By James of United Tamers of Britannia, for the 15th anniversary Kingdom of Dawn book competition
Taming Drakes for the Moonglow Zoo Taming Hour
Thee:
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Thou'rt skilled in animal taming and animal lore, as much as thou canst be. Thou'rt highly skilled in magery and meditation. The magery skill is used in casting gate travel and invisibility. Thou must be able to cast both of these spells without failing ever. Thou needest regenerate mana swiftly, for thou castest invisibility at least three times in rapid succession. Thou'rt strong and intelligent.
I am legendary in taming, elder in animal lore, and elder in magery. I fail to tame sometimes. On a scale from ten to 150, my strength is 100, my dexterity is 100, and mine intelligence is 60. I am compromised by the need to do things other than tame drakes. An' all I did was tame drakes, I'd be stronger and smarter, and slower; I'd be more skilled in animal lore and meditation too.
Thine equipment:
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100% lower reagent cost. As much mana regeneration and lower mana cost as thou canst find armor pieces for. Resistances on armor are of secondary concern to these. If thou wieldest a weapon, it should be "spell channeling." Wield a weapon or spellbook that hath mana regeneration.
Do not use a weapon that thou knowest how to use, nor usest thou a shield that hath "reflect physical damage" property. With either of these, thou'lt hit the drake and thus annoy it, ending a taming attempt.
Runebooks of distinctive colors with default locations for the Moonglow zoo, for outside the Fire Island daemon temple enclosure, and for inside the temple enclosure. Thou shouldst have more than one rune for the Moonglow zoo. Thou'lt also need a rune to Ter Mur where lowland boura are found.
Thou'lt need an ethereal steed, or nightmare, or the ability to fly.
Mine own equipment includeth lucky Conjurer's Garb, Tangle, Shadow Cloak of Rejuvenation, Pendant of the Magi, Boomstick, Totem of the Void, and the Bleue jewelry set. The rest of mine armor suit hath self repair, meditatability, lower reagent cost, lower mana cost, mana regeneration. Although this armor doth be very low in resistances, I can survive three hits from a drake, and few drakes get even one hit in.
Location:
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The daemon temple on Fire Island, under Trammel. 'tis much easier to walk past obstructing creatures under Trammel. Two drakes appear regularly in a very small area, which maketh this place superior to the spot in Destard that some use.
Setting up:
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Go to Ter Mur and tame a couple of lowland bouras. Gate them to the west of the temple enclosure (outside the wall), the bulging area near to where the lava pit is close to the wall. Cast invisibility upon thyself, and release the bouras at or very near to
170o 41' S, 132o 37' W.
Look around this area of Fire Island, find three or four other beasts, tame them, and release them at this location. Thy former pets will line up along the wall across from a line of dragons, drakes and daemons. Thou'lt need at least one released pet per opposing dragon / drake / daemon.
Why lowland bouras? Occasionally a daemon or a giant serpent will roam on that side of the wall. A lowland boura is a match for either of these.
Why not unicorns or ki-rins? These can be dragged around the corner, where they can better see the drake they are opposing. They will cast spells upon the drakes, making it impossible to tame.
Optional: Luring away the daemons. Sometimes there will be daemons on the ground, or daemons on the roof of the temple that are close to the taming area. These can be lured away either out into the jungle or to the other side of the daemon temple. The dragon and/or greater dragon can similarly be lured away or herded away. Note: Thou'lt need at least one evil creature on the inside to hold thy line of former pets on the outside.
The taming cycle:
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1. Recall into the temple enclosure near the taming area.
2. Ride or fly to the nearest drake.
3. Initiate taming.
4. Move a pace or two away.
5. Cast invisibility upon thyself.
6. Thou'lt be revealed when thou speakest thy mesmerizing words of taming.
7. Cast invisibility upon thyself again, repeatedly, as needed.
8. Eventually thou tamest the drake.
9. Issue command "all follow me"
10. Cast gate travel to Moonglow Zoo.
11. Transfer the drake to the blue collections box.
12. Go to step 1.
Variation:
* The drake targeteth thee. Then thou dost stay two steps ahead of the drake while taming, and hope that it doth not firebreath thee to death.
* The drake is flying. Attempt to tame as usual but be aware that the drake will usually hit thee once.
* If thou'rt flying or using an ethereal steed, thou canst remain there with thy first tamed drake, and wait for another to appear. The new drake will attack thine already tamed drake, and thou canst initiate taming upon it, and bring back two drakes to the zoo.
* So why mention using a nightmare steed at all? Nightmares can be useful for killing the occasional daemon.
Payoff:
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24,000 - 29,000 zoo collection points per hour.
Another tamer?
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Occasionally there will be other tamers working the same area. This is of greater risk, since there will be two untethered drakes in the area at all times instead of just one.
* Keep thine invisibility spell at the ready.
* Be patient
* Don't "lose thy cool" if another tamer initiateth taming on the drake that thou wert interested in. There is another drake, so head for that one and tame it instead.
* Thou'rt there to tame drakes, not fret about what someone else is doing. Keepest thou a level head and keep thy wits about thee.
* If thou suspectest the other tamer is having a problem, be prepared to cast invisibility or healing upon the other tamer. 'tis less intensive of mana to do so than to cast resurrection.
Do:
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* Do know where the nearest wandering healer is.
Don't:
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* Don't peacemake. If thou art peacemaking, then thou'rt not taming drakes. If thou art peacemaking and another tamer is in the area, the other tamer WILL tame the drake that thou didst have thine eye upon. Also note: a peacemade drake will NOT follow thee through thy gate, thus being a further waste of time.
* Don't area peacemake. The creatures at the wall will lose connection to each other, and one of the evil creatures will inevitably target thee. Thou'rt crunchy when toasted by greater dragon firebreath.
* Don't become angry or fret or pout. Time wasted doing those things is time not spent taming drakes.
* Don't get involved in a conversation. Time spent doing that is time not spent taming drakes.
* Don't panic when thou failest to tame. Ride or fly off a couple of paces, cast invisibility upon thyself, heal thyself if necessary, then re-approach and initiate taming again.
* Don't panic when thou art hit by the drake. Thou canst survive several such, and the drake will be tamed before it killeth thee... probably.
Problems:
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* An evil creature loseth interest in thy line of released pets. Recallest thou outside the enlosure, and get more pets to release on the other side of the wall. Or, go tame unicorns and ki-rins for a couple of cycles instead.
* Someone else is interfering with thy taming (usually by accidentally dragging daemons into the area). Go tame unicorns and ki-rins instead.
* Thou hast become angry and fretting and pouting. Tame polar bears instead. 'twill cool thee off.
Why:
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* Because thou canst.
* To keep up interest in the Taming Hour tradition.
* If thou'rt not legendary in taming, 'tis a good way to gain skill.
* To maintain the Silver Steed in the zoo.
* Thou gainest in "zoo points" which may be used to purchase some interesting and decorative curios, clothing, and titles.
Relevance:
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This is relevant to the theme of "persevering." If thou hast not tried taming drakes for a full hour, thou shouldst do so. 'tis then that thou'lt understand how this is relevant to persevering.
Acknowledgements:
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Kat MacBroeden, Proserpina, M!S
Lil Debi, HRH Elizabeth
The Mage Tower tamers
Bogart, Lysle Rigger
Ta'lin Birdsong
Sister Frances
The United Tamers of Britannia
