Penddraig Chronicles

BREAKFAST BURN (Purple, M)

With his elixirs, potions and poultices, Breakfast Burn was one of the most laden dragons on the trip from the Desert Rim Forests to Spice City.

His skills at curing infertility were astonishing, and dragons treated him with awe. After food, nothing occupies a dragon's mind as much as the duty to produce progeny, so Breakfast Burn's services were as much in demand as those of the incubating Red dragons.

AUGUSTINE HARVEST (Harvest, F)
(Updated 3rd October)
Augustine was in hiding. She needed to get away from the anger and threats from her family after a little indiscretion went wrong. Obviously she had not planned on mating for life with the dishy Gold N Harvest, but a hatchling from such a dalliance as theirs could not be tolerated in the family. She was the heir to a Bronze/Harvest lineage that went back generations. 

Happily, her wise and resourceful Brimstone Nanny, as always, had a solution. There was known to be a group of sadly childless Brimstones, exiled on another continent with the famously gentle Freaky Little Hobbit Lover, where many lost and abandoned dragons found a home. Nanny said these Brimstones were lonely and excluded from most dragon societies, and would welcome a youngster to care for. And so she immediately took the egg where she knew it would be wanted.

So it was that Augustine was in self-appointed exile. 

So when she came out of her cave to peer around blearily and get a little sun, she didn't expect company. Most of the other inhabitants of the Desert Rim Forests had moved on to where the atmosphere was less tense, and that is what had made this region so tempting for her sojourn 'in the wilderness'. And, of course, the promixity of a certain dishy dragon.  

Yet, here this creature was, an apparition of such size and majesty, such power and beauty, she was almost compelled to her knees in awe. But Augustine could never get a genuinely clear image of her, it was as if the dragon were made of the frost and snow itself.

Augustine knew immediately who this strange dragon was; it had to be the much-feared Ice Goddess, who had been prowling these woods for some time, and had driven off many lesser dragons. But what did she want of Augustine?

HORRY VIT (Black, M)

Used to be, Spice City was known for its pleasures of the flesh. A little nettle wine, a few oaths, and a good hard brawl could be started with just about any other breed, Horry and his friends never cared.

But the rise in the fortunes of 'respectable folks' led to increased policing needs, and Horry Vit found himself in the unlikely position of Chief Constable. He was, however, very good at it. "You need a thief, to catch a thief", the older dragons would say, nodding slowly and trying to look wise.

TERO TAKEO (Black, M)

Tero, like his boss, Chief Constable Horry Vit, was once the sort of drinking, brawling and whoring kind of roughneck that a police force was appointed to control.

All things considered, though, he liked his job. The pay was low but regular, and if he had fewer brawls, he lost none at all, with his prized police prod stick at hand.

SHELL SAND (Black, F)

Spice City offered a new life for Shell. She was tired of her high adrenalin ways. She had put a little away during her fighting years, and now she settled down to the serious business of choosing a mate with whom to hatch a  few little Shells.

Finding an appropriate mate was partly her reason for buying the tavern ruins right in the middle of the market place. Here she got to look over the male population at their worst and, with a nod and a wink from the Constable Tero Takeo, and the occasional misplaced bottle of nettle wine, she also managed to make a small profit.

GLITTER GAZE (Lumina, M)

Gaze arrived back in Spice City with one of the exploratory expeditions to the northwest. He presented the Emperor Jien Shen Zhong with maps and charts pinpointing likely mineral deposits, and with the Emperor's wives some of the most exquisite gemstones ever seen.

From that time on, Alisheba, 2nd wife to the Emperor, refused to let him out of her sight, and he became something of a pet, to the amusement of all the court.

NG SWEE KIM (Brute, F)

Kim and her mate, Ling An Xiang lived above the desert plains near Spice City, in the wastelands stretching back to the Volcanic Regions.

Neither can remember how long they have been there, or where they may have come from. They do know they have never had hatchlings and so now have come into the city to seek the help of the many breeding experts there.

LING AN XIANG (Brute, M)

Xiang was old. Older than the mountains, he sometimes thought. And not getting any younger. But his mate, Ng Swee Kim, wanted hatchlings. Now. At this time in their lives!

Still it was what she wanted, and he made a point of seeing she always got everything she wanted. So they went to Spice City, a place he had always loathed, but where the recently arrived cadre of healers and midwives had just set up shop.

