The Dragondain Read online

  Table of Contents

  Return to Barreth

  Return to the Room of the Fallen

  Children of Dain

  Lunamancer’s Apprentice

  Annora and Bree

  Live by the Sword

  Stranger

  Isla Gorpmarch

  Don’t Tell Dad

  The Blackmage

  Tavin’s Last Stand

  The Unexpected Party

  The Girl in the Ring

  Castle Fendragon

  Home Again, Home Again

  Gwen’s Present

  A Sword is Drawn

  Second Battle of Fangdelve

  Praise for Richard Due’s

  The Moon Coin

  Book One / A Moon Realm Novel

  “The Moon Coin is a beautifully written fantasy novel, perfect for middle graders to pore over themselves or as a bedtime story for younger kids. The descriptions of everything, from Uncle Ebb’s electronic fish-bird hybrids to the fanciful creatures Lily meets in the Moon Realm, are so rich that the action instantly comes alive for the reader. The story’s tension builds slowly but the excitement is constant, with Lily asking the same questions puzzling the reader. The Moon Coin has all the elements of a great fantasy: a unique, complex world, a battle between good and evil, and creatures that are a mix of comical and terrifying.”

  —ForeWord Reviews

  “Entrancing pictures, an engaging plot, and a great writing style combine to create a middle grade fantasy that readers of all ages will love.”

  —Danica Page

  “The world created by Mr. Due is a wonderful mix of fantasy that will have middle grade readers and teens wanting more. The writing is as magical as the Moon Realm, with nicely shaped phrases that don’t confuse the reader.”

  —Carabosse’s Library

  “So begins a beautifully descriptive, cleverly written, intricate story, full of adventure and captivating characters, who draw you into their very lives and worlds. The wider adult reading population will no doubt be entranced by the skill of the author, Richard Due. I just cannot believe that this maturity and skill with the written word comes from a debut author.”

  —Fiction Books

  “The Moon Coin is middle-grade fantasy at its best! When I was a kid I would have annihilated this book, slept with it under my pillow, and carried it with me at school.”

  —Sizzling Reads

  “The Moon Coin, fast, furious and immensely enjoyable, reminded me of what I love about fiction. There are surprises around every corner and by taking the more difficult theme of division, forcible annexation and the underlying currents of coloring up the truth, Mr. Due has made The Moon Coin into a story that is deeply layered and developed as much as it is entertaining and delightful. With a extremely wide cast of characters and a heroine we can appreciate, The Moon Coin just keeps giving.”

  —In the Closet with a Bibliophile

  “The world of the Moon Realm is so wonderfully detailed and vivid that you have no trouble imagining everything that Lily is going through. Lily and Jasper’s Uncle Ebb tells the kinds of tales that every little kid dreams about. For someone so young, she’s incredibly brave and adventurous. Fantasy lovers will love escaping into this new world!”

  —A Bookish Affair

  “Carolyn Arcabascio’s illustrations really bring the story to life. The worlds in this story are vivid and beautifully descriptive. If you have a young reader who enjoys Fantasy, loves to be lost in a good story, or just wants something new, give them this book.”

  —Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile

  “Mr. Due’s world building is phenomenal. The idea of the Moon Realm, a place where nine moons orbit each other (though the natives of each moon insist that their world is a planet and the other moons orbit around it) and get close enough to touch, was completely original.”

  —Howling Turtle

  “One of the things I particularly enjoyed about The Moon Coin was the way that Due does not talk down to his young readers. The book employs a rich vocabulary, giving its audience opportunities to learn new words in context. The intricately described universe of the Moon Realm is the highlight of the book.”

  —Agrippina Legit

  To read more praise for The Moon Coin, visit TheMoonRealm.com

  Richard Due

  Book Two / A Moon Realm Novel

  Illustrated by

  Carolyn Arcabascio

  Gibbering Gnome Press

  A Division of Ingenious Inventions Run Amok, Ink

  Huntingtown

  Gibbering Gnome Press, A Division of Ingenious Inventions Run Amok, Ink. Huntingtown, MD

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

  TheMoonRealm.com

  Text copyright © 2012 by Richard Due

  Illustrations copyright © 2012 by Carolyn Arcabascio

  Cover design and typography by Graphic Mayhem,

  A Division of Ingenious Inventions Run Amok, Ink

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions in any form whatsoever.

  ISBN: 978-09838867-4-7 (ebook)

  First Gibbering Gnome Press, A Division of Ingenious Inventions Run Amok, Ink™ e-book edition September 2012

  For Meredith and Clare,

  two mermaids I hope to one day see graduate from college.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I’d like to thank my editors, Liz Prouty and Emily Bakely, for tirelessly improving my prose and catching continuity errors. Thanks to all my readers, especially Janet Jiacinto and Jessi Wood (aka Twizbang and Snerliff). A special thanks to the early contributors in CL: Julia D’Anna, for lending me Hotel Julie; Jamie Casbon, for letting me raid her closet; Jimmy Humphries, for poking holes in magic systems; and Sharon Grummer, for sharing with me those things that might, on any given day, be found on a thirteen-year-old girl’s bedroom floor. A special thanks to Carolyn Arcabascio, for giving me artwork that surpassed anything I could have imagined. Thanks to my two beautiful children, who inspired me to see this novel through to the end. A special thanks to Roger Zelazny, for teaching me how to dream while wide awake, and Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., for teaching me how to laugh unexpectedly in a silent, crowded room.

