Worldbuilding Wednesday: Alaila’s Daughters, part 2

The first part of Alaila’s Daughters can be read here. The first of the Tellerassar legends can be found here, and more about the Tellerassar can be found here.

Or, head over to Kammastories, where the story is postedtoday in full.

Alaila’s Daughters are Scattered

Ikaira did not leave the riverbank even when the sun rose towards its zenith and all his tears were spent. Only when the sun lit the waters of the gorge from above did he see movement in the water. It was Alaila. She wore a dress the colour of the shadows of the deepest pools and her eyes brimmed with tears. Ikaira rushed to the water and embraced her.

“Where is Lamira?” he asked, for he did not see his daughter who usually followed her mother everywhere.

“She is safe in our halls,” Alaila said and motioned towards the wall of rock from where the waters of the river flowed. “Hidden there we can all be safe. Dalath and her kin do not know of this place. We have left them to roam about the river to the south. They have twisted our Gift.” Tears flowed from her eyes. “My gift. I was a fool to think that such a gift could not be twisted to serve the Lewjan.”

They walked hand in hand along the river – Alaila lightly stepping in the shallow water; as far as she could venture out while the moon wasn’t full, and Ikaira walking along the bank – while Alaila told him all that had happened while he had been away.

“War still rages between the people of the Midlands,” she then added. “Markus leads raids to the river towns and villages nearly every week. They have even ventured to the northern bank where they have gotten a foothold. I fear for the safety of my people. With the Vídolf’s involvement we will only be seen as another enemy even though we serve the Light. I do not see a way out for us. We cannot hide in our halls forever even if they are safe. Some have left the river at night to look for other pools and streams. We do not know if they are still alive.”

Photo: Sias van Schalkwyk

Ikaira thought for a long time before speaking. “There is one way. The lands gifted to the Tellerassar are safe. No one can attack our houses on the cliffs.” He took a deep breath, remembering all that had happened to him while in the service of Markus. “I have men to spare – warriors and soldiers who can keep you safe. We can fly over the river and keep an eye out for any of the Vídolf.” Alaila wanted to protest, but he would not let her. “We can fly out of the range of Markus or anyone else’s arrows. We are as safe high in the air as you are in your stone halls.”

And so it was that the Tellerassar took to flying above the water, calling to each other over distances, as they watched the actions of the Vídolf closely. It was these Tellerassar about whom the first legend was told and each eagle people saw were thought to be Ikaira still searching for his lost love. And it was these Tellerassar – who were skilled fighters and had knowledge of both the northern and the southern parts of the Midlands – that became Keepers, aligning themselves with both Théotriewe and Holt Haliern. Tiriane, who played a notable part in the story “A Dragon’s Freedom”, was one of these Tellerassar. 

A Timeline of the Midland Wars

After a couple of weeks describing the Midland Wars – six decades of war which ravaged the Midlands of Airthai – I’m now posting a timeline to show how everything fits together – and a link to the page where all the Midland Wars posts can be read together.

Click here for larger version

Click here for larger version

Some more maps and other Airthai-goodies can be seen at this Pinterest board.

WIP: The Last Dragon Seeker
Spoiler alert! First go and read A Dragon’s Freedom and Price of Freedom before continuing if you don’t want to see any details.

I’m hard at work on the new WIP which takes place during the last years of these Wars and I’m really excited at the whole new world opening up. The main character in this WIP is Nasja’s granddaughter who is one of the Dragon Seekers. She ventures even farther north than her grandfather and I hope to give this short story/novella the epic scope it deserves.

Worldbuilding Wednesday – Making Maps

Many of the fantasy world maps available on the net are beautiful computer renditions of the worlds. Mine, alas, is not. Well, not yet. One reason is that I don’t have mapmaking software. The more important reason is that I enjoy drawing them by hand. And while I’ve posted a few maps, I also make maps as I go along to map out certain places, cities or, in the case below, the site of the Battle of the Shadow Plain. This one was made in a notebook while I was plotting out the Midland Wars.

