Dragon Storm: Mira and Flameteller E-Book

Alastair Chisholm

• Herausgeber: Nosy Crow
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Serie: Dragon Storm
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Seitenzahl: 69

Beschreibung

The fourth book in a thrilling, magical, and action-packed new fantasy series, illustrated throughout and perfect for 7 - 9 year olds! In the land of Draconis, there are no dragons. Once, there were. Once, humans and dragons were friends, and created the great city of Rivven together. But then came the Dragon Storm, and the dragons retreated from the world of humans. To the men and women of Draconis, they became legends and myth. Young dragonseer Mira and her dragon Flameteller love finding out how things work andfixing them, and so they're excited to learn about the ancient magic that powers the home of the Dragonseer Guild - and helps keep its existence a secret. But when the King of Draconis announces a plan to hunt down and destroy all dragons, andthe magic that powers the Dragonseer Guild begins to fail, threatening to expose it to the world, Mira and Flameteller must find a way to fix it - before the Guild, and the dragons, are found by King Godfic's soldiers. An exciting new fantasy series from the highly acclaimed author of Orion Lost, brilliantly illustrated throughout, and perfect for fans of Beast Quest and How to Train your Dragon.

Leseprobe

Also in the series:

TOMAS AND IRONSKIN

CARA AND SILVERTHIEF

ELLIS AND PATHSEEKER

Coming soon:

KAI AND BONESHADOW

ERIN AND ROCKHAMMER

IN THE LAND OF DRACONIS, THERE ARE NO DRAGONS.

Once, there were. Once, humans and dragons were friends, and guarded the land. They were wise, and strong, and created the great city of Rivven together.

But then came the Dragon Storm, and the dragons retreated from the world of humans. To the men and women of Draconis, they became legends and myth.

And so, these days, in the land of Draconis, there are no dragons…

…Or so people thought.

MIRA

“Wake up!” shouted Mira. “Wake up, everyone, it’s Wheel Day!”

She went to Erin’s bed and shook her shoulder.

“Erin, it’s Wheel Day!”

Erin, who had been fast asleep, growled. She peered at Mira with one bleary eye.

“It’s early,” she complained. “And there’s no such thing as Wheel Day.”

“There is!” shouted Mira happily. “And it’s today! Come on!”

She ran to the third bed in their shared dorm hut. “Wake up, Cara!”

Cara was just a lump under her covers. “G’way,” the lump muttered.

“But it’s Wheel Day!” Mira laughed. “I’m going to help Hilda get breakfast ready, so we can set off early!”

“Mmmf,” muttered Erin, and rolled over.

It was quite early, Mira admitted to herself as she left the dorm. The light was still dim and there was no one around. In the outside world, the sun would just be rising … but not here. Because Mira, the dorm, and everything around her, weren’t in the outside world.

They were in the Dragonseer Guild Hall.

The Hall was a vast cavern, lit up by soft glowing globes that hung above like tiny suns. There were training areas, a racetrack, dormitories, dining huts, classrooms and offices, and more, older buildings off in the distance. It had everything Mira and her friends needed.

Mira closed her eyes, relaxed, and called up the special magic she had been taught on her first day as a dragonseer. She felt a whispering connection…

And the dragon Flameteller appeared.

Flameteller was quite small, just taller than Mira herself, with a stumpy body and a long neck. He was coloured bronze and brown, like wood, with spots of silver, and his shoulder blades and legs were stiff and straight. He looked almost as if he was made of wood and brass, like a cleverly designed wind-up toy. Every time Mira saw him, her heart sang.

He stretched his wings with a click-click-click sound. “Good morning, Mira!” he chirped. “Is it Wheel Day today?”

Mira grinned. “Yes! But everyone else is being lazy. I’m off to help Hilda with breakfast. Want to come?”

“Of course!”

Flameteller trotted beside her to the dining hut, where they found Hilda preparing breakfast. Hilda was tall and strong-shouldered, always busy, and always had her sleeves rolled up. She smiled at Mira and Flameteller.

“You’re up early, my loves!” she said.

“I couldn’t sleep,” said Mira. “It’s Wheel Day! We’re off to see the Rivven Wheel!”

Flameteller clicked his wings. “It’s the biggest waterwheel in the world! It might be the biggest machine in the world! Mira’s told me all about it.”

