Writing prompt

"You're leaving me with a dragon? I thought you were judgy about people. And, good at your job!" 

The boy was small for his age, but spoke with confidence few could muster, especially after his situation. His red cap shot up slightly while he spoke. Reven smiled. She liked to see children spunky, particularly the ones under her care. Bending down to look him in the eyes, she spoke calmly.

"Two dragons actually. And of course I'm judgemental about people, especially potential parental figures but Lily and Goldie are wonderful. I think you'll like them. In the past they adopted 3 mostly human children who are grown now. They currently have 2 other foster children: Ziri and Emily. Plus, an adopted baby dragon named Kaida. She’s so cute!”

Story Prompt 55

In a land where dragons roamed freely, there was a village nestled at the edge of a dense forest. The villagers had heard rumors about a dragon living nearby, but no one dared to venture close to its lair. That is, until one curious soul decided to check out the dragon's room.

One bright morning, a brave young villager, filled with a mix of fear and excitement, set out on a journey towards the dragon's lair. As he approached the entrance, he could feel his heart pounding in his chest.

Taking cautious steps, he entered the cavernous space, his eyes adjusting to the dim light. To his surprise, the room was not filled with treasures and gold as he had expected, but rather with books and scrolls scattered about.

"Hmm, this isn't what I expected," he muttered to himself, brows furrowed in confusion.

Just then, a deep rumbling voice echoed through the chamber. "Who dares to enter my domain?"

The young villager froze in place, fear gripping his heart. "Uh, I-I come in peace," he stammered, trying to sound brave.

The dragon emerged from the shadows, towering over him with its massive wings spread wide. Its scales shimmered in the dim light, and its eyes glowed with intelligence.

"What brings you to my lair, little one?" the dragon asked, its voice surprisingly gentle.

The villager gathered his courage and replied, "I-I wanted to see if the rumors were true. They said you hoarded treasures, but I see books instead."

The dragon chuckled, a deep rumble that reverberated through the room. "Ah, you are mistaken, young one. While I do appreciate the occasional shiny trinket, my true treasure lies in knowledge."

"Knowledge?" the villager repeated, intrigued.

"Yes, indeed," the dragon replied, nodding its massive head. "I have spent centuries collecting books and scrolls from far and wide, learning about the world beyond my cave. There is so much to discover, so much to learn."

The villager's fear began to ebb away, replaced by curiosity. "Do you mind if I take a look?" he asked tentatively.

The dragon smiled, revealing rows of sharp teeth. "Not at all, young one. Feel free to explore to your heart's content."

And so, the young villager spent hours poring over the dragon's collection, amazed by the wealth of knowledge contained within.

The Dragon Has Wings - A Dark Fantasy

“She rolled a six!” said a gruff voice.

Crystin drew in a sharp breath, fear prickling her all over. She looked to her right, where the timber platform stood. There was no one there. The same to her left, the passageway she had just travelled. That left only the mine shaft, and she wasn’t about to climb it to find out who or what was up there.

She scrambled to her feet, sending another dice rolling as she did. She held her breath, watching as it spun endlessly over and over, trying not to think that her fate might be somehow be determined by how the dice landed.

It came to a sudden stop, its spots facing squarely upwards.

“Another six!” The same gruff voice, “She rolled a double six!”

Crystin gave an involuntary whimper. She wondered how fast she could move back up the path she had taken with both hands on the wall behind her. Perhaps she would do better to let go and just run; she knew after all that there were no holes or obstacles the way she had come.

“What if you take a wrong turn?” A second voice rasped.

Crystin froze, “Who are you?” she demanded, her words bouncing from the walls as if mocking her, “What do you want with me?”

“What do we want with you? That’s rich, since you’re the one who came in here uninvited!”

Crystin paused, considering, “Then you mean me no harm?”

“Depends. Who are you?” the first voice asked.

“More to the point, why have you come here?” This was a new voice; a near-whisper that made her hackles rise.

“I don’t want anything from you! I didn’t even know you were here! I don’t even know who you are!” she pleaded.

“Well then,” the first voice said with relish, “let us introduce ourselves.”

Figures appeared on the timber platforms; materialising into existence as if they had been there all along. Four men, all dressed as miners, their clothes shabby and torn; hats sitting on their heads like humble, dust-covered crowns, the jewel being the candle lamp attached to the front of each. Their flames burned dully, casting the wearers into half-shadow; each of them ghostly pale and wide-eyed, like the weird, colourless creatures that can only be found in the deepest subterranean caves; the dankest, darkest places most people never see.

One of the miners lay on the topmost platform, resting on an elbow, eyeing her with obvious disinterest.

The next platform down was empty, but the one beneath held the weight of two men, if their form had any weight at all. They were standing, leaning on the wooden rail, looking at Crystin with equal disdain.

On the lowest platform sat a younger man, his feet resting on the rungs of the ladder, his elbows resting on his knees. Crystin doubted she would get far if she tried to run; he was close enough to jump down and grab her in an instant. She wondered if he was capable of grabbing her, deciding against finding out. If they chased her out of the cave, she would be once more exposed to the danger of the Helwynd.

She was stuck between a rock and a hard place. She gave a grim smile at the analogy."

📖 The Book of Dragons by E. Nesbit

I have a fantastic love for dragon books, especially collections of short stories featuring our scaled friends (or enemies). Having had this book ever since high school, I finally picked it up, reading it aloud to my rabbit.

