That’s right, The King’s Voice is a fantasy novel…with no dragons.
Apologies to all you dragon lovers out there!
Dragons are great, don’t get me wrong, it’s just that there are already a plethora of stories involving dragons, and movies too. I don’t think I can breathe any more fire into the dragon genre.
The King’s Voice does, however, have Quills. Quills are much like any other human being except they have wings. They live high in the impenetrable Ice Mountains and as they soar through the blue Goaeron sky they breathe in the Eternal Mists of Life for energy and nourishment.
And who needs dragons when you have Crones? The Crones of Arfan have many powers like;
Craven who has the power of Beast-eavesing, Zantra who has the power of Crone-lip, Agruella masters the power of Up-downing, Finka the power of Land-fleeting, Griselda teaches the power of Cloud-spinning to name a few.
And then there are the Blulupians. I'll let an excerpt from the book tell you more:
“Mallory was surrounded. All he could see were spears tipped with green fire as three flaming torches wafted in his face. He blinked in the light and raised his hand. All at once voices screamed in fear, bodies receded and he was left alone in the chilly darkness. He realised his greed had propelled him further into time than necessary and now he was alone in the night with a bunch of marauding spear-holders screeching at him. He felt the sweat dry cold on his face and knew he was no longer in the humid jungle cave, and although Surge Season was unravelling its days into the balmy Sun Season, here, in the Shadowlands, it was always dark and dank.
The marauding spear-holders were from the village of Blulupia in the Shadowlands, north of Mount Or. The village sat near the River Lichen, downstream from where the water passed through a mile of granite. The granite imparted a magical element to the water which is only manifest if drank directly from the river. When drank, the water made visible and audible each his own sprite. These beings are very wise and can be of great benefit to the individual, if they ask the right questions. Many an adventurer and opportunist had ventured into the Shadowlands to try to bottle the enchanted water for the masses. Not one made it back to the other side of the mountain alive or unscathed.
The granite gives but it also takes away. When the water flows into the land to quench the plants, they grow thin, tall, and almost black. Only the inhabitants are able to digest the crops grown here and even then it has turned their skin a bluey grey colour with lips and fingernails a deeper shade of blue. Hence Shadowland remains without colour except blue and black and their various shades. The water also enchants the plants so that each bears its own small being. The people believe that homage must always be paid to the sprites and so they mumble prayers and gratitude constantly. This meant that over eons the people spend all the time reciting blessings and so have evolved an extra-sensory form of communication with each other. In this strange pocket, in a cold dark land of few resources, whispering blessings and blue skin, visitors were rare.”
Just no dragons....sorry.