Ssalia and the Dragons of Avienot

By Tammy Spahn

Ssalia, a young snake girl living on the fantastical planet Pelsatia, is not your ordinary child: at twelve years of age, she is already infamous for getting wrapped up in all sorts of wondrous adventures.

But one fateful summer, her greatest journey is about to start: when she meets a friendly dragon and hears about the hidden dragon city of Avienot, nothing can keep her from searching for it, even if she gets into all sorts of trouble on her way there...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tammy Spahn
• Release date: Feb 21, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301420827

Tammy Spahn

Tammy Spahn is an up-and-coming indie writer and artist born in beautiful Frisia who specialises in primarily light and escapist Fantasy books. In her novels, she attempts to capture the charm and imagination of children's and juvenile fiction and present it in a writing style accessible to wider audiences. She created the faraway planet Pelsatia as a primary setting for her works, a world without humans and rich with magic and natural beauty.Apart from writing Fantasy, Tammy's interests include digital painting, composing and the Furry community. She currently runs an online comic (Tails of Lanschilandia) and sells her art on various websites.

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Ssalia and the Dragons of Avienot

By Tammy Spahn

Smashwords Edition

***

Copyright © 2012 by Tammy Spahn

All rights reserved.

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Introduction

Hello everyone!

I am Ssalia, daughter of Sserena and Talahan, and I am the central character of this book. It tells the story of an adventure I had not long ago. I was just going to keep it all to myself, but my friends urged me to write a book about it, so here it is!

If you are reading this book, here are some things you need to know first:

Firstly, I belong to the race of the ssyrean. We’re not a very widespread people, so you may not have heard of us, but there are a few groups of ssyrean living in different parts of Pelsatia, our planet. I stem from the kingdom of Sserendon, which is near the south-western shore of the continent Asakors; that’s between Gyvna and Irmtaek, if you didn’t pay attention in your geography lessons! Anyway, we ssyrean are sometimes referred to as snake people by strangers, and that name is very true to our appearance, actually; we bear many similarities to serpents, though we are humanoid. What we do here in Sserendon is of little significance to the rest of the world, mostly; there are farmers among us, and tradesmen, and artists, and soldiers, and a lot more, but very few of us are known outside of our kingdom, since most of us are not very fond of leaving it; I am an exception, as you will learn, and you may learn a lot more about us ssyrean by reading my book!

Secondly, this book was written based on what I remember of my adventure, and what my friends remember of it. Surely not everything can be retold the exact same way it happened; bear with me here! I have tried to write things down as accurately as possible, however.

But enough! I don’t know what else to say, so my little introduction ends here. I hope you enjoy reading my book and following my journey as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Sincerely,

(Ssalia)

Chapter 1 - First Contact

It was a hot summer day in southern Asakors; nothing more and nothing less. Without a doubt, this was not a day that would go down in history, and for most of the world – beautiful, though mundane as it was – it would pass like any other. For Ssalia the snake girl, however, it would be… more than that. That was what she felt, at least, and she had felt it since she got up in the morning; and as her feelings rarely let her down, she had braced herself to her best abilities for life’s latest surprises.

She was sitting on the old wooden porch in front of the house she lived in, which was part of an idyllic little town called Kerem at the far northern edge of the kingdom of Sserendon. Well, Kerem was just a farming village, actually, but the inhabitants thought very highly of it and insisted that it shall be referred to as a ‘town’ rather than a ‘village’. Due to being part of Kerem, the house Ssalia lived in also was no more than a simple farmhouse; it was not very big, very aged and partly collapsed, since it had stood there for more than a century; as far as she knew, it had already been here for a while when her grandfather’s grandfather lived in it, and not much had been renovated since then. The whole town was full of houses like it, and if you did not see the people out on the streets, you could almost mistake it for a ghost town. Ssalia did not care much; it’s not pretty, but it’s my home, she always liked to say.

Normally, there was not much excitement going on in this part of the kingdom either; some neighbours got involved in so-called ‘scandals’ now and then, which were really nothing of any importance, but still somehow provided gossip for the entire town. Those were about the only topics that people cared to converse about, except in the rare event that someone from the city came to Kerem; the townsfolk lived so isolated from the rest of the world that a visitor from the city was almost treated like a foreigner despite being from the same kingdom, the capital city of which was not even far away from Kerem. Although some people had relatives living in the city, the borders of Kerem still marked the borders of a country for many of its inhabitants.

