Dragonmorte

By Robert Preston-Whyte

In this sequel to 'Sunstone: The boy and the Dragon Princess', youthful dragons living under King Flamethrower Pendragon rebel against the old-fashioned values and standards of the dragon community. Their opportunity to escape from the conservative community and embrace so-called change comes when a dragon scientist invents a device that transforms dragons into humans. A number of dragons choose to take this option. The experiment works, but the transformation is not perfect. The new dragon-humans retain their yellow eyes as well as their prodigious strength and keen senses. They now live in a world inhabited by humans while retaining their ability to to see dragons that are invisible to human eyes. They call themselves, 'nagruels'.
Unknown to the nagruels, their leader, Mallig Thorndragon, has another agenda. His motive is not progressive change but the desire to acquire autocratic power. He begins building an army on the island of Metis where the nagruels are exiled. Mallig believes that only one thing prevents him from conquering and enslaving the humans and dragons on the neighboring island of Moight. That is possession of the sword, Dragonmorte.
Meanwhile, Will Button, Alpha's friend from the 'Sunstone' adventure, finds Dragonmorte. He discovers that the sword makes dragons visible to him and gives him the keen senses the dragons possess. When a nagruel kidnaps Princess Alpha Pendragon, transforms her into a nagruel and takes her to Mallig's stronghold on the island of Metis as a hostage, Will sets off to rescue her.
The journey is fraught with danger and excitement. Will discovers that he possesses powers previously unknown to him that are independent of those provided by Dragonmorte. He grows in confidence, courage and leadership skills as he battles to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Meanwhile, Alpha discovers that the social change desired by nagruels may be progressive as well as damaging, and is determined to discover the difference.
The time will come when Alpha must transform back into a dragon and return to the dragon community to take over leadership of the community from her father. But that is in the future.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert Preston-Whyte
• Release date: Sep 14, 2011
• ISBN: 9780620515016

Robert Preston-Whyte

For many years, I was head of the Department of Geographical and Environmental Sciences and a faculty dean at the University of Natal in Durban, South Africa. Now retired as Professor Emeritus, I have slipped into another life in the pastoral setting of our small farm in the often mist-shrouded midlands of KwaZulu-Natal.In many ways, this life parallels my previous existence as an academic. In those seemingly far-off day as a natural scientist, my teaching and research interests turned initially on atmospheric science and then on the broader issues relating to environmental management. 'The Weather and Climate of Southern Africa' (Oxford University Press) is a co-authored book that dates from this earlier period in my life. I also have numerous chapters in books and scientific journal papers that map my research interests at the time.I no longer view environmental and social issues from the detached viewpoint of the academic. Now I live them. Our horses need food, water, exercise and care. Our fields must be managed. Water is a scarce resource. Bushbuck, reedbuck and duiker are frequent visitors that cannot resist my roses. Monkeys raid the vegetable garden whenever our backs are turned. Caraculs (lynx family) are frequent visitors, and we think it was a passing leopard that spooked our horses so badly that they flattened a sturdy pole fence in their desperation to escape. Meanwhile the local council raids my bank account for politically-determined land taxes, exorbitant electricity charges underline the complex nature of energy issues, my landline telephone no longer works because of ongoing cable theft for the copper content, and the political debate grapples, often hopelessly it seems, with issues common to most developing countries. The sum total of this privileged existence is something I would not change for anything.My writing no longer targets academic journals. Part of a metamorphosed life is doing different things. Fiction writing falls into this category.'Return of the Leopard' and 'The Man Who Kept His Head' are set in the environment in which I live. The genre is mystery/thriller/romance. Hopefully they reflect the ambience and flavour of the area. 'Sunstone:The Boy and the Dragon Princess,' is written for young adults. It is fast-moving and exciting with a subtext that juxtaposes issues of conflict, intolerance, corruption and power-lust with generosity, courage, reconciliation and enlightenment. A sequel will appear soon. Naturally, I recommend them all.

Book preview

Chapter 1. A perilous device

Prion Scidragon placed his claw on the switch. ‘Are you certain wish me to go ahead?’

Mallig Thorndragon snorted black smoke. ‘Now more than ever,’ he growled. ‘We’ve come too far to stop. Do it now.’ He thrashed his scaly tail and flexed his wings to emphasise his point.

Prion had dreamed about this moment since he had his, ‘great idea’. Now was the time to test his invention.