BLUE OSCAR (Nilia, M)

Oscar loved to fly. More than eating and mating, he just loved soaring through the clouds surrounding the mountains behind Spice City. He and the other young dragons of the Blue Nilia Flock would spend hours and hours a day practising the formations for traditional mating rituals.

So it was not surprising that it was a Nilia dragon that first spotted the strange dragon on the move along the Alpine Ridge towards Volcanic Regions.

However, though his curiosity was piqued, his caution overruled it, and he made no effort to leave the safety of his companions and follow the strange creature he had spotted.

ENCRYPTED NOTES (found buried in Justie's cave)

Conversation overheard, deep in the caverns beneath the Temple of the Moon.

Sees The Moon: What nonsense is this? Lived less than 100 years? That's ridiculous!

Sees The Moon: Now, hush, Sees, you know she's telling the truth!

Sees The Moon: Oh do I now? I can't even see if she's got a scroll in her hand, let alone read it!

Sees The Moon: SeizeTheMoon, look at the Troll and...

Human The Chronicler: Human... I am a human!!!

SeizeTheMoon: Whatever. I can't read this, Sees The Moon, it's nothing but Human gibberish!

Human The Chronicler: I don't need to read it! We were all short-lived humans once! Until.. until...

SeizeTheMoon: Yes, yes, we know all about the holocaust, seems like there's one every century or two. And it is always going to be the end of the world... but, what do you know, we're all still here... living a damn sight longer than 100 years!

Sees The Moon: Oh, back on topic, wonderful! Troll, aka Human, we didn't get our first set of scales completed in less than a hundred years.

Sees The Moon: About 150 years, I think it was...

Sees The Moon: Don't interrupt. We can't possibly be expected to remember what we were doing back then. I certainly have no recollection of being a human! And I know I'm not dead.

Sees The Moon: The very thought is making me nauseous - barely a hatchling raised to adulthood, and it's all over?! How tragic, if true!

SeizeTheMoon: Ahem...

Sees The Moon: Yes, Abbott, you have something to contribute?

SeizeTheMoon: I, uh, I remember humans when I was very very young. Possibly younger than 100 years... Some of them I remember were quite distinctly wizened, as a very old dragon might come to resemble. I remember, I asked if they were sick.

Human The Chronicler: See, we existed back then!

Sees The Moon:   WE existed back then. Perhaps, Human, you did not? Hmm? If you are Human, and all the humans either died or became dragons eons ago, which are you - dead? Or the Bright-Breasted Wyvern you so closely resemble? Hmm?

Human The Chronicler: (gazing at her reflection in a shiny sheet of crystal) Do you think I do? Resemble a Bright, I mean? Yes, I do have a certain colourful style, wouldn't you say? Certainly a brilliant shade of green for my wings, but what a unique Bright-Breasted dragon I'd be, the only one with wings and arms, so very useful hands are, you know... if I just had a more spectacular display of red-breast! Yes, very attractive...

Sees The Moon: Now, look what you've done! We'll get no sense out of her now!

Sees The Moon: Oh? Was there a time when we could have gotten sense out of her?

Attached to the back of the ENCRYPTED NOTES in Justie's cave is a torn page, from some encyclopedia perhaps, underlined in places, and comments scrawled on it.

• In personality, Bright-Breasted Wyverns are a very human-like breed; however, they would argue that it’s the other way around. They can have a very wide range of personality traits, differing greatly with each individual.

However, they are characterized by two things - their arrogance and intelligence. These dragons are very clever, and use strategy to help them survive in the wild cave.

Their small feet and dexterous tails can often be used like hands for delicate procedures. This, along with their bright, flamboyant colours, makes them very vain and prideful. or perceived that way

In battle, Bright-Breasted Wyverns are usually defeated when they become too cocky, allowing their opponents to take them by surprise fool me once...etc.

(from "spriters notes")

This explains a lot! No wonder they were my first favourite, and still dear to my heart.

Made a sketch

DESERT RIM FORESTS REGION

This temperate and verdant region was comfortable home of many dragons, all living in relative harmony. Until strange events began to divide the loosely connected bands into two opposing camps.

These strange events consisted mostly of lightning raids on the usual prey of the locals - everything from a missing goat to the entire herd. A dimly perceived apparition was seen by many in the general area, and it was this creature's identity that became such a contentious issue.

One group were convinced the creature was the Ice Goddess herself, or perhaps even, just a minion, come to punish the dragons for their extensive intrusion into the more mountainous regions of the forests. It had been a lean winter so far, and the move upwards had been largely an increase in hunting activity in these areas. This group advocated a sacrifice to the Ice Goddess as the correct method of appeasement. But no one could agree on what would be considered a suitable offering.

