Speaking of Demons and Dragons

IT'S DEMON (or Dragon) TIME!

Setara and her genie, Basit, meet many interesting mythological creatures, but only two should be included in the category Monsters. Here’s a bit about the role each monster plays in Tales of Abu Nuwas: Setara’s Genie. For the rest of June and July: 99 Cents on Kindle or on Smashwords in multiple formats.

Azi (or Azhi) Dahaka (From All About Dragons)

In the Avesta, the Azhi Dahaka is described as a three-headed, six-eyed, dragon-like monster. He is said to have a thousand senses, and to bleed snakes, scorpions, and other venomous creatures. He also is said to bring or control storms and disease. His wings were said to be so enormous that they would block out the sun.

Even though this particular description includes multiple heads and pretty bad attitude, I also found an ancient bas relief that purports to be Azhi Dahaka. Decide what you will. A monster is a monster no matter how many heads he or she has.

Excerpt From Setara's Genie Featuring Azhi Dahaka

Setara rounded the bend in the tunnel and stopped dead in her tracks. Azizah and Kairav stood at one end of a huge cavern, heaving large stones as fast as they could. At the other end, about forty feet away, the strangest creature she’d ever seen was shooting jets of fire from its mouth. It had great bat-like wings that created a rush of wind each time the dragon stroked downward. It possessed four legs but had reared up and clawed at the air with the front set. Fangs at least six inches long lined the animal’s jaws. It seemed reptilian with its elongated head and scaly sides. However, it was huge by reptile standards, being more than twenty feet long and barely fit in the end of the cavern. Its scales rippled with colors—green, violet, orange, blue.

Basit flew around the cavern, attempting to outflank the creature. He began hurling balls of light from his fingertips. They didn’t appear to do anything other than annoy the beast, but the interruption did distract it from breathing fire at Azizah and Kairav. When it turned its head to shoot fire toward Basit, Azizah ran forward and threw another huge rock. It struck the beast’s head, knocking it against the wall.

It turned one last time and let out a loud roar that shook small stones off the walls. Then, it shrank rapidly to no more than ten feet long. With a single bound, it leaped into the tunnel on the far side of the cavern and was gone in a flash of purple and green.

Setara ran to Azizah, who dropped the stone she was just about to throw. Kairav and Basit joined them. Sheik ran in circles around the group, barking for all he was worth.

“Shush, Sheik. We can’t hear ourselves think.” Setara chastised the agitated dog. Sheik dropped to his belly panting from the excitement.

“What was that thing?” Setara looked at the grim faces of her friends.

“Azhi Dahaka,” Basit answered.

* * *

Tales of Abu Nuwas - Setara's Genie
A Girl, a Genie, a Few Demons...What could go wrong?

Abu Nuwas sits in the bazaar on his threadbare rug; a cup and sign proclaim him a teller of tales. For one small coin, he bids passers by to listen. A poor girl, Najda, sells spices from a tray. Would he, she asks, trade a tale for a packet of spice? Abu Nuwas agrees and begins the epic adventures of a girl and her genie.

As did Scheherazade before him, Abu leaves Najda hanging in the middle of each yarn to keep her coming back. Between stories, he questions the girl about her life. He discovers that she’s been promised in marriage to an old man whom she hates, but she must wed him to save her sick mother’s life. The rich bridegroom will pay for the doctors the mother needs. Meanwhile, Najda sells spices in the market to earn enough money to keep her mother alive.

He relates the adventures of the bored daughter of a rich merchant, Setara, and her genie, Basit, as they encounter the creatures of legend and folklore: a lonely cave demon seeking a home; a flying, fire-breathing horse who has lost his mate; a dragon searching for his family; an evil genie hunting for the man who put him in a lamp; and a merboy prince cast out of his undersea kingdom.

Interview with a Unicorn Known as Smith

Bryan Fields entertains us today with a recording of an interview with a unicorn featured in his novel, "Life with a Fire-Breathing Girlfriend." If that title doesn't pique your interest, may I suggest you check if you're still breathing. More on the book following the interview.

* * *

…real unicorn is such a privilege. Alright, going in three, two, one…

Thank you for taking the time to speak with us. Please introduce yourself and tell us about your background. Your name, where you’re from, what your childhood was like.

Why do you people keep asking my name? I’m the only one of my kind on your world. Call and I will hear you, rest assured. That point being made, Mr. Fraser chose to call me Smith. Among my kind, the concept which expresses my self-image is the squeaking made by river otter kits at play. I am not from a ‘where’, nor am I ‘from’ it. I carry the moment of primal causation within me. Nor did I have a childhood. In the first instant of my being, I was as I am now.

