Melanie Nilles

I apologize for the delay this week. Thank you for your patience and for joining us for a visit with a second dragon, another of the elder drakes. Her name is Dethanea, a gold dragon from the Legend of the White Dragon series. She is large, very old, and one of the matriarchs with hundreds of offspring through the millenia, as I understand.

Welcome, Dethanea! We are honored that you would join us. This is our second opportunity to speak with one of your kind. When we spoke with Jêrafînas, we learned about why you speak as you do and why dragons are the colors they are. What else can you tell us about dragons?

My kin spoke true
in her time with you.
What I can add is more than this,
of dark days and struggles amiss.

I was born in the age of old
before any white one was foretold.
Far back then we fought with men
together without jealousy then.
Both sides even a match and never to win
until the greatest flight of our kin.
All at once we raced to light the dark
and end the madness with our mark.
But more power did he possess,
more evern than we could guess.
Time passed and changes came.
The First they fled, the Second and C’Lupuc to blame.
Then Tahronen in grievance of their crimes distraught
her children to wisdom and knowledge taught.

We to both sides remained loyal and true
except our brethren of the oceans blue.
They with the First vanished from the lands
and whose protection they accepted commands.
Waterdrake kin we rarely see
since the last female fell of their family.
They guard the islands the First call home
and let no wanderers within their guard roam.

Excuse me. Did you say waterdrakes?

I did mention these cousins of ours.

I thought all dragons were firedrakes. What can you tell us about waterdrakes?

They swim like fish in the sea,
smooth and fast in water flee.
Not wings they have but a fin like eels
nor use fire to catch their meals.
Nothing have they but magic to use
when defending the island homes they choose.
They command the waters, air, and sky,
an irony since they cannot fly.

I didn’t know such a dragon existed. Are there any others you can tell us about?

None others have I seen or heard,
but the Second make stories of false word.
If any have your ears caught sound,
let us know if you come round.

I would do that. So, there are three types of dragon–your kind, the Red Clan, and the waterdrakes? Whose side are the waterdrakes on?

Our kin are they to water borne.
We’ve not left them forlorn.
Rather have we little contact for the simple sake.
While they swim, we to the air partake.
We are not fond of oceans, rivers, or lakes,
but prefer the high ground for flying’s sakes.

Thank you, Dethanea. As much as I would like to continue, we’ve run out of time. Perhaps another dragon will speak with us in the future to explain more about your history or fire breathing or some other aspect of your lives. I’d like to learn more.

Thank you, readers, for joining us. Next time, we will have Jayson with us from the Legend of the White Dragon series.

(If you would like to review the previous character interviews, they are listed under the My Books category of this blog or can be downloaded as a single PDF file here.)