing, water-spouting, and the damaging roar that is the Divine Wind.

Intelligence

Dragons are largely social creatures, and make use of language and art. Even feral dragons have languages of their own and invent stories for entertainment. The vast majority of dragons have an innate understanding of advanced mathematics.

The degree of intelligence among dragons does vary by breed, and dragons like Greylings were selectively bred for speed and endurance at the cost of intelligence. Even so, they are still capable of general understanding and make use of language.

Language

Language is learned by exposure during development in the shell, until, on average, a week after hatching. After this time, most dragons have an extremely difficult time learning anything new. This includes codes such as signal flags. Some Russian dragons are able to acquire new languages over time as adults. Imperial and Celestial dragons are especially skilled with language, and can become fluent in a matter of months.

References

Eggs

Dragon eggs can be identified by their size alone. Some reach the height of a man's shoulder. Dragons are in the eggs for at least several months, with some incubating for 10 years. Each breed has a different type of eggshell. Although according to Sir Edward Howe, Chinese breeds are notoriously hard to categorize. Most of them have an appearance similar to porcelain.

In the wild eggs are buried under volcanoes and hot springs to keep them warm, but domesticated eggs are usually kept in warm places. In the early 19th century examples include like the a furnace for heating a sauna or steam room at the Sultan's palace in Istanbul, and under the heated courtyard at Loch Laggan covert in Scotland.

Dragons learn language while in the shell. Temeraire is unusual in acquiring three languages - Chinese, French and English - in this way, but most dragons are hatched knowing at least one draconic or human language. Once the egg is sufficiently mature, usually indicated by the hardness of its shell, the dragonet inside is able to understand what is being said around it. Care must be taken at this point. For example, if the dragonet is frightened in the shell by what it overhears, it will often turn out to be a timid dragon. The dragonet's interest in the conversations it overhears, combined with the complete lack of interesting events inside the shell, gives the dragonet motivation to hatch.

Some African tribes believe that the spirits of departed ancestors are reincarnated as dragons. This reincarnation theory is reinforced while the dragon is developing in the egg. Through a series of rituals and chanting, the egg is exposed to the beliefs and actions of a revered individual who has recently died. When the egg hatches these "memories" have become the dragon's own and they regard themselves as the same person as the departed spirit that has been "called" to their egg. This is also why the humans, who are part of those tribes, refer to dragons as ancestors and the dragons, who take part in this ritual, think of them as their children.

• Anglewing eggs are golden-brown with flecks of bright yellow.
• Kazilik eggs are dusty reddish, speckled with green.
• Alaman eggs are very small and pale lemon-yellow.
• Akhal-Teke eggs are cream-coloured and spotted with red and orange.
• Caesar's egg (a mix of Arkady and Wringe) was large, "handsomely" mottled, and striated.
• Temeraire and Iskierka's egg (a Celestial and Kazilik cross), was large, with a "splendid smooth pale-cream shell speckled with a very attractive pattern of red and violet spots, and one notable larger marking shaped roughly like a number eight", or "the shape of a cloud". The egg was also estimated by Captain John Granby to be "likely worth more than the crown jewels of Britain". Temeraire also described the egg as "magnificently pearlescent", with "exquisitely proportional dimensions", as well as "out of the ordinary".

Dragonets

Hatchling, by Anke Eissmann, depicting the hatching of Temeraire. (c) Anke Eissmann

A newly-hatched dragon. The common western wisdom held that to successfully domesticate a dragon, it must be harnessed almost immediately after its hatching, or it will remain feral.

Dragonets can learn an additional language, immediately after hatching, but as they gain in maturity it becomes harder for them to learn languages, including visual ones such as the signals used in the military. Celestials are the only known breed that this isn't true, they can learn new languages their entire life.

The Chinese customs are different, first the dragonets immediately start attending classes so they can pass exams, a few chinese breeds go directly into the military to begin their training. In choosing a companion, it is thought that the dragonet has to be at least 15 months old and has to meet many candidates before choosing.

Dragonets exhibit immediate signs of intelligence, including the use of language, upon hatching.

Yearlings

Celeritas said dryly. “We are not like horses or dogs; we can control ourselves at least as well as you humans.

–Celeritas to Laurence,

Shelter, by Anke Eissmann. Temeraire and Laurence, shortly after Temeraire's hatching. (c) Anke Eissmann

In just the first few weeks out of the shell, a dragon will grow very rapidly, many times it's original size. They must constantly to fuel this growth.

