This is considered to be one of the most important documents in dragonriding history. Here's why:
Back during the Forgotten Times, the Selarudians were at war with their neighbors over ownership the Alps. As the war raged on, they became interested in how to better protect their Dragonriders, and made a diagram of common injury areas based on the warriors that returned from the battlefield. This became known as simply the 'Dragonrider Diagram'.
Selarudian commanders, based on this diagram, jumped to the conclusion that it was the dragons' wings, heads, and tails that all needed armor to prevent casualties. This made perfect sense to them, as the torsos of their dragons were protected by virtually-impenetrable scales, therefore everything else was lacking in durability.
They, of course, lost that war aeons ago, and became forgotten with the rest of the era.
I discovered the history of the Selarudians and their war within the High Council's Endless Archives. When I found this diagram I burst out into a laughter so severe I was barred from the Endless Archives for 200 years! You may think me rude for doing so, but allow me to explain why:
The diagram was incredibly misleading! The data was skewed in favor of the Dragonriders that SURVIVED; none of these injuries were fatal. Therefore, it could have been assumed that the Dragonriders who did NOT survive received (mortal) injuries in places the diagram excluded, including the torso.
But why would attacks on an impenetrable torso be fatal?
Here's the kicker: while the dragons' torsos were invulnerable, the riders themselves were not! They wore light leather armor for maneuverability on the dragons' backs, but with armor that thin they were being picked off by enemy arrowfire. This, I theorize, is why the Selarudians eventually lost their war.
You may be thinking, "This diagram looks familiar..." and you'd be quite correct! News spread of my analysis of the Dragonrider Diagram, and eventually it fell onto the ears of Abraham Wald, a "statistician" who reused my findings in assessment of military aircraft during World War II. Guess who got all the credit! I digress.
Why is this important outside of dragonriding circles, you may ask? A wise wizard once told me, "You need more than a keen eye in order to actually see the truth — Not only must you know what's there, you also need to make yourself aware of what is NOT present."
And that is the pitfall of statistics!
So let me ask you this: What, in your life, studies, or career, are you NOT seeing? It may be the most important thing.
apparently some idiot on the Wizard council lost his tharxian warding crystal in the suction dimension and broke the great circle keeping the demon lord Pentalagon in his spectral sarcophagus. so like. that was my evil plan. i spent 3,000 years working on this and they just started the Thaumaclysm on accident. what am i supposed to do with all this mayonnaise now
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