The other group looked solely for real life solutions for, to them, a real life problem. The emergence of a new and dangerous rival for their food supply. For these dragons, the first priority was to identify the apparition's true form, find its lair, and find its weaknesses. They felt that their survival justified attacking this other creature, and fully intended to make war upon it.

Great acrimony arose between the two groups, because one wished to appease the intruder, while the other wished to destroy it. A third, much smaller, group decided the atmosphere was becoming a little too tense in their comfortable forest regions, and when Tiny Sprite arrived looking for emigrants to the Spice City, this group, individually and collectively, chose to leave the forests.

SANAA ICE (Frostbite, F)

Sanaa Ice is having a wickedly good time! When the strange and aloof Albino dragon first travelled all the way from her home in the Volcanic Regions, to meet her, Sanaa, she really did not know what to think.

The Albino suggested a little trick could be fun if Sanaa were to steal down into the forests and create a myth for herself as some kind of Ice Goddess. It did seem a fun idea, but why would she want Sanaa Ice to do such a thing?

She had orphaned hatchlings to feed, she'd said. And could not herself capture enough food to take back to the youngsters. Maybe, if Sanaa brought back food from her little adventure, she'd become a legend, and all the hatchlings could be fed.

Sanaa saw immediately that that would become a problem. How will Trans Lucia Materna get the food across the Alpine Ridge and back to her own lair? Trans Lucia had thought of that as well, and beckoned at someone hidden behind a boulder.

It was two young but strong Blue-Banded dragons, Splish & Splash Puddle Jumper, barely able to control their fear at the sight of the massive Frostbite dragon. Trans Lucia motioned to them, and explained that they had agreed to take the food across to the Volcanic Regions. Sanaa could meet them here every few nights, with a supply of fresh meat for Trans Lucia's hatchlings.

It would be a bit of a lark, Sanaa decided, and so the four of them agreed on the details and the game of creating her own legend began - and worked all too well!

YELLOWCAKE (Brimstone, F)

Yellowcake lived a solitary, lonely existence in the Northern Volcanic Regions. Until the arrival of Trans Lucia Materna and her strange brood, Yellowcake often went years at a time without seeing another dragon.

Even mating season didn't bring potential partners these days, and in her bitter heart of hearts she understood. She was ugly. Why would any dragon want her? She had none of the sulfurous splendour of her rivals. She could hardly summon up a belch these days. She knew she should make an effort to build up her mineral content again, but she just couldn't find the will. Wouldn't make any difference, she thought.

Yellowcake was quite wrong about the reason she no longer had a choice of mates. It was not her general appeal, which was still of a very high standard of brutishness and odoriferousness. It was her habit of muttering nonsense rhymes in her head. These perpetually repeating lines would get into the head of any dragon who came close to her, and drive them away. It maddened more than one, and these poor wrecks could be found wandering the desert and wastelands, trying to find their way back to sanity.

Until Nanny She Oak arrived with her sad tale and an infant hatchling in arms, with Trans Lucia Materna and  Gerode in cahoots, she had resigned herself to remaining childless.

REAP YE WELL (Harvest, F)

During the late autumn, Reap Ye Well could always count on running into Augustine Harvest whilst both were gathering food, to ensure their body fat would be enough to see them through the winter. But for the rest of the year, they saw very little of each other. Neither was much of a one for company, if the truth be told, and so they were mostly unaware of what was happening one with the other.

Which was why Reap did not know any more than the other residents of the Desert Rim Forests about the strange creature stealing food from dragons throughout the whole forest. Normally, she would not care, but winter would soon be approaching, and she needed to hunt, and this would be likely interrupted if the mystery was not settled.

From what she overheard (she was not one to participate in a conversation unless absolutely necessary), it seemed the culprit was a Frostbite dragon, nothing supernatural at all, as she'd first thought. A Frostbite could be dealt with. But she very much doubted she could do it on her own. Was there a way to enlist the help of the other citizens of the forest?

ANNA HEILWIG (Black, F)

Anna, along with Ernst Hlodovic and Luise Madde also knew the exact nature of the creature raiding their food supplies. Clearly, it was a minion sent by the Ice Goddess, to punish the Black dragons who had recently settled here after the conclusion of the Vampire Wars.