Most breeds will reach their full growth within a year, though a few of the largest breeds may continue to grow after their first year.

They usually reach sexual maturity at the same time as their growth stops and are able to produce or sire eggs. They are not the same sexual as a dog or a horse, per Celeritas

References

European

Dragon Rigging

Dragon Crew and Rigging from His Majestry’s Dragon Book 1

In the British Aerial Corps, and possibly in other parts of Europe, combat dragons are fitted with several types of harnesses, including a light duty harness, travelling harness, and heavy combat harness. The harnesses consists of thick leather straps held together with large metal rings. On the belly of the dragon, the harness consists of a net (referred to, unsurprisingly, as the 'belly-netting') in which bombs, gunpowder, and some of the crew are kept. A depiction of a Yellow Reaper's rigging appears in the back of the US edition of His Majesty's Dragon.

The Crew travels from place to place upon the back of the dragon by means of a series of carabiner hooks and rings: the crew member would unclip the hook (attached to their belt) from the ring, move foreword (or backwards, sideways, etc...), and re-clip the carabiner the carabiner when they have reached their location. If moving a relatively long distance across the dragon, you would unclip and re-clip several times. While this method is rather slow and tedious, you remain attached to the dragon's harness most all of the time, which is extremely important should the dragon perform a maneuver such as a roll. Such a maneuver would result in many of the crew falling off the back of the dragon if they were not held on by their carabiners.

Harness fitting and rigging is the responsibility of the dragon's ground crew, with the main responsibility falling upon the harness-tender.

Signal Strap

a strap that runs from near the captain down to the belly rigging. It is colored in alternating sections of black and white, and used by the captain to ask if those in the belly rigging are secured into their places. A captain will tug it forward a section, and upon those in the belly rigging being secured, it will be pulled forward a section by someone below.

Training Equipment

Flight Table

It was a sort of vast diorama set upon a table, with a latticework on top; Laurence did not have a set of the proper scale figures of dragons to hang from it, but he substituted whittled and colored bits of wood, and by tying these with bits of thread from the lattice, they were able to display three-dimensional positions for each other’s consideration.

China

Combat Dragons

Civilian Dragons

• rigging for moving a large number of people

References

Civilized

Britain

Coverts

Coverts are military grounds where the Aeril Corps dragons and the humans live, train and work together. The dragons do not have any kind of shelter in most of them, some may have caves. Where possible, the Dragons may make a forest clearing for themselves. Some locations have stone courtyards that they can lay on, especially Loch Laggan where the stones are heated by underground hot springs.

Coverts do have military headquarters, lodging and mess areas, as well as blacksmiths and leatherworking areas for the ground crews to use to make repairs and of course medical centers, though the Dragon Doctors make house calls.

• Dover covert
• Edinburgh covert
• Falmouth Covert
• Loch Laggan Covert
• London covert
• Middlesbrough Covert
• Portsmouth Covert
• Weymouth covert

Breeding Grounds

• Pen Y Fan Breeding Grounds
• Breeding Grounds in Ireland, Halifax & Gibraltar

France

Coverts

• Dijon Covert
• Dunkirk Covert

China

In China, dragon coverts do not exist in the Western sense, as dragons are treated as citizens and fully integrated into the human population. Instead, large buildings called "Pavilions" exist for dragons to live in. These may be privately owned by a single dragon, shared amongst many, or constructed by the government for communal use.

Pavilions

Asia

China

Dragons in China live in Pavilions located in each city. While these pavilions are located away from the general human populace, this appears to be more for the dragons' convenience than an accommodation to any human wishes. The Pavilions themselves are constructed of light materials, and are often heated from below by means of piped hot water. The Pavilions can be either for a single resident, in the case of the more exulted dragons, or are shared by a number of individuals. In most cities there are Pavilions set aside for travelling dragons, comparable in function to a human inn or hotel, so that a dragon can always expect a comfortable night's rest where ever they may be.

Japan

Europe

Until 1806 Dragon Pavilions were unknown in Europe. At this time two events almost simultaneously introduced the concept to Britain and France. The arrival of Lung Tien Lien at the court of Napoleon meant that France instigated a large number of Chinese customs specifically to please Lien. In Britain, the return of Temeraire from China brought over the same ideas. However in Britain, the financing of such building was the responsibility of the individual, not the state.

