Legend of the Dragon Slayer Read online

  “But you bested the other three foes,” Lilianna said.

  “I searched those mountains for weeks,” Konrad said. “In the end, I found a cave—that much was true. The cave held a tremendous water­fall, large enough to sound like the roars of a yeti. I overcame freezing temperatures and snowy conditions. I approached that roaring, uncertain of what I would find. I came upon a rockfall and a skeleton of what might have been a yeti, from which I claimed a fang. I debunked another legend and I told another story.”

  Lilianna regarded her husband, perplexed. “The vampire?”

  “I saw satyrs and nymphs,” King Konrad said. “I beheld a river troll from a distance. I found the town of Tremonton and Blackthorn Manor, much as I described. The crypt as well. But instead of a vampire, I discovered a sarcophagus full of dust, with the blood-stained stake inside. Who killed the vampire and when, I have no idea. Assuming he ever existed at all.”

  “And the phoenix?” Lilianna whispered.

  “I found what might once have been a nest of rocks, with boiling sludge inside. My horse sampled the sludge, and the donkey tried even more, which prompted me to have a taste. The donkey died and I grew ill. The feather was uncovered beneath a rock as part of my careful search. I had courage, my love, and I was a thorough investigator, but I know little of combat. I ended four legends without fighting or killing anything.”

  “I must confess, I have long wondered at the grandness of your adventures,” Lilianna said. “It comes as little surprise that there was some enhancement to the tales. They have grown on their own since you originally told them.”

  “I don’t believe I ever repeated any of them,” Konrad said. “Others have aggrandized them for me, with even more flair than I initially employed.”

  “You were so young,” Lilianna said. “Even with the phoenix.”

  “I became an earl, a duke,” Konrad said. “I married you, gained a crown . . .”

  “And you did end those legends. You returned having succeeded. The gorgon, the yetis, the vampire, and the phoenix were all no more. Because of you.”

  “Perhaps your father would still have made me an earl had I conveyed the precise truth,” Konrad said. “And maybe not. Perchance others would have been emboldened as they heard one or two of the legendary enemies were less impressive than expected. We can never know. That history is ­written.”

  “But now . . .” Lilianna said.

  “Currently I face an actual threat of flesh and bones,” Konrad said. “A renowned warrior who has never lost a fight. I myself have never drawn blood and know little about the ways of warfare. If I accept this challenge, my incompetence will be exposed and the kingdom pillaged. If I refuse this duel, none will go where the Legender feared to tread. Truly, I wish I had never been born.”

  “Do not speak such nonsense.”

  Konrad hung his head. “I feel as if I have already failed.”

  Lilianna shook her head. “The kingdom prospered because of your courage. You are a good king, beloved by your family and your people. You have governed well. Tall tales about your exploits were inevitable. You just gave them a head start.”

  “And now I face the consequences of exaggeration. Any choice I make will lead to ruin.”

  Lilianna folded her arms. “What chance did you have against the gorgon? If she had been real?”

  “Little to none,” King Konrad confessed.

  “What chance against the yetis? The vampire? The phoenix?”

  “Very little.”

  “And yet you ventured out to confront them,” Lilianna said. “Alone. Did you know any of them had been destroyed?”

  “I expected to encounter them.”

  “It was not your fault they had already fallen. You have a new foe. Why not ride out to meet him with the same bravery?”

  “When I rode south, north, east, and west, I risked only my own life. I was naive enough to have confidence that I would find a way to triumph. But now I am being asked to risk the fate of all Selona on my untested abilities. My people have unrealistic faith in me.”

  Lilianna hugged her husband. “This is no different from your previous escapades. The only differences are the audience and your fears regarding the consequences. You still have a willing hand and strength to bear a sword.”

  “I do believe I would have found a way,” Konrad said.

  “Don’t let your courage fail when it is most needed. Go forward now, in the same spirit as you went forth to rescue the kingdom and win renown, remembering that when a hero is needed, any chance is better than none.”

  King Konrad gave a nod, resolution in his gaze. “I will prepare.”

  A response traveled to the Dragon, and the next day the Legender emerged from his castle and rode to the chosen battlefield with a small entourage. Those who watched the procession noted the king’s lack of heavy arms and armor. Instead he wore traveling clothes and carried a short sword. The phoenix feather gleamed in his hat, the yeti fang hung from his neck on a cord, the vampire stake and the gorgon’s quill were holstered on his belt.

  Some whispered he had gone mad, approaching such an important duel so underequipped. Others accused him of overconfidence. A few who were close to him suspected he was playing to his strengths—since Konrad had little formal training in armed combat, and little experience with heavy arms and armor, they reasoned he was staying with what he knew.

