In the process, I was able to read The Search for Synergy by Brett Salter and really enjoyed it. The story’s based in real-life United States with junior high boys (things I relate to), but the difference is that King Arthur’s knights were really dragon riders, and their descendants carry on that heritage!

Interview with Julian

Hey guys.  My name is Julian “Danger” Rider.  Rome calls me Jules as a nickname.  And my sister Camela always groans after she says my name, so I guess that’s her nickname for me.  You know,  Julian (exaggerated groan)

I’m a natural blonde.  And my eyes are blue.  My mom says they’re perfect.

What kind of distinguishing facial features do you have? 

Hmmm.  Nothing really.  I just have a face, ya know?  But it’s great because it’s mine!  I do have a characteristic smirk which I am still trying to have patented.

Do you have a birthmark? Where is it? What about scars? How did you get them? 

That is a really personal question.  But yeah, I have a “V” on my forehead that shows up when I get really angry.  The rest of the time, you can’t even see it.  And I have my Synergy Scars on my hand since I’ve performed The Great Synergy with Rome.

Who are your friends and family? Who do you surround yourself with? Who are the people you’re the closest to? Who do you wish you were closest to? 

Well, my brother is Rome.  And we don’t have the same parents, but since we did The Great Synergy, we are as close as brother.  Closer, even.  Like soulmates!  And then, my bratty sister is Camela and my dad is the former Grand Hunter.  Umm.  I hang out with Rome and the crazy, local librarian, Mr. Jones.  Together, we are trying to save the world from the Darkbrands.  I’d like to be friends with The Rock. 

Where do you go when you’re angry? 

I usually try to find Rome and have him calm me down.  Since we share the same heart, he knows my every thought.  He is the dude that can help me out when I’m angry.  And he is a fire dragon.  He knows rage!

Do you have a secret? 

I mean, I kinda just told you.  Haha.  But other than that, I am secretly bonded to a fire dragon in human disguise and we go all over the planet shutting down portals and fighting monsters from another dimension.  How’s that for a secret!

You’re doing intense spring cleaning. What is easy for you to throw out?

Naw, dude.  I’m not throwing anything out.  But, I would throw away all my sister’s stuff while she’s away at prep school.  Hehehehe.

What is one strong memory that has stuck with you from childhood? 

I’ll never forget the time my dad sat me down and told me about the “true” history of our world.  The history about dragons and The Great Synergy and all about King Arthur’s Camelot.  It really sticks out to me because I remember thinking, “I can’t wait to get a dragon!!”Because having a dragon to bond with is just about the coolest thing on the planet.

What did you think of Julian? If you like him, you’ll probably love Rome, the fire dragon in disguise.

Irish Dragons of Fame

Since I’m of Irish heritage, I decided to take a look at dragons in the wonderful island. It’s fairly easy to find them considering their flag has a huge red dragon on it. I discovered there are two different views of dragons. There’s the original Celtic and druidic thoughts of dragons and then when Christianity came to the island the idea of dragons changed.

View of dragons before Christianity

According to draconika.com ancient Irish believed dragons came from a parallel universe. When dragons took a path that came close to our world or slept somewhere in our world, those places became more powerful. In essence, dragons brought energy and power to the land. They protected the land as well and became symbols of wisdom and strength.

However, when St. Patrick came to Ireland, he brought with him Catholocism. Druid worship and Catholocism didn’t mix well. As people converted, they brought dragons with them, but the idea of dragons changed.

View of dragons after Christianity

The legend states that St. Patrick drove out the snakes from Ireland. Another name for dragon is snake or serpent. Irish dragons are snake-like creatures some with wings and others without more like a sea serpent. What if St. Patrick drove dragons out of Ireland? An interesting idea. After Catholocism took hold in Ireland, dragons no longer held a place of honor. They became known for strife, trouble, and infertility. This view goes along with the King James translation of the Bible that calls Satan a serpent and a dragon.

Legends of Dragons in Ireland

Ireland has several legends of dragons. They seem to all explain various natural happenings. This follows along with the idea of dragons being next to gods in Irish mythology. One story tells of a sea serpent that harrassed a village by yawning bad breath over the land every morning. When the king’s men couldn’t stand against it, a small boy decided to play Pinochio and took a boat out to the dragon. When the dragon yawned, the boy sailed down into the dragon all the way to the liver, where he built a fire. While the dragon writhed and burnt, the boy escaped. After a while, the dragon slowly fell apart creating Iceland and the islands between Ireland and Iceland. Another tale explains the flooding in a valley as a dragon that a monk enchained in a lake.

