Gentius
Character Profile[edit]
| Name: | Gentius |
| Date of Birth: | c. 1575-1580? |
| Breed: | Longwing |
| Captain: | [Unknown woman, deceased] |
| National Loyalty: | Britain |
| Appearance: | Blue with black/white/orange wing tips |
| Special Abilities: | Acid spitter |
| Status: | Breeding |
Biography[edit]
Gentius was a Longwing who had fought a great many battles in his day. As recently as 1776, he had been vigourous enough to fight alongside Laetificat in the American colonies. However, by the time Temeraire met him in the Pen Y Fan Breeding Grounds in 1807, old age had set in. Gentius could no long fly very far, he had developed cataracts and could barely see, and his few remaining teeth were wobbly, making it difficult for him to chew the raw meat that was the only food available.
However, Gentius could still spray acid, and the other dragons respected his experience, so when the unharnessed regiment left Pen Y Fan, Armatius carried Gentius aboard his back.
Gentius had sired at least three other dragons, the third of whom was Excidium (born c. 1725). He also had at least three captains, probably more like four or five if he saw 200 years of active service. He was most attached to his first captain, who had fed him his first meal after hatching, when his head was no bigger than her hand. He kept a portrait of her in a gold frame and told Temeraire that "one never really gets over the first."
Gentius' first companion was also the first woman to be awarded the rank of captain, after she took charge during battle when Gentius's official "Captain" Haulding was drunk. Previously, Longwings' female companions were addressed only as Miss and, at least in theory, did not hold command. Instead, a male captain, was assigned to each Longwing along with the dragon's female companion.
Name[edit]
The name may based on the legendary King Gentius of Illyria (2nd century BC). The gentian plant was supposedly named for his discovery of its healing properties. Many members of the gentian family have blue-violet flowers, which could provide an extra layer of meaning in reference to typical Longwing coloration.
It might also be based on mistakenly "masculinizing" the Latin gentium, which superficially resembles a 2nd-declension neuter nominative noun, but is actually the genitive plural of gens, gentis, a 3rd-declension feminine noun ("clan/people"; nom. pl. gentes). It might also be loosely based on the 3rd-declension adjective gentilis, which has a similar meaning to gentium: "belonging to our tribes/nation", ~"for the nation's benefit"/"for the common good".
