Chapter 68: Hide A Knife Behind A Smile

''The typical aims of dragon-rider versus dragon-rider battles in the air are often very different from battles of dragon-riders versus foot soldiers, for all that they can take place in the same battle. Dragon-riders against soldiers on the ground aim to destroy, rout, or contain the ground forces, but dragon-riders against dragon-riders often aim to capture the enemy's dragons instead of killing them or driving them off. Simply and pragmatically put, killing an enemy's dragons might deny their use to the enemy, but capturing them potentially allows for their recruitment to one's own side. The same cold logic applies to all dragon-riding forces, regardless of their affiliation—dragons are more valuable in warfare than men and far more expensive to waste, due to both their rarity and their capabilities. ''

''As a result of that logic, capture weapons—nets, bolas, traps and more—have always been a component of dragon-fighting warfare, going back to before the end of the Dragon War, when capturing dragons meant that they could be killed cleanly for their parts, rather than risk them detonating. Since then, such weapons have been refined by all sides…''

—The Wing And The Ax, Queen Marshal Astrid Haddock I, undated draft, Waterford University Archives

Foreshadowing
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Epigraph Tie-In

 * The epigraph mentions that in battles involving dragon-riders vs dragon-riders, the aim is to capture the opposing dragons because dragons were too rare and valuable to consider anything else. The chapter shows Harald approving Sigurd's plan to bring in the dragons of the forces loyal to Emperor Michael alive because of the cost it took to get them in the first place and Sigurd successfully carrying it out.

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