Dragons Den: Realms Of The Forgotten, #1

By Lp Johnson and BJ Cottrell

 

All was well with the Dragons and humans long ago, until their eggs became the focus of persistent hunts. Micah convinces his three siblings that, as the first four dragons in existence, it is their place to assure the continuation of their Kind, and the well-being of their Kin. That can not be done on the Realm with the humans.   For thousands of years after leaving the troublesome humans to their own kind, DragonKind flourishes on their new Realm, Nagatundu -- Dragons Den in the Ancient language. But Ranos, the First Dragon, becomes too much in his cruelty for many of their Kin to bear, and they determine to have the more reasonable but no less powerful Micah as their chosen leader. Accepting the Crown offered by his Kin means a Challenge against his older brother for Dominance. And that is where the true trouble begins.

 

  Jessie first sees the resplendent blue dragon during their battle, for which the older of them of course cheats and brings reinforcements, turning half of the Central Realm into a battle zone of dragons, and angels. When they meet again the circumstances could not be more odd -- which is significant for an Angel! From that moment however, their hearts meet as well, and Jessica is tossed into not only the very personal emnity of the dragon brothers, but now her and sisters find Luce's attacks against Dragonkind to be very personal, as well!

  Jessie has one determination; keep her beloved Micah with her, forever. And those who come against them will find her ever ready to defend those she loves, with all the hosts of heaven, if necessary.

• Language: English
• Publisher: LpJ Publishing Enterprises
• Release date: Jul 24, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393755128

Lp Johnson

Wordsmith Lp Johnson is a native Illinoisan, born in Chicago in the late 60’s to parents who both migrated from the southern US to the South-side of the City during their own youthful years. Adventurous by nature and a self-proclaimed ‘nomadic spirit’, since arriving at young-adulthood Ms. Johnson has explored life in several states, including her current residence in Oklahoma. She has a healthy interest in the Sciences, the Arts, Photography, Music, and is ever seeking out new information in her research.  Although best known for her Historical Romance series 'Here In The Land Of Nubia', much of her career focus has been in Early Childhood Education. An Instructor for more twenty years, Ms. Johnson has always been dedicated to advancing the excellence of students through various venues, including Tutoring as a volunteer, Teaching in classrooms, and in Faith-based instruction in the youth ministries. Above and throughout it all, writing has remained her driving force. From her very first poem to the latest of her undertakings, Ms. Johnson brings an especially artistic flair to the words which call forth vivid images in the scenes portrayed in her fiction novels, and displays a passionate desire to encourage others in her poetry and inspirational writings. Now, as CEO of LPJ Enterprises and NightWriters Publishing Consultants, she focuses her on her work as a professional writing consultant; a return to her goal of offering support for the community of fellow writers, as they discover the wonders of having a work with their own name on it available to a waiting public -whether on the bookshelves of a downtown store, or a mere click away in a browser.

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Each friend represents a new world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting, that another world is born. - Anaïs Nin

WHAT LIES WITHIN

The Coming Into Being     

The Elohim      

The Beginning     

Ninth Millennia     

A New Home     

Minosh-El's Defection     

Nagatundu      

Guardian Dragon     

No Coincidences     

PART TWO

Where Angels Tread    

For Life      

Dawn and Dark     

Rightful Heir     

Blood Of My Blood    

Something New     

Aunon's Proving     

SNEAK PEEK     

About The Authors    

The Coming Into Being

IN THE TIME BETWEEN Darkness and Light, the first Living Beings of the Heavens were Spoken.

Patri-eza-El; The Tender Spirit. Satera-El; Keeper of The Light. Sesari-El; Shaper of the Shadows. Luc-El; Prince of Heaven. Misha-El; Hand of Adon. Gabor-El; Messenger of Truth. Minosh-El; The Intercessor. Vanor-aza-El; High Mage, and, Jeaz-Ake-El; The Impartial.

These were the Elder Angels, First Daughters and Sons of the All-Being, Adon.

