Journey to the stars and worlds of imagination: L is for Legends

It is not uncommon for a fictional story to be built upon an ancient tale. Legends appear in both the Windmaster Novels and the Dragshi Chronicles.

The dragshi are more than just a man or woman. Each are two beings--one a dragon, the other a human--sharing one body in space and time and able to change forms with the other at will. Their world and adventures are recorded in the Dragshi Chronicles. Within each of books in the Dragshi Chronicles, the ceoltiers, the keepers of the past and the present recount some legend. Usually as a means of making a point or teaching a lesson. Talann's instructors used the story of Lasair and Cailin to help him curb some of his impetuous behaviour.

A different approach was taken with First Change: Legends From The Eyrie. Where a legend was only given a brief mention in the previous volumes, First Change features the full story behind the legends. As with all tales, some contain larger than life deeds. Others are the simple story of a man or woman doing what must be done, regardless of the cost. But a lesson to be learned. When you shift into dragon form, sometimes Fate controls the flight.

As a teaser, the excerpt from Windmaster, of Captain Ellspeth recounting to her passenger, Lord Dal, the story behind the bright stars in the nighttime sky named Iol and Pelra.

Iol and Pelra were captains; both had won their gold bracelets. Their rank was suitable, but his mother had rejected her father’s courtship, so a joining between Iol and Pelra was not allowed. Since no one had ever sailed the southern island route in less than four sevenday, the two families proposed a wager. If Iol and Pelra made the trip in less than two sevenday, the families would allow the marriage. The pair set off in their respective ships with all masts carrying as much canvas as the rigging could handle.

“Iol and Pelra prayed, and in recognition of their devotion the water god favored them with fair skies. Brisk winds pushed them faster than any vessel had ever sailed before. The ships returned in the final hour allowed by the bet. Despite their return within the allotted time, the parents reneged and declared Iol and Pelra had lost the bet and refused to allow the marriage. The ruling council of Iol’s house ordered him to a remote inland lake to captain an old scupper. Pelra was confined to her family complex. Unable to return to their ships and the sea, the pair sneaked to the twin rocks that guarded the harbor entrance. When the families sent soldiers to enforce their orders, the water god brought up a storm to protect the lovers. Then he transformed Iol and Pelra into shipfish. Legend has it they swam together to the end of the world. One powerful leap carried them into the night sky.”