The DragonShadowed Series

Almost all fantasy novels will include one or more races in addition to humans. Some may be allied as elves, dwarves and hobbits in Lord of the Rings, or as members of society like gnomes in the Harry Potter series. Still other races will be adversarial as goblins or trolls. Occasionally, humans may not even exist in a fantasy story. I’ve chosen to base the Dragonshadowed series in the human dominated land of Valdain. The various kingdoms admit and recognize other humanoid races as part of their magic dominated culture. Some of these ‘races’ might be considered more monstrous than integral to society, such as ogres, trolls and giants. Even goblins are regarded as hired muscle, much as the ancient Romans considered the barbarian Celts they employed as servants and soldiers, or enslaved. Setting my stories in human lands allows a reader to easily understand this new world. As a writer, I’m able to assume some norms familiar to the majority of people who enjoy the fantasy genre. Differences are introduced slowly, layer by layer, as the characters become familiar along with the culture, customs, and plot of the series. The first novel, Dragon Watch: A Dawn Before the Storm, starts off calmly in contrast to subsequent novels. It’s my attempt to ease a reader into an alien world in which the laws of magic have trumped the scientific laws of our own world. So why the ‘blessed races’? Even in the world of Dragonshadowed, the term is rarely used except by educated sages, mages and priests when discussing events that span history and legend. According to the earliest, dim recounting, specific races were created and blessed by the creator and king of the gods, Elavodair, at the foundation of the world. All other races came later as a result of cosmic wars at the transition of each aeon. There are four races, designated as the ‘blessed races,’ in the world of Valdain. Elves, humans, dwarves, and gnomes. In general terms, these four races have always allied against threats to one of more of the others. Each race possesses specific advantages and limitations, and each has a number of ‘homelands.’ Readers familiar with Lord of the Rings will recognize that the races of elves and dwarves bear similarity to the foundational works of Tolkien. However, I also add surprises in the form of traits more common to legendary sources. Gnomes are based on Celtic, Scandinavian and Teutonic legends. Elves are regarded as the first blessed race, even though considered extinct and legendary by the folk of Valdain. Readers of the Dragonshadowed series will be aware this isn’t true, as the character of Areskel is an elf. As a race, elves are immortal unless killed by an accident, war, or a rare disease, but have an extremely low birth rate. The main elvish homeland is far to the west of Valdain, and lies on the western border of Glordonia, north of the fabled city of Domagaf. Called the ‘Elfwood’ or “Elwood’ by humans, the elvish inhabitants refer to their forest land as Telphyne. This land is surrounded by a barrier of impenetrable fog and mists, as the elvish people have suffered grievous losses from wars and become xenophobic. Other elvish kingdoms do exist. Areskel mentions the kingdom of the winged elves on the southern continent, and the elvish kingdom of the far west. Humans may meet elves away from their homeland, but these incidents are considered as rare as encountering a unicorn or other legendary creature. Humans are considered the second of the blessed races. Their civilizations dominate the northern continent and much of the north coast of the southern continent. Humans have the advantage of the highest birth rate and a near infinite variety of talents. You can read more about humans in a fantasy environment in all of the Dragonshadowed novels. Dwarves make up the third of the blessed races. There are a reclusive race that inhabitants nine underground kingdoms carved from mountain stone in search of metal and gems. They are longer lived than humans and resist great heat. Most are taciturn and reclusive, but not as xenophobic as elves. Many dwarves venture into the upper world to trade and obtain goods unavailable in their sunless halls. The dwarvish character of Dairug is an adventurous diplomat and metalsmith. I’ll be writing more about dwarves and their culture in a future novel when Dairug visits one of their mountain communities. The last of the blessed races are gnomes. Smaller than dwarves, these clever folk inhabit homes beneath the earth in hills and forests and are adept at hiding. However, many gnomes have integrated their communities with humans. Gnomish crafted goods and jewelry are highly prized. The gnomes profit from human foodstuffs in turn, for which they are either too small or vulnerable to farm for themselves.  I intend to provide additional information regarding each of the non-human races in future blogs. In the meantime, if you’re curious, please consider an inexpensive purchase of any of my books. Thank you!

