Page 10
Please note: (there's a lot of these notes, I know) that this page (DRA10) and the next (DRA11) are text pages only. The Dragalleries continue on Page DRA12. In my noteworthy effort to be as accommodating as possible, you can use the links below to jump ahead or go back to the previous page DRA9. As with most other pages, once you're at the very bottom where even light can no longer penetrate the darkness (the opposite of a Black Hole) you'll find an escape pod back to the surface. So to speak.
D R A G O N I A
Tales Of The Golden Talon
T R E A T M E N T f o r F I L M
The following is an intermission of sorts. Both this page and the next (the Scroll document from DRAGONS AMONG US: The Series) just sort of ended up where they're at and I couldn't find any big reason to move them. So here they are. I did have the decency (and mercy) to include "escape" buttons here so you can proceed as before, prior to this rude interruption.
Drafting a winning, well crafted film treatment is surpassed in difficulty only by writing a full fledged screenplay. The piece here is no exception, and in many ways will always be very much a "work-in-progress". Interestingly (for those interested) I applied a similar technique and thought process (in terms of how I approached the matter) to the writing of the trilogy itself. For me, it helped to think of the story as a movie and whenever possible, I tried to visualize the scenes on-screen so to speak. Complete with music and sound effects no less. My brain has an unlimited budget for such things.
It should also be mentioned that properly written film treatments, scripts, and screenplays rarely trespass into areas that are strictly the realm of directors, cinematographers and others. Such aspects as camera angles and movements, the exact look of scenes and settings, characters' emotions, attitudes, and demeanors, the precise when and where of other things are all good examples of what film people consider to be reserved for their personal interpretation. That being said, however, and given that this treatment is not a formal proposal to anyone in particular, I wanted it to be as entertaining (and descriptive) as possible. But at the same time acknowledge to my readers that this presentation admittedly oversteps its bounds -- were I to submit it for serious review. In the meantime, put the popcorn in the microwave, pop open a whatever, and settle in for an unusual journey.
Last but not least, this treatment thing divulges all the twists and turns of the complete story. If you intend on reading the trilogy, I strongly recommend that you skip this page until whenever, if ever. With this in mind, here is the entire trilogy expressed in a single treatise of sequential scenes.
Ticket, please.
In the first of a trilogy of novels, a prologue sets the stage for the tragic and dramatic events, both past and present, that ravage a strange, foreign world. The terrors and trials described serve to inspire and motivate the many colorful characters revealed throughout the balance of the story.
In this version of a film presentation, the prologue from Book I, A Portal In The Storm, is seen as a flashback that appears at the end of SCENE II, ACT I. The flashback translates the initial happenings, described in the prologue, into a sequential montage of overlapping scenes which ultimately “fade to black”. We are then returned to present day and upon the onset of SCENE III, ACT I, the story continues. As in chapter one of A Portal In The Storm and subsequent the flashback scene, the tale begins in real time, with a dawn sun rising over a pastoral, very familiar world.
From DRAGONIA: Tales Of The Golden Talon / Book I / A Portal In The Storm
A C T I S C E N E I
Before, after, or during the opening credits, the seemingly distant roar and rumble of a thousand storms is heard. The audience (camera) “sees” through the eyes of one or more unseen individuals as the sky above is panned across an immense, airborne whirlpool of rotating clouds and mist. The great chasm is surrounded by drifting fog and a light rain, the last rays of sunlight shining through breaks in the clouds. Deep within the interior of the vertical cave, its inverted, conical shape similar to an upside-down tornado, sporadic flashes of lightning brighten the darkness inside. After a moment only, we speed into the overhead opening, our motion lunging forth in steady spurts, as if propelled by the oars of a boat, or the forceful beating of wings which flap and surge forward, slow for an instant, then push onward, upward, again and again.
Our pace quickens as we enter the whirlpool and “ride-the-rapids” roller coaster style, shooting through a gigantic tunnel of counter-rotating clouds, mists, everything lit by bursts of lightning and glowing gasses. Rising, falling, twisting to and fro, we spy a remote speck of brilliance centered in our path. The speck grows in size as the walls, floor, and ceiling of the enclosure about us rushes by, its contours little more than blurs of color and shape.
After traveling a minute or three since first entering, we approach what appears to be an exit from the tunnel. The opening ahead, as well as the light from outside it, grows large and inviting. Past rugged mountain peaks, we see more clouds beyond, but they float golden within a calm, sunset sky, beneath which are rolling hills, pastures and numerous woodland trees.