But as Ssalia would soon discover, today would be different from everyday life in Kerem: a travelling circus was coming to town! They were erecting a stage on the village square (though the Keremites called it their ‘town square’), which actually was no more than a wide open space that lacked fields or houses but also lacked fortified ground just as much as every other part of Kerem, and performers were going from door to door to promote the show that was soon going to be staged.

COME ONE, COME ALL TO THE GREATEST SHOW THERE EVER WAS! SEE THE MOST MARVELLOUS JUGGLERS, ACROBATS AND FIRE EATERS IN ALL OF ASAKORS! EXPERIENCE THE WONDERS OF THE GREAT FARLOSS, THE GREATEST MAGICIAN IN ALL THE WORLD! COME SEE DROBBY THE DRAGON! THE ONLY LIVING DRAGON IN THE WHOLE KINGDOM!

These and similar sentences resounded all throughout the village that day in various word orders, arousing the curiosity of all the villagers, especially Ssalia, who was now watching from the porch as the performers passed by her house. They were all colourfully dressed and many of them almost appeared to be dancing rather than walking down the road, so merry were they. The jugglers performed a little act now and then to give their potential audience a taste of what they would be seeing during the show.

‘I have never seen a circus before’, Ssalia thought and could not avert her eyes from the peculiar procession marching merrily through the streets. ‘How curious! I wonder when the show will start?’ She quickly decided to head for the town square, which was normally the place for big events to take place (although aside from the occasional exorbitantly large-scale birthday party, there were not normally any big events taking place in Kerem), and take a look.

The town square was not very far from her home (in actuality, given the size of the ‘town’, it was not very far from any of the other houses in Kerem either), so this endeavour did not take her very long. As she reached the square, she could see that the circus people had almost finished constructing their stage and a few curious onlookers had already gathered in a semicircle, waiting in great anticipation for the show to begin.

THE SHOW IS GOING TO START IN APPROXIMATELY ONE HOUR! Ssalia heard the man with the loud voice, who had been promoting the circus before, announce at the top of his lungs.

‘My, this is going to be great!’ Ssalia thought to herself as she imagined all the marvels that were going to take place in her very own hometown soon. ‘I wonder if Kalan is coming!’

But when she went on her way back to her house to ask her little brother Kalan, he was already on his way to the town square and almost bumped into Ssalia, running about merrily and shouting CIRCUS! in joy as loud as he could, although he did not even know what that meant.

Hey, watch where you're going, Kal! Ssalia admonished him. We're all excited about the circus, but let's not overact, shall we?

Sorry, Ssalia, he replied and paused for a moment. Hey!, he exclaimed. Will you go to the circus with me? he asked while bouncing up and down in front of his sister in excitement. Will you?

I was about to ask you if you were coming when I ran into you; or rather, you ran into me, almost literally! Ssalia replied with a smile.

YAY! SSALIA WILL BE GOING TO THE CIRCUS WITH ME! Kalan shouted happily and bounced around some more before eventually calming down a bit.

The show should start in about half an hour. But let's go and watch the circus people finish the preparations until it starts!, Ssalia suggested, and she had not even finished her sentence when Kalan already started to hurry on ahead.

*

Soon, the town square filled with people. Judging by the number of spectators present, Ssalia assumed that nearly the whole population of Kerem (which was really no greater than a few hundred) must have gathered on the square to watch the show. And when it finally started, Ssalia and the rest of the crowd soon realised that they had not made a mistake in coming here. The man with the loud voice cheerfully announced each act just before it began, and what the Keremites got to see that day would not be matched by anything they would ever see afterwards, at least for many. The jugglers, acrobats and fire-eaters were all present and did their thing with unmatched elegance and the crowd cheered and applauded, especially Ssalia and Kalan, who were as happy as could be to finally see something that was different from their everyday life.