  Some citizens expressed outrage. After all, the Legender was the last line of defense against a merciless horde. What right had he to enter the fight with no armor? If he wanted mobility, he could at least have worn leather armor, carried a light shield. And why not bring a sword substantial enough to cause real harm?

  At the appointed hour, the Legender found the Dragon awaiting him on the field of battle, standing alone, his horde watching from a distance. Kula Bakar was an enormous man, both tall and broad. He wore a great helmet with a cage hiding his face, and he was armored to withstand a landslide. After beholding the size of his sword, it became easy to believe the stories of him chopping a horse in half with a single stroke.

  Leaving his attendants behind, King Konrad rode out to meet his opponent. Those near him maintain that Konrad managed to approach with a smile.

  “What stratagem is this?” the Dragon called to the Legender. “Do you expect me to strip off my armor and fight you with lesser weapons? This is single combat for the right to sack your kingdom, and I will fight as I have always fought—fully prepared.”

  “I have everything I need to defeat you,” the Legender replied, dismounting from his horse.

  “If you lack proper armaments, I will outfit you myself,” the Dragon offered.

  “I had plenty of weapons and armor at my disposal,” the Legender said. “I have brought all I require.”

  “Is this an insult?” the Dragon asked. “Perhaps you hope to protect your legacy by claiming the contest was unfair? Excuses will not spare your kingdom.”

  “The insult is your invasion,” the Legender said. “I am here to stop you, unless you wish to withdraw.”

  “Very well,” the Dragon said. “Meet your fate as you see fit.”

  Short sword in hand, King Konrad approached Kula Bakar. The Legender was considered taller than average, but his face was level with the Dragon’s mighty chest. Kula Bakar was massive across all dimensions—tall, broad, and thick. The Legender looked like a child ­confronting an ogre.

  “Announce the start of combat at your leisure,” the Dragon announced.

  “Begin,” the Legender said without pause.

  Raising his shield and hefting his sword, the Dragon began to circle his quarry. Some who knew his fighting style commented later that it was an uncharacteristically wary approach, perhaps an adjustment to the mystifying preparations of his opponent in anticipation of some trick or trap.

  The mobility of the Legender
proved valuable as he dodged several attacks. The first time their swords clashed, the Legender lost hold of his blade. The Dragon paused to let him retrieve it, then knocked it from his grasp two more times. After the third drop, the Dragon rushed his opponent. The Legender ducked and whirled, feinted and leapt, avoiding many swipes and thrusts, some by a close margin, until he stumbled and the Dragon planted his sword in his chest.

  Pinned to the ground, the Legender twitched a few times, legs spasming, then grew still. Panting, the Dragon withdrew his sword and raised it high. He ended all his fights by decapitation, and this one would be no exception.

  But the Dragon staggered back when the Legender was spontaneously engulfed in flame. Confused bystanders raised their hands to shield their eyes from the startling blaze. Out of the intense conflagration emerged King Konrad, his shirt bloody but unburned, his body whole.

  “What sorcery is this?” the Dragon asked.

  The fire behind the Legender vanished as quickly as it had appeared. With an inhuman roar, the Legender took the gorgon’s quill from his belt and stuck it through a gap in the armor near the Dragon’s waist.

  After the prick, Kula Bakar went rigid, making no motion to dodge or protect himself as the Legender pulled out the yeti’s fang and used it to punch a hole in the Dragon’s breastplate. Then Konrad plunged the vampire’s stake through the hole, deep into the Dragon’s chest. The Legender stepped back, and the Dragon remained on his feet for a prolonged moment.

  The armor of the Dragon made his fall clangorous on the silent battlefield. Ignoring the enemy horde, the Legender withdrew the quill and the stake, returned them to his belt, and then claimed the Dragon’s sword before walking away.

  In the years that followed, the Legender offered no explanation of how he had survived, though many inquired. Some guessed he had visited a witch or a wizard who had enchanted the items from his previous adventures. Others proposed that the act of sacrificing his life to save his kingdom activated the powers of his talismans.

  All that can be confirmed is that the Dragon fell that day, and the Legender walked away. Witnesses swear that the Legender received a fatal blow and inexplicably burst into flames before achieving victory. Tales spread that he had risen from death like a phoenix and bellowed like a yeti. Stories spoke of Kula Bakar paralyzed by a gorgon’s quill and then slain like a vampire, wood improbably penetrating metal.

  As always with the Legender, the tales grew over time. Storytellers claimed the leader of the Rambling Horde really was the avatar of a powerful dragon, and they attributed his previous successes to supernatural abilities. Bards sang of a king in Selona who could not die, and of a bloodline armed with mighty talismans.

  The Legender gained a new title in the aftermath of his successful defense of Selona—Dragon Slayer. After the Rambling Horde withdrew from Selona, no mortal country attacked the kingdom again. Konrad kept the sword of the Dragon and passed his other talismans to his two daughters and two sons, who also gained renown as Dragon Slayers. The Legender and his four children were summoned to help as dragons became more aggressive in subsequent years.