  And finally, my eternal thanks to the little one who kept elbowing me—you’re not making sense, Daddy!—, without whose assistance I never would have snatched the Moon Realm from the precipice at the edge of my dreams.

  CHARACTERS

  Earth

  Lily Vervain Winter, thirteen-year-old sister of Jasper, expert liar, trying to reform

  Jasper Milfoil Winter, fourteen-year-old, would rather die than break a pinky-promise

  Tay and Linnea Winter, father and mother of Lily and Jasper, owners of Treling Tree Nursery

  Ebb Autumn, Linnea’s brother, lives in the mansion on The Egg

  Bruford, big black shaggy dog

  Tarzanna, gray tabby, great mouser

  Hello Kitty, Lily’s horse

  Gwen Madsen, geriatric botanist, works at Treling Tree Nursery, lives with her brother Myrddin in a cabin next to The Wald

  Myrddin Madsen, geriatric botanist, Gwen’s older brother, good in a pinch

  Isla Gorpmarch, do not judge her by her size, Lily’s best friend

  The Electrimals

  Os
car, bright red-plumed flying seahorse, unique among the birdfish

  Mr. Phixit, more than just two arms mounted to a tall dresser with exactly ninety-nine drawers

  Mr. Clippers, eight-legged, solar-paneled lawnmower, lives on The Egg

  Finder, teddy bear-sized and -shaped, good at finding things

  Bounder, larger, slower version of Finder, good at carrying heavy objects

  The Moon Realm

  The Moon of Dain

  The Dragondain, their children, and others

  The Glaive, Dragondain, father of Dubb, sees all weaknesses, current Royal Master-at-Arms at the Royal Court of Dain

  Dubb, Dragondain, Captain, master swordsman and tactician

  Lady Mairwen, wife of Dubb and a Lady of the Court

  Darce, swordswoman-in-training, daughter, a chip off the old Glaive block

  Teague, swordsman-in-training, son, uncomfortably following in the footsteps of Darce

  Tavin, Ex-Captain, Ex-Dragondain, cursed

  Ember, lunamancer, amateur Dain historian

  Quib, Dragondain, cook, man of many talents, wicked good with a whip

  Cora, lunamancer, wife of Quib, bakes a mean cherry muffin

  Annora, lunamancer, daughter, never met a spell she couldn’t improve

  Bree, lunamancer, daughter, good at dissipating the spells of others

  Ridley, lunamancer-in-training, son, studies lunarithmancy (crossover prediciton)

  Merri, Min, and Jin, the triplets

  Keegan Hoarfrost, very old healer

  Nima, healer, one of Keegan’s many granddaughters

  Raewyn, healer, daughter of Keegan, good at keeping things alive

  Marred, Dragondain, tracker, dragonologist, husband of Raewyn

  Nye, Dragondain-in-training, healer, son, takes after his mother and father

  Luna, daughter, still deciding

  Andros, Dragondain, mountain of a man, bearer of Balherk’s shield

  Jemma, Dragondain, wife of Andros

  Falin, Dragondain-in-training, swordsman, son

  Grimm, Dragondain-in-training, swordsman, son

  Andra, Dragondain-in-training, swordswoman, daughter

  Boots, Dragondain, archer, rarely misses his mark, never stumbles, good with maps

  Bel, farmer, archer

  Byrne, Dragondain-in-training, archer, son, has a hunting bow with a real draw

  Alasdair, Dragondain-in-training, archer, son

  Penryn, Dragondain-in-training, archer, son, once shot the pit out of a cherry at twenty paces

  Arric, lunamancer, good with wards, better with peerins

  Linn, archer, wife of Arric

  Ren, lunamancer, archer, daughter

  Prin, lunamancer, archer, daughter

  Einar Mardanc, lunamancer, a respected leader within the healers’ collective

  Dyre Fellbard, lunamancer, highly placed within the Royal Court of Dain

  Beck and Newlin Lintel, lunamancers, brothers, longtime rivals of Annora and Bree

  The Moon of Barreth

  The Rinn

  Greydor Goldenclif, of the clan Foamchaser, Lord of the Valley Rinn

  Nimlinn Goldenclif, of the clan Broadpaw, Queen of the Valley Rinn

  Roan, warrior, head of his clutter

  Mowra, Court lunamancer

  The Wyflings

  Witcoil Lightfoot, Lancespeed First Class, Royal Guard to the Queen

  Snerliff, attendant to Nimlinn, stouthearted when not panicked

  Twizbang, attendant to Nimlinn, a bit twitchy

  The Moon of Taw

  Aleron, head of Heron Peck

  The Moon of Darwyth

  The various names of Wrengfoul

  Rengtiscura, as he is known on the moon Barreth

  Werfryht, as he is known on the moon Taw

  Wergmyrk, as he in known on the moon Dik Dek

  Writhrong, as he is known on the moon Rel’ Kah

  Wrengfoul, as he is known on the moon Dain

  Others

  Faerathil, the Faerie Queen of Rel’ Kah

  Morgoroth the Devourer, Keeper of the Magic Flame, greatest dragon in all the Moon Realm