The first British Pavilion was built of stone rather than the lighter materials used in China, as an accommodation to the British climate. The Pavilion was paid for by William Laurence at the behest of Temeraire and used to house several sick British dragons, to demonstrate the concept of Pavilions and attempt to alleviate some of the symptoms of the Dragon Plague.

The first personal Pavilion was paid by John Granby for Iskierka and financed by the taking of French prize ships, a practice developed by Iskierka to provide funds for the project.

Following the Battle of Shoeburyness, the unharnessed dragons who had been led by Temeraire began to build their own pavilions using materials purchased by the sale of golden eagle standards they had captured from French regiments. This led to some grumbling from the harnessed dragons stationed at the Dover covert, so the human officers took up a collection to raise funds to build them pavilions as well.

Americas

Feral Dragons

Feral dragons can be most often found in the various Mountain ranges as that is where they have been pushed back to from humans cultivating their previous territories.

References

Hoards

Dragons have a natural tendency toward hoarding anything that is in their possession for even a little while, either something that they consider treasure or people.

In Crucible of Gold, the dragons hoard People more so then treasure, though they do not neglect the bright and shinny jewels and gold that is available in their lands.

Treasure

Humans often believe that many dragons have an "inborn fascination with jewels or precious metals." It might be closer to the mark to say that dragons have an inborn fascination for anything shiny or flashy. Temeraire as a dragonet mistook pyrite for gold until Laurence explained the difference to him. Arkady, who as a feral dragon did not have the background to make such distinctions, was quite overwhelmed when Admiral Jane Roland presented him with a brass chain and a medal (a dinner platter) inscribed with his name. Even Temeraire, who knew brass was worth less than gold, bristled a bit over the size of Arkady's medal. Temeraire was also drawn to the bright, spangly jewellery he saw dragons wearing in bazaars along the Old Silk Road, even after Laurence explained that it was only tin and glass.

Thus, dragons appear to be attracted to jewellery not because of its monetary value - a human concept in any case - but because it can be used to boost their status in draconian society. A dragon displaying flash and glitter - what might be called, in 21st century terms, "bling" - is making a statement that they are ready, willing and able to defend their hoard against challenges from other dragons. Behind the psychological importance of social status lie some bluntly practical reasons a high status is preferable. When food and warm, dry sleeping spots are in short supply, it's the high status dragons who get what they need and the low status dragons who must do without unless a high status dragon chooses to share. A dragon who no longer cared about maintaining their status would be in fact a dragon who no longer cared about staying alive.

Training

Dragons must be trained from immediately after birth that they can't keep everything that they become attached too. The Russian dragons are a prime example of what happens when that training is neglected.

Under normal circumstances, it would be almost impossible for a dragon to willingly give up status items to which they had formed an attachment. Among other consequences, this makes it impossible for humans to ask dragons to transport large amounts of gold and jewels for long distances on the humans' behalf. By the time the journey is over, the dragons will have become attached to their cargo and simply won't give it back.

Property

The concept that gold and jewels also have monetary value and can be used as "capital" is not natural to dragons but one that they acquire quickly from humans. A handsome pavilion does just as well for displaying one's social status as a lump of gold - perhaps even better, because it's larger - and dragons readily grasp the principle of using one to purchase the other.

With purchasing power comes the human concept of "property". As Temeraire pointed out, if he bought a cow he could eat it, if Laurence bought an estate they could live upon it and if Laurence bought him a jewel, he could wear it. This does not shed a good light upon the human practice of using money to purchase other humans as slaves or to purchase dragon eggs.

A dragon's natural understanding of property is somewhat differently founded - a dragon displays their jewelry for the sake of making a statement that they are able to defend it. To leave property lying about undefended is, in a dragon's view, an open invitation to help oneself, to leave property lying about and then argue about its disappearance after the fact is plain nonsense. Thus when Temeraire and the ferals were attacked by Turkish dragons after helping themselves to Turkish cattle, Temeraire sniffed that "those dragons had no business lying out of sight like that and leaving the cows for anyone to take, if they did not like it."

Obviously, the difference between human and draconic concepts of property has the potential to create conflict. Humans rely on their property rights under the law to keep it safe even in their absence, an idea that is nonsensical in draconic terms. Sir Edward Howe noted that this was true even in China, where dragons routinely used marks to purchase goods against accounts held in their own names and disdained to use false marks. "They will without hesitation or any consciousness of shame seize any opportunity which offers of taking a beast from an unattended herd or stall and never consider leaving payment behind; this is not viewed by them as any form of theft." From a dragon's point of view, the herdsman or stall-keeper had no business leaving the beast unattended for anyone to take, if they did not like it.