HOME IS A SIGHT INCONCEIVABLE to the unaware, populated by creatures great and small, tender and fierce, social and reclusive, so the bejeweled paths are always a peaceful mixture of quad and bi-pedal Beings. Once in a while, an angel or creature lifts into the air on a whim, where above, other wings roam slowly, watching over it all.

But while there were few restrictions upon the beasts populating as Mates, the Angels, because all Energy flowed freely and was continually shared between them, had no need to physically procreate, and indeed the concept had never truly occurred to them.

That changed when the Prince Angel began to grow a fascination with Sesari-El; more clearly, he grew a fascination with her abilities. Envious of that power, he desired to control it himself. Within some time he seduced her and, as surely as you read this, chaos followed – though they were genuinely surprised that their act resulted in her conception.

Adon was immensely displeased with their forwardness, and chastened them severely; but pride in his 'accomplishment' made Luc-El arrogant in the powers he had discovered. A great discord ensued, and at the end of it Luc-El was stripped of his authorities, shamed from his position, and declared banished from among those of the Light.

Sesari-El, still believing that love for her was the basis of his rebellion, determined to go with him. But Adon, rather than have the combined power of the two set loose upon Creation, stripped the Light from both angels entirely, limiting their ability to Manifest other Beings.

He then lay claim to the Twins born of their act, determining to raise them at Home. And yet, torn between love for the Light within the Demigods and desire to destroy the Darkness which Luce had brought about through his rebellion, Adon was for once uncertain; could it be trusted that they would not become a tempting influence for others of the Light?

His eventual decision was to separate them from Home as well. The memory of their creators was cleared, and the Energy which had passed to them was shielded within them, to make it difficult for their own progeny to access without a Proving of Self.

The Hosts of Heaven, the Light Angels, were then formed, in the Image of the Elder Angels, and assigned to Watch, to Guard, to Defend and to Guide their progeny towards Home. Additionally, it was decided that the First-Born should not be alone in their ability to pro-create and populate the Dimensions, and so the Elohim came into Being.

Meanwhile the former prince of heaven, known now as simply Luce, drifted about Creation for millennia with Sesari-El, seething with a desire for vengeance. When at last he settled upon the first dimension, he at once boldly declared it to be his kingdom, and they combined their powers to drive out all the Energy Beings they found there. He then had Sesari-El intensify the inherent Shadows of the dimension to cloak it in utter Darkness.

But as these things go, their inability to produce more offspring eventually became too great for his pride. Not long after, he killed Sesari-El in a fit of rage.

The Elohim

ELI-SESA-EL WAS THE First non-angel Created within the Heavenly Home, immediately after the Elders. He is The Ophidian, Keeper of the Fires. An Elemental Being given the Powers of Initiation and Destruction, he was from the Beginning highly favored.

He would, now, be called a Dragon. That however is merely the more 'simple', physical form assumed in order to exist in the lower planes. The honor had come with a few drawbacks, top among them being that he could not return Home, except by giving up this physical form. 'Death' is what the Great Father had termed it.

'Energy is Immortal', he had assured himself then. He would not be concerned for this 'death', if it would some day allow his return Home.

AFTER ELI-SESA-EL, were chosen three other Elemental Beings:

Arnes - Spirit of the Air.

Megoth - Spirit of Earth.

Brisheth - Spirit of the Waters.

And also, the Elven: Swon and Renan, who took with them their small clan to be Keepers of the Woodlands and the Balance of Nature. These descendants would Materialize the Faerie.

Next, were Manifested; The Colossus: The Giants, Nhor and Mao, to be Intercessors for the Elementals and Demigods. And Trilane, a Changling with the power to slip into any beasts' identity, was created to be a Negotiator for the Animal-kind, the Beasts sent to each dimension for the Air, Lands, and Waters.

WHILE AT HOME, ALL of the Elohim were trained by Misha-El himself in High Battle, and by Vanora in High Alchemy, so that they could in future teach their progeny to protect themselves against Luce and his influence.