The map I refer to on this page is this one – three maps showing the Midland Wars:

The Battle of the Shadow Plain
And so it was that, in the fifty-fifth year of the Midland Wars, King Maeldra of Guldargan met the forces of Ikaira on Argavér, the Shadow Plain. The battle was terrible, but Ikaira was victorious and took up the crown of Guldargan. Maeldra was killed during that battle and the Fáll retreated into the Great Wood. A semblance of peace fell upon Guldargan for a short time and the skirmishes with the surrounding kingdoms petered out and many diplomatic missions were sent to the surrounding kingdoms. By Ikaira’s request, the Keepers of Théotriewe and Holt Haliern helped to bring peace to the north of the Midlands and secure what little was left of Guldargan.

But this was not the end of the Fáll, for they crowned Maeldra’s young son Markus their king and believed him the one true king of Guldargan as he was a direct descendant of King Gile. They built a great fortress on the blood drenched plain of Argavér and secured much of the land around it for themselves through their dark magic. Soon all the land under the Fáll’s control was called Argavér or the Shadow Lands.

Links to previous Midland Wars posts:
Part 1: First Strike
Part 2: Sanctuaries
Part 3: The Rise of the Fáll
Part 4: The Southern Lands during the Midland Wars
Part 5: The Dragons and Guardians’ New Home
Part 6: The Oath Breakers

To read more about Nasja and the other Guardians, read “A Dragon’s Freedom” or “The Price of Freedom” by clicking on the links.

The Midland Wars: The Oath Breakers

Sorry for the late Worldbuilding post this week, but better late than never!


The Dragon Guardians and Seekers are Betrayed
It is an unfortunate fact that one great downfall of fallen mortals is their greed. A greed for money, a greed for fame or a greed for power. After the Diminishing in Airthai, this greed became more and more apparent. For a time people were easily delineated into those who follow the Light and those who rather chose to follow the Shadow. Soon, however, this was no longer so. Betrayals to the Light could come from anywhere. Peoples drifted apart, became new nations, drenched the fields and plains of Airthai with blood and at last cried out for help. And so the Great Sundering of the Lands took place. But still some of those who followed the Shadow remained on the Continent. Keeping their blood vows, the Werlea did the work of the Lewjan and won many to their side. The darkness slowly crept across the Continent once more, leaving no kingdom untouched in however small a way.

After the return of Nasja to the city of Diuzisborg it became known to all that even some of the Dragon Guardians had fallen to the Shadow. Shunned by their dragons and by the Guardians, many sought their revenge by spreading rumours, but a few also set out on the road. One went to the Khallahna, where he was turned away by the Elders who still remembered the oath of the Dragon Guardians all too well. They would have nothing to do with the oath breaker and sent him away. This was before the Khallahna wars, when the House of Khallahna split into the Khalné, who followed the Light, and the Khalvér, who followed the Shadow. Not knowing where to turn, he set out further eastward to Trelkanor and then, towards the coast and the kingdom of Sëarë. It was to be his last journey, as he was set upon by robbers on the road to the Trelkanorian city of Ahrlëa, and slain for what little he had – a few coins, a coat of velvet and the Dragon’s Gift stone he still carried. Here his story ended, though that of the Dragon’s Gift he carried would still go on.

The Oath Breakers
The other guardians who left their home kingdom of Reiaghy took the merchant road northwards towards the Death Plain, Dumál, Treddian and, at last, Guldargan. Here, in the Midlands, they found the lands embroiled in war. Rumours of the wild dragons reached them and they made their way to the ruined Dragon Hall. Soon they found King Gile and told him that they could teach him how to tame the wild dragons and bend them to his will.  Gile jumped at the chance of learning the secrets of the dragons. Together, the shunned Guardians set out to the northwest to search for the dragons in the swamps north of the Great Wood, accompanied by a few of Gile’s guards.
But, while the shunned guardians – those who came to be known as the Oath Breakers – headed towards the swamps, one made his way back to Gile in the dead of night. Kneeling in front of the king of Guldargan and swearing his very life to him.
“I will teach you to speak to the dragon, to bind it to your will. When the others return with the dragon, you will be ready to slay your enemies and rebuild the empire your forefathers had seen in their dreams.”
Gile smiled at this and instated Lewja – for this is what the oathbreaker called himself in his arrogance – as his personal tutor and advisor. Lewja also had the mark of the black dragon tattooed on his face like the king. Some even said that they swore a blood oath to the Shadow.
Those who went to find the dragons; were faced with such wild beasts, that they could not control them. Their minds had turned to shadow, and even the words of Nasja had all but been forgotten. The dragons attacked the men who tried to speak to them and to bind them, slaying them and the guards. Their bloodlust were fuelled and it was after this that attacks on towns and cities started.
Gile and Lewja soon realised that none of the others were returning with a dragon and Lewja started to fear for his life. But Gile continued to learn as much as he could of the dragon’s tongue. However, when he had learned all that he could, he had Lewja slain. This was five years before Gile’s death. Gile would, in turn, teach his son, Galdra, all he could of the dragon’s tongue.