Draconic Jewelry

Like humans, dragons appeared to enjoy owning and wearing jewelry for a variety of reasons, including personal vanity and in order to display and possibly increase their social status among other dragons.

Jewelry for the head and neck appeared to be particularly favored - collars, necklaces, tiaras, headpieces of all sorts, etc. Some African dragons had piercings made in their upper lips in order to accommodate ivory and gold rings. Chinese dragons, besides adorning their heads and necks, sometimes also decked their forehands with rings or talon sheaths of precious metals and gems. Incan dragons had the uncommon characteristic of piercing the edges of their wing membranes, which has been observed to impact their performance in battle.

The only record of a dragon wearing bands on its forearms was the mesh message carriers worn by the Jade dragon couriers of China, such as Lung Yu Ping. The fine mesh was suspended from a silk and gold collar around the dragon's neck and fixed to their forearms and talons by golden rings. It may be argued that this was not purely jewelry but rather a sort of working uniform.

There are no records of dragons wearing bands or bracelets on their rear legs or tails, and few outside South America wear wing piercings. While non-combatant dragons such as Celestials may have displayed head and neck jewelry unsuitable for violent activities, it would seem that few dragons enjoyed wearing items that might hinder their flight performance.

There appeared to be little difference in the jewelry worn by male and female dragons. Temeraire was given a set of gold and silver talon sheaths "such as his mother occasionally wore" when Laurence was adopted by the Jiaqing Emperor. On another occasion, when preparing to meet with the generals of the British army, he considered borrowing a spangled net of chains from Iskierka, to be draped over his ruff.

The materials used in draconic jewelry varied with geographic and economic availability. As mentioned above, African dragons wore jewelry made of ivory as well as other materials. Temeraire saw dragons in bazaars along the Old Silk Road wearing jewelry made of tin and glass, presumably because they could not afford more costly materials. On the other hand, the dragons of the Chinese Imperial court wore jewelry made of gold, silver and precious stones.

A few materials used in draconic jewelry are discussed in detail below.

Pearls

Pearls are associated with dragons in Chinese myth and legend, as for example in the tale of Xiao Sheng. Certainly they appear to be a favourite gem among Celestial and Imperial dragons. At her first meeting with Temeraire, Lung Tien Qian wore "a deceptively fragile necklace of filigree gold, studded with more topazes and great pearls."  Lung Tien Chuan was first seen by Laurence seen wearing "a net of gold draped from his ruff down the length of his neck, studded with pearls."  Lung Qin Mei came to give Temeraire his lessons wearing "an elaborate collar of silver and pearls."

Temeraire himself was quite taken with the gold and pearl necklace Laurence presented him with when he was only a few weeks out of the shell and treasured it affectionately even after it had become absurdly small for his size. Later on, when Laurence bought him a larger and grander platinum pendant, set with sapphires around a single large pearl, Temeraire commented on his own love of pearls.

Platinum

The platinum of Temeraire's pendant will be of interest to students of metallurgical history. Although the first European reference to platinum appears in 1557, a consistent process for obtaining malleable platinum was not discovered until the late 18th century. Chemists did not realize that they were working with ores containing other platinum group metals (ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium and iridium) and therefore obtained inconsistent results in their experiments.

In 1786, Charles III of Spain provided a library and laboratory to French chemist Pierre-François Chabaneau to aid in his research of platinum. After several months, Chabaneau succeeded in producing 23 kilograms of pure, malleable platinum by hammering and compressing the sponge form while white-hot. Chabaneau realized that the infusibility of platinum would lend value to objects made of it, and so started a business with Joaquín Cabezas producing platinum ingots and utensils. This began what is known as the "platinum age" in Spain, which was to last until 1808 when Chabaneau's laboratory was destroyed during an invasion by Napoleon's troops.

Platinum jewelry for humans had been available previously. Louis XV of France (1710-1774) had declared it the only metal fit for a king. However, prior to Chabaneau's discoveries, it would only have been available in small quantities. Thus, at the time Laurence purchased the pendant for Temeraire in 1805, platinum jewelry designed for dragons, particularly larger dragons, would have still have been a relatively new item on the market, quite fashionable and expensive.

References