Dragon Tales Collection

By A.L. Paradiso

Share Ardee's obsession to become a rider of a smart, forever loving, and loyal dragon. Bond with and fly your own empathic dragon inside a theme park planet. Watch a dragonet's birth and initial bonding on a distant planet.

Will certain Earth people listen when a special, pink dragonet senses catastrophic danger and uses an unknown ability to warn them? Delight young and old alike with these six stories.  Inspire children to expand their wonder and knowledge .

Save the last story for yourself and young adults. Put yourself on the last ship leaving Earth, with a runt dragon, as they struggle through life threatening disasters with the last of humanity. Will they, the historian, humanity and BIV the dragon, survive against all odds? How far would you go to ensure survival?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Heavenly Books
• Release date: Dec 2, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393353799

A.L. Paradiso

Born in Europe, English is his second language, following Italian---then Latin, Pig Latin, French and assorted computer languages.  He managed a series of oil company outlets; ran two of his own; became a mechanic, then truck driver, did direct sales; became a Field Engineer for main frame computers. After ten years he switched to software and worked ten more years, receiving world wide acclaim, as a System Programmer. In college he took a dislike to writing of any kind and swore never to try that again. Well, some years later, influenced by Babylon 5's creator and his own pressure to write about two traumatic events, he turned to creative writing. As of 2018, he has shared 126 published stories with others. We suppose he's one of those who just can't keep a job!      Internationally published author, instructor, storyteller  Published /  in :   PRACTICE My Son in  https://short-edition.com/en/dispensers  American Library Association,  dispensing machines    https://short-edition.com/en/story/1-min/practice-my-son  Seth’s Talks in ”Flash Fiction Addiction”  anthology in ebook and print.  Crossed Wires in  "GUA No. 8 print"  www.genreUrbanArts.com  Super Power in  "Blaze: The Inner Circle Writers' Group Flash Fiction Anthology"  , ebook and print. Windy Paris in "BEYOND, Dark Drabbles #4" anthology   Dragon Tales Collection:  

Book preview

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

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DRAGON TALES COLLECTION

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First edition.  May 7, 2019

i19  Compleat Edition  December  2, 2019

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Copyright © 2019  A.L. Paradiso.

Written by  A.L. Paradiso.

ISBN:  9781393353799

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

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Cover design by Dawn Burdett, https://www.facebook.com/dawnburdettauthor/ used by permission with my greatest thanks.

Dragons in flight, in Vacation Letter From Io, original art by Renee Spahr; used by permission.

~~~ Glossary ~~~

Candidate Male or female of nearly any age, preferably a young teen. Dragon selected Candidates are suspected of having rare genes that inspire dragon devotion, strengthen telepathic abilities, loyalty and dedication.  They also support an unknown ability which certain riders will discover late in dragon training.

Clausura Clear ground devoted to sports, contests, drills and gatherings between the hive walls.

Dark-curtain The invisible barrier to a black hole between places. Dragons open the curtains by will.

Glimmer A radiant rock which recharges in sunlight and is thousands times more brilliant that common glow-in-the-dark chemical elements.

Hive  Is a collection of affiliated dragons, their riders and support staff.

Hiveleader The current head of the Hive who is chosen during dragon competition.

Initiation Ceremony during which dragons choose their new rider from selected candidates or occasionally from anyone present with whom they feel a special bond.

Lair  An individual dragon's home consisting of a ledge for landing and sunning, a cavern with a raised stone bed (covered with straw or other bedding) for the dragon and sleeping and storage areas for the rider.  It is often a natural or carved cave, resembling a honeycomb, in a cliff wall.

Nesting-grounds A well-tended mound of rounded stones covered in sand and located on a geo thermal vent. Mother dragons create a nest in the hot sand to incubate their eggs

Nursery Dragonrider parents leave their youngest here for day care or full time fostering.

Speltz  Originally SPace PEllets, frozen pellets which soften then poison people and plants once grounded. Many ignite from air friction and burn dragons and riders in the air.

~~~  Enthralled Dragon Boy  ~~~

Ican’t wait to be fourteen! Then, I’ll be allowed to stand in a circle of candidates, all in our crisp, bleached white shifts, as the teaching scripts tell us—all surrounding the rich clutch of dragon eggs hardening on the hot nesting-grounds—all waiting to be chosen in the Initiation ceremony.

I’ll send my most powerful thoughts to reach the grandest, biggest, most beautiful dragon ever hatched, while some of those other, unworthy, candidates run off the extreme heat of the blistering nesting-grounds. I will endure the pain to prove to my dragon how much I love him, how strong our lifelong bond will be, and he will love me more than any human or absent parent ever could. He will be mine forever, and we will die for each other. No human love can ever be as strong, dedicated, committed, and unwavering as our forever bond.

I have this same waking vision every day. I see myself at the Initiation . . . Oh! The eggs are rocking, cracking; sticky dragonets are breaking out. One