Eucatastrophe wrote: ↑Fri Mar 09, 2018 5:33 pm
Tolkien actually uses the term
dragonet in at least two places that I can think of. In 'The Quest of Erebor'
in Unfinished Tales...
And in
Fellowship, the description of Old Man Willow includes mention of 'great winding roots grew out into the stream, like gnarled dragonets straining down to drink'.
Okay, thanks for the correction!
As for the suggestion of an age category to cover the Attribute Level 4-6 range: completely agree! In light of Glóin's line, I would propose that dragonet should be the name of the youngest category. Given the other categories are named straightforwardly, maybe just 'juvenile' for the 4-6 range?
Well, 'Dragonet' is already the default name of the youngest Age category; I just think Wormling is more appropriate. I can't help thinking that the omission was deliberate, we just don't know the reason for it. Maybe the idea is that juvenile Dragons experience a rapid growth spurt at that time and it is exceptionally rare to encounter them at Attribute Levels 4-6. It sounds thin, but that's my best guess.