In celebration of the release of George R.R. Martin’s The Ice Dragon this week, we are looking at some of the most fearsome and fantastic dragons in fantasy. Our third dragon has a whole series named after him: Naomi Novik’s Temeraire.
Temeraire is a Chinese Celestial dragon and the second protagonist in the Temeraire series along with William Laurence. He is named after a French vessel captured during the Napoleonic wars and his name aptly means “bold”.
Temeraire is known to possess an extremely practical, inquisitive, and sometimes too blunt personality, although he sometimes can be overly sensitive about the differences between his appearance and that of western dragons. He is also quite possessive and protective of Laurence.
The end came abruptly: the shell broke almost straight down the middle and the two halves were flung apart onto the deck, as if by the occupant’s impatience. The dragonet was left amid bits and pieces, shaking itself out vigorously on the pillow. It was still covered with the slime of the interior, and shone wet and glossy under the sun; its body was a pure, untinted black from nose to tail, and a sigh of wonder ran around the crew as it unfurled its large, six-spined wings like a lady’s fan, the bottom edge dappled with oval markings in grey and dark glowing blue.
