Dragon Spirits

A new epic fantasy series bursts into life with the DRAGON SPIRITS who reign supreme in the magic-drenched world of Tassar.

The Iron Crown is the first novel in this brand new trilogy.

You can also subscribe to my mailing list and receive The Citrine Key free - a novella that’ll give you a taste of Tassar to whet your appetite!

Summary of The Iron Crown

Fenn, a young man with no memory of anything bar his own name, awakens in a bog on the Isle of Salt. He is immediately accosted by Hassen, the Dragon Spirit of Salt Ash Forest, who takes an interest in him. Hassen flies through Fenn, giving him a brief glimpse into the life energy of the forest and—unbeknownst to Fenn—bonds with him.

Fenn soon encounters Calidra and her partner, Jisyel, two residents of the island. Taking pity on his bedraggled state, they take him back to the inn owned by Jisyel’s grandmother to rest. Calidra receives a letter from her estranged mother notifying her that her father—the Laird of a canton in Bragalia—has died, and she is being summoned for the funeral. She hasn’t been home in seven years, blaming herself for her sister’s death and ruined relationship with her mother—a response to the abuse she suffered at her mother’s hand as a child. Used to running away, Calidra must now face her past.

Needing to cross from the Isle of Salt to Bragalia for the funeral, Calidra and Jisyel decide to take Fenn with them. If nothing else, the Queen’s Inquisitors can deal with him. Jisyel, cursed by Hassen some time ago, also wants to use the travel opportunity to potentially find a way to remove it.

While resting at an inn in Bragalia, they encounter Torsten, the queen’s Master Inquisitor. He tries to arrest Fenn, claiming there are many “lost souls” he has picked up recently, and with his lack of memory, Fenn could be one of them. However, he is thwarted at the last moment when the former Porsenthian General, Varlot, steps in to defend Fenn.

Things immediately escalate when a shadow-like creature attacks the town. Torsten, Varlot, and Calidra step in to fight it off, but Jisyel and Fenn are washed into the river during the scuffle. Torsten believes the creature to be one of the Myr’s spirits—which should be impossible with the Iron Crown in power. He leaves town to investigate further, whilst Calidra and Varlot search for Jisyel and Fenn. On his way back to the capital city, Torsten stops at his hometown, Tonmouth, and visits the shrine of Miroth—the dragon spirit to whom he is bonded. 

Miroth confirms the creature Torsten fought is one of the Myrish death spirits. It means the Myr are returning and Tassar is no longer safe. There is only one reason this could be happening, as he confirms with Queen Surayo on his return to the capital: one of the ancient and powerful Myrish artefacts—The Citrine Key—was not destroyed five years ago as had been promised.

Stranded with no supplies, Fenn and Jisyel turn to a nearby temple for help, and meet one of the priestesses, Selys. She has seen many people begging for aid recently, all of whom later died. As Fenn’s symptoms are similar to these people, she states he has been touched by the Myr and will likely die soon. Only a powerful spirit can undo Fenn’s curse—there is an ancient Myrish construct in the far north of Porsenthia, and this might be able to help him. In service to her own dragon spirit, Neros, Selys wishes to learn more about Fenn and the Myr, and agrees to lead them through the country.

Elsewhere, Calidra is beside herself with worry for Jisyel. Varlot convinces her to move on—she has a funeral to get to. Despite a successful career within the Porsenthian army and a charismatic charm that easily attracts people to him, Varlot is plagued by alcoholism, gambling debts, and a violent nature that bubbles just below the surface. Naturally suspicious—a survival instinct—Calidra has no choice but to work with Varlot, though she does not trust the man.

Begrudgingly, they make their way through Bragalia towards her hometown, Fellwood. On the way, they are attacked by another shadow-like creature, saved only by the arrival of an Olmese warrior on his war-griffin. Amsel, the warrior, confirms the Myr are returning and the warriors of Olmir are gathering to defend Tassar from their advance. 

Amsel flies Calidra and Varlot to Fellwood, and Calidra makes it back in time for her father’s funeral. Her terror of her mother, Furyn, gives way to an explosive reunion. It is fuelled by Furyn’s refusal to support her search for Jisyel—whom Calidra dreads is drowned—as well as the revelation that Furyn had lied to her for years—Calidra’s sister, Malora, is alive and living in northern Porsenthia.