We zoom from the opening, whisk into and through the clouds, thrust past knolls and meadows. Quickly we wonder where we have journeyed, to what new world have we traveled. Losing altitude, we approach the ground and aim for a large oak tree that stands beside an old and weed-littered dirt road. Beyond the road, and a wood fence that borders it on one side, lies a small community of shops and houses, streets and telephone poles. More and more, the place appears familiar and Earthlike. Amid the rustling of leaves and shuddering branches, we land inside the oak tree, settle within it, then peer through the protective curtain of leaves that shelter us from view. Still “seeing” everything from the sole vantage point of some unseen character, wafts of expelled steam hiss and rise across our view. We soon realize our voyage has indeed brought us to Earth.
A C T I S C E N E I I
Our point-of-view reverses and changes abruptly to an external, close-up glimpse of a pair of large, “unearthly” eyes. The glassy orbs fill the entire scene (screen). The eyes are like twin mirrors and all of the surrounding scenery is reflected within them. We then observe the road, fence and town, a distant horizon; all of it repeated in the two eyes. Within the windows of houses, shops, and atop skinny light poles that line quiet, neighborhood streets, lamps switch on as the sun sets along the opposite horizon, behind the tree, in the direction from which we just arrived.
Still reflected within the alien but kindly eyes, we watch the surroundings slowly move as the eyes scan the area, then finally rest on the faraway mountain range back of the tree. As the sun gradually slips down between the peaks, the last remnants of the great whirlpool, suspended above the tallest mountain, are dissipating, fading away, then disappear altogether.
We then move closer to the staring eyes, penetrate them, move past them, and witness another change of view, dreamlike, that begins to materialize out of a thick mist. It is here that we see a major flashback scene, the original prologue to the story which sets the stage for what is to come, and reveals the world left behind. And why it was necessary to leave it.
A thick haze, part fog, part smoke, hangs in the quiet, darkened air. It obscures the daytime view of an eerie, unearthly landscape filled with immense trees, thick foliage, boulders and great outcrops of jagged rock. Distant shrieks echo in the dusk while mournful outcries punctuate the stillness and come from all directions. A gigantic animal, a huge dragon, suddenly appears, dizzily stumbling into view. With a tremendous crash, the beast falls dying to the ground. Off to one side, another of the creatures collapses to its knees, then teeters sideways and sprawls dead; a last groan puffing dry dust from its nostrils.
Much smaller residents, bizarre hybrids who are discrete mixes of dragons and other, more recognizable animals, scurry for cover as more giant dragons, some still healthy, others sickly and failing fast, amble into the open. All seem headed in a singular direction, with a single mind as they trudge ever onward.
Here and there, the forest’s less conspicuous inhabitants are seen squabbling over some morsel of food, spitting their small bursts of fire as they fight among themselves.
Above the heavy pall, a stupendous but seemingly dormant volcanic peak towers skyward. The rim of its steaming crater is spattered with glaciers and immense fields of snow and ice.
Herds of the dragons, now in even larger numbers, their columns decimated by the ill and dying, continue to plod for the hidden foothills at the base of the volcano. While many huddle over their fallen comrades, others are dragged, lifted away and carried off in a separate direction.
The scene shifts to an immense cave, the mouth of which yawns above a large plaza. Buried into the cliffs at the base of the volcano, the cave houses a huge log braced between two tall pillars of stone, their tops burning like blazing torches. Just behind the timber, a waterfall spills from the ceiling into a large, glistening pool below.
A formal, somber funeral procession is slowly filing into the cave. Its ranks are composed of hundreds who are part dragon and part bird-of-prey -- eagles. A courtly, superior breed unto themselves whoever they are. The deceased body of some important personage is carried by bearers into a secondary cavern located at the very rear of the main cave.
Visible along the uppermost slopes of the volcanic peak, multitudes of small, circular caves, in asymmetrical rows, dot the verdant terrain. Above these, more elaborate caves, fewer in number and each fronted by a broad flightledge, sit just below the snow line.
The scene moves to within the deep, inner confines of one such cave, a place of regal prominence, where an elderly dignitary slumps against his cane, his wrinkled hand (claw) rested on an empty, disheveled bed (nest).
