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Heya peeps! For some time now, I've been wanting to do a tribute to some of the most influential dragon characters in my life. You know the ones--the ones that leapt out from the pages and into your life, the ones who came alive and never went away, for me at least. So yeah, this is the first of them. I'm planning on doing around 5-6 of these triptychs in total, each focusing on a specific group of the dragons who were some of my best friends.

So, these first three are THE three; not only among the very first dragons I ever read and loved, but absolutely fundamental to shaping my interests and preferences for the rest of my life. I thank each of them (and their authors! ) in turn. They're all fairly obscure, so here's a bit about each:

Nothing you love is ever really lost...
Tiamat, the red lady on the left, is from the incomparable Bruce Coville's "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher," a splendid book for young readers. Jeremy Thatcher, hapless young artist, takes a wrong turn and winds up in Mr. Elives' magic shop. Chosen by a dragon egg, he must hide and protect the infant dragon until she is old enough to return to her own world. Bonus points for research (dragons love milk!) and Jeremy's attempts to name his charge--there is a long list of the great fantasy dragon names, (Heart's Blood, hollah! ) most of which Tiamat sneers at.
...Technically, this picture should really be of Firethroat, another of Coville's dragons (also female, also red...I think I take my love of red dragons from these two ) as she was really my first example of a badass female dragon, but Tiamat had her own novel and more development, so I chose her instead. Besides, they're sort of spiritual sisters anyway.

An adventure's an adventure, all the way to the end...
Zantor. Oh, Zantor. Where do I start? This dragon, and these books ("The Dragonling" series by Jackie French Koller) ARE my influence. They started it all; my love of fantasy and dragons and a very large part of who I am today came from THESE BOOKS. Six tiny little 90-page long things. I never believed honest-to-God epic high fantasy could be crammed into that small a space, but Koller did it. Ritual dragonquests are a way of life in Zoriak, and at the age of 12 a boy has the chance to prove himself a man by facing death at their talons. 9-year old Derek (these are books for really early readers, people!) longs for the day he comes of age--but when he discovers an infant dragonling in the pouch of its slain mother, he cannot bring himself to kill it. Instead he embarks on a quest to return the little creature to its own kind. But some traditions are not so easily changed, and there are many ancient secrets in Zoriak, some of which should remain hidden...

Maybe what I like best about these books is this: the dragons are neither mindless savages nor bumbling sidekicks nor friendly pets nor snobby intellectuals--they are simply dragons, and the grand saga encompassed in these tiny books is worthy of all the praise I can give it. Slave rebellions, burning at the stake, torture, magic (sort of), two moons, strange creatures, dragon duels...seriously, read these books.

All creatures bleed the same blood...
Fiora, the fearsome lady on the right, is the third corner of my pyramid of dragony goodness. You may recognize her from an earlier deviation in my gallery, when she was just a quick scribble--I always wanted to do her a bit more justice, and hopefully I have managed it here. She's from Susan Fletcher's "Dragon Chronicles," specifically the first book: "Dragon's Milk." Long ago, the dragons fled the lands of Elythia, to escape the persecution of men; but their eggs, which much wait for 100 years before hatching, were left behind. Now the hatching cycle has come, and the dams must return to their clutches, although they are put in great peril. Kaeldra, a green-eyed girl--and here, green eyes are dangerous, for their bearers can ken with birds and, perhaps, dragons as well--must beg assistance from one such dam (any guesses? ) for milk to save her dying sister. There are also dragonslayers and secret sects and oodles of baby dragons and, awesomely, gyrfalcons.

There are many, many dragons in this trilogy, but Fiora stands as one of the best-developed and most intimidating, as well as the first introduced, so she gets the spot. I also adore Fletcher's names for the dragons: Fiora, Byrn, Embyr, Pyro, Synge, Smoak, Kyndle, etc. These books are also what put the idea that dragons = birds into my head, and it makes such perfect sense.

...So, that's that. Read the books if you get a chance; they are all geared toward younger readers but absolutely worth it. Wonderful wonderful wonderful books. *literature-gasm* Enjoy!

...And if you comment, tell me about some of your favorite dragons! Who did you love most, and who do you still? I'd love to hear some of your stories!