Links to previous Midland Wars posts:
Part 1: First Strike
Part 2: Sanctuaries
Part 3: The Rise of the Fáll
Part 4: The Southern Lands during the Midland Wars
Part 5: The Dragons and Guardians’ New Home

To read more about Nasja and the other Guardians, read “A Dragon’s Freedom” or “The Price of Freedom” by clicking on the links.

Worldbuilding Wednesday – The Dragons and Guardians’ New Home

In the previous weeks I have given a sweeping view over the history of the Midland Wars in Airthai. From the outbreak of the war between Guldargan and its neighbouring countries, to the Sanctuaries formed by the Keepers of Éamidtheo, Théotriewe and Holt Haliern, the vast change in the borders of the Midland countries and the rise of the Fáll. Then I turned my view southward once more to the Dragon City of the south and what happened to the dragons and their guardians and left the history with Guardians setting out to search for a new home among the Western Isles.

The Midland Wars – The Dragons and Guardians’ New Home

The ship the Dragon Claw left the harbour of Diuzisborg at dawn, accompanied by four Dragon Guardians – Nasja, Mairejath, Helagh and Nahshon – and the dragon Thayrla. Using the established trade routes, they travelled northwards along the coast before setting out towards the Western Isles from Black Harbour.  Six times they saw the enormous shapes of the Sea Dragons, but not once did they attack and the ship reached the Western Isle, which was called Aer Lharna*, or Moon Isle, safely.
On the shore was gathered a group of nine people. All were dressed in brown, white and green and each held a carved wooden staff. The staffs were all decorated with finely-wrought patterns in silver and green dragon tears were set into the wood. Upon their brows they wore the red dragon tears the Guardians called Dragon Gifts. The women among them wore long veils of such fine golden beadwork over their hair that it seemed as if their hair was of spun gold. All bore markings on their faces and arms, traced in green, unlike the black patterns seen on the continent.

Caythan told them how these were not permanent markings, but worn during times of trouble or when they fasted or mourned. Permanent marking – like those the Werlea (or Gile) had were shunned by them as they said that nothing in the world is permanent and therefore no permanent mark shall be placed on their bodies as all things will pass away before the final ending of the world.

These folk, the Dréothér, met the Guardians with saddened faces, saying that they had been shown this event in a dream. One, wearing many traces of green upon his face, chest and arms, spoke in the Dragon Tongue: “I saw great fields of golden grass burning; I saw a great many people suffer and I saw red dragons. Then I saw a ship bearing four lanterns being drawn to shore by a blue dragon. It has been very long since a blue dragon has visited our shores, let alone the Dragon Guardians of the Continent.”
The Guardians marvelled at the dream that had been given to these people and told them why they had come and of the wars raging in the Midlands of the Continent.

After seven days it was decided that the Dragon Guardians could come to join the green dragons and the Dréothér – or People of the Dragon – on the isle. But, it was added, some Guardians needed to remain behind in order to help the ship cross the ocean safely.
“It would be wrong to leave the coast so unprotected,” they rightly argued, “especially after being saved from the Sundered Lands and gifted the great house in Diuzisborg.” They also told of their worries about the wild dragons that now lived in the Midlands. The Dréothér spoke of text written even before the Sundering that told of how dragons were turned back to the light during the wars with the Shadow’s creatures.

