Laetificat
Character Profile[edit]
| Name: | Laetificat |
| Date of Birth: | |
| Breed: | Regal Copper |
| Captain: | Portland |
| National Loyalty: | Britain |
| Appearance: | Bright red and orange with a red and gold belly |
| Special Abilities: | |
| Status: | Active |
Biography[edit]
A formation leader, Laetificat was known for her calm temperament, being easy-going even for a Regal Copper. Her date of birth is not known, but she was old enough to have fought alongside Gentius in the American colonies in 1776. Maximus was one of her hatchlings.
As she and her captain, Portland, were stationed at Gibraltar, they and their crew were sent to Madeira in early 1805 in response to the dispatch from naval Admiral Croft that a rare dragon egg had been captured from a French ship and had hatched at sea. Thus, Laetificat was the second dragon, after Volatilus, that Temeraire met.
It was Laetificat who showed Temeraire how to roar properly, throwing out his chest. (Up until that point, his roar had sounded a bit tentative.) She told him to practice every time he ate to improve his lung capacity. This did not reassure the cattle which were on the menu, but it may have helped Temeraire later on when he developed the ability to use the Divine Wind.
Laetificat also taught Temeraire, by example, to lift his captain up and put him aboard. Before then, Laurence had been clambering up Temeraire's harness. Once Temeraire saw Laetificat put Portland aboard, however, he immediately followed suit, to Laurence's private amusement.
Laetificat participated in the Battle of Trafalgar in October 1805, along with the Longwings Excidium and Mortiferus. By early 1807, however, Laetificat was ill with the Dragon Plague and not expected to last the summer if a cure were not found. Because of Laetificat's illness, Portland refused to leave Gibraltar to replace Lenton as admiral at the Dover covert and commander-in-chief of the Channel Division. This post was given to Jane Roland instead.
In Latin, her name means "she brings joy", as the third person singular of the verb laetifico, laetificare ("to make joyful").