Fenn, Jisyel, and Selys make their way to Fellwood. Along the way, Fenn sees more shadow-like creatures—his curse seemingly enabling him to observe spirits and magic of Myrish origin. After they all reunite, Furyn throws everyone out of Fellwood so she can focus on defending the canton from the encroaching Myr alongside a battalion of Olmese griffin riders.

Desperate to reach the Myrish construct before his time runs out, Fenn pushes north—from Bragalia into Porsenthia—led by Selys and aided by Varlot, though Calidra openly states she does not trust him. Having discovered her sister is alive, Calidra follows, along with Jisyel. They make their way through the Spindle Woods, home to an ancient dragon spirit, Alnothen, who appears and warns Varlot that he is not welcome. 

Pressing on through the trees, Jisyel cuts her leg on a venomous plant known as Tanglethorn and subsequently collapses. After recuperating in a nearby village for a few hours, and so close to Alnothen’s shrine, Jisyel begs to go there, as Alnothen might be powerful enough to lift the curse placed upon her by Hassen. 

Although forbidden, Calidra implores Varlot to carry Jisyel through the trees to the shrine. Alnothen agrees to release Jisyel from her curse if she becomes one of her priestesses—forsaking all other things in life and devoting herself entirely to the spirit. Knowing what such a bond demands after seeing her sister beholden to a dragon spirit, Calidra begs Jisyel to refuse. Angered and further offended by Varlot’s presence, Alnothen warns them off her domain. 

As the group crosses the deadlands, Fenn is accosted by visions and memories of a great battle held there several years prior: the Myr against the forces of the Iron Crown. He sees Varlot and Torsten in the battlefield, along with the death and destruction left in the wake of the Myr.

Upon reaching Tonmouth, the group rests. Miroth is the dragon spirit of a nearby lake, and Varlot confirms Torsten was born here. Having seen the Master Inquisitor behave erratically, it is suggested he might be bonded with the slowly dying spirit, and giving in to Miroth’s whims. They send messages to their loved ones and board a ship that will take them the rest of the way.

Fenn, Varlot, and Selys disembark part-way through the journey, as the Myrish construct is in a cave in the Nethal mountains. Calidra and Jisyel remain onboard as it will sail around the mountains to Foxmouth—where Malora lives. As the group says their goodbyes, two Inquisitors meet them—ready to arrest Fenn. Varlot sent word of the Myr-touched, “lost soul,” and is ready to claim his reward after betraying him. Selys fights off all three Inquisitors, then she and Fenn flee into the snowy mountains, though injured.

In Foxmouth, Malora’s husband—and former thief—Apollo plays with their young daughter, Renys. This is cut short by the arrival of Inquisitor Nadja, who arrests Apollo for high treason and drags him away. Queen Surayo had commanded Apollo to destroy the Citrine Key in exchange for a full pardon five years prior. She believes he failed in that duty, otherwise the Myr would not be back. Apollo denies any wrongdoing, but is brought to the palace for questioning. At Apollo’s request, Nadja sends a message to his wife informing her of his situation and likely imminent execution.

Torsten tortures Apollo for information using a Myrish spell made living. This creature absorbs memories, and he uses it to find out Apollo’s truth. Although Apollo fights back, the creature learns what he did—and did not do—five years previously. Before Torsten learns this, the palace is attacked by the Myr. 

Apollo manages to escape in the chaos, commandeering one of the Olmese war-griffins and flying away—but not before he steals the Myrish spell and dumps it in the Lasseen Ocean when they fly over it. Toriaken, Spirit of Iron, rises from the palace to defend the city against the Myr. In the wake of the enormous dragon, the griffin is blown off course, and Apollo crashes into the nearby woodland.

On the waters outside Foxmouth, Neros rises to face a Myrish attack on a second front. Boats capsize and people are flung into the sea—Calidra and Jisyel included. Calidra passes out after losing her strength in the water, but is pulled into a small fishing boat. Malora and others are scouring the wreckage, searching for survivors, and Calidra reunites with her sister. Jisyel was rescued earlier, and the three take refuge on a small, rocky island off the coast of Foxmouth, devastated by what has happened.

