The Lexonite Legacy: Dragon Chosen

By C.N. Strauser

For his entire life, Hopel dreamed of bonding with a dragon...a dream that only Lexonite villagers share for the betterment of dragons and mankind. Yet, before he can even have the hope that a dragon will choose him, he has to risk his life to overcome several challenges. Overcoming the challenges and bonding with a dragon isn't Hopel's only problem. A mysterious evil king appears in another neighboring village and threatens to bring his once peaceful village into the brink of war. This evil king kidnaps Hopel's friend and a dragon. He uses dark magic to try to change them into his compulsory allies. Will Hopel bond with a dragon? Can he and his friends overcome the challenges and fight the evil king to save their friend?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9781098006228

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The Lexonite Legacy

Dragon Chosen

C.N. Strauser

Copyright © 2019 by C.N. Strauser

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. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, incidents, and places are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, areas, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

This book is dedicated to Angel Herrerra-Alvarez, beloved mother, daughter, teacher, and dearest friend, who passed on to be with the other Angels in heaven on December 20th, 2019. Thank you, dearest friend, for being like a sister to me. You were there for me through some of my toughest times. You will be remembered in our hearts forever and missed by all who knew you.

Prologue

Hopel struggled to reach a fissure that would present him with a crack big enough for him to anchor himself and not plummet to his death. One slip, and he would plunge down 5000 feet. He had already come so far. There was no going back now, even if he gave up, and that was something he wasn’t going to do. Lea said he was too young for this, but he refused to be swayed. He needed to do it, and he would show the village leaders and everyone else that he could do it…but most importantly, he would show himself that he could do it. His foot slipped again, and he castigated himself for not focusing better. While he was trying to regain his hold, he mistakenly looked down. Now terrified, he hugged the cliff tighter and was frozen, unable to move. This was when he heard it…a slight whisper calling to him to keep going. It gave him the courage to begin again, and, eyeing a ledge where he thought the whisper originated, he found another foothold.

Chapter 1

Hopel was doing his best not to let his irritation at his younger sister show. He was reeling in his fishing lure, and he was pretty sure that he lost his latest fish, which only made his patience wear even thinner while his irritation with her grew deeper.

You still thinking about doing the challenge tomorrow? Lea, his younger sister, asked immediately after arriving. Her long, straight, charcoal black hair was braided down her back, and she flipped it angrily when she talked. With her dark brown eyes and shorter stature, she looked like their ma and didn’t resemble him in the least. He was tall, probably like his father, with hazel eyes that looked greener than brown most days, and he had, short, curly, light brown hair.

Yes, he said simply, trying to avoid this conversation again.

You’re only fifteen. Why can’t you wait until you are seventeen? If anything happens to you… Her voice dwindled off.

It won’t, he said matter-of-factly to her, but doubt managed to seep into him regardless of whether he let her see it or not.

Why? Because you say so? She glared at him.

Lea’s fear of losing him was understandable. Hopel didn’t even remember his real father since he had taken off when he was one, but his stepfather, Leanaro, Lea’s real father, had died last year, and it was still hard for all of them, including Hopel, since Leanaro was the only real father that Hopel had ever known. At any rate, Hopel felt like he had to be there for his younger siblings, but sometimes, his impatience for adventure grew, and he just wanted to see what else was out there. There must be so many exciting things to see and do besides what his village had to offer. Also, he couldn’t stop thinking about his dreams. Recently, whenever he fell asleep, he started to dream about flying with his bonded dragon and soaring over the lands. Remembering his dreams now, he started thinking again about the upcoming challenge as he threw out his fishing net one more time, hoping that the net, as usual, would be more successful than his rod.

In their village, Lexonite, anyone between the ages of fifteen to seventeen could attempt what they called the choosing ceremony challenge. It was a unique and difficult challenge that could unite them with a dragon…but it wasn’t easy. If you didn’t die first in the choosing ceremony challenge trying to prove you were worthy enough to make the climb at the dragon cliffs, you could die on the actual climb itself. There was also a good chance you were doing it all for nothing too, because even if you were fortunate enough to pass the first challenge and make it to the dragon cliffs and back again alive, it still did not mean that a dragon egg would choose you and imbue you with the magic that would bond you forever. Ultimately, you do not choose the dragon; the dragon chooses you. However, if you are blessed enough to be chosen and bonded, it is the greatest gift in the world. Yes, at first, you guard and raise an egg, but when your dragon partner is hatched, the real fun begins. Then, you begin training with the dragon riders, and you and your dragon help and protect each other throughout the rest of your lives—and the flying… Hopel imagined that flying was what he wanted to do with his bond the most.

