The Caretaker of Dragons, the Origins of Arthur: A prequel to There are Dragons in the Garden

By Katherine L. Myers-Kohn

This is the tale of the making of a wizard that was not born one. How fate took a hand after a natural disaster which started an epic journey for one tiny human. A journey from infancy to manhood. A journey from The Black Forest region of Germany to China and back again. His adventures and education along

• Language: English
• Publisher: ReadersMagnet LLC
• Release date: Jun 28, 2023
• ISBN: 9798890910264

Katherine L. Myers-Kohn

Katherine L. Myers-Kohn, more often known as Kathie is a retired nurse, teacher, wife, mother, grandmother & a teller of stories. As a child, Kathie had a boundless imagination and growing up her mother & grandfather encouraged it to grow and thrive. Kathie would write short stories & poems on any bit of paper she could find. Her writing was a way of coping with feeling & emotions when she was young. As Kathie grew up, she found that her stories were helpful in caring for the sick, injured or those who were in need of a tender human touch. Kathie found that her stories could help others in dealing with the same anxieties, fears and sadness that she had experienced. Kathie is a lover of all living things. Favorites include dragons, tigers & dogs - all breeds. As a child, Kathie had the usual pets dogs, cats, hamsters, etc... But how many children can say they had a Margay (a small wild cat of Central & South American) for a family pet. Her Father introduced her to all kinds of animals only seen in zoos through his contacts in wild animal societies. Some of the wild animals Kathie met included a spider monkey, wolves, a pair of mountain lions and a tiger. Kathie was taught to respect every animal rather than to fear them. Kathie had albino corn snakes because she married a man who is allergic to most furry animals. Kathie was born & has lived her entire life in Southern California. Kathie's new book is a prequel to her published work  There are Dragons in the Garden. Kathie hopes that the reader will find answers to where the wizard Arthur came from and how he became The Caretaker of Dragons.

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The Caretaker of Dragons, The Origins of Arthur

Copyright © 2023 by Katherine L Myers-Kohn

Published in the United States of America

ISBN Paperback: 979-8-89091-024-0

ISBN Hardback: 979-8-89091-025-7

ISBN eBook: 979-8-89091-026-4

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any way by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the author except as provided by USA copyright law.

The opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily those of ReadersMagnet, LLC.

ReadersMagnet, LLC

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Book design copyright © 2023 by ReadersMagnet, LLC. All rights reserved.

Cover design by Kent Gabutin

Interior design by Daniel Lopez

Dedication

This book is dedicated to all of the people who believed in me when I did not. To my family and friends who supported me when I felt alone. To the parents, grandparents and caregivers who will read this book to the children before they are able to read for themselves. And to all of the youngsters who listen to or read this book, may you find a sense of wonder, adventure, respect for all living things and a burning curiosity to learn more about all of the places within these pages. Because even though all of the characters contained in these pages are imaginary, all of the places named in this book are real.

I wish to thank Kim Webb Bass of KRay Kreations for giving me permission to use her beautiful painting as the cover art for this book.

Glossary

Characters

Adonis and Adrian – Horses in this story

Alaster and Aleko – Donkeys in this story

Amico – Italian for a friend and wyvern of this story

*Wyvern – Sub-species of dragons

Arthur – Main character of this story

Barnabas Scout – Roaming Alchemist and teacher to Arthur

*Alchemist – Person who practices alchemy

*Alchemy – An ancient branch of natural philosophy that attempt to purify, mature and perfect certain materials and cure disease.

Bing – An ice dragon of the Himalayan Mountains and twin to Ying

Bast Bahadur – Caravan leader of this story

Bo Gang – Captain of the Junk or ship Hai Ma

Cosette – Dwarf in this story

Doctor Fa Yong – Physician who is skilled in the treatment of internal medical issues and a skilled surgeon for people

Doctor Jun Lim – Physician who is skilled in the treatment of disease and external injuries of people

Francesco Cattaneo – Captain of the ship The Flying Eagle or l’Aquila Volante

Gina and Gino – Horses of this story with Gina being a female or mare Gino being a castrated male or gelding

Jordmor – Norwegain for earth mother and first dragon in this story

Kamal and Shaden – Camels in this story

Leonardo and Bria Palma – farmer and wife of this story

Ling Chang – Apothecary, emissary of the warlord of the region, teacher and long time friend of Barnabas