In the woodland outside the capital, Apollo sees one of the Myr devouring life energy from a tree, and flees. Inquisitors are hunting him down, and he is too weak after his torture to fight back. Before they can recapture him, a griffin swoops down to attack, and Apollo blacks out.

In the Nethal Mountains, Fenn reaches the Myrish construct, Vermecio, and it removes the excess Myrish magic from his body. He still has no memories, but with the curse nullified, he is no longer at risk of death. The construct promises to restore Fenn’s memories if he restores its power. It needs a Myrish artefact to do so: the Citrine Key.

Neros reacts to the Myrish attacks—blessing Selys and sharing her power with the priestess. Overwhelmed by Neros’s power, Selys collapses. Strengthened by the removal of his curse, Fenn carries her back down the mountain. Unsure where to go, he makes his way towards the nearest town he can see. On the way, they cross paths with Inquisitors searching for Apollo—including Torsten.

Controlled by Miroth, Torsten attacks Fenn and Selys. No longer suppressed by Myrish magic, Hassen rises from Fenn and attacks. Though not a strong spirit, Hassen is more powerful than the slowly dying Miroth, and overpowers Torsten—proving Fenn’s station as a priest of a dragon spirit. 

Inquisitor Nadja apologises and they take Torsten away, allowing Fenn and Selys to travel unhindered to the nearby town of Westbrook. Many people caught in the Myrish attack on the capital are recovering here, Apollo included. Eager to help, Fenn distributes food among the injured. When he touches Apollo, he has another vision of what happened with the Citrine Key and Apollo through his connection with Myrish magic. Shocked, he begs Apollo to take him to the key. However, Apollo is distraught, having heard Foxmouth was destroyed by the Myr, and fears his wife and daughter are dead.

Nadja arrives in town, looking for Apollo. Upon finding him, she states her belief that he failed in his task with the Citrine Key and is therefore responsible for the new Myrish invasion. Apollo is shocked when the Inquisitor says she doesn't want to arrest him. Nadja wants him to fix his mistake, and will accompany him to the Citrine Key, making sure it is destroyed once and for all. She has taken a leave of absence to carry out the task, against Surayo’s wishes that traitors to the crown must be executed.

Outside the building, Fenn and Selys spot Amsel and his griffin, Hailathlyl—who saved Apollo. Amsel was on his way to Foxmouth to see Malora to safety on behalf of Furyn Vantonen, when he and Hailathlyl happened upon Apollo in trouble and helped out. Apollo refuses to take them to the key until he knows Malora and Renys are safe. Nadja acquiesces. Though weak and injured, Apollo gets to his feet. Fenn, Selys, Apollo and Nadja climb on board the griffin, and Amsel flies them towards what’s left of Foxmouth.

Meanwhile, Varlot arrives at the palace and seeks an audience with Torsten. He demands to be made an Inquisitor and his titles reinstated. In exchange, he will lead Torsten and the Iron Crown to Fenn.

Summary of The Shadow Gate

Fenn—the young man who awoke on the Isle of Salt with no memory—lived in the isolated town of Ma-Rai on the distant, icy continent of Meneos. A small river spirit, Manori, had slowly corrupted due to the presence of an ancient and powerful Myrish artefact called The Citrine Key that was placed in the nearby Moonlight Palace by Apollo Tamlin five years prior.

Apollo had been tasked by the queen to destroy the key, but instead saved his own life by putting it “somewhere safe.” In truth, a Myrish spirit within the palace claimed the key and he couldn’t thwart the creature. In the intervening years, the key swelled in power, and its cursed magic leached into the surrounding land, corrupting the spirits who dwelled there—even affecting Paragos, Spirit of the Eternal Blizzard.

Corrupted and unable to control his actions, the river spirit Manori rampaged, burning trees and creatures whenever he encountered them. He swept through Ma-Rai—where Fenn had been living with his wife, Evarine—killing hundreds and corrupting others. Although Fenn tried to fight back, Evarine was badly burned.

Unfortunately the corruption was too great to overcome, and Fenn, like many others, was cursed by the Myr. Their magic overwhelmed many people, killing them instantly. Those who were lucky enough to survive the initial onslaught were cursed, had their memories taken, were forced to submit to the will of the Myr, and scattered throughout Porsenthia.