Sweat beading down his brow, Hopel was thinking about all of this while pulling in the fishing net. Very few villagers bonded…what if he ended up being one of the ones that didn’t bond? What if he wasn’t good enough? It was the worst thing that he could imagine, and he tried to push the thought out of his mind. He gestured toward Lea to give him a hand and then sighed again in frustration. They have had this conversation numerous times, and it always ended the same way—with both of them upset. He gave up and shrugged his shoulders.

Look, squirt, I can’t explain to you why I need to do this…I just do…so much so that if I didn’t try this, I’d feel as if my purpose for being in this world was lost. It would be as if I was in a desert foolishly searching for gold instead of necessary water because someone told me gold was what I needed to have in order to survive and that the gold would make me rich and happy when, all along, all I really needed in order to survive was to look for what should have been my real purpose—the water that would give me life. We waste a lot of our life chasing the wrong dreams, Lea. I want to chase the right one, and I’m pretty sure this is it.

She looked at him as if he had lost his mind, and he shrugged again, saying, Well I told you it was hard to explain why this is something that I have to do. Let’s just leave it at this—a dragon partner will help to take care of the family if I bond. Besides, I know you are still young, but Ma has you to help her while I’m gone. In fact, instead of being here right now, why are you not back at the village helping her?

Wrinkling her nose with indignation, she replied, I’m only two years younger than you, and besides, she sent me to get you, that’s why.

Sighing again, Hopel gathered up his fishing things, handed Lea the fish that he had strung together while they talked, and signaled to her to start back. Well, at least today was not a total loss. I caught a few.

As they walked back to the village in silence, Hopel’s doubts began to seep in again. Despite the fact that he wouldn’t let Lea know he had doubts, he couldn’t help himself. Was she right? Should he stay back and help his family longer? Could he even overcome the challenges much less bond? He wasn’t sure, but he knew all he could do was try and not give in to the doubts that plagued him.

The Lexonite village was bustling with activity when they returned. Hopel could see the village vendors at the market square hustling to sell their wares on the bright sunny day. He didn’t think there were more than 2,000 people in the whole village, but sometimes, it seemed like they were all at the market. Despite the fact that it was crowded on this day, he enjoyed walking through the various booths on his way home. It seemed he had to sidestep the numerous children cavorting through the market even more than usual. He noticed the usual bloody cuts of meat, which were thoroughly salted to preserve as long as possible hanging from the butcher’s booth. The butcher, Krusteau, had some of the meat hanging from his booth in order to attract immediate customers, but other meat he smoked to ensure it would be good until bought. He smiled as he remembered the rumor that quickly spread through the village about a bad cut of meat that was sold to one of the villagers. The brawny butcher hunted down the villager that started the rumor and beat him to a pulp. He later told Hopel that no one would besmirch his good name despite the fact that he suffered a reprimand from the village council that included a stiff penalty which was paid to the man he beat. Now, Hopel knew no one else would make that kind of accusation again. Even though the butcher was known for his foul temper, deep down, Hopel thought he had a good heart. Hopel knew he gave away meat that he didn’t sell to the less fortunate villagers, which even included a mongrel dog that now followed Krusteau everywhere. There was something strange about that dog too, he thought. Rumor was that it had slept next to a dragon egg and inherited some of its magic. Hopel almost believed it was true since the dog looked like it changed sizes every time he saw it. Hopel waved to Krusteau as he passed, and Krusteau tipped his hat in return.

The fish merchant was located right next to Krusteau’s stand with his salted fish spread out on crates of ice. It was a smelly combination. Some days, when Hopel had a good catch with more fish than he needed for his family, he often was able to sell some of his fish to this merchant. Although he pondered with a sigh as he walked past, usually Meekes, the fish merchant, did not buy it for a very good price since he had to resell the fish and make a profit. Also, he didn’t know why, but it seemed like Meekes didn’t like him much and purposely underpaid him. He got the same feeling from a few of the other villagers that he didn’t even know, and they certainly didn’t know him. Oh well, he thought, he couldn’t worry about what he couldn’t fix. He hurried on past his booth since he didn’t have enough fish today to sell to him anyway. This fish would go to his family.

Next, he spotted another one of his favorites…old Petriff, the candlemaker’s booth. He always enjoyed passing her booth since she had the most heavenly assortment of dyed candles which were infused with numerous distinct sweet-smelling scents that he could barely identify. Her candles were a favorite in the village. Indeed, it wasn’t unusual to see her candles emitting a soft welcoming glow in many of the villagers’ windows at night. Hopel often wondered how she made them smell so divine. Some villagers even suspected that she used magic. Even though she was an odd old duck with