AND NOW, announced the man with the loud voice about half an hour into the show, THE MOST WONDERFUL MAGICIAN IN ALL THE WORLD, THE MASTER OF HOCUS-POCUS, THE GREAT FARLOSS! And when the last word had been spoken, a tall man wearing a hat that seemed almost as tall as the man who wore it stepped onto the stage and bowed before the cheering crowd.

Thank you, thank you! the ‘Great Farloss’ said, I am here today to show you all some true magic!

He's here today to get a share of the money, Ssalia whispered to Kalan, who was greatly amused.

Many of you may not believe that magic exists in our world anymore; well, I shall now prove you wrong!

The Great Farloss then started to perform his tricks: he made colourful smoke appear out of thin air, turned himself invisible (which resulted in only his tall hat seemingly floating around the stage) and pulled various things out of his hat (this seemed to explain why it had to be so tall), including even more hats, which were all a different colour. As the crowd applauded, he finally announced:

Now, for my next trick, I will need a volunteer! Greatly impressed by Farloss’s abracadabra, Ssalia was quick to react to his request. Yes, the young girl with the red hair! Come right up! he shouted and Ssalia happily walked onto the stage, much to the excitement of her little brother, who was watching her as if she was about to perform an entire act herself. Ssalia faced the crowd without a trace of nervousness, as the Great Farloss spoke to the audience: You can all see this fair girl here; there is nothing unusual about her! But now, I will transform her into anything I want! The crowd already marvelled expectantly.

First, I scatter this magic powder – Farloss took a small box from one of his pockets with his long fingers and started to scatter its contents, a purple, glowing dust, on Ssalia – Then, I think of something I want to turn her into and say the secret magic words! As Farloss mumbled something inaudible which he claimed to be magic words, a cloud of colourful smoke appeared and when it vanished, the girl was gone. In her place was now a small, rabbit-like creature with blue fur and a red gemstone resplendent on its forehead.

Behold! A karbuncle, the magician exclaimed as the crowd was overwhelmed with amazement. Kalan was a bit worried about his sister, but his worries soon disappeared when the Great Farloss announced that he would be reverting the transformation now. Now, when I snap my fingers, this girl will be back to her normal self in an instant!, he shouted, and luckily, he was right about that: as he snapped his fingers, Ssalia was back to her normal self, albeit a bit startled. But as the Great Farloss bowed before the applauding crowd, still holding up the little powder box in his hand, Ssalia decided to have a little fun herself.

In a swift move, she snatched the box from the magician’s hand, who was so taken aback that he could not react as the ssyrean girl sprinkled him with magic powder. Apparently, the ‘secret magic words’ had been just for show, as the powder seemed to perform its magic without them just as well. Momentarily, a colourful cloud of smoke rose up into the air and to the slight shock of the audience, the tall hat fell down and it seemed as if it was all that was left of the magician. But when Ssalia triumphantly lifted the hat, a small gerbil-like creature was revealed, which crawled around the stage.

Who would have thought the Great Farloss could become the tiny Farloss in a mere second? Ssalia cheerfully commented as the crowd laughed and applauded her even more than they had applauded the magician.

My sister is a great sorceress! Kalan announced excitedly and started bouncing up and down again as Ssalia bowed before the audience.

Thank you, thank you! But let's get our little rodent friend back into a shape that’s big enough for his hat, shall we? Ssalia snapped her fingers and a dumbstruck (and hatless) Farloss appeared before the crowd. Nice to see you back!, Ssalia said as she put the hat back onto the magician’s head.

Farloss did not dare to move at first, but then, surprisingly, he laughed and complimented Ssalia on her trick. My dear, you’re a wonder! 20 years of being a magician and never before have I experienced anything like this! he said in amazement and delight as he presented Ssalia with a colourful bouquet which he pulled from his hat.

*

The Great Farloss left the stage soon after, though not many people even noticed that as everyone was staring at the red-haired ssyrean girl that was now returning to her little brother, who was overjoyed.

You were better than the man with the hat, Kalan assured her as she playfully bowed before him.

Then, they heard the loud voice of the man announcing the acts speak up again: AND NOW, THE ATTRACTION YOU HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR; THE ONLY LIVING DRAGON IN THE WHOLE KINGDOM IS HERE TODAY FOR YOU TO LOOK AT! I NOW PRESENT YOU: DROBBY THE DRAGON!