We had a grand time with our merry heroes, who were all youthful and young. Some of the stories definitely had some overshadowing of the times they were written (1899), in their depictions of “white and pale means good”.

I’d have to say my favorite story was “Uncle James, or the Purple Stranger”, in which two kids outwit their evil wizard uncle and defeat a dragon at the same time.

hey! you! you should go read my WoF fanfic (post-canon) about my two OCs Stoneshine and Azalea. It’s called Sanctuary and the description is: When Stoneshine, a mud-nightwing hybrid, runs away to Sanctuary (a town famous for housing scavengers and hybrids) to save his life, he is excited for his future. What will happen when the future he looked forward to is threatened by dragons from the past he tried to escape from? An assassination plot and struggle, my @ is opal_fire

nothing like a good stretch for the first time in centuries

(Part 2 of this comic!)

Next week will be a busy one teaching Scots Song with SC&T Youth and Spectra Festival over the coming weekend.

Then I get a wee break before our final week in Aberdeen primary schools with the SC&T Tutors - just enough of a break to brush up on my DRAGON TALES for the University of Aberdeen Spring Festival Family Fun Day. It is of course the Year of the Dragon and so I'll be telling tales of dragons and monsters from around the world!

The Confucius Institute will be organising all sorts of activities (dragon stories included!) at the Elphinstone Hall on Sunday 18th February from 10am to 4pm. Follow this link for more details - https://www.abdn.ac.uk/events/19843

Stories will be from 11am to 12pm and 1 to 2pm

"a vampire and a bear walk into a bar..."

Hey, if you wanna read about Communnist, Polyamorous, Pansexual, Matriarcal dragons, in a really interesting and well-written story, you should go read the Raksura Series.

If you don't, what is wrong with you?

How is Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves different from other blockbuster action films?

I've had a beast of a cold for the last few days, but I wanted to get this out before the new year! while I've sort of made my peace with my first take on Lilia's UM poster, I really wanted to do a version with the new context that chapter 6 gave us. because. c'mon.

(don't worry, Lilia can carry ALL HIS KIDS AT ONCE)

Story Prompt 101

Two sisters, bound by blood and duty, stood before the ancient shrine of their ancestors. Around them, the air hummed with ancient magic, and the trees whispered secrets only they could understand.

"We've prepared for this moment all our lives," one sister murmured, her voice a blend of determination and anticipation.

The other sister nodded, her eyes reflecting the flickering flames of the torches that lined the sacred clearing. "Our family's legacy rests on our shoulders now."

With a shared breath, they stepped forward, their hands clasped together as they recited the sacred incantation passed down through generations. The words flowed from their lips like a gentle breeze, intertwining with the energy of the forest.

As they reached the final verse, a brilliant light erupted from the shrine, enveloping them in its radiant warmth. From the depths of the earth, a majestic dragon emerged, its presence commanding and noble.

"We entrust you with the guardianship of this realm," the dragon declared, its voice resonating with power. "And our pact is now sealed."

The sisters exchanged a silent glance, their bond unspoken but palpable as they accepted their calling. "We will defend this land with everything we have," they affirmed in unison, their commitment echoing through the forest.

With a mighty flap of its wings, the dragon soared into the sky, leaving the sisters to stand watch over the land below.

i dont think i will ever be over dragon age 2. like. bioware made an epic fantasy story about a chosen one having to save a country and stop the apocalypse and then they made the second installment of the series be about the sociopolitical climate in ONE city through the lens of a family of refugees fleeing from the war of the first game and just. made it about political tensions and class dynamics and the influences of living in a church-mandated state and the growing tension over an occupied piece of the city and political killings and interpersonal conflict and power and its story is ENTIRELY character-driven. it has easily the most iconic set of companion characters. the premise of living through a story told over the course of ten years and knowing from the start that something really bad will happen in the end was so fresh and exciting. the fact that the acts really built on top of each other andhow much the city changed over time. and the game was so mature in terms of the topic of fighting against oppression in so many ways (im usually generous and say that the short development time left some things a bit wanting), and as much as some people say that the game treats mages and templars as being equally bad, i don't think that that is actually true about the game and it very earnestly tries to grapple with some pretty complex political dynamics.

and then the game completely flopped financially and was almost universally hated for its queer themes and its sympathy for "terrorism" and a lot of the things that stemmed from basically having no production time at all and then the studio just made another epic fantasy story about a chosen one that has to save the world from the apocalypse

Rest in peace Akira Toriyama-sensei. Thank you for creating and sharing your art and stories. They will forever be in our hearts as will you. May your light continue to shine on us. Thank you for everything.

Dragon’s World Begins! On Tumblr

Welcome to my little corner on Tumblr. It’s been about a year since I set this account up and I feel it’s time to finally get some mileage out of it. This account will be used to share art as well as chapters and shorts from my long running Dragon’s World series which began on Deviantart all the way back in 2007 when I was just sixteen. Now, the earlier chapters definitely aren’t on the level as the later ones obviously, but they still hold a place of nostalgia for me. I’m working on redoing the earlier chapters for a Dragon’s World publication. Here, I’ll be sharing the web novelization of Dragon’s World as well as the first chapter of the publication for It’s a Dragon’s World. Hope you enjoy it and be sure to keep a lookout for any art I post as well. 

Dragon Comic - Table of Contents

I've noticed that a lot of people started following me for the dragon comic, so here's a sort of landing page (pinned post) where I'll keep all the parts if and when I update the story!

pt 1, pt 2, pt 3, pt 4, pt 5