Master Shenshe – An elemental dragon and teacher

Omar Abbas – Caravan leader of this story

Regen – Ancient dragon and advisor

Rotbraun – German for red-brown or auburn and horse in this story

Ruzgar – Turkish for wind and a dragon of the Kyzyl Kum Desert

Torden – Norwegian for thunder and ancient dragon and advisor

Ying – A fire dragon of the Taklimakan Desert and twin to Bing

William Meier – Village elder of this story

Wunder – German for Wonder and dragon of this story

Zian Yu – Veterinary who teaches Arthur how to care for, treat and heal animals

Plants, Shrubs, Trees and Herbs

Calendula – An annual and perennial plant often known as marigolds

Comfrey – A flowering shrub that grows in parts of Europe, Asia and North America

Goldenseal – A North American woodland plant of the buttercup family with a bright yellow root used in herbal medicine

Hul Gil – A flowering plant of lower Mesopotamia and the Sumerians called the joy plant commonly known as the opium poppy

Juncus – A flowing plant commonly known as rushes

Kava – A tropical shrub with heart-shaped leaves and woody stems

Katsura tree – A deciduous flowering tree native to Japan and China

Lavendula – A flowering plant of the mint family

Marshmellow root – A perennial herb that is native to Europe, Western Asia and Northern Africa

Mentha – A non-flowering plant of the mint family

Salix – A species of the willow native to Europe, western and central Asia commonly known as White Willow

Salvia – A flowering plant of the sage family

Saxaul – A shrub with heavy, coarse wood and spongy, water-soaked bark

Spiraea – A common flowering shrub with narrow leaves commonly known as meadowsweet and is a member of the rose family

Tumeric – A flowering plant of the ginger family

Foreign Language Vocabulary

Arrivederci – Good-bye in Italian

Hai Ma – Chinese for The Seahorse and a Junk or sailing ship in this story

Joss paper – Is made of coarse bamboo paper or rice paper, each decorated with a square of gold or silver foil to represent money. Joss paper is used as a burnt offering to a persons ancestors. Also known as incense papers or spirit money.

la Locanda del Marinaio – The Sailor’s Inn in Naples, Italy

l’Aquila Volante – Italian for The Flying Eagle and a ship in this story

Masonry Mortar – A mixture of crushed stones like limestone and gypsum with sand or silica. Combined with minerals like alumina, magnesia, iron oxide, and an alkaline; like soda or pot ash.

Mingsha Shan – Chinese for the Singing Sand

Mo fa – Chinese for Magic

Nestro Azzurro – An Italian beer

Sariban – A caravan leader

Panini – Italian for Bread Roll and is a sandwich often served grilled

Petechiae – Small red or purple spots which appear on the skin and are caused by bleeding into or under the layers or the skin

Wu shi – Chinese for Wizard

Places

Acropolis of Athens – Means high point city in ancient Greek is a rocky hill in the city center and home to numerous temples and other important buildings

Antioch, Turkey – Was one of the most important cities of the Eastern Mediterranean half of the Roman Empire

Arabian Sea – A region of the northern Indian Ocean

Athens – Capital city of Greece

Attica – The region surrounding the city of Athens and its countryside on a peninsula which projects into the Aegean Sea

Constantinople, Turkey – Was the capital of the Roman Empire and later the Eastern Roman Empire, the Latin Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. Following the Turkish War of Independence, the Turkish capital was moved to Ankana. Constantinople was officially renamed Istanbul in 1930.

Dunhuang – An oasis city in Northwest China at the crossroads of two major trade routes within the Silk Road, known for its ancient Buddhist activity and the Mogao Caves or Grottos

Fergana Valley – An inter-mountain depression in Central Asia

Guangling, China – Located in the southern part of China, it is known for its natural beauty and historic treasures such as the limestone of the Karst Hills, its crystal clear water lakes, the Reed Flute Cave and Silver Cave

Gorgan, Iran – City on the shores of the Caspian sea known for its large variety of fruit orchards

Heraklion – Port city on the Greek island of Crete

Hippodrome – Was an arena used for chariot races and public events such as parades, public executions and public shaming of enemies of the emperor