Unlike the First-Born, their abilities were second only to the Angels, and although they were warned that passing through to the Lower Planes would inhibit quite a bit of their power, they would nonetheless be able Create according to their Will, to bring any Being into existence, in any size, with any abilities they themselves chose to bestow.

And so they eagerly set out to populate the Realms with creatures of intelligence, creativity, and a will to proliferate after themselves.

Soon the whole of Creation was teeming with life. All creatures mighty and small strove to maintain the Balance and, for the greater part, all respected the boundaries set about by the Elders to assure habitats remained plentiful and pure after each need was met.

All were at the time free to move about and interact as they desired, and did so between dimensions as often as they traveled between Realms – which meant that both alliances and enemies were as simple a matter to create.

And so here, dearest reader, is where our story begins.

The Beginning

WHILE HIS FELLOW ELOHIM immediately set to the replication of themselves, Eli by contrast spent several centuries considering precisely what his own progeny were to be and do.

His own will had been allowed, yet there was the restriction of only being able to pass his immortality on to those he created himself. They would still be subject to mortal injury – in spite of a higher resistance – and could not pass on their own.

All Beings Created in Planes subject to decay would experience that decay themselves. This meant, for his descendants, that the ability to pass on their divine powers would diminish with each successive generation, and those they created would eventually experience Death on their own, even if not killed.

His greater concern however, was what the new Darkness was sure to bring. What Luc-El had unleashed with his deceit, lustful desire, and the killing of another would forevermore taint the whole of Creation.

So his own desire was to impart the best of himself into his manifestations, to as much as possible protect them from absorbing that Darkness.

Thus, he decided that he would bring them forth from Eggs. It would provide a lengthy gestation, giving him time to instill within the new Beings all he had been taught at Home, including the responsibility of their divinity, and how to navigate the special circumstances of Material Existence.

He choose Terra because of his own affinity for the Twins. He arrived just before they were preparing to retire to Anteras, the Dimension of Light, and leave their thriving progeny to their own society. They were quite honored to have him choose their new habitat for his own creations, and quickly showed him around the lands, encouraging him to choose as he desired a place to begin his race of Beings.

When the habitat he intended for his offspring was fully equipped with every manner of sustenance and enjoyment, he set about condensing his incredible Energy into one focus. He determined to give them the Essence of each Elemental; Fire, Water, Air and Earth, and make the ability to Heal themselves passable to their own progeny.

It was his intent that they be able to alter their shapes at will, and Shift from one place to another with a focus of their Energy. Yet he could not be certain these traits would manifest, or manifest for all of them. Eli knew the warning from Adon as well as any – there were no guarantees with what manifested.

His first Creation was a source of pride to him, however. The male Hatchling emerged well-sized, strong, fit, splendidly iridescent and eagerly curious. Eli Named him Ranos; Energy of The Fire, in the language his Kind would speak, and officially named his Kind Dragons.

He began a rigorous training within weeks, and within a decade was well pleased with how the whelp had taken his teachings to heart.

For the second egg, he drew upon a certain amount of Energy from the first Hatchling, and concentrated it with his own. In this way, both would be truly bound to one another as siblings, and to the material Plane they would inhabit together as Guardians of the Natural Order.

And again, he found the result breathtaking. After several years gestation, the younger male was Hatched perfect in every form. He at first emerged with a similarly brilliant iridescence, yet it eventually settled into a shimmering royal blue, the color of a clear sky at dusk when the Day-Star has not quite set for the night.

Eli Named this one Micah; truly, in honor of Misha-El, who was known as Michael in the Lower Planes, but also because it meant Infinite Sky.

The young dragon was so wise beyond his time, right from the beginning, that Eli was sure his true strength would be beyond his physical perfection.

Both were trained as Warriors of the High Degree, fierce and fiercely dedicated to protecting the legacy given to them.

