Chapter 44: ...Than The Sword

''Dragon eggs are laid in a single clutch of three to nine eggs between 24 and 32 days after fertilization. Counting from the time of fertilization, gestation for all breeds is approximately 220 days until hatching. ''

''Laying eggs has numerous adaptational advantages for the mother, including allowing her to deal with the metabolic load during the time of year when food is the most plentiful, allowing her to fly without the additional weight of the eggs, and, perhaps most importantly, minimizing the risks associated with draconic embryonic development. From the evolutionary perspective of the mother, it is far better to lose some potential offspring to malformed hydrocarbon organ systems than to risk her own life by internally gestating the offspring. Indeed, while most eggs with malformed hydrocarbon systems are simply nonviable, a significant minority of the nonviable eggs will detonate in the course of the fourth and and fifth months of gestation. For obvious reasons, this would have negative effects on the health of the mother if gestated internally…''

—An Introduction To Dragon Biology, 17th Edition, Oxford University Press, 1793

Foreshadowing
Put spoilers here

Epigraph Tie-In

 * The epigraph mentions that a significant minority of dragon eggs explode because of developmental disorders. The chapter shows the Hooligans discovering that dragon eggs explode.

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