I do not like the word ‘Unicorn’; it lacks meaning. I am a Caretaker. It is my nature and the definition of my purpose. I do not defecate cookies, sparkling or otherwise, nor has any portion of my anatomy ever emitted a rainbow. If I come across a virgin maiden in the forest, I am no more likely to place my head in her lap than I am to tear her heart from her chest and eat it. I might infect her with a plague and send her to the nearest village if I needed to create an epidemic, but as a rule her existence would not be of any interest to me.

What are your day-to-day duties as a Caretaker?

Smith's Favorite Portrait

The Tribe was created to maintain the order and control required for the correct operation of our world. We attend to the larger systems required for life to exist. The survival or well-being of individuals is not our concern. We do heal people and cure diseases, but only as a matter of keeping things running smoothly and stopping trouble before it starts.

In my time I’ve relocated a colony of beavers for interfering with water distribution over half a continent, administered fifty-one plagues or epidemics, managed the evolution and emergence of three distinct subspecies of the weasel family, and corrected the magma flow to an undersea volcano to allow creation of an island chain. If I may be said to hate anything, it would be entropy.

Why do you want to destroy Earth?

I do not wish to destroy your world at all; in fact, I promised Mr. Fraser I would leave at least a few thousand of you alive to rebuild your civilization. I find your world reasonably attractive, if a trifle monochromatic at times. I simply cannot get used to green grass. It’s a vulgar overuse of a fine color.

It shames me to say it, but the Tribe committed a spiritual error when we allowed the Humans to rebel against the Sky-Riders. Our passivity allowed a war to devastate both races and plunge our world into chaos. This miasma of error still clouds the minds of my brethren. They would not accept the truth when I confronted them with our failure. Their pride and willfulness has left me no option. I will rectify the error and restore my world to the path it was created to follow.

I will need to collect the life-energy of several billion people before I can restore my brethren to righteousness. At the same time, I must render this world unusable to the Sky-riders. A global nuclear exchange is an elegant solution to both problems.

Why do you hate humans so much? Bad breath, politics, inferior quality of virgin maidens?

I love Humans, just as I love Elves, Dwarves, Northern Grey midden rats, and pine ticks. I don’t love *you*, because you are not Human. The only true Humans are the Humans of my world. You are an alien species I was not created to value. Hate requires value, and you have none to me.

Your race does not have balance. You are erratic, and poorly designed. You have no limits or satisfaction boundaries. The Humans of my world are stable and predictable, as they should be.

My world has many sentient races, all required to co-exist despite the differences in culture, religion and biology. All of them have a specific purpose in the overall design. Humans were created to be an expendable labor force cared for by the more advanced races, with the bulk of these duties falling to the Sky-Riders. In addition to providing protection, the Sky-Riders were to be teachers and advisors to the Human settlements assigned to them. Humans and Dragons were intended to need each other, with the Sky-Riders gathering energy from Human adoration and using it to make their own reproductive process functional.

Sky-Riders can live over a thousand centuries, and reproduce perhaps once in a millennium if they are guarding a large town with very good energy output. Humans – proper Humans – know their place and are satisfied with it. They do not aspire, or innovate, or dream. It takes a village of them a millennia to generate the energy for a Dragoness to clutch once. That is balance and stability in design.

I do not know why the Humans chose to reject the Sky-Riders as teachers and defenders, but it scarcely matters now. On Earth, it takes only three years for a Dragoness to absorb enough energy to be able to reproduce, and she gets it from one of you. Not only that, her eggs will be stronger and more numerous than normal. The situation is not acceptable. It will be rectified.

Is there anything about Earth you do like, or will regret destroying?

Ice cream. Naked mole rats – the absurdity of their design lifts my spirits. Overnight package delivery. Fascinating process I would enjoy studying in depth. I also regret being unable to find out how your culture will progress. The sheer volume of changes your race has made to this world since learning to make fire is astounding. I would have enjoyed discovering if your species survived to maturity or if you will be remembered only as a self-correcting error.

You’ve mentioned yourself and your world being created. What can you tell us about your creator, or creators?

Nothing. Nor can I comment on your creator or creators. If you wish to know something, ask them yourself. Next question.

Hey, come on, we just…

Next question.

It’s just a question. There’s no need to be a dick about it. How about… Can you tell us how your world was created? Did it just spring into being, or was it produced through the gradual accumulation of matter, according to current models of astrophysics?

