The Legend of the Draugons

By Deanna Sparrow

Dragonfly Monsters and
Unicorns unite their magic to
create DraUgons, sleek white, scaly
dragons with pointed red tails and
beautiful heads with a Unicorns
horn. DraUgons are the heroes that
must save them all from humans.
The Legend tells of their past and
future and includes two friends,
human children. One child, daughter of lepers, left to die in
a field with her parents, has taught them to speak the human
language. The other, a boy, teaches them about religion and
heaven, yet comes from horrible inner city living conditions
where he is forced to deliver drugs for his brother.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 23, 2010
• ISBN: 9781462841011

Deanna Sparrow

Wanting to be a writer since the third grade, she started many short stories, poems, and novels in the teen genre, keeping them safe until she had time to edit them. In her thirties, with a family, horses, and family pets, she found so much to write about that she decided to get started by taking a course with the Institute of Childrens Literature. Her first short story was bought by a magazine in Colorado for $10! A published graduate of the Institute of Childrens Literature provided her with the editing tools needed for creating, editing, publishing, and assembling a twelve-page facility newspaper for twenty-five years in the facility where she worked. Preparing to retire in 2008, worrying about having too much time on her hands and sufficient income, she began taking her writing seriously. Too shy to publish in her own name, Deanna Sparrow was born, maturing slowly, making mistakes, but diving into the publishing market, making up for lost time. She wrote two books and chose to self-publish only one. Not wanting to spend the money to publish the second book, she shared her ideas with several publishing companies and editors. Her idea for that book became a Disney moviewithout her. At first angry then encouraged, she realized self-publishing was the safest way to go, and she became even more determined to be a successful writer. Once retired, relaxed, and getting a good nights sleep, she would dream incredible ideas for books! She began waking up in the middle of the night to write them down. Most of her books originated from her dreams. Deanna Sparrow hopes someday to be noticed again by Disney or even Steven Spielberg!

Book preview

Chapter One

Dragonfly Monsters

The Dragonfly Monsters’ view from so far up in the sky was breathtaking. The shiny white coats of the Unicorns were just sparkling dots in the rich green grass of the meadow. Sirus flew down closer to let them know he was there, but not so close that the Unicorns could get a good look at his glistening green-and-yellow scales, or the fire red tip of his tail. It wasn’t time to attack yet. He was waiting for the Unicorns to wander closer to his end of the meadow. He flew higher into the sky; the rapid beating of his long thin wings propelled his huge sleek dragonfly-like body through the thick white clouds, leaving dew drops glistening on his face. Other Dragonfly Monsters were flying on each side of him. He checked the meadow again for the location of the young Unicorns. Now the young white creatures were way too close to the Dragonfly Monsters’ nests in the trees. It was time to attack! Sirus gave his flight mates a wink, their signal to dive down low over the meadow. Screaming their Dragonfly Monsters’ scream of fury scattered the Unicorns in every direction! The Dragonfly Monsters laughed a deep echoing laugh as they flew straight back up into the air, as high as they could go, disappearing from view.

There were always Unicorns grazing in the field full of vibrantly colored honey flowers. Flutterbugs and rumbleflies were swarming about as the baby Unicorns nibbled at the luscious grass that grew in the meadow. The young Unicorns dipped their newly budding horns into the nectar of the honey flowers to rustle out any rumbleflies, collected the honey on their horns, and then rubbed the honey from their horns onto their legs where they licked off the sweet sticky nectar. The nectar from the honey flowers was an important part of their growth. The Dragonfly Monsters believed that this sweetness is what makes the Unicorns so kind.

The adult male Unicorns, with their silvery manes and tails gently flowing in the breeze, spent their days taking turns watching their offspring chase the colorful flutterbugs and buck at the annoying rumbleflies.

Today, the baby Unicorns were so frightened of the Dragonfly Monsters that they wouldn’t come back out to play again until they had slept away their fears. The Unicorn mares knew that wasn’t a problem. As usual, the very next morning, the baby Unicorns were having so much fun that they didn’t notice they had traveled to the other end of the meadow again where the tall forevergreen trees grew. The baby Unicorns were making so much noise, squealing and laughing, that they didn’t hear the stern neighs of their mothers and fathers calling them back. Suddenly the youngsters stopped, startled to see that they were already by the dark scary woods where the Dragonfly Monsters lived! When they realized where they were, they stood as still as they could, with their little black hooves planted in the ground, legs stiff.

One young Unicorn whispered to another, Uh-oh! We’re near the woods! The Dragonfly Monsters will get us!

Be quiet so they won’t hear us! the other answered.