German Dragons

Unlike Ireland’s early history, dragons in Germany seem to be the greedy, evil type that people try to outsmart. These stories coincide with our classical fantasy writers, Lewis and Tolkein. I know the German composer Wagner influenced both of those authors.

Puk and Black Worm

The Puk seems to be the only really benevolent dragon. It’s a small sprite style dragon that lives in homes and brings stolen goods to the head of the household. I’d love to have this dragon living in my house. I don’t really have stolen items, but things seem to disappear or get misplaced. If I had a Puk living here, he’d be able to help us find things.

I could only find one tale of the Black Worm. He loved his horde of treasure. A man tried to steal his treasure, but became greedy and called to his wife to help. His call woke the dragon. The startled man ran, dropping his loot. The dragon and the treasure sunk into the ground never to be found again.

Firedrakes

One of my favorite middle grade/young adult book is The Dragonrider by Cornelia Funke. It’s the tale of a dragon and a brownie to find a new home for the dragons. Along the way, they’re joined by a boy, a hermunculous, a professor and his daughter and wife, and a dragoncologist. The dragon’s name is Firedrake. I don’t know if Ms. Funke had this German dragon in mind or not, but I do know she’s from Germany.

Other famous firedrakes include Smaug and the dragon Beowolf defeats. Firedrakes love treasure and caves.

Lindworms

Lindworms seem to be a very vile dragon. They may or may not have wings, but they definitely have claws. They attack churches and dig up graveyards! I would not want to meet one or fight one. Ugh! No wonder these bad nasties are considered a bad omen. They are known to eat livestock, which makes sense.

Comparing the two

Ireland and Germany in the big scheme of things are not that far apart geographically, and yet, it is enough to have differences in their dragons and to make one wonder, could dragons have really existed at one point in time?

If both countries have legends of beasts that caused havoc and there are enough similarities, wouldn’t it stand to reason that these creatures are based in reality? What are these creatures? Both cultures have them as powerful creatures and both eventually have them as to feared. The two countries have dragons with and without wings, and both have serpent-style dragons.

If both countries have tales of creatures of great power and size that may or may not have wings and were serpent-like, the odds of there being actual creatures that these stories came from are quite high.

Feel free to share what you think with me. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

You can see the other posts with more proof that dragons existed.

Over the next several months, I’ll explore different aspects of this question. Each month, I’ll have a post exploring in more detail one of the points from today’s blog. Make sure you check back in to find out more information on this need-to-know question.

How do we go about answering a question when there doesn’t seem to be any proof that the creatures exist today? The most obvious answer to that is to look back at history. No, there are no fossil records of dragons per se, but the creatures have left their mark elsewhere.

There aren’t fossil records of #dragons per se, but the creatures have left their mark elsewhere.

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Dragons across cultures

It seems as if every single culture has a dragon myth or story. Asia is the most prevalent with the year of the dragon and their New Year celebrations with snake-like dragons weaving their way down streets. Europe, however, took a different twist on dragons. They showcase large winged creatures that breathe fire and hoard gold.

If something exists across cultures, then generally there is a grain of truth in the tale. It’s these cross-cultural connections that often intrigue me. I’ve questioned the theme of a day of the dead style celebration that spans from Mexico, to Taiwan, to England. Dragons span cultural barriers; therefore they represent some grain of truth. Could dragons have really existed? Maybe.

Dragons in Legends

From King Arthur to Beowolf to St. George and the Dragon legends tell of dragons and people. Just as dragons span cultures, their tales span countries. The website draconika has a list of legends from England, France, Austria, Japan, and others. The Week lists legends from India, Greece, Babylon, Australia, and Peru. However, generally where there are legends, there’s a grain of truth.

What really inspired the story of Daniel killing the dragon god of Babylon or St. George slaying a dragon? Were there creatures that our dragon tales come from? Over the course of the next few months, I’ll explore these and more.

Dinosaurs: Dragons in disguise?

The fossil records show creatures of varying sizes some with bird-like qualities some without. Kids have been fascinated with them ever since the first skeleton was constructed in New Jersey.  The question remains, could dinosaurs really be dragons?

With their large build, their lizard-like body, and some with the ability to fly, just maybe some dinosaurs were dragons. I’ll delve more deeply into this theory in a couple of months.

Fire-breathing Dragons

One of the issues that seem to make people think dragons couldn’t have existed is the claim that they blew fire. However, as we’ll explore in more detail later, other animals have many of the traits given to dragons, including fire.

Are you excited to explore more about the possibility of dragons existing? Every second Monday, I’ll delve deeper into this question. Next month, I’ll look into the Celtic dragons. In the meantime, enjoy a nice dragon ride by reading your favorite dragon fantasy, or explore Dragon’s Future or Uprooted if you haven’t read either of them already.