That they would not be welcomed here had never crossed their minds. Trained warriors were a useful addition to any community, and if their warring skills were not immediately required, they were easily transformed into hunting skills. And indeed, the dragon population of Desert Rim Forests was initially happy to see them. But their hunting forays had spread ever relentlessly upward toward the Alpine Ridge in pursuit of the more agile game, and now, Anna saw, there was a price to pay.

Warriors they were, and clearly they must oppose any normal foes of the region, but how were they supposed to defeat the Ice Goddess? Trying to explain this to the other residents had left tempers very high, and just what to do next was what most preoccupied the veterans.

ERNST HLODOVIC (Black, M)

Ernst agreed in principle with his comrades in arms, that the Ice Goddess seemed to disapprove of their arrival here in the Desert Rim Forests or at least at the increased hunting since their arrival.

He did not see the solution as fighting against her minion, however. The Vampire Wars had soured him on all forms of violence, and even hunting seemed now a chore rather than the adventure it was when he was young.

So he thought they should appease the Goddess, if that was at all possible. He proposed a delegation of the residents of the Forests be sent to find and confer with the priests in the Wayist Temple Of The Moon about a suitable sacrifice or offering that could be made...

LUISE MADDE (Black, F)

Luise must admit she never expected cowardice from her comrade Ernst Hlodovic. That he openly spoke of appeasing the creature sent by the Ice Goddess was almost more than she could bear, without using her powerful legs to administer a sharp kick to bring him back into line.

About Anna Heilwig, she was more philosophical. From her, she would have expected the hesitation. Anna was always slow to act, but decisive once she resolved on a plan of attack.

Lines were clearly being drawn in the sand. Luise was inclined to a full frontal attack, but others warned that the creature, though immense, was virtually invisible in the current blizzard-like weather - and that's another thing, what's with the weather? Did the Ice Goddess do that too? In any case, the creature would have to be tracked by stealthy means indeed, and the dragons who were advocating attack were looking expectantly at her.

MY LITTLE SNOOKUMS (Pillow, F)

Snookums and her mate, My Little Cuddle Pup enjoy a peaceful life in the mountains overlooking Spice City, where they sleep most of the day away. In their waking hours, when not foraging for food, they relax, soaking up the gently sunlight and taking in the spectacular vista of the desert and the long-destroyed human city, now showing life in it once more.

They rarely exert themselves to go down to the city markets, as all they need is found here, around them in the quiet solitude of their home.

MY LITTLE CUDDLE PUP (Pillow, M)

Like his mate, My Little Snookums, Cuddle Pup enjoyed peace and quiet, a little sun, and a good long nap. Together, they had made their cave their home, and all was as it should be in their little world.

CHENG JIA (Grey, M)

Jia took his job as Master Of Accouterments to the Empress, Ling An Xiang, very seriously. No one better understood the role of appearance in the art of diplomacy. It was imperative that Ling An Xiang look her best and in control at all times.

So Jia knew that he too played an important part in his Empire's place in history, though he would never make it into the official histories memorized by the Court Sages. And from this knowledge he found a great satisfaction in his work, and in his place in society.

NOCTURNE IN B MAJOR, (Nocturne, F)

B Major, as she liked to be called, and her mate Serenada Notturna didn't really enjoy living in such close proximity with so many other dragons, but the ruins of earlier human habitation in Spice City made it so easy to camouflage themselves. And they learnt much. Dragons often forgot that being frozen in place did not affect their hearing, if they were noticed at all.

So it was not surprising that they would be one of the first to hear about the Ice Goddess wreaking havoc in the Desert Rim Forests. From the garbled descriptions, they gathered that a Frostbite dragon, something altogether not of supernatural origin, was uncharacteristically raiding the hunting grounds on the slopes behind the forests. They wondered if they should pass this information on to some authority... But who should they talk to?

SERENADA NOTTURNA (Nocturne, M)

Actually, Serenada wasn't as unhappy with city life as he let his mate, Nocturne In B Major, believe. He rather liked watching the youngsters strut their stuff in the various mating rituals of the different breeds. It fairly set his tired old heart a-pumping and his blood a-stirring. No, he really didn't mind the cosmopolitan nature of Spice City at all!

However, he could have gone without knowing about the Frostbite dragon's depredations in the Desert Rim Forests. Now they were obliged to report their knowledge to the proper authorities, bringing unwanted attention to themselves. But, Emperor Jien Shen Zhong needed to know, so Serenada went to speak to his Administrator,Heng Joon.