  Over time, the kingdom of Selona gained prominence in the magical community, and the generations who came after Konrad became known as the Fair Folk. Though the Legender did not remain their king, neither was his death recorded. Ever since, as you well know, when dragons have united to plague the world, five legendary Dragon Slayers have stood against them.

  KONRAD, THE LEGENDER

  wielder of Wyrmslayer

  slew 11 dragons, including one dragon king

  A lowly villager who rose to become king

  through his heroic adventures.

  NADIA

  —wielder of the gorgon’s quill, slew 9 dragons

  Nadia never wanted the notoriety that came with a famous family, and, though firstborn, she was the last to become a dragon slayer.

  MAGDALENA

  —wielder of the yeti’s fang, slew 33 dragons

  A great lover of the outdoors, Magdalena spent her youth tagging along with her father whenever possible.

  MEREK

  —wielder of the vampire’s stake, slew 49 dragons

  A natural leader, most assumed Merek would inherit his father’s throne, though that day never came.

  GERWIN

  —wielder of the phoenix feather, slew 27 dragons

  From his youth, Gerwin evoked laughter and smiles wherever he went, except from those who earned his enmity.

  Morisant the Magnificent

  —trained by Konrad, wielded Vasilis, slew 17 dragons

  Once the chief architect for Zzyzx, Morisant was one of the most powerful and influential wizards of any age. After prolonging his life by joining the undead, he fell out of favor with Dragonwatch.

  Clover the Unexpected

  —no formal training, slew 19 dragons

  The youngest Dragon Slayer on record, Clover used a cattle prod to impale a warty red scrub dragon whom she caught trying to kidnap her sleeping baby brother. She went on to slay dragons employing a surprising variety of weapons and techniques.

  Banderbrux the Bold

  —trained by Merek, wielded Imneris, slew 14 dragons

  The sole survivor of a goblin massacre in his youth, Banderbrux developed an insatiable thirst to master the art of war. After claiming Imneris by besting Verinon the Devourer, he captained the dwarfen legion throughout the dragon war.

  Dakari the Harbinger

  —trained by Morisant, wielded the Reapers, slew 15 dragons

  Descended from a long line of healers, Dakari made a break with his family when he decided to specialize in combat magic. Shunned by his tribe, he found a new home within Dragonwatch.

  Bronwyn of the North

  —trained by Nadia, wielded Omagion, slew 12 dragons

  After hunting polar bears in her youth, Bronwyn graduated to bigger game when she delivered her village from the tyranny of the dragon Kizello.

  Patton Burgess

  —trained by Kumiko, slew 5 dragons

  An adventurer of great renown, Patton was a key member of the Knights of the Dawn and a friend of Dragonwatch. He grew up at Fablehaven, where he became the caretaker and married a naiad.

  The Titan Garocles

  —protector of Titan Valley, slew 21 dragons

  Garocles has never gone hunting for dragons, but none who have attacked him ever survived. No Dragon Slayer is more feared or less predictable.

  The Somber Knight

  —protector of Wyrmroost, slew 67 dragons

  Of mysterious origin, this undead knight came on the scene during the dragon war and has been dispatching dragons ever since.

  Shayla the Giant

  —protector of Soaring Cliffs, slew 13 dragons

  The foremost designer of dragon traps, Shayla tends to capture and kill dragons through her ingenuity. She has sold some of her patented equipment to the Giant Queen at Titan Valley.

  The Triclops Mombatu

  —protector of Crescent Lagoon, slew 29 dragons

  This overwhelming predator forms when three Himalayan cyclopses combine their power. Mombatu tends to fight first and ask questions later.

  Thunderhoof the Centaur

  —protector of Frosted Peaks, slew 15 dragons

  Thunderhoof began by fighting giants, until his life was saved by the giant Thronis. They formed a partnership and began hunting dragons.

  Kumiko

  —protector of Isla del Dragón, slew 31 dragons

  Raised by the human avatar of the renowned dragon Maru, Kumiko lived for years as a dragon sister. Having come to admire Maru’s compassion for all creatures, Kumiko started on the path to becoming a Dragon Slayer when Maru was slain by the rival dragon Jiparo.

  The Winter Specter

  —protector of Polar Plains, slew 17 dragons

  An expert in weather mag
ic, the sorceress Ariana specializes in manipulating water. With enough ice at her disposal, she fights like a force of nature.

  Contents

  Legend of the dragon slayer

  Gorgon

  Yeti

  Vampire

  Phoenix

  Dragon

  Enumeration of Notable Dragon Slayers

  Landmarks

  Cover

  Table of Contents