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    Dragon Riders Return
    Dragon Riders Return
    Dragon Riders Return
    Ebook115 pages2 hours

    Dragon Riders Return

    By John Arthur Betts

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Two hundred and fifty thousand years after the death of Aria, Golden Dragon Queen, the earth magic finds an unborn child strong enough to carry the full magic of the earth and sets in motion events that will lead to the return of the dragons
    Follow the events as they unfold and the return of the dragons and their riders, many tasks await the new golden rider, will he succeed!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJohn Arthur Betts
    Release dateJan 22, 2015
    ISBN9781311363954
    Dragon Riders Return
    Author

    John Arthur Betts

    Enjoyment is writing fantasy fiction,Pleasure is spending time with my long suffering and wonderful wife

    Read more from John Arthur Betts

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      Book preview

      Dragon Riders Return - John Arthur Betts

      Dragon Riders Return

      ***

      John Arthur Betts

      Published by John Arthur Betts at Smashwords

      Copyright 2015 John Arthur Betts

      ****

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase another copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      ****

      This, like all my books is a work of Fantasy Fiction; any resemblance to actual people, places or events is totally accidental and unintentional.

      Table of Content

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      Chapter 10

      Chapter 11

      Chapter 12

      Chapter 13

      Chapter 14

      ***

      Chapter 1

      The rain stopped before dawn, the first of the twin suns was slowly rising above the mountains that surrounded the small town of Dragon Falls. Mountains rose to thirty thousand feet on all sides of the fertile valley. In ancient times legends say it was called the valley of the riders.

      The falls that give the town its name are at the northern end of the valley, water from melting snow and ice pour from a cavern opening some say is shaped like a dragons head ten thousand feet up a sheer cliff, a small lake at the base of the cliff feeds the meandering river that flows through the valley.

      The town was already busy, the sound of the blacksmiths hammer rang through the main street, the farmers already in their fields as the sun crested the mountains and filled the valley with warmth, it would be four hours before the second sun crested the mountains.

      The southern end of the valley is covered by a large forest, Kiara was in her garden picking herbs to make potions, by the laws of the world outside the valley, healers were the only ones allowed to use magic, Kiara was the only healer in the valley, she lives in a small cottage at the road edge of the forest with Tobias her son of seventeen years, the dirt road followed the river and left the valley through the southern pass that cut through the mountains.

      As Kiara went back into the kitchen, Tobias came running out of the forest carrying a large bag of mushrooms and fruit, breakfast will be ready soon said Kiara, Tobias placed the bag on the kitchen cabinet, washed his hands and sat down at the table.

      Kiara placed the breakfast of freshly baked rolls, eggs, mushrooms and tomatoes on the table and sat down, halfway through breakfast she looked up you are very quiet Tobias, is anything wrong, Tobias looked thoughtful then said, no, not exactly, I mean, I have been having dreams but last night was so vivid that when I woke up I thought I was still there, Kiara knew she had been here before, remember when you dreamt that you could hear the animals talk, that was just a dream so this is just one of those, don't worry just forget it, she said but she had serious concerns, she had seen the owl sit on his shoulder, none of the animals were frightened of him, perhaps, just perhaps.

      No mum, I said nothing before because you seemed worried, I can hear and speak to the animals, why do you think that the rabbits no longer eat your carrots, I asked them not to, but my recent dreams were different, I have dreamt of a large chest or box, it has a dragon carved on it, I must open it, last nights dream as I said was so vivid, the room filled with a golden light and a voice said now it is time, open the box, Kiara's heart sank, only very strong magic can open the box you have described, generations have tried, I have tried myself but my magic is not strong enough.

      But mum what is this box and where is it, Kiara thought for a while as they both finished breakfast, Tobias got up and cleared away the plates, Kiara remained seated, come and sit with me Tobias, she said softly and Tobias sat.

      Legends say that hundreds of thousands of years ago this planet was ruled by a Golden Dragon Queen named Aria, during her reign she banished dark wizards and placed a magical barrier around her kingdom, when she died of old age it is said that her body ascended into the sky and became the second sun, the magical barrier slowly contracted until it covered an area of fifty miles wide by one hundred miles long, the battles between the dark wizards and the remaining dragons lasted for many years, hundreds of miles outside this valley, even now is blackened dead ground, the mountains around the valley were formed by magic and molten rock during the battles, again legend say's that the dragons won in the end but the magic kept getting weaker until very few could use it, they became the healers, every household in this valley is descended from the dragon riders of that time, each house has a box built into one of the rooms, nobody knows what is in the box because the magic required to open it no longer exists,

      How do I know if I have magic, said Tobias, Kiara looked at him, a tear forming in her eye, lift the table with your mind, she said slowly hoping that he would fail but without any sign of effort the table lifted four feet off the ground, wow was all Tobias could say as he gently lowered it back to the ground.

      Kiara stood up, visibly shaken, come with me, she said her voice shaking, Tobias followed her through the cottage to a locked room at the rear, Tobias had never noticed the door before, mum what happened to the dragons, She searched for an answer, as far as I know they just vanished, the riders and their families built the town and the farms, when the shield finally failed they cleared the pass to the south but the northern pass was never cleared,

      Kiara waved her hand over the lock and the door sprang open, she walked in and summoned light into a lantern at the far end of the room, below it was an ornately decorated chest about six foot long, two feet high and two feet deep, on the lid was a detailed carving of a dragon.

      That is the box I have seen in my dreams, said Tobias as he crossed the room, suddenly the room filled with a golden glow, they both heard the soft voice, now is the time descendant of my rider, open your destiny, Tobias smiled it is exactly as I dreamt, Kiara was shaking more from fear than anything else, she knew what the golden glow and the message meant, try to open the box, it has no key, you need very! she gasped as Tobias placed a hand on the dragon and heard a series of clicks, the box slowly opened.

      A golden glow emanated from low in the box below a dark cover, several cloth wrapped items lay on top of the dark cover, Tobias reached in and removed the first of these and removed the cloth, this revealed a small crossbow, his hand tingled as he held it, placing it carefully on the floor he removed the next then the next, when all the wrapped items were removed from on top of the dark cover Tobias and Kiara looked at the array of weapons that were now laying on the floor, a crossbow, a quiver containing twelve bolts for the crossbow, a long bow with quiver containing twelve arrows, two ornate daggers in leather sheaths and two ornate swords that glowed blue when drawn from their scabbards.

      Kiara sighed, These are the weapons of a dragon rider, they are now yours my son, Tobias, Dragon Rider,

      Tobias laughed, should that be dragon less rider, he reached in and removed the dark cover, the room filled with a blinding golden light, as the light dimmed and their eyes re-focussed they saw the image of a man dressed in a golden suit, on his back were the swords, a long bow was slung across his chest, a small crossbow hung at his waist and two daggers were visible at the top of his golden boots.

      The image turned to face them, I am Jokim rider of Aria, Golden Dragon Queen, I know not what time has spanned since this chest was sealed, I know two things, you are a rider who possesses earth magic, this is strong in you or you would not have been selected to open the seals, secondly Aria must have selected you to undertake the quest, you will travel north and find the dragon magic and unite it again with the earth magic, this is decreed in legend, my weapons will already have bonded with you, call to them they will be in your hands ready to use, do it now, Tobias thought swords and they were in his hands, Kiara gasped, he laid them back on the ground, the image appeared to smile then continued, "I will leave soon, put on my suit, it will bond with

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