I said you would need to ask your creator such questions. Allow me to make introduction.

SHI---

I will add one more piece of information to this interview: my people are omnivores, and I am ready for lunch. Take your equipment and go. I prefer lean meat, and you weigh at least one hundred pounds less than this fool.

Run. Now.

* * *

LIFE WITH A FIRE-BREATHING GIRLFRIEND

If you can’t stand the heat, don’t tickle the Dragon.

A lot of guys claim to have hot girlfriends. David Fraser has one who actually breathes fire.

Rose Drake is a Dragoness in Human form, come to Earth for three years to soak up the local energy and increase her chances of having happy, healthy, baby hatchlings when she goes home. In exchange for his time and energy, David’s body and love life both undergo extreme makeovers. It sounds like the deal of a lifetime.

Fate doesn’t let David and Rose off so easily. A friend of theirs is murdered, their homeowner’s association starts harassing them, and they have to complete a quest for an Elven sage in order to stop a genocidal Unicorn from turning Earth into a radioactive wasteland.

After all, when you’re dating a Dragon, you’re already a hero. It says so in the fine print.

Buy at:

MuseItUp Publishing

Amazon

Bio: By day, I’m a mild-mannered IT tech; by night, a writer who spends too much time in online games.  I grew up reading classical authors such as Verne, Burroughs, Wells, Haggard, and Lovecraft, often in conjunction with large doses of Monty Python, Wild Wild West, and Hee-Haw.  My current influences include Doctor Who, Girl Genius, and An Idiot Abroad.

I began writing professionally as a member of the content design team for the MMORPG Istaria: Chronicles of the Gifted.  My first published short stories appeared in the anthologies The Mystical Cat and Gears and Levers III in 2012.

I live in Denver with my wife Noelle and daughter Alissa.  The three of us can often be found prowling around Istaria, Wizard City, and the wilds of Azeroth.  I also make occasional side jaunts to scavenge bits of ancient technology in the radioactive ruins of the Grand Canyon Province.

Learn more about me by following my FB page: https://www.facebook.com/BryanFieldsAuthor or my blog: http://laughingotterslair.blogspot.com/

Introducing Neisha of Dragon Ice

Today, Sue Perkins is joining me to let you get to know her character, Neisha, from the third book in her Dragon series, DRAGON ICE.

DRAGON ICE
by Sue Perkins

Buy Link: http://www.desertbreezepublishing.com/dragons-book-three-dragon-ice-epub/

Neisha meets Tane in her dreams but finds out he is real when he travels north to rescue her people from the ice dragons. Unfortunately he is injured on the journey and finishes it trapped in the humans' underground home. A discovery regarding the ice dragons requires Tane to mediate between the northern and southern dragons and arrange the possible release of the humans. The weather turns to an icy cold winter while Neisha and Tane grow closer together. Will the humans be able to leave their underground home when the warmer weather arrives, and will they all to leave?



Thank you Marva for inviting me to your blog. I've brought Neisha with me to talk about her life in the frozen north of her planet.

Sue:  Hi Neisha thank you for visiting Marva's blog with me.

Neisha:  Please don't leave me, Sue. This is all so strange to me.

Sue:  Take a deep breath, Neisha. I'll be with you all the time. Can you tell the readers about your home.

Neisha:  My people live in underground caves, partly due to the coldness above ground. We wouldn't survive for long on the surface. It's covered in several feet of snow all the year round. The other reason is the silver dragons.

Sue:  Do you mean you never go above ground?

Neisha: No, the hunting parties go up in the warmer months to hunt the animals that live on the surface, and I occasionally go up to watch the lights in the sky. They have such wonderful colours and the dragons often dance in and out of them. It's so beautiful.

Sue:  You mentioned dragons. Can you tell us a bit more about them?

Neisha:  Perhaps I'd better start at the beginning. One hundred years ago my ancestors crash landed on the plateau on the surface. They salvaged what they could from their spaceship and searched for a way to a warmer place where they could farm and settle. When they did find the pass off the plateau the colder weather had arrived so they wintered in the underground caves. When spring came they emerged only to find the silver dragons wouldn't let them through the pass.

Sue:  So your people have lived underground for one hundred years?

Neisha:  Yes. We've tried to find a way off the plateau either on the surface or through the caves, but the only way out is through the pass. The trouble is we're running out of space as our population grows. In another generation there will be too many people for the available space. Plus our underground food caves won't be able to sustain us.