They tried to tiptoe away, but their fear sent them neighing and galloping back down the field toward their mommies and daddies. All of a sudden, whoosh! The huge Dragonfly Monsters swept low over the field, right above their heads, screeching an awful sound! The baby Unicorns squealed in fear as they raced even faster back to their parents! The Dragonfly Monsters laughed and flew back to the woods, but not before giving a quick wink to the Unicorn moms and dads.

The baby Unicorns were so frightened that they were hiding under their moms as they were marched and nudged into the protection of the forevergreen branches of their end of the field.

No more playing today, babies! It’s nap time, said the queen of the Unicorns to her twins.

But, Mom, why do the Dragonfly Monsters chase us? Simon, the young Unicorn prince, asked.

"It’s a long story, son. It’s called the legend. Someday your father will tell you," answered the queen.

Why do I have to wait? the young prince asked, tossing his mane impatiently.

"You have many lessons to learn, young son. One of them is to be cautious and recognize danger! Respecting the Dragonfly Monsters will teach you that lesson. When you have learned that lesson well, you will hear more about the story of the Dragonfly Monsters and the legend from your father!"

The Unicorn Prince Simon wasn’t satisfied.

The Dragonfly Monsters returned to their audience of a few young Dragonfly Monsters watching anxiously from the tops of the big dark trees at the edge of the meadow.

Sirus found a nice branch to land on near the youngsters, tucked his wings back, and said, "Those poor babies. They don’t know we protect Unicorns. They don’t know we only eat the luscious wisteria flowers that grow on the vines that reach up to the tops of our trees, and an occasional rumblefly now and then. They don’t know that for years, we have been keeping the Unicorn young in check, in thanks for what the Unicorns did for us long ago. It’s our job to teach them to stay with their moms and dads until they’re old enough to be on their own. Then they’ll know who we are. Their friends."

The Dragonfly Monster Prince Simone flew over to Sirus who had just terrified the baby Unicorns. What did the Unicorns do for us, Sirus? What did they do for us Dragonfly Monsters?

Your mother hasn’t told you yet? Sirus asked, half closing his big bulgy eyes and turning his head to get a better look at his young group.

Not yet, the baby Dragonfly Monster answered.

Go get your sister, the princess, little prince, and I’ll tell you all, Sirus said.

The little prince flew clumsily over to his mother’s elaborate nest of moss and wisteria vines. His sister, Princess Scelia, was having her scales gleaned with Mom’s loving forked tongue while her young friend Alicin sang their favorite dragonfly songs for them.

Mommy, can Scelia and Alicin come to Sirus’s tree to listen to a story with me? asked Prince Simone.

Why, of course, dear, the queen of the Dragonfly Monsters answered.

Princess Scelia, Simone’s twin sister, scrambled quickly onto her long clawed feet to hop into the air with her brother, shouting, Let’s go, Alicin! I’ll race you there!

Scelia squealed as she got a head start and called for her friend, Come on, Alicin!

Arriving first at Sirus’s tree, Scelia settled close to the big vibrant shiny green Dragonfly Monster. She wrapped her red-pointed tail around the tree branch above her, to steady herself, while the long claws of her feet circled the branch she was sitting on. Alicin, her best friend, settled in right beside her.

Little Prince Simone struggled to land safely on the other side of Sirus. He quickly wrapped his tail around the branch above him and held on tight. They fluttered and tucked their long, thin glistening wings into place and looked up into Sirus’s big dark eyes. Sirus looked at each of them, measuring their readiness. When he was sure they were listening, he began his story.

"For thousands of years, we Dragonfly Monsters have been watching over the Unicorns for a reason. Our ancestors have passed on the legend for us to pass on to our young and you to pass on to yours," Sirus began.

We’re going to have our own young? Scelia asked.

Yes, my dear. Now— Sirus started but was interrupted again, this time by Alicin.

I’m going to be a mother? Alicin asked.

Yes, dear. Now— Sirus was interrupted again.

I’m going to be a father? Simone asked.

But of course, my prince. Now just listen and stop interrupting! Sirus said, always anxious to tell a good story. We weren’t always called monsters! Sirus continued excitedly, trying to get their attention.

How did we become monsters? Scelia asked.

Is it our big bulging eyes? Alicin asked.

Our big pointy teeth? Simone asked, giving a big grin, baring his pointed fangs.

Not any of those things! Sirus answered as he continued his story. As you know, Unicorns are magical. They can appear and disappear when they need to. But not their babies. They have to be fully mature to use their magical powers. That would be 210 years old, just like us Dragonfly Monsters.

Do we get magic when we’re 210 years old? Prince Simone asked.