“We thought we’d come and help with breakfast,” said Mira. “Nobody else is awake yet – can you imagine!”

“It’s a mystery,” said Hilda, smiling. “Well, some help would be lovely. Come on in, but wash your hands and face, Mira – you’re covered in grease as usual!”

Mira laughed and washed at the water pump, peering at her reflection in the hut window. Hilda was right. Mira’s long black hair was tied into a ponytail with a greasy rag, and the soft brown of her skin was daubed with streaks of black. Mira loved tinkering with machinery, and somehow always came away covered with streaks and marks.

She went into the hut and helped Hilda get breakfast together. Flameteller was too large to fit in the hut, so he stuck his head in the window and they chatted. The other children eventually wandered along, yawning, and Hilda and Mira served them breakfast. Then there was clearing away, and dishes, and finally – finally! – the others started getting ready. Mira was bursting with impatience!

But at last they stood in a semicircle round Lady Berin, Chancellor of the Dragonseer Guild, with their dragons next to them.

Every dragon is different. That was one of the first things Mira had learned when she joined the Dragonseer Guild. She remembered her first day, the first time she saw the Guild Hall.

“The world of dragons is not like ours,” Berin had told her. “It is a world of ideas. When a dragon first steps into our world, they find their form, and that depends on the dragonseer who summons them. They are your dragon, and you are their human.”

And just as every dragon was unique, so was their power – the special magic that they, and only they, could do. Some had discovered theirs already. The dragon that Tom, the blacksmith’s son, summoned, was Ironskin, a large, powerful beast the colour of flames and hammered iron. She could create a shield to protect others.

Ellis was an explorer, and his stumpy brown dragon Pathseeker was clever and practical, and could see through illusions. Cunning Cara’s dragon Silverthief could turn invisible, for a while. Others were still figuring out their powers – like Flameteller, or Kai and his white and red dragon Boneshadow, or Connor and Lightspirit. Poor Erin was still getting the hang of summoning and needed help to bring her enormous dragon Rockhammer into the human world.

“Is everyone ready for our trip?” asked Berin. Mira and Flameteller nodded vigorously, and the others laughed.

Berin smiled. “Well, Mira, why don’t you lead the way?”

Mira grinned and set off towards the doors at the far end of the Hall that led out to the city. As she reached them, Flameteller said, “Time for me to go.”

Mira nodded and bumped heads gently with the little dragon, and then Flameteller faded from sight. Around her, the other children smiled and waved to their own dragons as they disappeared.

“Flame?” whispered Mira.

Hello! came Flameteller’s voice in her head, and Mira smiled.

They left the Hall and walked along the twisting passageways that led out to the city. These were the Clockwork Corridors, and Mira loved them. They were part of the defences of the Guild – a maze that moved under their feet, a clever machine to fool anyone trying to enter the Dragonseer Guild. Floor tiles slotted into place around them, doors and passages opened ahead, and Mira felt the thrum of machinery under her feet. At last they reached the exit, hidden in a small cottage.

They left the cottage and stepped out into the city of Rivven.

THE RIVVEN WHEEL

Rivven was the largest city in Draconis, and the oldest. Its streets and houses pushed and piled on top of each other, and narrow lanes squeezed between houses, markets, tanners, merchant halls and smithies. And above them all loomed the mighty Palace Rock, with the gleaming white walls of the Royal palace on top.

Berin marched her students through the bustling streets. Occasionally, rich merchants or city leaders nodded to her, and she nodded back, for out here she was Lady Berin, a city magistrate. Almost no one knew her secret role as head of the Dragonseer Guild. Officially, the children were apprentice clerks, and they wore their brown apprentice cloaks and followed as neatly as they could.

They left through the South Gate, and Berin led them along the road towards the southern hills. She was tall, and walked in brisk long strides, and the children had to trot to keep up.

“This way!” she trilled. “Oh, isn’t it nice to breathe some fresh air?”

At the back of the group, Connor groaned. “How much further? It’s been miles!” Connor wasn’t much of an outdoor person. His idea of happiness was to be curled up with a book, ignoring everything else.

Erin laughed. “It’s been one mile if that, slow-bones!” Erin was tall and athletic, and went running