Yet, he hesitated. If the experiment failed, Mallig Thorndragon could die. If it succeeded, there was no knowing what Mallig may try to do in his quest to change the dragon world. The possible unintended consequences of his experiment worried him.

Smoke drifted from the end of Prion’s pointed snout. He waved his long neck from side to side and fixed his yellow eyes on the white dragon that crouched before him on the pedestal. He made no move to flip the switch.

Mallig reached over and placed a claw on Prion’s shoulder. ‘Delay no longer, Prion Scidragon, my friend. This is your moment of triumph. Take it. No dragon has ever created a machine like yours. No dragon ever will. You are the greatest of dragon inventors. Your name will live for ever.’

Prion closed his eyes. His claw hovered over the switch. Everlasting fame. It was a gratifying thought.

‘Remember,’ Mallig continued, ‘if it works, there are twenty others who are willing to follow me. You know their names. They wait outside. Come now, flip the switch.’

Prion ran his eyes over the dials before him. He would make one last check before he wrote a new chapter in dragon history. He called the tube-like device that pointed at Mallig a, ‘transformer’. He was proud of the name. It described exactly the objective of his invention.

Mallig crouched on the pedestal. He showed no fear.

Prion’s claw hovered over the switch. Still, he hesitated. Perhaps King Flamethrower Pendragon was right in forbidding this research.

‘Carry on,’ Mallig growled. ‘Anything would be better than spending the rest of my life here. I know the process is irreversible, but I don’t believe it will be so for long. You will find a way to reverse the change.’

The praise spurred Prion on. Now was not the time to be faint-hearted. For better or worse, he thought.

He flipped the switch.

A bolt of energy arced across the space between the mouth of the transformer and Mallig Thorndragon.

The dragon bared his fangs as if in pain. He reared onto his hind legs. His wings unfolded.

Then he vanished.

The body of a naked man lay in the space Mallig had occupied. His eyes were closed.

Prion ran his eyes over the body. There were no blemishes. It looked a perfect transformation from dragon to human. Everything had gone according to plan. The equipment worked. He felt elated.

Then the man opened his eyes. They were yellow, the eyes of a dragon.

Chapter 2. We will call ourselves Nagruels

Zol Stonedragon waited outside the entrance to Prion’s laboratory. This was a crucial moment. It could be a turning point in his life. Mallig had chosen him as his successor if anything were to go wrong with Prion Scidragon’s experiment.

Nineteen young dragons stood in line behind him. The air was dense with smoke breathed out by the excited dragons. He held up a claw demanding silence.

The door burst open. A naked human male ran out of the laboratory and stood before him. The man had a long, narrow face. A crag-like nose stood sentry duty over thin-lipped mouth. A mat of white hair covered his head. His slim, wiry body was creamy brown. Then Zol noticed his eyes. They were yellow, just like his.

Zol’s eyes widened with surprise. ‘Mallig Thorndragon, is that you?’ he croaked.

At once, he felt embarrassed. He should have said something grander, more memorable for this historic occasion.

‘Of course, you fool,’ Mallig snarled. ‘Who do you think it was?’

The dragons cheered. Prion’s experiment had worked.

Mallig turned to face the waiting dragons. ‘It works,’ he shouted, punching the air with his human arms. ‘You’re looking at the first of a new breed of super-humans. We will call ourselves, nagruels.’

The dragons roared their approval. The tunnel became smokier.

‘Do you remember why we’re here?’ Mallig shouted.

‘Change, change, change,’ the dragons chanted.

‘Correct. Concord has ancient traditions but they must change. The world is changing. We must change with it.’

Zol felt ignored. ‘We will follow you, Mallig Thorndragon,’ he said with a sharp glance at the noisy dragons. ‘You’re our leader. What must we do?’

Mallig raised a hand to command silence. ‘Go to Prion. He will transform you as he did me. Do it now. The King and his councillors will stop him if they find out.’

When Zol awoke from the stunning effect of Prion’s transformer, he gazed with admiration at his massive human body. He examined his dark coloured skin, ran his fingers through shaggy black hair and a luxuriant beard and wondered why he should appear so different to Mallig.

He rose from the pedestal and knew that he had not lost the powerful senses all dragons possess. He also retained his dragon strength. Nagruels are indeed super-humans, he thought with pride.

One by one, the dragons entered Prion’s laboratory. Each emerged as a nagruel. They appeared different from each other, but all seemed satisfied with their new bodies.