The Myr wished to use people as pawns, much as the dragons had done for generations, though their heavy-handed approach almost destroyed their chances of doing so. With the Citrine Key growing in power within the Moonlight Palace, their plans of wiping out all life in Tassar could come to fruition. And so they awakened two other powerful artefacts in a three-pronged attack that could rend the most powerful dragon spirits defeated and pave the way for their new conquest:

The Golden Hairpin to sever the bond between Queen Surayo and Toriakan, who had thwarted them five years prior. The Jade Shell to trap and enslave Neros, whose waters they had to cross. And the Citrine Key to open the Shadow Gate and enable their spirits to swarm land and sea.

***

Apollo Tamlin is tracked down by Inquisitor Nadja. He was the last person with the Citrine Key, and Nadja wishes to be taken to it so it can finally be destroyed, stopping the Myr in their tracks and ending the war before the casualties become too great. Apollo refuses to cooperate with Nadja until he has confirmation of his wife and daughter’s safety following a Myrish attack in Foxmouth, where his family lives.

Fenn needs to retrieve the key and bring it to Vermecio, because it is the only way his memories can be restored. The priestess, Selys, travels with him. She and her bonded dragon spirit, Neros, wish to fight against the Myr, and she is worried Fenn is playing into their hands.

Fenn, Apollo, Selys, and Inquisitor Nadja arrive in Foxmouth with the Olmese warrior, Amsel, and his griffin. Amsel scouts around and confirms Apollo’s wife, Malora is alive, however she and her daughter have already left Foxmouth.

Nadja commandeers a fellow Inquisitor’s ship and sails across the Lasseen Ocean to the distant Meneos continent, where Apollo claims the key is. Their movements attract the attention of the Archon of Lightning, Verkata, who questions their presence. He becomes agitated and violent when Selys appears, forcing Neros to rise and fight the more powerful dragon spirit. Their battle causes the storm to widen, risking the ship and everyone on it. To save them, Selys allows herself to be claimed by the seawater, leaving Fenn alone with Apollo and Nadja.

With her Farsight magic, the mage queen Surayo sends Inquisitors Torsten and Varlot to investigate and retrieve another Myrish artefact that she can sense in the abandoned Marlrush Fortress. It was the site of a great battle, the last fight before the war ended, which Torsten and Varlot both participated in. Unbeknownst to anyone, this artefact is the golden hairpin, filled with a magic designed to sever the bond between a person and a dragon spirit.

The fortress is close to Torsten’s home, Tonmouth, and he squirrels away various artefacts from the battle site to feed to his own bonded spirit—the weak and dying Miroth—in the hopes of giving the dragon enough power to save his life. Varlot resents doing grunt work and Torsten’s dismissive attitude towards him.

Torsten feeds the hairpin to Miroth and unwittingly severs his own bond. The power within the artefact bolsters the dying spirit, elevating his strength to rival even Toriaken himself. Miroth is filled with corrupting power and flies off, burning everything in his path in a wild rampage.

Elsewhere, Calidra Vantonen, her partner Jisyel, her sister Malora, and Malora’s young daughter Renys, reach Chyram’s Shrine in northern Bragalia. Malora implores the Spirit of Gold to give her his blessing once again so she can protect her family from the Myr, but she is violently rebuffed.

Calidra, Jisyel, and Malora arrive in Fellwood after escaping Chyram’s wrath. They are aghast when Miroth attacks the town, burning much of it and killing people.

Torsten arrives in Fellwood following the confusion of the attack, with the desperate plan to capture Malora and Renys in order to flush out Apollo and finally get his revenge after allowing the thief to escape. Calidra challenges him and they duel. Without Miroth’s bonded power, Torsten is taken apart by Calidra, so he has one of his Inquisitors shoot her with an arrow to take her out of the fight. He all but kidnaps Renys as Calidra can do nothing but watch on.

Near Segandis, on the coast of southern Bragalia, Kaio Ioran and his second-in-command, Taran, pick up a shipwrecked woman called Evarine on their return home from a long voyage. Evarine has terrible burns on her face and carries a peculiar item, a shell of jade, and seems to have some link with the Myr, though is vague about information.