"No, you just get the mature part," Sirus answered impatiently.

What does mature mean? Prince Simone asked.

Sirus was agitated with all the questions. In this case, young prince, mature means that… you will have babies.

They all three gasped!

I will have a baby? Prince Simone asked.

No, no, no! Only the girls will have babies. But you will be a father, like your father is to you, Sirus answered.

Finally, they were quiet.

Sirus continued, Mature also means that you will have learned many lessons, mostly from your parents. You must always listen to your parents! When they tell you not to fly close to the ground, only high in the sky, they tell you that so you won’t be in danger of being seen by enemies that can harm you. You must know that your parents will lead the way for your safety. Follow them.

Sometimes, what they tell us to do isn’t fun, complained Alicin.

Yeah, like ‘Take a nap.’ grumbled Prince Simone.

"Good example! Without your nap, you wouldn’t have the strength or energy to fly high up in the sky where you are safe from being seen by our enemies, and I will tell you who they are right now! Sirus gave a wink with his long eyelashes and continued his story. We Dragonfly Monsters were originally called Dragonfly Lizards. We looked like the silly slithers that scout our ponds for rumbleflies. Our wings were much smaller than they are now, but of course, we had long pointed tails and long necks, and big eyes like we do now. We couldn’t fly then, we could only run quickly on land. We enjoyed sliding into the pond to chase each other for fun. Way back then, our wings were not wings. They were shorter and stiffer like fins of the water flops. Our wings, or fins, were too small and thin to carry our bodies into the air. The humans began to move further into our forests and fields, building thick walled castles to protect them from the cave bears and even from each other."

What are humans? Simone asked.

They are very intelligent creatures that walk on their back legs and use their hands for everything they can think of like catching their food and putting it into their mouths, hitting each other, and destroying things. They began cutting down our forest and killing innocent woodbucks in the fields. The humans tied vines onto the dead woodbucks’ horns and dragged them to their nests that they built on the ground out of the trees they cut down. They built fires with the trees to cook the dead woodbucks, and then they ate them! Sirus growled a rumbly sound in his throat.

"Oooh," Scelia sighed.

Ick! Alicin frowned as she thought about eating woodbucks.

Our kind hid, but it wasn’t easy, Sirus continued. We soon became a challenge to the humans. They couldn’t find us because we always hid in the water. Humans that were smart enough to catch our kind found that they couldn’t eat us because our skin was too tough. They had to struggle to kill us because we are so big. They told stories of our strength and cunning. They would wait quietly by the water until one of us would come slithering out, unaware of their presence, then they would kill us with their swords and drag us home with a vine tied to their horse’s neck! There were groans and whimpers from the three young Dragonfly Monsters.

Sirus continued, "That’s when we became fearful monsters. They would use our dead carcass to impress the king of the castle to gain his daughter’s hand in marriage. This, of course, would bring the young human hunters much attention. Their exaggerated stories of our meanness earned us the name of monsters."

But Dragonfly Monsters are not mean at all! Alicin complained grumpily.

No, we’re not. But the humans said we were to make themselves appear stronger and braver than they really were, Sirus explained. "Unicorns were also in danger. They were captured by the humans and brought to the king to be sold as pets to be kept inside the castle walls. Sometimes their magic helped them escape. The Unicorns’ only hope was to become invisible and wait for someone to leave open the castle gate just long enough for them to sneak out. Many of the captured Unicorns died from loneliness for their loved ones left behind and of longing for their freedom. As the kings and queens of the Unicorns and Dragonfly Monsters saw their herds diminishing over the years, they met to discuss a plan. The king of the Dragonfly Monsters and the king of the Unicorns both agreed that they should help each other. The king of the Unicorns gathered all of his adult male Unicorns in a magical ceremony to give strength to the wings of the Dragonfly Monsters so that we could fly high up over the castle walls, pick up the Unicorns with our clawed feet, and carry them deep into the forests of a faraway land where humans could not find them. In return, the Dragonfly Monsters would have to protect the Unicorns and watch over them from the sky, forever. Of course, the Dragonfly Monsters were happy to help! We no longer had to be dining from the pond or hiding from the humans underwater. We would be able to fly away, way over their heads where their arrows and vines could not reach us!" Sirus finished proudly.

Why don’t the baby Unicorns know that we won’t hurt them? Simone asked.

It’s part of their learning process, Sirus answered.

What do you mean? Scelia asked.