A highly disciplined guard enters, addresses Grandohr by name, and announces the arrival of the Royal Father and Mother, Sire Jonaf and Dame Melia. The female smiles, cradling a newborn hatchling in her arms. Others enter and all humbly rejoice in the glitter of the infant’s shiny, gold-tinted talon.
The scene then changes to another dense forest, the distant volcano visible in the background. Rushing through the underbrush, past numerous onlookers, official couriers (more of the eagle hybrids called Dragles) shout the news of the birth of a new Dragle Empress. Various inhabitants, again part dragon, part some other, typical forest animal, exclaim, “Thank the Lords” and, “Deliverance is nigh!”
Not subject to the authority of the Dragle Monarchy, but living in harmony among their much smaller neighbors, one of the huge Truebloods, someone named Dragragon, hovers over the dying body of his unconscious mate, Sarene. He overhears the jubilant cries of joy sparked by word of a newborn queen. His head raises with enraged eyes that turn skyward and gaze menacingly at the far-off mountain caves of the Dragles. Smoke and flecks of flame issue from the clenched jaws of the massive saurian.
Back within the royal caves, outside and elsewhere, preparations proceed for the hurried coronation of the hatchling matriarch. Inside Grandohr’s chamber, the aged consort seen earlier, anxious guards inform him that some kind of great disturbance is wreaking havoc among the foothills, and is steadily heading their way. Rumors spread of a Trueblood gone mad, insane with his grief and anger born of the lingering plague that has afflicted only his kind. Other guards enter and confirm the incredulous report. Survivors state that Dragragon himself has threatened to kill all Dragles, especially the newborn princess. Even as they speak, the powerful renegade climbs the mountainside destroying everything and everyone in his path.
Unprepared for the surprise attack, Grandohr tells the others how, if they are to save the realm, the princess must be hidden from harm. Aware that fear of the elite Royal Guards probably keeps Dragragon close to the ground and prevents an airborne assault, time allows for a desperate plan to be drawn. The wise patriarch then summons a friend of the family whose help no one would suspect. Especially it is hoped, the murderous Trueblood.
Meanwhile, Dragragon is seen stalking the higher slopes, first burning his way to the lower nesting caves, but soon to the royal caves themselves. As he does so, a mass evacuation takes place in which the sky is filled with fleeing Dragle families. Amid the fire, smoke, and destruction, even the holy mountain, Mamag, belches protestations of steam and smoke.
The scene briefly shifts to the lowland forests where numerous spectators look up in bewilderment and horror at the carnage wrought by the rampaging Trueblood.
In answer to his summons, the dragurtle, Shelldon, part dragon, part turtle, arrives at Grandohr’s chamber and accepts a great responsibility asked of him. Nearby, a tearful Melia with Jonaf at her side, bends down and gently places her swaddled daughter, the infant princess, with the appointed guardian. A moment later, Shelldon has departed with his small but important bundle.
Dragragon finally arrives at the royal caves and, belching fire, incinerates their interiors. Frustrated by an absence of victims, the newborn empress in particular, the Trueblood takes flight and descends to the bottomlands. Once there, he wanders aimlessly, destructively, and notes the curious absence of any others of his kind, either dead or alive. He is apparently the last survivor of the prolonged and deadly plague.
Opposite the volcano and located at the remote and deserted outer fringes of the dragontinent, a vast, skyborne whirlpool, called Stormport, hovers ominously. With a firm grip on his charge, Shelldon appears, soars into the mouth of the portal, looks back a moment, then vanishes from view.
The scene and setting suddenly returns to our original vantage point in real time, prior to the foregoing flashback. We again switch to a solitary view of Shelldon’s stern eyes, within which the flashback began. Visible in his eyes, a nighttime sky, studded with stars, moonlit, has replaced the sunset. Scene holds, then fades to black.
A C T I S C E N E I I I
The Story Begins
In this revised version of an earlier treatment whereby the Prologue was portrayed first, just as it is in the book, SCENE III opens with a sunrise minus any miscellaneous introductory material. Viewers are left to follow the characters and action as presented, with only the previous flashback scenes as a basis for what now takes place in real time. The initial external view of Boja standing atop a slender pinnacle of rock, watching the break of dawn, has an alternate version as follows: As the scene opens (again brightens from the black fade-out at the end of SCENE II) our view is once more that of a close-up of two large eyes, but ones different from Shelldon’s. All of the surrounding terrain is reflected solely in these younger, softer, feminine eyes. Briefly the orbs brighten, seemingly in awe, as the crescents of dual suns burst above side-by-side images of distant hilltops.