Selys manages to return home to Segandis, where she confronts her brother, Kaio, now leader of their family warband and de facto Laird of their canton. However, he is a fighter, not a leader, and his hold on his people is tenuous at best. Driven by Neros’s urging, Selys wishes to stop the rise of the Myr and knows she and her family must atone for what they have done in their pirating past. Neros killed their family three years’ prior, and Kaio is less than happy to discover his sister has bonded to that spirit.

Fenn, Apollo, and Nadja arrive in Meneos. Fenn is newly bonded to a forest spirit, Hassen, but the Myrish curse is powerful enough to repress the dragon, and convince Fenn that their words are the dragon’s. Already weak and bombarded by spirits and magic, Fenn slowly succumbs to the Myrish corruption running through his mind and body. He is convinced he is following Hassen’s guidance, but instead plays into the Myr’s hands, despite meeting people on the continent who know him and had thought him long dead.

He fights his way through Paragos’s blizzard into the Moonlight Palace, where he abandons his travelling companions. Apollo and Nadja fight the Myrish spirit in residence there while Fenn claims the key. He leaves them for dead and continues alone on his quest to return the key and open the shadow gate.

Badly injured and half-conscious, Nadja is able to use the queen’s iron magic to send warning to Torsten, but the Master Inquisitor is more interested in Apollo and demands he return to Porsenthia to face justice for his crimes—or his daughter will suffer the consequences.

Realising Fenn was tasked to return the key to Vermecio in the Nethal Mountains, Selys, Kaio, and several of the warband sail towards northern Porsenthia in the hopes of stopping Fenn, should he return, bringing Evarine with them. There is a hope that Fenn will not use the key if he realises Evarine is his family, though Selys is doubtful.

Calidra takes sanctuary in the Fellwood Estate with Jisyel and Malora. Her mother, Furyn is less than impressed with their situation and Renys’s capture. With Miroth’s rampage destroying most of the town, Furyn is helping repair it with assistance from some Olmese griffin riders, who are bound to her through her own Olmese blood.

Desperate to take action, Jisyel sneaks away and implores Chyram for help. The dragon removes Hassen’s curse and blesses her. However, he has a mission for her—help him become an Archon powerful enough to wipe out the Myr.

Calidra is left with a choice. Follow her lover, Jisyel, as she attempts to fulfil her spirit’s wishes while helping Furyn rebuild Fellwood. Or travel north with her sister, Malora, in an attempt to rescue Renys and find Apollo—if he is even alive. Amsel and his griffin are willing to help take Malora to the capital.

Torsten returns to Eastbrook with Renys as his prisoner, but he is weak and exhausted following Miroth’s loss. Varlot has beaten him back to the palace, and the queen summons him immediately. Her Farsight magic has shown the Citrine Key is back in her lands, and summons a small battalion to take down the man who carries it—Fenn.

Queen Surayo leaves the child prisoner Renys in Varlot’s command, giving him the rank of Master Inquisitor in the wake of Torsten’s mistakes, and marches out with a small honour guard to take out Fenn herself. She brings Torsten with her in a final chance he can make himself useful.

However, their march is interrupted as a chaotic and rampaging Miroth appears, burning the fields around them. Toriaken himself rises to meet this corrupted dragon, and the two fight viciously, with neither ceding. Eventually Miroth leaves, driven east, and Surayo blames Torsten for anything that happens with the key. Torsten vows to restore Miroth, even if it kills him.

Fenn reaches Vermecio, and survives the ambush waiting for him by Selys, Kaio, and his crew, by the strength of the key. He has little awareness of his own actions as the Myr are completely driving him. He places the key in Vermecio’s mouth and the Myr abandon Fenn, having no further use for his mind or body, releasing him completely from their influence and returning his memories to him.

The key, combined with Vermecio, opens the Shadow Gate—a vast, swirling portal connecting the spirit world to Tassar. Myrish spirits and creatures flood out from the darkness and begin to spread over the land.

As he comes to, Fenn realises what has happened, who he is, and what he has done.

And in the distant Moonlight Palace, Apollo survives the Myrish creature by making a bargain with it while he is on the brink of death.