Drakes and Drake Riders

Writer’s notes about Drakes and Drake Riders.

Drakes are large dragon-like flying creatures about 20-25 feet (7 – 8 meters) long with broad leathery pterodactyl wings, long tails and 3-4 foot (1 meter) necks ending in a narrow head with long sharp teeth. Once air born, drakes are strong flyers able to ride up-drafts nearly indefinitely even when carrying loads of up to 300 lbs (140 kg) or more. However, even without any load, drakes have a great deal of trouble getting aloft, in the wild they live near tall cliffs and always land high above the ground. When taking off they often have to drop nearly an entire body length before they generate enough speed to support their weight. Drakes prefer to hunt by snatching their prey with their strong hind legs, and lifting them into the air without landing. The creatures are able to dive from high heights at great velocities leveling out they can maintain this speed and when they strike they use the energy to lift prey weighing as much 200 lbs (90 kg) into the air. Common prey include sheep, goats and young calves and of course people; the best defense if you are attacked by a drake is to find cover or drop into a ditch.

Drakes who attempt to lift too much, or who don’t have enough accumulated speed can accidentally be grounded. Once they have landed they have three options to get back into the air. Drakes climb both trees and rocky cliffs surprisingly well using their strong legs and talons. If the animals can find an open area large enough to spread their giant wings they have a good chance to get airborn. If they are grounded on the flat treeless plains where they often hunt, They will stand on their hind legs holding their wings open like sails trying to catch a sudden gusts of wind, failing that drakes have been known to hop for miles looking for a drop off tall enough to get into flight. Drakes are extremely **** if they are grounded. Despite their large size, fierce teeth and powerful talons the drakes bones are hollow and fragile, and the membranes of their wings are thin and easily torn.

Young drakes are captured by Riders on trained drakes forcing them to the ground, and then entangled with nets. Eggs can stolen by very brave individuals from nests and be hatched and raised by trainers. Drakes do not reproduce well in captivity, the offspring of trained drakes are noticeably weaker and smaller than the drakes caught in the wild, so young drakes and eggs are extremely valuable. Drakes eat infrequently, but consume a lot when they eat and they are sluggish for several days after they have eaten their fill, so another popular way to trap fledgling drakes is to leave out a carcass of a cow or horse for them to eat before ambushing the intended target,

The cost of acquiring, training, equipping and feeding a drake is enormous and most drakes are ridden by men from noble families. A man (or occasionally woman) who owns and rides a trained drake is known as a Rider (capital R) their status is similar to that of a knight in medieval Europe. The greatest difference between a European knight and a Rider is that Riders tend to have light builds and they wear less armor. In a world where weight limits the rate you can climb, bulky muscles and heavy armor can often be a disadvantage.

The closest living Earth analog are perhaps condors, they fly by gliding on the air currents and riding thermals to stay aloft flapping their wings only occasionally as they soar. They can reach speeds of over 80 mph when diving, but then they have to slowly climb back to altitude again. When Riders use their drakes to travel long distances, they can fly at an average rate of 20 mph for up to ten ours a day for a maximum of 200 miles a day.

Drakes are not telepathic. Nor are they any more loyal than other trained animals. They are not smart, if anything they are a little slow. Their Riders direct their mounts by turning their heads with a combination of yanking on leather reigns attached to a harness strapped to its head and striking them on the side of the head with long rods about the thickness of a finger. Luckily the drake’s fighting instincts are strong and in combat they do not need much direction. Their ability to dive at **** speeds and strike with their talons make them terrifying to untrained opponents. Shield walls can be smashed by dropping logs, rocks or even men that have been snatched up and flown hundreds of yards into the air.

Riders usually fly in groups of threes call 'wings.' the 'wingmen' act much like fighter pilots working together in teams to maneuver and attack. three or four wings working together are called a 'flight'. Oftentimes a flight will have two or three wings flying at a comfortable altitude with another wing one or two bowshots above them where they can turn their hard-won altitude into speed to protect their comrades.

The best way to fight a flight of Riders is with your own Riders. Like early air to air combat a great advantage lies to the drake with the greatest elevation and speed. In the context of air combat, altitude and speed are nearly identical; a Rider with an altitude advantage can dive to pick up speed, and a fast moving Rider can use that speed to gain height quickly. A drake with an altitude/speed advantage will be heavily favored in combat. Riders often carry small javelins that when hurled from a diving drake are deadly. Some Riders use short composite bows made of horn, wood and sinew to fire at drakes who are above them, but most prefer to carry long thin lances that can be thrust upwards into the belly of a drake that dives too close. Technically it is considered bad form for the low Rider (the Rider with a high/speed liability) to attack the drake itself instead of the Rider, but in practice the low Rider will use almost any method to try to escape. High Riders (Riders with the speed/altitude advantage) on the other hand tend to strike at the Rider. Capturing a trained, riderless drake is a real prize.

Ground troops have two effective deterrents to Riders. Thin cables known as drake-wires strung above the ground troops and firmly anchored will break the wings of any drake that hits these cables at fighting speed. The other weapon is called a drakebow, a crossbow that shoots a bolt fastened to a wire anchored into the ground. The quarrel passes through the thin membrane if the drakes wings, but as the drake pulls away the wire cuts long gashes in the drakes wings, often crippling them, sometimes for life. These crossbows are guaranteed to infuriate any Rider who sees them used. Men who are captured using this weapon are often hung alive by their heels from tall towers and left to die and be torn apart by carrion eaters.

Riders usually live in the top apartments of towers and near city walls. Many houses of nobility and upwardly mobile merchants have drake lofts built into the tallest part of the building for the convenience of visiting Riders. Befriending a Rider has many benefits, Riders make superb scouts, messengers and can even carry passengers from one city to another. Noble families will pay to have their sons apprenticed to a Rider for all of the reasons above. Riders will occasionally recruit promising young fighters and present them with young drakes and training as a reward for outstanding service.

Hope this helps.