Others in the series:
The Three Fighters

Description
Heya peeps! For some time now, I've been wanting to do a tribute to some of the most influential dragon characters in my life. You know the ones--the ones that leapt out from the pages and into your life, the ones who came alive and never went away, for me at least. So yeah, this is the first of them. I'm planning on doing around 5-6 of these triptychs in total, each focusing on a specific group of the dragons who were some of my best friends.

So, these first three are THE three; not only among the very first dragons I ever read and loved, but absolutely fundamental to shaping my interests and preferences for the rest of my life. I thank each of them (and their authors! ) in turn. They're all fairly obscure, so here's a bit about each:

Nothing you love is ever really lost...
Tiamat, the red lady on the left, is from the incomparable Bruce Coville's "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher," a splendid book for young readers. Jeremy Thatcher, hapless young artist, takes a wrong turn and winds up in Mr. Elives' magic shop. Chosen by a dragon egg, he must hide and protect the infant dragon until she is old enough to return to her own world. Bonus points for research (dragons love milk!) and Jeremy's attempts to name his charge--there is a long list of the great fantasy dragon names, (Heart's Blood, hollah! ) most of which Tiamat sneers at.
...Technically, this picture should really be of Firethroat, another of Coville's dragons (also female, also red...I think I take my love of red dragons from these two ) as she was really my first example of a badass female dragon, but Tiamat had her own novel and more development, so I chose her instead. Besides, they're sort of spiritual sisters anyway.

An adventure's an adventure, all the way to the end...
Zantor. Oh, Zantor. Where do I start? This dragon, and these books ("The Dragonling" series by Jackie French Koller) ARE my influence. They started it all; my love of fantasy and dragons and a very large part of who I am today came from THESE BOOKS. Six tiny little 90-page long things. I never believed honest-to-God epic high fantasy could be crammed into that small a space, but Koller did it. Ritual dragonquests are a way of life in Zoriak, and at the age of 12 a boy has the chance to prove himself a man by facing death at their talons. 9-year old Derek (these are books for really early readers, people!) longs for the day he comes of age--but when he discovers an infant dragonling in the pouch of its slain mother, he cannot bring himself to kill it. Instead he embarks on a quest to return the little creature to its own kind. But some traditions are not so easily changed, and there are many ancient secrets in Zoriak, some of which should remain hidden...

Maybe what I like best about these books is this: the dragons are neither mindless savages nor bumbling sidekicks nor friendly pets nor snobby intellectuals--they are simply dragons, and the grand saga encompassed in these tiny books is worthy of all the praise I can give it. Slave rebellions, burning at the stake, torture, magic (sort of), two moons, strange creatures, dragon duels...seriously, read these books.

All creatures bleed the same blood...
Fiora, the fearsome lady on the right, is the third corner of my pyramid of dragony goodness. You may recognize her from an earlier deviation in my gallery, when she was just a quick scribble--I always wanted to do her a bit more justice, and hopefully I have managed it here. She's from Susan Fletcher's "Dragon Chronicles," specifically the first book: "Dragon's Milk." Long ago, the dragons fled the lands of Elythia, to escape the persecution of men; but their eggs, which much wait for 100 years before hatching, were left behind. Now the hatching cycle has come, and the dams must return to their clutches, although they are put in great peril. Kaeldra, a green-eyed girl--and here, green eyes are dangerous, for their bearers can ken with birds and, perhaps, dragons as well--must beg assistance from one such dam (any guesses? ) for milk to save her dying sister. There are also dragonslayers and secret sects and oodles of baby dragons and, awesomely, gyrfalcons.

There are many, many dragons in this trilogy, but Fiora stands as one of the best-developed and most intimidating, as well as the first introduced, so she gets the spot. I also adore Fletcher's names for the dragons: Fiora, Byrn, Embyr, Pyro, Synge, Smoak, Kyndle, etc. These books are also what put the idea that dragons = birds into my head, and it makes such perfect sense.

...So, that's that. Read the books if you get a chance; they are all geared toward younger readers but absolutely worth it. Wonderful wonderful wonderful books. *literature-gasm* Enjoy!

...And if you comment, tell me about some of your favorite dragons! Who did you love most, and who do you still? I'd love to hear some of your stories!

Others in the series:
The Three Fighters