Every good fantasy novel requires one or more monsters. Good, bad or indifferent. It wouldn’t be a fantasy novel without one or more monsters. Fortunately, the fantasy genre has plenty of monsters. More than enough for any author given the profusion of movies, books, and various role-playing fantasy games. Unfortunately, that wealth of possibilities contains a trap for the budding author. Many of these same creatures are copyrighted creations. It’s true that ‘The Wizards of the West Coast’ have granted an open license for use of their products. It’s also true they revoked that license although reinstated the same (as of this writing). But what they’ve done once they could do again. And this possibility presents a real dilemma to any author, especially should their works of imagination – intellectual property if you will – attain any meaningful commercial success. My solution is to use only monsters firmly established in legend and mythology. Public domain creatures. Even these I attempt to add personal, inventive twists to distinguish each from anything found in D&D, Pathfinder, or similar copyrighted products. Some monsters are creations of my imagination. As an example, dragons are a must in a series titled ‘Dragonshadowed’. When writing, I avoid naming dragon clans by color. Instead, the clans are identified by their main offensive weapon or primary habitat. Hence flame dragons or timber dragons. Their scale color is arbitrary, and some of the dragons I write about alter their breath weapons, as can mighty Delgarathon. For more on how I view dragons, check out the novella ‘Dragonflight’. Any lover of dragons will find a wealth of new information, and dungeon masters will be well rewarded. Monsters abound in the world of Dragonshadowed, even in the human lands of civilized Valdain. Some appear to be human, and others are human though of a monstrous disposition. A reader will encounter shapechangers, lycanthropes, and various undead as they partake in the adventures of the protagonists. Some of these creatures will be obvious, others surprising, and a few won’t be revealed. All as one might expect in a ‘real world’. After all, a shapechanged creature isn’t likely to advertise the fact. They’re shapechanged as a disguise for a reason. As an author, I require a logical and consistent foundation for the fantasy world in which the laws of magic are more powerful and prevalent then the scientific laws of our own world. Aside from how magic might be integrated into a society or culture, this must also apply to non-human species of all sorts. Goblinoids are plentiful and disposable muscle. Useful for anyone with the ability to pay and power to keep these unreliable servants from creating a bigger nuisance. As individuals they’re thugs, and when numerous form warbands of employable mercenaries. Or brigands. Ogres are similar, but bigger and stronger, and often possess one or more additional tricks to keep events interesting for the characters and readers. As ogres are easily recognizable and generally distrusted, they keep away from human communities unless employed by nobility as part of their military forces. Bigger and more powerful trolls are much the same as ogres, but need to be controlled by magic coercion, or will spread havoc due to their malicious nature. Trolls have affinity to other enchanted realms, and will always have one or more innate magical abilities. They may not heal or regenerate as in most role-playing games, but may possess enhanced senses, offensive or defensive powers, or something completely unexpected. I also recognize the Scandinavian curse ‘trolls take you.’ If invoked, the target of this curse can expect a troll encounter in their near future. Aside from humanoid monsters, the world of Dragonshadowed is inhabited by griffons, hippogriffs, harpies, hydras, basilisks and manticores. This list isn’t exhaustive, but if a monster exists in folklore, it exists in this fantasy world. Like goblinoid migrants, the folk of Valdain ‘tame’ these creatures in much the same way we’ve tamed livestock or utilize machines as part of their day to day culture. Whenever possible. Many monsters can’t be tamed, only controlled through magic. Others remain wild, and will penetrate civilized lands much like rabbits, coyotes and bears do in our world. Curtailing their intrusion is a task for knights and wizards. All to say, this is your invitation to enter an alternate world for a few hours, and experience for yourself how it all works. Book 1, the Dragon Watch novel, awaits.