Sue:  Is there no hope of escaping?

Neisha:  No - well, maybe. I've been dreaming about a man who says he's coming to rescue us. His name is Tane and he is determined to set my people free. I don't know if it's a dream or he is actually visiting me when I'm asleep. If he's for real and he's coming to rescue us, I'm afraid he'll end up trapped in the caves with us.

Sue: I hope he is real and manages to get through. A fresh view of your situation might help you come up with an answer to your problem.

Neisha: I'm sorry but this strange place is really getting to me. Do you mind if we leave now?

Sue:  That's fine. Hold my hand and I'll take you home. 'Bye Marva.

* * *

Thanks for introducing us to Neisha. Sue would also like my readers to know she'll be giving away a free copy of Dragon Ice to a randomly selected commenter. Please leave sufficient info for contact.

* * * About Sue * * *

Hi, I'm Sue and I grew up in Devon, England. My husband and I spent some years travelling the world before starting a family. In 1986 we emigrated to New Zealand and subsequently became New Zealand citizens. My children are now the world travellers while my husband and I live on a 3 acre property at the top of New Zealand’s South Island. My interests include writing, reading, genealogy and Zumba.

Webpage:  http://www.sueperkinsauthor.com
Blog:  http://sueperkinsauthor.blogspot.com

Setara's Genie Excerpt - Azhi Dahaka

It seems like the world has forgotten (or never heard of) SETARA'S GENIE. My fault. I failed to keep splashing it around the web as much as I should (could?). I know I get a little annoyed when I see the same promos over and over and over and...well, you get the idea.

But the splash technique must work as other books rack up reviews, pluses, Likes, TBRs, etc. To practice due diligence then, here's a bit about the MG/YA fantasy set in the mythical past world of the middle-east. Maybe I'm just lacking a fairy or elf for those who adore Eurocentric mythology. And I did neglect adding vampires and werewolves for those who enjoy the paranormal romances.

But I do have genies, demons, flying horses (both winged and non-winged), entombed viziers, dragons (not the St. George type), monsters, mermen, pirates, a Sultan, mountain raiders, and a real historical figure who did visit the middle-east while gaining his evil reputation.

So, dear readers, if you're ready for something a little different, I offer Setara's Genie for your consideration.

SETARA'S GENIE
A girl, a genie, a few demons. Would could go wrong?

Abu Nuwas sits in the bazaar telling stories to the passersby he can tempt to pay. He relates the adventures of the bored daughter of a rich merchant, Setara, and her genie, Basit, as they encounter the creatures of legend and folklore: a lonely cave demon seeking a home; a flying, fire-breathing horse who has lost his mate; a dragon searching for his family; an evil genie hunting for the man who bottled him; and a merboy prince cast out of his undersea kingdom.

MuseItUp http://tinyurl.com/SetarasGenie
Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00906ZAPU

Azhi Dahaka is a dragon demon who’s supposed to be dead, but comes back to life a little bit ticked off because his blood was used by the Great Vizier hundreds of years before to create a breed of fire-breathing, flying horses.

From the Encyclopedia Mythica (http://www.pantheon.org/)

A storm demon from Iranian mythology. He steals cattle and brings harm to humans. It is a snake-like monster with three heads and six eyes who also personifies the Babylonian oppression of Iran. The monster will be captured by the warrior god Thraetaona and placed on the mountain top Dermawend. In a final revival of evil, it will escape its prison, but at the end of time (fraso-kereti) it will die in the river of fire Ayohsust.

Even though this particular description includes multiple heads and pretty bad attitude, I also found an ancient bas relief that purports to be Azhi Dahaka. Decide what you will. A monster is a monster no matter how many heads he or she has.

Excerpt

Setara rounded the bend in the tunnel and stopped dead in her tracks. Azizah and Kairav stood at one end of a huge cavern, heaving large stones as fast as they could. At the other end, about forty feet away, the strangest creature she’d ever seen was shooting jets of fire from its mouth. It had great bat-like wings that created a rush of wind each time the dragon stroked downward. It possessed four legs but had reared up and clawed at the air with the front set. Fangs at least six inches long lined the animal’s jaws. It seemed reptilian with its elongated head and scaly sides. However, it was huge by reptile standards, being more than twenty feet long and barely fit in the end of the cavern. Its scales rippled with colors—green, violet, orange, blue.