At their return to Diuzisborg, Nasja told the Dragon Elder Lasnith what the Dréothér had told them. “If we do not have the texts they speak of,” he said, “the library of Holt Haliern will contain it in its vast libraries. There are many texts which have been forgotten by the world outside its walls and many date from before the Sundering.”
“You have seen them?” Lasnith asked.
“I have, though I never read them. The Keepers showed me much of the history of Airthai and the Midlands in the short time I was with them.”

After days of searching, Lasnith wrote a letter to the Wíslic of Holt Haliern with a heavy heart and Nasja and Mairejath took leave before Nasja set out to Holt Haliern. Nasja did find the text of which the Dréothér had spoken in the Sanctuary’s library and it was painstakingly copied as it had been many times before. But even with the care of the Keepers of Holt Haliern, a part of the book had gotten lost over the centuries and none of the earliest text still existed from which the information could be gleaned. So it was that Nasja returned to Diuzisborg with the text after many months. The text – which he had already studied as it was being copied – contained much information that would help them to save the dragons of the Midlands. But he also knew that he would not be able to do the work alone.

Those who studied this text and learned both how dragons could be brought back to the Light or turned towards the Shadow became known as the Dragon Seekers. Vowing only to help those dragons who had fallen or turned wild become themselves again, they set out to the Midlands when they were needed, often staying with the Keepers of Holt Haliern for long periods of time.

It was, however, also during this time that the Dragon Guardians and the dragons left their house and the shores of the Southern Lands for the Isles. Soon only a few were left who trained what few Guardians could be found among the people of the city and who travelled with the ships up and down the coast. Weary and saddened, they travelled to their new home. Within a few generations, even the Dragon Seekers would have left the Continent, leaving stories of the dragons to become little more than legends in the Midlands.

After the death of the dragon Skáhag many centuries later, the true majesty of these creatures were forgotten, replaced with the few tales of the wild dragons that was still told in the Midlands. Only on the Southern Coast did a few remember how the dragons had once kept them safe from the Fallen.

Next Week: The Seekers are Betrayed

Links to previous Midland Wars posts:
Part 1: First Strike
Part 2: Sanctuaries
Part 3: The Rise of the Fáll
Part 4: The Southern Lands during the Midland Wars

To read more about Nasja and the other Guardians, read “A Dragon’s Freedom” or “The Price of Freedom” by clicking on the links.

*For more about the moon and lunar folklore in Airthai, click here.

Photos courtesy of www.sxc.hu

Worldbuilding Wednesday: The Southern Lands during the Midland Wars

Welcome to another Worldbuilding Wednesday. I’ve spent these last few Wednesdays looking at the Midland Wars – links to these posts can be found at the end of this post. Just because things has been happening in the Midlands, doesn’t mean the rest of the kingdoms and stories of Airthai has stood still, though. So, this week I’m looking at what happened to the Dragon Keepers and the dragons while the Midland Wars were raging.

The Midland Wars (Part 4) – The Southern Lands during the Midland Wars

While war ravaged the Midlands of the Continent, the Dragon Guardians of Reiaghy faced a difficult choice. After the attack on the dragons, told of in the story called “The Price of Freedom”, all eyes were on the dragons and their Guardians. Memories of the night in which the dragons had attacked the city twelve years before were still well remembered and another night of fire was feared even after the Guardians assured the people of the city that the dragons would not attack.

The eggs which had been stowed away by the Guardians were returned to the dragons’ nests and the bodies of the slain dragons and guardians were given proper burials. Much had been lost, but the Guardians also realised the grave danger that they had been in and were thankful that so many had been spared. Even so, much had changed between the Guardians and the City Elders. Where once the Guardians were the pride of the city and held in high esteem, they now were more feared than before and looked down upon by City Elders and common citizens alike.

Rumours began to spread – first within the city and then beyond – that the Guardians used dark magic to control the dragons and not their Talent and the tongue gifted to them by the Light. Many of these rumours were purported to have been started by the Guardians whose dragons had shunned them after they had turning from the light.