Metaphorically, the duality inherent to these scenes speak to both the existence of two worlds and the fact that Boja and Shelldon represent hybrid creatures who are themselves split evenly between dragons and more familiar animals. Allegorically as well, the evenly divided, yin and yang attributes of opposing qualities form the entire premise upon which the story is based. It is why we both revel in the idea of cloning and simultaneously loathe it. But I digress; back to the film.
A C T I S C E N E I V
Scene IV involves a gradual change in the audience point-of-view. While focused on the two eyes and the images reflected within them, the camera pans slowly backward, pulls away from the eyes and retreats a short distance. We quickly see the actual nature of the strange being who is perched atop a tall rock, seemingly mesmerized, staring almost reverentially into the morning sunrise. The sky grows ever brighter as the dawn sun spills into a quiet valley and bursts over the nearby knolls. The golden brilliance bathes the small, solitary figure who remains motionless atop the highest outcrop around.
The young, female creature, a colorful mix who is part bird of prey and part dragon, turns and scampers back to a large oak tree situated beside an overgrown dirt road. Opposite the tree, a fence borders the unused thoroughfare; rooftops, paved streets, power-poles, shops and storefronts are visible beyond. Behind the tree, a broad valley leads to distant mountains. The same peaks where Shelldon first exited the portal and arrived on Earth.
Within the oak, sprawled along a large, interior branch, a grumpy Shelldon lifts his head and watches the grown princess Boja hurry to meet her newest friend, a ten-year-old boy named Timothy. Despite her guardian and mentor’s admonition to avoid the humans, the impetuous, strong-willed Dragle has befriended the lonely child.
Still unaware of her true identity, Boja stops by the side of the road and joins the boy, who is taking a science project to school for judging in a contest. Two bullies appear, grab Timmy’s project, then toss it over the fence.
Perched on Timmy’s shoulder, Boja is thought, by the other kids, to be some kind of freak the boy found in the nearby woods. When the two pick a fight and threaten her, Shelldon appears and with a violent burst of fire, incinerates the science project built by one of the brutish classmates. Humbled by circumstances beyond their imagination or control, the two kids soon become friends with Timmy and his otherworldly companion, Boja.
Later, after her human friend wins the contest, Boja learns from Shelldon that the time has arrived for them to return home. A place called Dragonia where great tragedies threaten to forever destroy the once-peaceful realm.
Shelldon further reveals to Boja that she is the rightful ruler of Dragonia. Together with her grandfather, Grandohr, they must defeat the villain, Dragragon, who usurped the Dragle monarchy and forced the two of them into exile. Only then can she assume her role as empress and restore the land to its former grandeur.
Shocked by Shelldon’s revelations, Boja feels reluctant and ill-prepared to fulfill a role chosen for her by strangers. She has no interest in leaving her friends, traveling to a new world and, even worse, fighting with those who want her to see her dead.
Loyal to her beloved guardian, Boja finally relents. Though she hardly remembers them, the oddly homesick princess knows her mother, father, and a brother are eager to see her. And she them.
Having bid farewell to her animal and human friends, Boja and Shelldon soon embark upon a harrowing journey that once again takes them through the dangerous dimensional portal, Stormport. Like a wild amusement park ride, the two are whisked upward, into, through and away, all the while surrounded by swirling clouds, thunder and flashing lights.
Shortly the two are delivered back to Dragonian soil. The cautious guardian suspects that new and unknown dangers await both in a land still governed by the ruthless Dragragon. Especially for the princess, who is there to reclaim her birthright. And particularly if, as rumored at the time, the dragodactyl, Rak, part prehistoric pterodactyl, part dragon, remains the Trueblood’s cohort in crime.
Much to Shelldon’s chagrin, Boja has allowed a hummingbird adoptee named Terra, to stow away with her. The outworlder is left in a safe place and told to stay there as the princess and Shelldon depart on a long and fateful trek. A quest that will take them from the one far end of Dragonia to the other, where the huge volcano, the holiest of mountains, marks the dragontinent’s distant, opposite shores.
