Imperial League Primer
Sara Hymnia introduces the basics of modern dragon racing ahead of the season kick-off this weekend.
SARA HYMNIAWolf Sports Imperial League Correspondent
The Dragons
Dragon maturity is reckoned in three distinct phases: whelp, drake, and dragon successively. The dragons raced in the Imperial League are drakes, typically about twenty to thirty years old. At this age, drakes have most of their full adult strength and stamina, but are supple in ways that full dragons are not. A drake's progress to maturity is marked by the formation of crests along its jaw, eyebrow ridges (eventually forming horns), neck, wing-joints and spine, which restrict its range of motion and increase atmospheric drag.
A typical racing drake will weigh some 650lbs, but as anyone who has seen one of these forty-foot-long monsters can attest, the weight figure is deceptive. Ancient magic deep-bred into their bones and musculature gives them a buoyancy in air which reduces their measurable weight by an estimated factor of ten. In level flight, over distance, dragons can sustain about 70 knots (80mph) of airspeed, and may peak at about 80 knots in descent (indeed, this year for the first time in an IL race, we might see a dragon hit 87 knots – 100mph).
Racing dragons are extremely intelligent, highly-trained animals. Riders direct them by a combination of weight balance (stretching out or leaning side to side on the dragon's shoulders) and hand signals pressed into the dragon's back. Dragons also have strong personalities, and only those which show a strong instinct for racing and competition are selected by teams as prospective entrants. A good rider will form a strong bond with their dragon, almost to the level of telepathic connection, and usually rider and dragon will be paired for the full duration of their career.
Sara explains the rules of dragon racing, ahead of the race this weekend, which you'll be able to read in full in The Dragon Racer over the next few days!