Soon the Guardians realised that they were no longer safe or welcome in their city and even some of the ships ventured into the ocean without a dragon escort. Many were attacked by the sea dragons and many lives were lost without reason. Dragon Guardians, walking alone in the city were also attacked and two were killed. Their murderers were not found and soon, not only the Guardians, but also the dragons themselves were demanding justice to be done and their safety to be guaranteed. Dragons remained at the House of the Guardians to keep the house safe from attack and during this time an even greater bond was formed between the dragons and their guardians.

 At last the Dragon Elder Lasnith decided that they could wait no longer. He sent for Caythan, the captain of the merchant ship Dragon Claw and chose four of the Guardians to go to the greatest of the Western Isles where the Green Dragons lived and to request lands for the Dragon Guardians and the dragons of the Southern Lands.

Links to previous Midland Wars posts:
Part 1: First Strike
Part 2: Sanctuaries
Part 3: The Rise of the Fáll

To read more about Nasja and the other Guardians, read “A Dragon’s Freedom” or “The Price of Freedom” by clicking on the links. Enjoy!

For those readers who can understand Afrikaans – check out today’s post at Kammastories, or click here for the English version.

Photo: "Ocean" Courtesy of Timobalk at http://www.sxc.hu

Worldbuilding Wednesday – The Midland Wars

The ‘short story’ called “The Price of Freedom”, which was supposed to take place after the story “A Dragon’s Freedom” in order to move the overall story of Airthai forward a bit*, turned into more of a novel length work… but the stories of the kingdoms and peoples of the Southern and Midlands doesn’t end there.
After Gile received the crown some of his men decided that they could not longer follow him and the surrounding kingdoms saw an opportunity. And the paw-paw kind of hits the fan** for Gile – especially when he learns that he won’t be getting his hands on any more dragons and he only knows one order in their tongue (now quite useless, thanks to Ryger). This brings me to a time of great change in the kingdoms of the Midlands.

The Midland Wars – part 1:

First strike
The kingdoms of Ealdfesten and Guldargan already had a disputed border to the east of the capital city of Guldargan and when Ealdfesten learned that Guldargan no longer had any dragons, they were the first to launch small raids beyond their border.
When Marcus passed away and Gile became king, it was not even a fortnight before Ealdfesten attacked Guldargan with a large force of men and pushed their own border westward to the main city.

Through the next six decades various battles and wars were fought and the borders of the kingdoms of the midlands changed dramatically through these years. These wars are collectively known as the Midland Wars and would change not only the kingdoms and their people, but also the Keepers and their function in the Midlands for good.

After Ealdfesten’s attack, the kingdoms around Guldargan now took their chance and Aefterra – to the northeast of Guldargan and north of Ealdfesten – attacked Guldargan as well. While Treddian at first stayed an attack on Guldargan, they did attack when Ealdfesten had conquered all of the southern lands of Guldargan and had reached Treddians eastern border. The Keepers of Holt Haliern and Eamidthéo tried in vain to reach a compromise with Ealdfesten, but they would hear none of it and the bloodshed on the Southern Fields was great and the men from Ealdfesten burned a great swathe of the land as well. Because it was autumn and quite dry, the fire spread fast and many who were not soldiers lost their lives and many others their livelihoods. These people were both of Treddian and Guldargan (before Ealdfesten conquered the land), but with nowhere else to go, they made their way to the Keepers together to look for help.  

Next week: The Midland Wars, part 2 - Sanctuaries

*To get the “middle part” between “A Dragon’s Freedom” and “Yet untitled story” told… Stories just love getting out of hand!

**Yes, this is an accepted rendering of the “item + fan idiom”…

Worldbuilding Wednesday – Shape shifters: The Tellerassar

One of the races of Airthai is the Tellerassar of Heimfeie. They are shape shifters, who were given the Talent of being able to change into the form of an eagle and back into human form at will.

In Airthai, new races may be formed in certain circumstances - for instance, the Tellerassar were 'normal' humans before they fought and fled from the then ruler of Guldargan (a few centuries before “A Dragon’s Freedom”). Life was difficult and the ruler basically enslaved his people. His half brother stood up against him, supported by many followers. This half brother was Ikairi, the first of the Tellerassar (and mentioned in passing in “A Dragon’s Freedom”. A civil war broke out and Ikairi found himself and his followers cornered within a ravine, about to be slaughtered by Guldargan’s soldiers. He begged the Creator to save his people and the Creator then gave them a great gift the Talent to turn into the shape of an eagle and so they were able to escape. They also received their own language to set them aside from the other people of Guldargan.