Unable to fly for fear of being spotted by Dragragon or his cronies, Shelldon must get Boja to the safety of her grandfather’s cave. A chamber like many others, burrowed deep into the upper slopes of Mamag. Once there, Grandohr and the princess can devise the means by which she will unseat the usurper and, as a hundred rightful rulers before had done, perch upon the royal log inside the Cave of Queens.
To conceal her identity from enemies, Shelldon covers Boja’s gold talon with soot and mud. The ruse makes her appear to be just another young Dragle. Unfortunately, Dragragon has sworn to kill any Dragle he finds.
Along their way, the travelers encounter a variety of Dragonians, some friendly, some not, before they arrive at a large pond which is Shelldon’s home and birthplace. While the two pause there for food and rest, Boja is introduced to her guardian’s sister, Shellsie. She also meets the dragurtle, Torto, a longtime chum, and the wise seer, Whanda, a prim and proper dragwan, half swan, half dragon, who watches over the bog. A special connection exists between Boja and Whanda, who helps the princess understand what has happened to her, and why.
Both the princess and Shelldon learn that all the Dragles who survived Dragragon’s original attack have fled to an offshore island refuge called Moon Hala. Having established a government-in-exile, the Royal Family is rumored to have taken measures, on their own, to reclaim the stolen Dragle monarchy.
Asleep in the daytime and traveling only at night, the intrepid pair soon resume their quest to reach the sacred mountain. The trail passes many scenes of past destruction inflicted by the crazed Trueblood who, for the time, remains unseen and far away. The two pause along the scorched shores of a huge lake known as Midlania, which has long ago been mostly boiled away by Dragragon’s fiery breath.
They meet Cora at the lake, a magical dragonicorn, part unicorn and dragon, who spots Boja’s accidentally exposed golden talon; she then knows the Dragle's real identity. The giant dragodactyl, Rak, who is Dragragon’s feared accomplice, descends during a nighttime patrol and unaware of the others’ presence, drinks from a pool of accumulated rainwater.
An impulsive Cora charges the brute and much to the shock and horror of Boja and Shelldon -- and Rak -- knocks him into the muddy lake bottom. Stuck in the mire and about to sink to his death, the princess, with the reluctant help of the others, rescues the enemy. Seemingly ungrateful, the angry dragodactyl soars away, presumably to inform Dragragon of the newfound rebels, one of whom is a Dragle.
Cora, whose single horn broke off amid the brief skirmish, gives the retrieved object to the princess as a gift. An instant later, the large horn magically changes to a small ring and, as if alive, slips itself over Boja’s special talon. After, she and Shelldon bid farewell and head into the approaching dawn.
Shortly, the pair find shelter and sleep beside a river. That evening, they cross a desert and enter a grassland where both are befriended by a draglephant, (elephant) named Ellie, and the dragiraffe, (giraffe) Geri. As another day looms, Boja and Shelldon take a shortcut that will reduce the time needed to reach the Cave of Queens at the foot of Mamag. Ellie and Geri escort the travelers to the edge of the veldt, and to the brink of a cliff that overlooks a fog-smothered gorge below.
Beneath the thick mist lies a scary place known as the Valley of Gloom. The spirits of the dead are thought to wander a shunned area of the Valley called Darcklan, a gigantic graveyard where all Dragonians, Truebloods included, are traditionally laid to rest.
The detour requires a trip through the region, including the dragraveyard. While hiking through the valley, Boja and Shelldon meet Rhed, a coarse, comedic dragulture (vulture) who warns them about the Mistress of Rest and Peace, the fearsome governess who rules over Darcklan. The draghostly (ghostly) caretaker is reputed to slay trespassers who visit her domain without offering the governess the deceased body of a loved one.
Undaunted, the princess and her guardian leave Rhed behind and enter Darcklan, which is, as described, a spooky, bone-covered wasteland. They are first confronted by the odd dragaven, (raven) Po, who stands watch over the place. He takes them to the Mistress who, after an initial threat, then recognizes Boja and offers to help the empress.
During a temporary trance, Boja is spoken-to by the restless spirit of her grandmother, Fahrna, the deceased former queen. The princess is told to visit her in a special cavern located inside the royal temple.
Dragragon, impervious to the powers of the Mistress, routinely visits the bones of his lost love, Sarene, who had died during the plague. When he unexpectedly arrives, the governess delays him, then shows Boja and Shelldon to a narrow, underground tunnel just beyond the graveyard.
