On Sun, 29 Jun 2003, Philip Hart wrote:
>
>It's interesting how unfecund the Dragaerans are (on the one hand a
>good thing, given their lifespan, on the other it's unfortunate given
>their bloodthirstiness). Note how energetically Khaavren
>congratulates Vernoi on his wife's pregnancy - I suspect there are
>other examples. Being a bastard means one's parents likely carried
>on for a long time.
>
Some very rough calculations:
Humans (Easterner) menarche is at approx. 12 yrs, menopause at approx.
52 years, giving a span of fertility of about 40 years (hey, I like
round numbers). Assuming 1 ovulation per month, that gives 480
ovulations.
We don't know when Dragaerans menarche is, but lets assume its around
50 (close enough, I think). We don't know when menopause is either,
but as a wild guess, let's say it's around 2450. Assuming that the
number of ovulations is the same as it is for humans (again, a wild
assumption), that means that they ovulate about once every 5 years.
That sounds about right, for such a long-lived species.
Now, for how long does each part of the menstrual cycle last? How
long do they remain fertile within that 5-year period? A year? Half
a year?
(What's with Aliera? She's been in a very bad mood for a while.
Oh, you know, it's that time of the decade for her.)