Kara Kum Desert – Turkish for Black Sand Desert in Central Asia

Kokand – Was the most important trade center on the Silk Road, known for its endless caravans from many nations and empires of the region due to having the two main crossroads of the region meet in Kokand

Kyzyl Kum Desert – Turkish for Red Sand Desert in Central Asia

Lanzhou – Is the largest city in the State of Qin in northwest China and located on the banks of the Yellow River China. China’s Yellow River or Huang He is the most sediment-filled river on earth

Messina – Port city on the Italian Island of Sicily

Mogoa Caves – A system of naturally caves as well as dug out caves and grottoes by the first Buddhist monks to come to oasis city of Dunhuang China. Also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes or Caves of the Thousand Buddhas

Myos Hormos – One of the two main ports of ancient Roman Egypt

Red Sea – A saltwater inlet of the Indian Sea

Rosh – Ancient name for the area known as Russia today

Sea of Bengal – Northeaster part of the Indian Ocean

South China Sea – A marginal sea (a division of an ocean, partially enclosed by islands, peninsulas and adjacent to open ocean on the surface and bounded by submarine ridges on the sea floor) of the Western Pacific Ocean

Taklamakan Desert – A vast desert located in Northwest China. One of the largest sandy deserts of the world and covering an area slightly small than the country of Germany

Yangtze River – The longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country

Yarkand – Oasis city of China located on the southern rim of the Taklamakan Desert

Chapter 1

The sun had just broken on the horizon of a new day and all the hues of red and gold had began to show upon the land. Without warning, a great rumble was heard like that of thunder and the earth began to quake. The great lake at the base of the mountain began to foam with white caps and splash over its banks. Trees began to sway, crack, and crash to the ground. Rocks of all sizes began to break loose from the mountain. And all manner of creatures, great and small, had a very rude awakening to this new day.

Between the base of the mountain and the lake was the small three room log cabin of a trapper, his wife and newborn son. The son was only five days old and slept in a basket on the floor next to the parents’ bed and a bedside table. This sleeping arrangement proved to be a very good thing indeed as it provided easy access to the baby and kept him close. As the world began and continued to move and quake on this fateful morning, the trapper awoke to the sounds of cracking and breaking. Some the larger trees were falling near and onto the log cabin. Before the trapper could get out of bed and collect his wife and infant son, a large boulder came rolling down the mountain and crushed the room where the family had been sleeping. All that could be heard were the cries of the birds and animals of the forest as calm began to returned to the earth.

Near the summit of the mountain was a cave and in this cave was a soon-to-be mother dragon. Her egg was only days away from hatching. The dragon’s name was Jordmor which by chance means Earth Mother. She too was awakened by the rolling and quaking of the earth. All around her cave bits of rock had begun to fall. Jordmor looked up at the sound of cracking stone just in time to see a rather large boulder break away from the ceiling of the cave. As she watched the boulder fall, it landed in the nest which held her egg crushing it. At that same moment, Jordmor felt anger, fear, and a profound sadness in equal measure. Before the earth had stopped quaking, she pushed the boulder from the nest, then from the cave, and finally off of the cliff near her cave. Jordmor watched the boulder fall down the mountain hoping that it would shatter into a thousand pieces, but it did not. The boulder bounced and rolled down the mountain only to come to a stop when it landed on a small log cabin at the base of the mountain.

Jordmor returned to the cave with tears in her eyes to mourn the loss of her egg and its soon to have hatched baby dragon. She also felt the beginnings of guilt for having rolled the boulder down the mountain causing the cabin to be crushed. Jordmor buried the remains of her egg in the ways of dragons by digging out a hole in the side of the stone cave, placing the remains within and sealing the hole with flame so hot that it caused the stone walls to melt. She knew that she would be crying and mourning her loss for several days and just wanted to be alone with her sadness. However, that nagging guilt kept pulling on her heart strings.