Safe inside the narrow cave which leads them in the right direction, towards Mamag, the two travel through a grotto and finally arrive within a spacious cavern where, across the way, multiple caves lead away in all directions. Confused and lost, Boja and Shelldon encounter a scruffy, half-deaf dragat (bat) named Bela, who is also lost. Who, it appears, has never not been lost.
Together, the three eventually find their way to the surface and near the very entrance to the Cave of Queens. Home to the royal log, the monumental perch of Dragonian queens, the giant cave is also where Dragragon unlawfully resides.
From DRAGONIA: Tales Of The Golden Talon / Book II / Flames Of Fortune
A C T I I S C E N E I
Conflicts And Confrontations
Bela goes his own way as Boja and Shelldon exit the underground cave, witness the Trueblood’s convenient departure from the plaza, then steal inside the temple. The princess, stunned by the awesome nature of the place, must enter the holy Cavern mentioned by her grandmother, which is at the rear of the main cave. While Shelldon watches for the Trueblood, she completes her necessary rendezvous.
Moments later, Boja rushes to Shelldon with important news, when the Trueblood springs his trap and reappears. Alerted by the spy, Urrol, a draguirrel (squirrel) who has followed the pair, Dragragon attacks. As a brief but fierce battle concludes, during which Shelldon is injured, the near victorious tyrant is suddenly distracted by a tiny, unknown assailant who, though harmless, gives the princess and her guardian time to escape inside the Cavern of Ancestors.
The entrance too small for Dragragon to follow, he finally breaks through, up to his shoulders, and fills the lower cavern with fire. At the last moment, Boja’s magic ring leads her and Shelldon to a special tunnel that climbs high up Mamag’s interior. The dark cave is illuminated by the countless fire’glies (fireflies) whose task is to serve official passersby. The friendly beacons’ militaristic leader, Litus, shows the way to the royal caves topside.
In a fit of rage, the frustrated Dragragon topples the royal log from its perch between the two huge stone pillars. He then orders Urrol to once again follow the fugitives. Midway up the steep tunnel, Urrol fails to heed Litus’ warning to turn back. An instant later, the draguirrel’s lights are put out.
After a lengthy trek up the mountain tunnelway, Boja and Shelldon exit onto the row of royal flightledges that jut from Mamag’s upper slopes. The nearest landing belongs to Grandohr, and the circular opening at its rear leads to the grandfather’s chamber, deep inside. As usual, Rak, the Trueblood’s mute collaborator, stands guard on the ledge, both to prevent Grandohr from leaving, and from receiving or sending messages via a speedy Dragle courier named Cazlon. In a curious turn of events, the dragodactyl departs and leaves the area unguarded.
Boja and Shelldon are soon walking within the fantastic network of royal passageways that crisscross a largely excavated interior. After they enter Grandohr’s chamber, the two first meet Wingston, a humming’gird, (bird) then the princess enjoys a tearful reunion with her grandfather. Joy turns to sorrow as the ailing guardian succumbs to the injuries suffered during his fight with Dragragon.
The heartbroken princess discards the ring she thinks is useless and places it with Shelldon’s limp, lifeless body. Amid a blinding flash, the dragurtle is miraculously revived by the ring’s powers. But Boja also recalls the warning from the dragonicorn that the horn (ring) must be dropped into the volcano’s crater prior to the new moon, two days hence. Failure to do so would mean the undoing of any earlier, fortuitous benefits derived from the ring.
Grandohr shares the elaborate chamber with his spunky humming’gird friend, Wingston. The grandfather, who is First Arden (head) of the Aakylan Council of Ardens, has promised the tiny assistant a place in the Royal Guards -- bodyguards who protect the Royal Family from incidental mishaps. Caught by surprise during Dragragon’s initial raid, the guards accompanied the other family members to the temporary island refuge, Moon Hala.
Second in command of the guards, the messenger, Cazlon, soon arrives with word of the latest happenings on the island. As always, the swift flyer has eluded Rak and Dragragon’s numerous attempts to intercept him.
Boja is very taken with the handsome courier, for whom the feeling is mutual. Over a meal, discussion turns to the long-planned assault in which hundreds of newly trained Dragle warriors would, upon return of the princess, slay Dragragon and reinstate the monarchy.