As the dimensions grew ever more populated, Eli grew concerned for the fact that the two were alone except for one another. Micah, who was nearly as different from his older brother as Misha-El was from Luce, in a manner of speaking, often simply seemed lonesome. But Ranos especially seemed that he would benefit from sharing their space with more of their own kind. He had a tendency towards being too focused upon his special place as the first 'true dragon'.

Still, Eli's intent was that all future dragons of this dimension would carry forth their own Energy, and he had already instructed them that someday they would create for one another their future mates. Thus he decided upon siblings instead, and, using Energies from both of the males this time to blend with his own, manifested eggs for two females.

The first to hatch surprised him, and made him more proud than ever. She was a brilliant white in color, yet the surprise came the first time she, he thought, was attempting to breathe fire – and froze a nearby tree. Ranos Named her Gisele; Blue Flame.

The second female turned out to be Eli's own test; Micah Named her Anora, which he said meant Resting Fire – because of how she emerged from her egg. Eli however found himself forced to try not to be disappointed.

She was quite pretty – an earthy, glimmering green – and gentle-natured, but otherwise unremarkable. She was neither overly interested in her training; though she did try, for the sake of pleasing him, she made clear that she was more interested in 'simply enjoying the beauty' around her.

Nonetheless, he was eventually satisfied with their growth and the completion of their training, and so finally decided it was time to move on to other Dimensions.

The young dragons grew and thrived during his absence, and for millennia of Material time all appeared well.

Ninth Millennia

TERRA

It can't be... Gisele rasped out, her voice thick with disbelief. She looked repeatedly between the mouth of the cave and the nest, where the egg had been warming in the weak sunlight. "It can't be! It can't!"

But at last, disbelief gave through to the reality of the smashed egg. Glittering fragments spilled over the sides of the nest and encircled it upon the snow.

Nooo! she roared, her shocked grief immediately giving way to bitter anger. The rotten little humans had gone too far!

Micah and Anora heard the fury in her roar and shared a glance, wondering with instant concern whether she too was under attack. They had come with grave news about how the humans had retaliated for her destruction of that last village, but now their focus was on their sister.

'Gisele?' Anora reached for her thoughts, but found only a dark wall of bitter grief. She had never known her sister to weep. Hurry, Micah...something is very wrong.

Increasing their speed, they soon landed on the high ledge of the mountainside where their sister had dug out her lair, and immediately realized the trouble.

Gisele made it clear. "I will kill them all! Every one of the hairless little beasts!"

I am so sorry, Sister, Anora whispered sadly, knowing it would get worse.

As am I, sister, Micah concurred, thinking it best to reveal the rest. I must tell you...Eltuu...he was cornered during his hunt... he paused, as she spun to face him, eyes pleading with him not to add more grief to her worst day in a millennia. But it couldn't be helped.

She saw the truth in his eyes, and the fight drained from her at once. It was more than she could bear. Her new Mate, Eltuu had been the strongest, fastest, most virile ice dragon among them, the only ice dragon hatched from an egg which had been lain rather than manifested. And now her hopes of Hatching a beautiful breed of ice dragons would die with him.

"NOOO!!!" she howled, infuriated once again. Within an instant she was airborne, her wings bright in the moonlight against the dark sky.

Micah took off after her at once. I cannot let you do this, Gisele, he told her as he caught up. There's been enough bloodshed in our wars with the humans.

There will not be any blood, she promised. Only shards of ice, when I am done.

That will not do, sister, he reiterated firmly. You attack them, they will only gather greater numbers, and more of us will die.

"I will not let them get away with this!" she roared.

"Hear me! his own rang out, as he Shifted in front of her, blocking her flight with his mass. It ends here, Gisele!"

She halted, but wept pleadingly, "What am I to do then, Micah?! What am I to do!?"

Come, sister...let us return to your lair, and I will tell you. Come...

She hesitated, undecided, but as he was obviously not going to allow her to pass, the only way forward was to challenge him, and she simply did not have the energy right now. Thus with a dispirited