 Dragons are considered equal citizens and it is even mentioned in the text that dragons have sometimes held the throne.The book reveals that the status of Celestial dragons in China resulted in the events of the first book; rather than simply invoking dragons as symbols, emperors in the "Temeraire" setting have "actual" dragons (specifically the Celestial breed) as bond companions.In order to prevent a crisis of succession from two Celestials, the court decided to send Temeraire's egg to Napoleon because he held the title Emperor, perhaps unaware that it was self-styled.