The Land of the Shape-shifters

The small country of the Tellerassar is called Heimfeie and is a mountainous part of Airthai, just north of the Midlands. Here they live in houses built on the cliffs, keeping them safe from attack. (Other than just being really cool…) There are, however also some villages in the valleys where the Scría live. They use signals of smoke to alert the Tellerassar if they are in danger; burning a specific plant found in this area which gives of very dark smoke when burnt, making it easy to spot at a distance.

The Appearance of the Tellerassar

I love Fish Eagles and their unearthly call seemed perfect for the Tellerassar. And the idea of being able to shape-shift has a certain fascination. So, the Tellerassar “coincidentally” looks and sounds a lot like the Fish Eagles you get on Earth…

This is how a Fish Eagle looks:

Fish Eagle in flight

And you can listen to its distinctive callhere.

Worldbuilding Wednesday– A Dragon’s Freedom

Part 1: A backstory is needed and a hero steps forth

*Spoiler alert! If you haven’t read “A Dragon’s Freedom” you can click here for the free download (in Issue 5).*

The actual reason for writing “A Dragon’s Freedom” was to write about the life of the dragon Skáhag who plays such a vital role in the later years of the Midlands of Airthai. His death was actually the first thing I wrote about him (poor thing!) as part of the story of both the forming of Naeddre and the love story between Ameragh and Síldu. At that time I was writing a novel about the Midlands (no, it will never see the light of day in its current form – it was practice, or so I tell myself now) and I had built up the people of Naeddre’s mythology of Skáhag. But I needed to know where the dragon came from – and what it was doing in the Midlands in the first place.

Seat-of-Pants Worldbuilding

So, while this story was the first published, it was set in a world I already knew quite well. But, this was all written before the creation story of the world and the story of the sundering. I had just made up the Dragon Guardians on the southern coast and already had a vague story about a ‘not-very-nice’king of the Midlands who gathered dragon tears for riches. Now it was just a matter of putting the two together.

I wanted the dragons to be simply animals in the world (albeit talking animals). So, like any animal, it would be ‘good’ until treated in such a way that it lashed out. Skáhag had been mistreated during his life, and bound by magic to a master, so that his fight was as much against humans as the darkness created within him. When Ameragh sings to him a song that releases its bonds, his death at the hand of his master is bittersweet as he is at last freed.

By this time the (somewhat) secret language used by the Dragon Guardians and dragons was already present in Ameragh’s song (Here’s the song). I then decided that, because it was so powerful, that it was only known by a select few – the Dragon Guardians, the dragons and the Seafolk’s elders, although they knew it to a much lesser extent. This language was gifted to the Guardians and the dragons in much the same way the Tellerassar was given their own language. Therefore, if the king stole a dragon egg, he would need someone who could communicate with the dragon. Enter Nasja...

A boy called Nasja

The first scene of the story which popped into my head was the dragon’s nest and a boy stealing one of the eggs. At first this was supposed to have been done because of greed on his part (and he was older). But that didn’t sit well with what I had in mind for the rest of the story. For me it was a lot more striking to have him do something which is taboo for Dragon Guardians in order to save his family than simply do it for payment.

The next scene I wrote was of Nasja in the king’s palace. Although I needed a reason for him not to be able to escape, he probably would not have had a banged-up leg if it wasn’t that my own bad knee (the right one, not the left – see, it’s complete different…) was extremely painful that day![1]

At this point, I planned and wrote the rest of the story in a rough draft. When I had finished it, however, I realised that I had had Nasja basically act alone and didn’t really give him cause as to why he would suddenly, after a good ten to twelve years, decide to free the dragons and go home. I left the story to stew, pottering around every now and then and then turned my thoughts to some other short fiction and worldbuilding while I figured it out.

Next week: Worldbuilding shape-shifters and magicians

---

[1] Mine is banged-up from ballet, though, and not being kidnapped and dragged over a desert... Cold weather, however, doesn’t really care how you ended up hurting yourself. 

