Chapter 72: How The Wheel Turns

''There are two great dangers with using dragons for military purposes—overuse and underuse, and frequently they mirror each other. As with any fighting resource, the temptation to concentrate everything you have into a single hammerblow will always be there. And it is worse with the use of dragons, due to their high mobility. One can easily rationalize to oneself that the utility of keeping a mass formation of dragons that can rapidly deploy outweighs the risks of raids and other high-speed attacks. But the mere fact that dragons are fast doesn't mean that they can fly across Midgard in a day. Time is still needed to get any army moving, and that is still the case for flocks of dragons, regardless of how well-trained or well-drilled they are—and that still allows for a window which someone alert and ready to attack can use to their own advantage. ''

—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 talks about the dangers of putting one's entire force into a single attack, which leaves oneself vulnerable to attack from others trying to seize on the opportunity. The chapter shows a gathering of kings who try to attack Berk and its territories while Stoick leads the bulk of their forces attacking Harthacnut.

Links to the Chapter
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