"Well, my dear princess, other than their magical ability to disappear, the Unicorns have no self-defense. Unicorns are kind, like us. They do not fight or hurt others. They kick and buck in play, not in anger. They can run fast but not faster than the humans’ lasso made of vines that soars through the air to land around their necks, tightening to control them. So they have to learn fear. They must fear things that are different than they are. We are their first lesson. We prepare them to run fast in fear. The young Unicorns cannot use their magic of disappearance until their adulthood when they are 210 years old. Young Unicorns are very vulnerable until then. They must learn caution. Another job that we Dragonfly Monsters are responsible for is to watch for humans. We often fly long distances, scouting from the sky. When humans are seen, we must warn the Unicorn king by sending a messenger to arrange a meeting with our king. Simone and Scelia’s father will let them know which direction the humans are coming from, and then the Unicorn king will gather his herd and move them quickly into faraway lands. We Dragonfly Monsters are to scout the lands from above to find a safe place where there are no humans and no castles. We must find green country meadows where the Unicorns can graze near tall trees where we can hide and eat the wisteria flowers. To guarantee that we never leave the Unicorn herds, we had to agree to eat the same nectar that is so abundant in the wild wisteria and honey flowers. The nectar makes us and the Unicorns kindhearted. The Unicorns have jobs too to guarantee our protection over them. They are to pollinate the wisteria flowers as high as they can to assure that the fast-growing vines will grow tall into the trees where we can reach them without coming down from the trees to eat the flowers, which would make us easily visible. All of this changed our eating habits. We no longer eat bugs from the ponds, only those annoying, but tasty, flying, nectar-eating rumbleflies!" Sirus said, licking his lips with his long red forked tonge.

"Mmmm. I want some right now!" Alicin said.

Why didn’t they use their magic to make themselves fly over the castle walls to escape? Simone asked.

"Ahh, you are listening, my wise prince. The legend says that they tried that. Stories of winged Unicorns who escaped are found in paintings made by humans, left on mountain walls and inside the homes of the cave bears. It is said that humans would shoot them with their arrows to injure them enough to make them fall, only to be captured again," Sirus answered.

Why didn’t the flying Unicorns disappear? Princess Scelia asked.

They may have. Still, the humans’ weapons would capture or kill them. They would guess where they were even though they couldn’t see them, so they would shoot at them anyway, and sometimes, they would get lucky. Sirus answered. The Unicorn king was very smart. He knew the thick-scaled skin of the Dragonfly Monsters would cause most arrows to bounce off. He knew our claws could safely and gently hold the Unicorns long enough to carry them far away from danger. As soon as they were picked up, they could use their magic to disappear, and the humans could not see them being carried away in the claws of the Dragonfly Monsters. They would only shoot at what they could see. They, of course, could see the Dragonfly Monsters, Sirus explained.

But I would like to play with the Unicorn babies! Alicin said sadly.

No! That would never be permitted! Sirus scolded.

Why not? Scelia asked.

Then they won’t fear us, and we will not be able to teach them caution! Prince Simone exclaimed.

Exactly, my young prince. It would lead the young Unicorns to slaughter! Sirus said.

Scelia and Simone were both sad.

Why do you scowl, my royal twins? Sirus asked.

I just want to play! Simone grumbled.

Sirus laughed loudly and shouted, Then catch me! as he leaped into the air from the high tree branch, diving down until his thin wings spread far out beside him, carrying him high up over the trees. The youngsters squealed and fluttered, clumsily chasing after him.

After their naps, the Unicorn babies rolled in the soft grass, stretching their long legs. They blinked tiredly at the setting sun, giving them just a little more time to graze. They climbed onto their long spindly legs and stretched their necks down until they reached the rich green grass. While munching and chewing, they kept an eye at the far woods.

Where do Dragonfly Monster babies play? the Unicorn king’s daughter, Princess Priscilla, asked.

The sky is their playground, and the trees are their homes, Queen Lee, her mother, answered.

Why can’t we play with them? the princess asked.

Because we can’t fly, and they can’t land on the ground, the queen answered.

Why can’t we fly, Queen Lee? Anon asked. Anon, a bright young Unicorn colt, was always curious to learn new things.

We have our own magic, the queen answered.

Show us please, Mummy, please show us! Priscilla urged.

There was a twinkle in the queen’s eye. Let’s play a game, the queen said to the babies.

Oh yes, a game! the princess squealed with delight.

I will hide, and you will find me! Now close your eyes while I hide, the queen said.

The two youngsters snorted in laughter as they closed their eyes. In a flash, Queen Lee used her magic and disappeared! She moved only a few feet away so they wouldn’t bump into her. When they opened their eyes, they could not see her! They ran in different directions, looking behind the trees and bushes.

Where are you, Mummy? Princess Priscilla called.

I’m right behind you, dear! the queen answered as she magically