  Curse, nasty piece of work, inhabits a slag heap of a sword, likes to be oiled regularly

  PART TWO

  THE RINN OF BARRETH

  Nine Moons Make a Realm

  Conjured Rinnjinn in Fangdelve keep,

  the Rinn of Barreth making.

  Pearl of Dik Dek in oceans deep,

  mer-made all for the taking.

  Kormor’s work, hammer and anvil,

  giants of Min Tar she forged.

  Terrible beauty Faerathil,

  in Rel’ Kah her dreams she poured.

  Three hearts bejewel the crown of Dain

  Dragon, King, and Naramay.

  Lazy lives the long life in twain,

  keying a lone memory.

  From grove to bird did language fly,

  fluttering from Taw to Realm.

  Tinker’s Secret? None to tell.

  Darwyth’s rising—a wellspring dell.

  Chapter One

  Return to Barreth

  Jasper understood nightmares. Drowning, tumbling about in darkness, not being able to breathe—or just being afraid to breathe—these were all fair game in the realm of nightmares. The weirdest thing about this dream, though, was that he really thought he was wide awake. Of course, he’d had those before, too: the lucid ones—dreams so real they were just like being awake.

  And he was pretty sure he was having one of them right now.

  Wasn’t Lily in this dream earlier? She was going on about something. . . .

  With a crash of snapping twigs, Jasper came to rest. He had landed flat on his back, woozy and blinded.

  Did I sleepwalk out of my window?

  A grayness crept into his vision. Odd, muffled noises like birds and deeper sounds you might expect to hear at a zoo surrounded him. Something was thumping on his chest. In his head, Jasper heard voices.

  “It’s definitely not she,” said an aristocratic voice.

  “Are you sure? It looked an awful lot like her to me,” came a deeper, rumbling voice.

  And there were other voices, in the background, but also inside his head.

  “Shorter hair, different clothes. And if I’m not mistaken, this one is a male Dain cub.”

  “I find it very hard to tell those Dain cubs apart, especially after they change their coats. And we’ve been in this swamp so long, my nose has become useless.”

  Blurry, swirling lights appeared on the gray background. Jasper turned onto his side and groped around. I’m definitely not in the yard, he thought. He was lying in what felt like a giant bird’s nest. His vision cleared a bit more, and he realized that the blurry lights were actually intensely bright stars. The top edge of the nest flickered with the red glow of a nearby fire—a big one, from the sound of it. All of a sudden, an enormous bird’s head popped over the rim of the nest and peeked down at him, chattering something . . . birdish.

  “Are you all right?” he heard in English, followed again by the strange thumping—or was it more like a pulsing?—echoing in time upon his chest.

  The huge head pivoted as if to look nearby. “Is it possible it doesn’t understand me?” asked the bird.

  “Nonsense,” said the deep rumbling voice, sounding much closer than it had just a moment before. “Lily understood us just—”

  Something leaned over the nest, blotting out the stars. It was a great head—full of teeth and whiskers—wreathed by a blazing mane of fire. Two luminous, amber eyes the size of dinner plates stared down
at him.

  Jasper fell back and screamed, instinctively raising his arms for protection.

  The fiery head retreated quickly, uncloaking the bright stars.

  “Oh, I see your point,” conceded the deep voice.

  After his initial fright subsided, Jasper began to think that what he had just seen was one of Uncle Ebb’s Rinn, who in the bedtime tales had always come off as rather friendly.

  Not being one to cower, least of all in dreams, and convinced there was no way out but up, Jasper decided the best thing to do was face these creatures. Standing, however, he realized all he had on were an old t-shirt and some underwear.

  Typical nightmare clothes, he thought wryly. I’m surprised I don’t have to pee.

  And then he noticed the jacket bundled up in his arms. How convenient! He held the jacket close, wondering just how much control he had over this dream. As an experiment, Jasper closed his eyes and willed the lump inside the jacket to become clothes and shoes. Unrolling it, he found pants, shirt, belt, socks and shoes. There were even snacks in the pockets.

  “Nice,” he whispered.

  As he leaned over to place the open bundle at his feet, something snake-like swung away from his chest. Instinctively, he batted it away. But to his surprise, his hand connected with something hard and metallic. What happened next happened fast. The thing he’d hit seem to be attached to him as though by a chain around his neck. As it spun around from the force of his blow, he felt it wrapping around his head, first across his cheek, then around the back of his head, then—whomp!—it connected with his opposite temple. There was an explosion of stars before his eyes and he fell backwards, stunned like a stoned rabbit.