Basit flew around the cavern, attempting to outflank the creature. He began hurling balls of light from his fingertips. They didn’t appear to do anything other than annoy the beast, but the interruption did distract it from breathing fire at Azizah and Kairav. When it turned its head to shoot fire toward Basit, Azizah ran forward and threw another huge rock. It struck the beast’s head, knocking it against the wall.

It turned one last time and let out a loud roar that shook small stones off the walls. Then, it shrank rapidly to no more than ten feet long. With a single bound, it leaped into the tunnel on the far side of the cavern and was gone in a flash of purple and green.

Setara ran to Azizah, who dropped the stone she was just about to throw. Kairav and Basit joined them. Sheik ran in circles around the group, barking for all he was worth.

“Shush, Sheik. We can’t hear ourselves think.” Setara chastised the agitated dog. Sheik dropped to his belly panting from the excitement.

“What was that thing?” Setara looked at the grim faces of her friends.

“Azhi Dahaka,” Basit answered.

New Book Release - Dragon Clans by Sue Perkins

Thank you to Marva for her kind invitation to post on her blog.

My latest release is 'Dragon Clans' the second book in the Dragon series. Sie, a human girl, is rescued from the sea by a red dragon. She is welcomed into the dragon clan and makes friends with a young female dragon called Essie. I'm delighted to say Essie has agreed to come along with me today and tell us about her friendship with Sie.

Hi Essie, thank you for coming today.

E: I'm happy to visit. Do you mind if I ask a question? What exactly is a blog tour?

A blog is a series of visits to different blogs usually to talk about book releases or other matters of interest. When did you first meet Sie?

E: I heard her before I saw her. She sent out a plea for help and I heard her in my mind. I convinced our leader Toldar he should go and find her. He rescued her and Benare, our healer, gave her into my care.

Wasn't she scared when she found herself surrounded by huge dragons?

E: I think she was at first, but she soon recovered and we became sisters.

Sisters?

E: Yes. First we became good friends as I showed her how we did things in the Valdra Clan. We decided as neither of us had any family left, we wanted to be sisters. The clan approved and Sie was accepted into the clan.

I understand there was a problem with some of the other clans.

E: Yes, but it was more a misunderstanding. With Sie and Byron's help we were able to sort it all out.

Who's Byron?

E: He's a human who is friends with the Mondra Clan. I think Sie's a bit sweet on him.

And do you have any particular dragon you're interested in.

E: [Suddenly shy] I'd rather not say. I think I should go now. Sie will be worried if I'm away too long.

Well thanks for visiting Essie, it was lovely to meet you.

If you want to find out more about Essie and Sie here is the buy link.

Buy Link: http://tinyurl.com/dragonclans

Webpage: http://www.sueperkinsauthor.com

Don't forget to leave a comment and be in to win 

an ebook of Dragon Clans at the end of the blog tour.

Excerpt:

Essi. An orange dragon came forward when Benare called. This is the human you heard call for help. I am making you responsible for her. Find some warm clothing for her and feed her.

With a nod to Sie, the healer turned and moved away.

My name's Essi. The dragon sounded a bit shy. What should I call you?

"I'm Sie. Do you mind if I sit down? I'm feeling a bit dizzy."

Sit over here. Essi indicated a flat rock a short distance away. I'll bring you something to eat.

Visions of raw meat flicked through Sie's mind. What did dragons eat? Essi returned holding a flat rock. Several different fruits and an unusual cake sat on top of the rock, and the young dragon placed it beside Sie, then scrunched down on her back legs.

Eat. We can talk after you have food inside you.

Sie picked up some fruit and bit into it. The juices ran down her throat soothing a path through the soreness caused by swallowing sea water. She took a tentative bite of the cake. It tasted delicious. Made of fruit, it had been compressed and blended to make a cake texture. In moments it vanished.

You have finished? Come, we will find you something warm to wear. Essi led the way to some caves in the rocky walls of the valley. The large opening allowed light into the cave, and Essi began to rummage through piles of hides and skins.

Ah, here we are. The dragon held up a rectangle of thick fur against Sie's body then folded it in half down the narrow edge. With one of her sharp talons she slit the center at the top, leaving a small piece of fur at either end. When Essi offered her the skin, Sie looked at her in bewilderment. What did the dragon want her to do?

Pull it over your head.

"Oh." Sie pushed her head through the slit and found the fur hung from her shoulders to her knees. The flight to the dragon settlement had dried her clothes, and with this extra cover her body warmed up. Essi picked up a bigger fur skin and led the way to a small cave. Near the back Sie could see a heaped pile of animal furs and dried vegetation.