A group of musicians appeared on the stage and started playing an entrancing tune as a big blue dragon was led onto the stage. It was quite an indescribable sight: the dragon was of majestic build, the sun reflected on his lustrous scales and his ruby red eyes radiated infinite wisdom, but there was a golden collar around his neck which seemed rather out of place to Ssalia. Still, Kalan and Ssalia were speechless, and the rest of the audience seemed to be as well, as a dreamy silence lay upon the crowd and the wonderful tune filled the whole place.

The large dragon slowly turned his head to eye all of the onlookers, then started to slowly but powerfully flap his magnificent wings until he slowly lifted into the air. He started to fly and glide in circles above the heads of the spectators, emitting sounds from his mouth which seemed to be his form of roaring, but these sounds were much more pleasant; after a while, they almost began to sound like singing and seemed to perfectly accompany the tune that was now in the ears of everyone present.

But when he reached the spot where Ssalia and Kalan were standing, the dragon stopped in midair. He turned his great head and seemed to stare right into Ssalia’s eyes. The girl stared back in spellbound amazement and for what seemed like an eternity, neither of the two averted their eyes from the other. And now, for the first time, Ssalia noticed a hint of sadness in the dragon’s big, round eyes, and to add to that, the dragon let out a little sob, at least it sounded like a sob to Ssalia, which suddenly made her heart feel heavy. The dragon eventually continued on his flight (though not without turning back at least one more time), but the girl looked at him with different eyes than before: ‘Drobby’ almost seemed like a lonely wanderer now, set on a course he did not wish to take, brought into a world where he does not belong, silently longing to escape, to return to his own world.

Possibly by coincidence, the tune played by the musicians seemed to become much more melancholic now as well and the voice of the dragon started to sound more like wailing than singing in Ssalia’s ears. While the rest of the audience, Kalan included, joyfully watched the dragon fly in laps above their heads, tears appeared in Ssalia’s eyes as she stared after the unfortunate creature. She knew in her heart that the dragon had chosen her to help him, to free him from his bondage. And she would answer to his silent plea. As soon as she got the chance… Quickly, she wiped away her tears so not to attract unwanted attention and pretended to be enjoying the show while the circus people were making the dragon fly through rings which were put up on tall wooden poles and barely big enough for him to fit through.

*

At night, when a dim moon shone down upon Kerem, Ssalia was tiptoeing across the town square, unbeknownst to anyone. It had already gotten dark when the show had ended. The circus people would be staying in town during the night, Ssalia had assumed, and she was joyous to still find their wagons nearby. Notably, she was happy to discover one special wagon which was actually more of a cage on wheels than anything else. As she took a peek inside, through the bars, she saw exactly what she had been hoping to find: asleep in the cage was ‘Drobby’, the blue dragon. At least he appeared to be sleeping, since he lay curled up on the bottom of the wagon, his eyes shut. As Ssalia approached the cage, however, she found that the dragon had not been sleeping as much as waiting with his eyelids closed, and he opened them when he heard her approach.

So you have come, the dragon said in a deep, gentle voice, a bit deeper but just as soft as his singing voice during the show.

You can talk, I mean, speak the global language? Ssalia asked in surprise, but as low as she could manage so not to wake the circus folk.

Yes, I can talk, the dragon answered. We all can talk where I come from, and many of us know your language. But until now, only the circus people have heard me talk in a long time; way back when I was captured and unwillingly became part of their travelling circus. They put me in chains. They treated me like an article of trade. I lamented and they muzzled me. They forbade me to speak or refuse to do anything they would tell me to. The magician put a magic collar around my neck which would strangle me if he wished. Ssalia was shocked, and now she wished she had kept the Great Farloss in his gerbil state. I cannot bear this any longer. I heard you speak when you stood up against Farloss and I knew there was something special about you. I knew you would be my saviour, the first person to understand me and be brave enough to break the chains that bind me. This rusty cage seems to get smaller every day. I want to go home and be free again.

Ssalia had been listening compassionately to the dragon’s words. I know how you feel, Drobby, she said, when the dragon suddenly interrupted her:

"Please, do not call me by that name. My tormenters gave it to me. Before I was captured, I was known as Harak’eth. Ah, it