North Sea Empire, Office of Draconic Intelligence, Dragon Breed Profiles (Declassified), 1822 Edition Wrote:Bewilderbeast: Tidal-Class dragon

Overview: Amphibious-aquatic infrastructural/industrial dragon. In modern economies, they are helpful with construction of aquatic and submersible infrastructure and mining, as well as offering chemical and traditional refrigeration services. Militarily useful primarily in naval defense, as their speed is too slow to keep pace with a modern fleet, but are extremely useful for securing harbors and amphibious landing zones when called for.

Breath Type: Flash-Frozen water mixed with Ammonium Nitrate.

Identification: Medium to Gargantuan size. White, gray or black scales and hide, studded with large blunt spines along the back, neck, and tail, holding up a vestigial pair of wings along the lateral sides of the thorax. Four pillar-like legs. Two large tusks jut forward from the temples, aiding in water streamlining during swimming. Long tail with wide fin at terminal end, supported by more spikes. Overall teardrop body profile.

Strategic Role: Naval auxiliaries, submersible ship protection, mine-sweeping, submarine hunters, logistical support, construction support, amphibious assault support.

Known Weaknesses: Slow speed, semi-obligate aquatic, with larger individuals able to spend increasingly less time out of water without risk of harm. Modern mines and torpedoes can easily penetrate their hide in the absence of armor or countermeasures. Needs to breathe.

Phenotype Cluster: B5F3+SØSØSØT7+T5!

Populations: Moderate, but restricted to coastal and riverine regions, for obvious reasons.

Quote:Another advantage that the Byzantines inherited from the Roman Empire and subsequently refined was the control of information in their bureaucracies. Perhaps best exemplified by their control over the knowledge of Greek Fire, they arguably perfected the use of information compartmentalization, where the weapon system of Greek Fire was broken down into many parts, and no one group had access to the full information required to create and deploy the feared weapon. The knowledge was instead spread between those who had the formula for its creation, the builders and operators of the specialized dromon ships that carried the Fire into battle, the specific chamber used to heat and pressurize it for spraying, the crafters of the siphōn that sprayed it, and the siphōnarioi who used it in battle. No one group in the entirety of the Byzantine government had the full picture of how it was made or used. Thus, even when portions of Greek Fire were captured—such as in 814 AD by the Bulgarians—the enemies of the Byzantines could not make use of the weapon.

—Constantinople: The Child Of Rome's Empire, Venice, Italy, 1725