These are my sleeping quarters, Essi explained. You can sleep here for now. I'll be busy outside for a while. Use this as a cover.

The dragon handed Sie the larger fur. Clambering up on the bedding Sie pulled the covering over her and snuggled down.

"Thank you, Essi." A yawn stopped her saying anything further. Her eyelids drooped, and she fell asleep.

* * *

Sue's own personal dragon:

Elemental, My Dear--

Earth, Wind, and Fire. Wait for it .... Water. The four classical elements have been part of mythologies since the first time a smarter than average Cro Magnon decided to cash in on his superstitious tribe claiming to have a direct hot line to the somewhat amorphous deities.

Deities and demons have proliferated over the intervening 20,000 years or so, with the winners being those smarties who knew how to cash in on fear.

Earthquakes: Uh oh, the earth god is ticked. If you’ll just give me your hard-won haunch of mammoth, I’ll intercede on your behalf.

Windstorm: Boy, are you in trouble for holding back on my share of the cave bear hide. Ol’ Wind is mighty pissed.

Fire: See what happens if you don’t listen to what I say. Your whole forest burns because you all are bad people. Just lay a pile of pretty shells at my feet and I’ll see if I can placate the Fire Demon.

Water: Oopsie, a flood. Well, wasn’t I the smartie for building that big boat. Did I mention the fare? All goes to the Water God of course.

The natural elements wreak havoc and a clever guy makes out like a bandit.

As time marched on, the elementals took on different names and personalities. The shyster’s way of collecting for multiple personalities for those four basic elements.

Before a caveman could count, um, one. The world was littered with all sorts of mythological beings lined up by the wise shaman to collect trade goods from the fearful masses.

My Mashup

Besides a plethora of gods and demons which I have mentioned some of already, I selected a lovely forest elemental (notice how the element population is dividing and growing) named Ajatar. She happens to be a Finnish spirit and is the main troublemaker in my second book of the Witches of Galdorheim, Midnight Oil.

Ajatar was known as the Devil of the Woods (click the link for a very cool illo), so I set her in a magically protected forest glade. She controlled her local flora (writing tree roots, fast-growing brambles) and snakes to protect her cache of boxes, bottles, pots, a bent bicycle tire, laundry detergent, dried flowers, old tennis shoes, and Andy.

Oh, right, Andy happens to be a changeling, a human who spent much of his life in the Troll Kingdom and is now Katya’s main squeeze. Ajatar kidnapped him to draw out her sister, Ilmatar, an air spirit who had been hiding out on Galdorheim disguised as the old witch (she prefers sorceress) Mordita.

Lots of stuff happens, but the sister finally come together in an epic battle (they’re fighting over a man, wouldn’t you know). Ajatar takes her dragon form, while Ilmatar becomes a giant white roc.

A little excerpt for your reading pleasure:

Ilmatar spun, danced, and dived. It had been too many years since she had taken her true form. She was the wind, the hurricane, the tornado. Air she was, air she would be. She sighed, and a tree bent with her breath.

She rose with the heat, dropped low and sped across open fields when clouds blocked the sun’s rays. Yet, neither heat nor cold drove her. She flowed over or around as she pleased. When she was in the mood, she flattened everything in her path.

She laughed, and earth-bound creatures cringed at the booming thunder. She smiled, and a gentle breeze danced over hills and valleys. She reveled in her freedom, then grew angry when she thought how Ajatar had stolen this from her. She’d almost forgotten the power and glory that was Ilmatar.

Now, she’d get payback. Ajatar, she vowed, would regret this day for the rest of her life–her brief life, if Ilmatar the air spirit had any say.

But enough reveling for now. She had a job to do. Gathering free air to her as she flew, she coalesced into a cutting shaft, sharp and deadly as any arrow, and one thousand times as large. She swooped up, down, and sideways, leaving a vortex of spinning air in her wake.

Increasing her speed and the velocity of spin, she smashed through the tops of trees and touched down, a whirling cyclone in the center of Ajatar’s glade. Moss and branches whirled through the forest clearing and trees bent away from her, howling, cracking and snapping, with the thunder of rustling leaves.

Ajatar heard her coming; she could hardly miss Ilmatar’s roar. Ajatar grew taller, rising above the treetops, spreading her vast scaled wings. Her mouth gaped and fire roared out. With a single downward thrust of her wings, she soared upward. Ilmatar’s tornado followed close behind.

Note: My buddy Kevin Robinson, who also writes YA fantasy, provided the white roc illustration for me. Thanks, Kevin!