PublishedPhoenix Yard, May 2015 |
ISBN9781907912436 |
FormatSoftcover, 240 pages |
Dimensions19.8cm × 12.8cm × 1.4cm |
The journey begins...Devlin and Shay, the two youngest children of Lord Padraig, ruler of the kingdom of Rosemerta, have grown up listening to tales of their ancestors and the feud between the red and black dragons. Now they are about to discover more than they ever could imagine...Be prepared for bravery and betrayal, courage and adventure, destiny and danger in this epic fantasy saga.
EXTRACT: "In a distant land of ice and snow where the seasons of the sun were forsaken, a red streak hurtled through the night sky. A village blacksmith, on the plains of the lowlands south of the Tainted Mountains, watched as a great ball of flames crashed into the highest peak of these distant mountains. That night a voice whispered in his dreams, 'Follow the flame.'The blacksmith - Isern by name - left his home early next morning, following the path of the sun as it arced across the sky toward the mountains. The abundance of the land and the rivers provided for him as for ten days and ten nights he travelled across the plains and into the mountains. He followed deep fjords carved from a thousand years of glaciers.
On the tenth night he entered the Realm of the Dark, on the edge of the Frozen Northlands. At the top of the Tainted Mountains, red cinders erupted, falling down as grey ash onto the frozen ground. At the edge of a rocky ridge on the highest peak, he found a narrow gap in the face of a cliff. He scrambled inside, away from the biting wind, and followed a narrow path into a wide cave. There, in the flickering light of his pitch-soaked torch, he saw a slumbering dragon. The creature was covered in red scales and smoke drifted into the stale air as it breathed. The dragon lifted one heavy eye and flames burst from its wide nostrils. Strange inscriptions covered the walls of the cave and Isern glimpsed human bones and shattered weapons scattered across the hard, stony ground. 'Are you come to join them?' Isern stepped back and looked around the cave. 'Who is here? Who speaks?' he said. Isern looked into the eyes of the dragon and more words floated into his head. 'Answer me and you will get your answer.' The dragon turned to the scattered bones. 'I will ask once more - have you come to join them?'
'I did not journey over mountains into this land of ice and snow to join them in their restless sleep,' Isern replied, then he told the dragon his story. 'I am only a blacksmith.The voices of the ancestors spoke to me, telling me to follow the light as it turned the night sky to day, and I have done as they wished. I am here at their behest.' 'Then you are the one I have waited for.' The dragon brushed its scaly tail into a dark corner of the cave. A cloud of dirt swirled around the blacksmith. The earth trembled beneath his feet and he felt something hard against his leg. As the dirt settled he looked down and saw a jagged red stone, the size of a large watermelon, at his feet. 'This is the treasure you seek - the treasure that was sent from the skies. Take the Stone, and return to your home so that I may return to mine, deep within the mountains.' The dragon turned away to face the carvings on the wall. 'Take these with you too. Pass my words to your descendants and the land will prosper.' 'Great dragon,' the blacksmith said, 'how can I share your words when I cannot read them?' 'There is no need for reading. Close your eyes. They will know when to come to you.
Now leave me. I grow weary ...' The blacksmith returned to his home, bearing with him the treasure of the dragon - the Raedstone. He was feted. The chieftains of the lowlands tribes bent their knees to him, naming him Isern, the Blacksmith King of the Raedlands, the land of the Dragon's Stone: one blessed by the dragon, to unite all under the red banner, to keep the people safe, to ensure their prosperity. Isern knew what he must do. And so he forged the strongest and finest sword and shield he could from the Dragon's Stone. When these had been fashioned, he carved six small stones from the remaining fragments. Each side he covered with symbols - the markings from the cave. Years later, as King Isern lay on his deathbed he divided the Raedlands between his sons - Luchair and Neils - and daughter, Maidred, thus creating three realms: Rosemerta, Eraba and Aarush. To Maidred in Aarush he gave the Shield of the Dragon, to give wisdom and to protect the people there from enemies. To Neils in Eraba he gave the Sword of the Dragon, to cut down any who challenged the peace of the land. To Luchair in Rosemerta he gave the Stones of the Dragon, the truth-tellers, to protect and provide.
'Never forget their power,' Isern said. 'Guard them and they will guide and protect you, and those whofollow, from the coming darkness.' His last gift to his children was a parchment written in his own hand. 'These words were passed to me by the Great Dragon,' he said. They looked at the verse. 'What does this mean?' Luchair said. 'Luchair, you are my eldest. A day will come for your descendants when these words will ring true.' Then Isern turned his face from his children and drew his last breath."