Fiction (sort of) Monday – Dragon’s Nest

Or, what started out as some thoughts about geography

The following piece started out as a musing about the geography and towns around the Dragon Cliffs. Although I had filled in some of the places on a map (which will only see the light of day once it’s been copied neatly), I still needed to flesh out the immediate surrounds a bit.

Dragon’s Nest (Part 1)

Mairejath, a Dragon Guardian of the Seafolk, made her way to the new nests to check on the eggs. During the night, five Guardians stood a vigil at each of the nests to make sure that no men from the north would try stealing them during the night. After the fateful day nearly twelve years ago when the first egg was stolen, the Guardians had thought that it would not happen again. They were wrong.

The men came nearly every summer. Each time they took eggs, Guardians, or both. The first time they had taken a young boy. He had just become an apprentice Guardian two weeks earlier after studying for four years. And while the other Guardians saved what and who they could, the boy was taken. Three dragons died in the subsequent fighting, along with over a hundred people when the dragons turned against them and attacked the closest town with fire and razor-sharp talons. That was the first time the dragons had ever turned against their Guardians. The Guardians bound them, explained what happened and promised to do whatever they could to keep it from happening again.

But the previous trust that existed between the dragons and Guardians were broken. And the men from the northern plain did come again. At first everyone was sure that none of the Seafolk ever helped the thieves from the north, but in time all agreed that they must have had help from someone who knew the south and who knew the ways of the dragons. It had come to the point where the Dragon Guardians and the other Seafolk started to question each other’s loyalties and the loyalties of the other people of Reiaghy. And so, watchtowers were built, soldiers multiplied in the Seafolk’s towns and parents no longer wanted to let their children study to become Dragon Guardians.  

Mairejath trudged up the steep slope, keeping her eyes on the ground so as not to trip on the rocks. There were no real paths to the dragons, though the Guardians did know the quickest way to the nests – and, more importantly, their dragon’s nest.

Glathnir, a great dragon of a pure blue colour had chosen Mairejath to be one of her Guardians. She was carrying a bag of food on her back for the five Guardians who had stood guard at her nest during the night. She had not slept well, her ears alert through the night to hear the sound of the Guardian’s bells if they should see the nests’ beacons lit. These beacons were built from slow-burning wood and brush and were lit only when the nest was in danger. Because the dragons mostly left the nests at night to feed, the eggs were at their most vulnerable during the dark hours. When the light was seen by the Guardians keeping watch at the Guardians’ house, they, in turn, rung the bells to wake both the Guardians and call the soldiers in the city below to arms.

From Glathnir’s nest on the Dragon Cliffs, various towns and towers were visible. There was the Ruins of Dhôr – a city lost in the Sundering, the lighthouse south of the breeding ground and on the edge of Duizisburg, her hometown and the home of the Dragon Guardians. Although most people have come to call the town simply Dragonburg – being easier to pronounce and making it sound less exotic. Perhaps people have started to forget that we escaped from the Sundered Lands. In the distance you could just make out Midton and beyond it still lay the harbor towns and the Gold Tower – another lighthouse, the name of which made it sound much grander than the white-washed stone tower it actually was.

(To be continued)

I found a picture of a dragon egg!

Or, the joy of finding a photo that matches a description in a fantasy story.

When I first wrote about the dragon eggs in Airthai – and more specifically at the start of “A Dragon’s Freedom”, I described them as looking like white quartz and the cliffs where the dragons’ nests are as having red sand…

The eggs looked like oblong pieces of milky quartz washed to smooth perfection by river water. Five of them lay in an indentation in the earth, baking in the sun. Around them a circle wide enough for the mother to land in was cleared. The nest itself was not much to look at, little more than loosely-packed soil and trampled brush. - "A Dragon's Freedom"; Cross and Cosmos Issue 5.

(For the rest of the story, click here.)

And then I came across this photo by Don Shearman – how awesome is that!

A Dragon Egg

A very warm thank you to Don for the use of this photo.

PS. I'll post the fiction piece I had planned for today tomorrow to keep the posts from getting too long.