It was now mid-morning, about 10:00 by the timekeeping of man. Jordmor knew of the race known as man and that they lived in places like the cabin which her actions had caused to be crushed. She also knew she would not be able to mourn in peace until she knew if anyone or anything needed help down there. She was one of the few dragons who knew the art of healing. She was skilled in healing all manner of animals, not just dragons. So Jordmor flew down the mountain to land beside the cabin below. At first Jordmor did not hear any sound nor see anything moving. She moved the boulder aside along with a couple of trees that had also fallen onto the cabin. She listened again, waiting for any small sound. As she listened she began to hear a soft cooing sound which quickly became a very loud wailing cry. Jordmor began to dig ever so gently through the rubble and began to remove the logs, branches, and bits of rock covering the area of the crying sound. Jordmor found the trapper and his wife without signs of life still in their bed, but the cry was not there. The cry was coming from a small open space next to the bed. The space was made by branches which landed on both the bed and the bedside table and had created a tiny wooden thicket which held a tiny basket. In that basket lay an unhurt infant crying with all the force his tiny lungs could provide in an effort to inform the world of his wants and needs. Needs which perhaps included a clean diaper, warmth and feeding.

Jordmor’s tears, a mother’s tears, still rolled from her eyes still mourning the loss of her egg, but tears now flowed anew for finding this precious little life. As she removed the basket from the ruins of the cabin, her tears landed on the infant boy. She unwrapped the infant from his wet blanket to lick him clean. She then blew her warm breath upon him so that he might dry. The infant was now clean and warm but was still in need of feeding. She placed the infant back in the basket. Jordmor then began to think on this problem of how to feed an animal that requires milk like other mammals. Dragons however, do not produce milk to feed their young. While she was dwelling on how she would feed this tiny infant, Jordmor was unaware of a transformation taking place. The combination of dragon’s tears, saliva, and dragon’s breath had changed the tiny human infant into an infant wizard.

Chapter 2

Dragons come in many shapes, sizes, colors and with different abilities. Some dragons, mostly those who call the continent of Asia home, have the ability to change their size at any time. Some dragons can change their color for camouflage, so they can choose to be seen or not. Some dragons can change their shape, yet still remain dragons. There is also the rare ability, bestowed upon very few dragons, to take the form and abilities of other animals whether it swims in the water, flies in the sky or walks on the land. Finally, there is the very rare dragon that has all four of these abilities. This is the dragon known as the Origin Dragon. The Origin Dragon would take on the form of other animals and in that form she could to speak with other members of that species learning how they live and care for each other. The Origin Dragon is always female so that she may pass on the abilities to the next generation. She is the teacher, caretaker and healer of the current population of dragons on the earth. Jordmor was the current Origin Dragon.

Jordmor was a fine looking dragon, in her opinion. She was 713 seasons old, by the reckoning of dragons. That’s 178 years and 3 months in human years. Her face was long with a narrowing snout. Her jaw was strong and full of many sharp, white, dagger like teeth. All the better to catch her prey. Her eyes were large and blue-green in color. She possessed a long, powerful, yet graceful neck. Her chest was broad and well proportioned with her hips. Her legs were well muscled and her claws were well-curved and sharp. Her favorite features about herself were her wings. They were large, powerful, and strong. The thin membrane was a pale blue, like the sky underneath and a deep blue green, like her eyes, on top. Her body was covered in many different colored scales. She could change the color of her scales to match her moods, but she preferred to have them in tones of blue and green to match the forest where she hunted. But now, most of her scales were in tones dark blue and black reflecting her sadness at the loss of her egg, the damage her anger had caused to the log cabin, and to the parents of the tiny infant.

Jordmor had watched human behavior many times over the nearly two centuries but had only taken human form twice. Once to talk with a very wise mountain hermit and the other was to talk with a haggard woman. The hermit taught Jordmor about the plants and techniques useful for healing and treating the illnesses and wounds of the beings known as man. The haggard woman taught Jordmor about caring for the four little humans that called her their mother. Both the hermit and woman were no longer alive, but their lessons lived on with Jordmor.

Chapter 3

Jordmor began to think more clearly as she comforted the infant. She saw that the log cabin still had two rooms that could be repaired, but she would have to be slightly smaller. She also saw that near the cabin was a fenced area that had two covered stalls. Jordmor looked more closely at the ground and found animals’ tracks. There were three different tracks; a cow, a goat and a horse. She knew that these animals could be very useful in caring for the human infant. Hopefully she would be able to find them. Beside the fenced area was a smaller, elevated box shaped object with a small door near the ground and a larger door on the side. None of the doors were open, but when Jordmor listened she could hear a clucking