Prion Scidragon was the last to undergo the transformation with Mallig flicking the switch of the transformer.

‘Now we will go to see the King,’ Mallig announced when all the nagruels had gathered together.

Zol followed behind Mallig as he led them into the Council Chamber. This was an act they would never have dared as dragons. It was tantamount to rebellion.

Chapter 3. Exile

King Flamethrower Pendragon looked up startled. A group of humans clustered at the door to the Council Chamber. They were all naked. Then he saw their yellow eyes.

He lumbered to his feet. ‘What is this?’

The presence of men with dragon eyes meant that rumours that Prion Scidragon persisted in secret with the development of a fiendish machine to transform dragons into humans, were true. He had not acted when he received the report because he could not believe that any dragon would make that choice. But here they were. He shook his head with dismay.

Their leader’s yellow eyes flashed. ‘I am Mallig Thorndragon, my lord. I’m surprised you don’t recognize me.’

‘Mallig!’ The King felt himself swelling with rage. ‘Are you telling me Prion persisted with his experiment after I forbad it? And the others? Are they also the result of this foolishness?’

Mallig’s face contorted into a wolfish smile. ‘We are now nagruels.’

His arrogant posture infuriated the dragon King.

‘Nagruels?’ he roared. Black smoke and flame jetted from his open mouth.

Mallig nodded. ‘We are the product of change. You are looking at super-humans. We are neither dragons nor human. We are a proud combination of both.’

The King felt his anger growing. ‘Proud, you say,’ he roared. He lashed his tail with fury.

His councillors began to roar out their angry disapproval. Councillor Tor Raindragon lumbered to his feet.

‘My lord, this is outrageous,’ he bellowed. ‘First, they disobey your orders to stop this dangerous experiment. Now they threaten us with...what is it? Change?’ He glared at Mallig. ‘How dare you.’

‘We dare,’ Mallig shouted over the hubbub. ‘The time has come for a new order. We have languished too long under your archaic rules. Now you will see what we can achieve. We demand that the King step down so that Concord can move forward.’

‘Under your leadership, I suppose,’ Tor roared.

‘Of course.’

‘My lord,’ interrupted Councillor Oman Treedragon. ‘May I speak?’

The King pounded his claw on the podium floor. Oman, the oldest of his councillors, seldom spoke but when he did, his advice was always wise.

‘Silence,’ he roared. ‘Oman Treedragon wishes to speak.’

Oman cleared his throat. ‘My lord, Mallig and his followers have rebelled against our way of life because they feel stifled by our reluctance to accept their desire for so-called change.’

‘You got that right,’ Mallig sneered.

Oman continued unruffled. ‘I understand that. When I was young, I often felt the same frustration. Later, I learnt that some forms of change may have unintended and disastrous consequences. These can set society back for generations.’

Mallig interrupted. ‘You don’t know until you try.’

Oman nodded. ‘That is true. Perhaps we have been over-cautious in our attitude to the needs of the younger dragons, but we had good reasons. We have learnt that it is wiser to move forward with caution if we hope to preserve our values, rather than push forward blindly into the unknown.’

‘Rubbish,’ Mallig shouted.

Oman Treedragon shook his head. ‘Our values, as Mallig Thorndragon well knows are important to us. They are the cornerstones of our society here at Concord. Can Mallig Thorndragon remember what they are?’

‘They are holding us back whatever they are,’ Mallig shouted.

‘They are peace, trust, truth, and compassion. Can we be held back by those values? We know they can be lost with ease and replaced with conflict, distrust, dishonesty, and disinterest. We don’t want that to happen.’

‘Hear! Hear!’ bellowed Councillor Tor Raindragon.

‘Quite so,’ cried Councillor Crag Stormdragon.

Mallig looked scornful. ‘Peace?’ His thin lips curled with disdain. ‘What use is peace? War makes one powerful and respected. I intend to subdue the humans on Moight and use them for our purpose.’

‘No,’ bellowed Tor Raindragon.

‘My lord,’ Oman Treedragon persisted, ‘I see no solution and no compromise position. If Mallig and his nagruels remain they will corrupt us into accepting different values. Already, I sense an admiration for power and a leaning towards violence. From there, it is a small step towards the cancerous values of greed, dishonesty, and cruelty. I recommend that they be banished from Concord.’

‘Banished?’ snorted Scruel Skydragon. ‘What good will that do? They’ll still be around somewhere on our island causing trouble.’

