• Sparrow
    Sparrow

    Black & Gold - a Labour of Love

    Hi, Sparrow here!

    Just wanted to share with you a little project I've been working on.

    I wanted a Datentud with all Ceondet traits with the Citrine Ripple. I figured it might be pretty funky.  It's taken a long time!

    Sometimes in breeding, you get really lucky and traits stick really quickly. A lot of the time, it's a labour of pure love, choosing the best dragons to mix to try and pull the correct traits. Obviously, I wasn't lucky enough to find a Citrine Ripple on a Datentud (I am sure they are out there now) but when I bought my drake, he was one of the only ones out there. And he was on an Iakuss, with a whole load of other traits.

    I managed to get my hands on a bunch of Ceondet/Datentuds (or CeonDats as I like to call them!) and began the process of drawing down the traits I wanted. It was a long haul. I started off by putting the male Iakuss, with the Ripple to 3 females that were CeonDats. One of them pulled the Ripple, but copied the father with his rather funky mix of traits (imagine your Uncle turning up to a nephew's birthday party wearing what he thinks are 'cool togs' but actually make him look like he stripped himself naked, covered himself in glue, and ran through a fire-damaged sale at Walmart) and put her to the CeonDat male that I had.

    By now, the original pod had produced a couple of females with the Ripple, so I put them back to the male CeonDat and crossed my fingers and waited.

    I may as well have waited for the Titanic to be raised. Sure, I was getting Ripples but on such a mix of coats and traits that I thought I might have to give up.

    But a Dragon Designer never gives up.

    FINALLY I pulled a drake - all Ceondet traits - with the Ripple.....

    .... on a Water Gayvrenth.

    And yes, I checked the ancestry (really useful tool!) and I couldn't see any Gayvrenth in the back, but put him back to a CeonDat that hadn't pulled the Ripple but WAS the DOS with all the right traits.

    And behold! A DRAKE! First breeding.... with the same funky traits of his great grandaddy.

    Did I give up? A DRAGON DESIGNER NEVER GIVES UP (see above for details).

    I managed to get a few more females that were DOS of the Ripple and the right traits and finally, after weeks of work I pulled the drake in the picture. As you can see, he is more than worth the wait. And his 'girlfriends' around him are all DOS of the Ripple... so.... fingers crossed!

    I'm now working on another project with is going to be an even longer job, I think. The goal? Flarenacht skin, all Regal Fang traits and lemon smolder. So far, I've got the offspring of a mix of smolder, flarenacht and Regal - 3 pods on the go at the moment. Soon I will be bringing them all back together and then I will be a happy Sparrow.

    But what if it takes ages, you ask as you munch on the Pretzels you had left over from New Year's Eve?

    Well. A Dragon Designer Never Gives Up!

    Work on those projects in this New Year. You CAN do it - you just have to have faith.

    HAPPY BREEDING!

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