Maybach

Maybach is In-gong's recurring draco mount. Originally one of two dracos supplied by Felicia for the Enger Plains mission, he becomes In-gong's familiar means of rapid ground travel and carries him through several later deployments and battlefield approaches.

Biography

Mount of the Ninth Prince

Felicia gives In-gong and Carack two trained dracos so they can keep pace with the centaurs at Enger Plains. The especially clever young draco ridden by In-gong responds to whistles and spoken directions, uses short bursts of speed to carry him through enemy formations, and approaches him without being summoned after a battle; In-gong then decides to name him. By Chapter 55 the mount answers to Maybach, immediately following In-gong's command and running after the centaurs. This continuity identifies the earlier unnamed draco as Maybach without pretending that the name was stated at the gift scene. (Chapters 42–50 and 55)

Maybach remains a practical companion rather than gaining a separate transformation or combat technique. In-gong rides him while organizing an Evian relief march, raising the King's Flag against War-empowered barbarians, returning to the Demon King's Palace, and beginning the northern advance against Shutenberg. During a later “faster than the wind” deployment, Maybach visibly remembers the strain of the previous Evian march, showing both memory and the physical cost of those enhanced journeys. His last direct appearance is as In-gong's mount at the start of the northern campaign; the corpus does not state where he is during the final red-dragon battle or after the war. (Chapters 109, 119, 127, 168, 185, and 203)

Appearance and personality

Maybach is a young, large draco: a horned, lizard-like mount of the kind associated with the dark elves. The corpus supplies no individual color, markings, eye color, exact size, or sex-specific anatomy. He is well trained, clever, responsive to his name, whistles, reins, and spoken commands, and capable of remembering an unpleasant forced-march experience. In-gong treats him with the soothing manner later used jokingly on Green Wind, suggesting familiar affection without giving Maybach human speech or thoughts. (Chapters 20, 42, 44, 48, 50, 55, 93, and 168)

Powers and abilities

Draco speed, carrying, and limits

Maybach's useful abilities are those demonstrated for trained dracos: explosive acceleration for a few seconds, enough to move several times faster than a horse, and tactical mobility through crowded battles and swamp terrain. He can keep pace with centaurs, carry In-gong while the prince uses the King's Flag, and respond accurately to directional commands. Dracos are less enduring than horses despite their exceptional burst speed, and Maybach's reaction to “faster than the wind” confirms that magically enhanced long-distance travel is strenuous rather than effortless. The corpus gives him no breath weapon, aura, flight, or supernatural attack of his own. (Chapters 20, 44, 47–50, 55, 119, 127, and 168)

Relationships

• In-gong: In-gong rides, directs, names, and repeatedly returns to Maybach across campaigns. Maybach's responsiveness lets In-gong concentrate on command and combat while moving at battlefield speed. (Chapters 48–55, 109, 119, 127, 168, 185, and 203)
• Felicia: Felicia supplies the trained draco who becomes Maybach as part of her material support for In-gong's Enger Plains mission. (Chapter 42)
• Green Wind: Green Wind has no direct partnership with Maybach, but In-gong compares the soothing attention he gives her to the way he treats his mount. Both later contribute to his rapid marches in different roles. (Chapters 93, 119, and 168)

Items

• Maybach uses ordinary reins and riding tack, but the corpus gives them no name, special property, or notable history. No personal artifact is established. (Chapter 185)