‘Exiled then,’ said Oman Treedragon. ‘I agree with Scruel. Exile them far from here. Send them away from Moight. Let them go to the island of Metis.’

King Flamethrower Pendragon drew a deep breath to calm his temper. He adopted what he imagined to be a solemn expression.

‘Is that what the Council recommends?’

‘Yes,’ cried Tor Raindragon.

‘Agreed,’ said Oman Treedragon.

‘Yes,’ growled Crag Stormdragon.

‘Not before time,’ roared Scruel Skydragon.

‘Well,’ began Rho Mistdragon, ‘If you ask me…’

‘Yes or no,’ demanded the King. Let Rho Mistdragon begin pontificating and they would be up all night.

‘I…’ began Rho. ‘Well, if I must, the answer is, yes.’

‘You heard the verdict, Mallig,’ the King growled. ‘You and your followers are exiled to the island of Metis. You can set up your ideal world there. Go now. You need to acquire clothes, which is the human way. I suppose you will steal them from some unsuspecting villager.’

Mallig drew himself up. His yellow eyes blazed at the King.

‘Very well,’ he said. ‘We will go, but we will be back. You can depend upon it. And when we do…’

‘Get out,’ bellowed the King. Flame jetted from his mouth almost engulfing Mallig. The smell of singed hair followed the departing nagruels.

Chapter 4. The man with dragon eyes

‘Will, Will.’

The call came from Max who ran into the square from one of the narrow lanes that separated the houses.

Will heard fear in his friend’s voice. He rose from his chair and walked to the edge of his veranda.

Max skidded to a halt in front of the house and bent over, panting.

‘What is it, Max?’

Max looked up. ‘There’s a man at the gate,’ he said through heaving breaths. ‘He’s coming this way.’

Will frowned. He knew Max could be excitable, but he had never behaved quite like this.

‘What’s so special about him that makes you run as if you had the devil at your heels?’

Max rolled his eyes. ‘He’s huge and he’s evil. I can feel it. Perhaps he is the devil.’

‘What nonsense!’

‘I met him at the gate when I was coming back from fishing at our favourite place. He tried to make me talk to him. He wants to know…’ He looked around. ‘He wants to know where the dragons live.’

Will sighed with relief. ‘Everyone asks that question. It’s the first thing visitors ask when they get here. You know that?’

‘But this time it’s different,’ said Max. He clenched his fists and waved his arms in frustration. ‘This man is bad.’

‘How do you know?’

Max lowered his voice. ‘He’s human, but…’

‘But?’

Max’s voice dropped to a whisper. ‘He has dragon eyes.’

‘Max, what are you saying?’

‘He’s here,’ hissed Max. ‘Look.’ He pointed to a narrow street.

A man emerged and looked about. He towered over those near him. His massive chest, muscular arms and tree-trunk legs seemed to make him even larger. Tangled black hair fell around his shoulders. It mingled with a black beard that covered much of his face and half his chest. He was dressed in black. A belt with a silver belt buckle fastened around his waist.

A dark cloud moved across the sun. The air felt cooler. A breeze sprang up blowing dust in small spirals across the square.

Bystanders gave way as the giant approached. He made his way towards the house where Will lived as the youthful Mayor of the town of Mountford.

He paused at the gate.

Will raised a hand in greeting. ‘Can I help you?’ He felt a pang of fear. That annoyed him. Why should he be afraid of this man, even if he was huge?

‘Are you the Mayor of this town?’ the giant growled.

‘Yes.’

‘Look at me.’

Will found him gazing into the man’s yellow eyes. Max was right. They were like those of the dragons he had come to know when they had been visible to human eyes after the theft of the Sunstone.

As he gazed into the man’s eyes, a crushing blow bludgeoned his mind. He felt as if some alien power was trying to break down the windows of his mind demanding entry to his memory.

He staggered backwards fighting the probing force. He struggled to summon the strength to fight against the giant’s intrusion into his mind. Perspiration beaded his brow and his heart began to pound. He felt that he could not hold out much longer.

Then somewhere deep within his psyche, he felt an unfamiliar power begin to emerge. He had never used it before, had not known it existed. It was like meeting a friend who comes to one’s rescue in a moment of dire need. He embraced it knowing that now he could confront and block the intruder.

He felt a sudden elation. His heartbeat subsided as his confidence grew in his newfound strength. The