Opposed to violence in any form, Boja, who still remains hesitant to accept her rightful, royal role, is angered by the plan. But she finally submits to her domineering grandfather, and agrees to the dawn attack which will commence in two days. After Cazlon departs for Moon Hala, the princess questions Grandohr about a quickly dismissed topic mentioned earlier by Wingston. The subject concerned an old legend about a Dragonia once bridged to another land known as Zargahn. A land-link lost to time, the mythical land is presumably located beyond Mamag’s opposite side.
A skeptical Grandohr explains that even if such a place existed, it would be the exclusive domain of the divine lords who reside within the holy mountain. Also that the area is forbidden to all Dragonians who trespass at their own peril. Part of the legend also deals with the Truebloods who, finally overwhelmed by the plague, are long believed to be an extinct breed, except for Dragragon. The legend relates how, in actuality, many of the Truebloods found the secret passage to Zargahn, fled there and survived the disease.
Though the grandfather tells Boja the false tale is a story for fools, the princess, desperate to prevent bloodshed on her behalf, decides to seek out the hidden passageway. Her only alternative, she argues that if the legend were true and the other, more peaceful Truebloods could be found and told of the dark events in Dragonia, then they themselves would surely depose Dragragon. Wingston says that his dragat friend, Bela, claims to have been inside the secluded, secret passage and that the two of them could lead the way.
Despite Grandohr’s protests, Wingston finds Bela and together with Boja and Shelldon, the four head out on yet another quest. The trail leads to the dangerous foothills of Mamag, avoided by most because of boiling mud pools, volcanic geysers, and other hazards.
After their daring rescue of a dragear (bear) who had become trapped in quicksand, the explorers eventually rest in a huge cave that Bela insists is the mysterious passage to Zargahn.
At first, no one finds anything, but Shelldon finally solves the riddle. With time running out and less than a day before the planned assault on Dragragon, the dragurtle shows Boja where a false wall of melted stone has sealed a secondary cave opening which, at one time, branched off as a separate passage.
Boja uses her ring in an effort to find a way through the blockage, but with its energy seemingly spent, is successful only in boring a very small hole. Even the skeptical Shelldon realizes the importance of a cave whose entrance was intentionally sealed, a task that could have been accomplished only by Truebloods. He agrees with the princess that many lives hang in the balance, and they must return to Grandohr and convince him to postpone the attack until the matter can be further examined.
Wingston, the only one small enough to explore the hole drilled into the wall by the ring, volunteers to discover exactly where the little tunnel leads, if anywhere, then report back to Grandohr. Meanwhile the other three immediately make for the grandfather’s chamber.
Not long after the return journey begins, Shelldon grows increasingly weak and sick. Boja then realizes the new moon is nigh and if the horn is not taken to Mamag and tossed into its crater, her guardian will die a second time -- and permanently. She also worries about Wingston, and the consequences he may suffer because of a delinquent return of the horn.
Scene focuses on a panicky Wingston who, trapped within the tubular hole tapped through the wall of the cave long since left behind, sees it refilling with the stone previously melted from it.
Ordered by Grandohr to seek out the explorers and protect them, Cazlon arrives, finds Boja, and is just in time to save Shelldon’s ebbing life. On his way to the crater, the courier, horn in hand, is engaged by Rak. A brief fracas ensues, after which the horn ultimately finds its way into the volcano. The singed guard then returns to a grateful Boja, a revived Shelldon, and an oblivious Bela. Unseen by all, an unsavory spy has eavesdropped and rushes off to inform his masters.
The scene returns to Wingston who has reached the end of the tunnel and exited the opposite side of the sealed wall. But waiting for him is an angry Trueblood, someone other than Dragragon, who commands the humming’gird to turn back or else.
Far from the newly discovered cave, Boja and Cazlon, Shelldon and Bela, all head for Mamag’s upper slopes, their precarious nighttime flight taking them through a dark mountain pass, ripe for an ambush.
Back within the cave interior, the walled-up opening of the rediscovered passageway begins to grow hot, as if being melted from the inside outward.
Alerted earlier by the spy, Urrol, and laying in wait thereafter, Dragragon and Rak bushwhack the others as they fly up the mountainside.
Caught unaware, Cazlon and Shelldon, their defenses puny by comparison, engage the villains in a long and fiery, claw to talon battle. Fought amid the high wisps near Mamag’s snowy peak, a storm fills the air with thunder, lightning, and rain. The mighty volcano itself begins to growl, spewing smoke and steam into the cold, nighttime sky.
Great spurts of lethal fire, breathed from angry jaws, streak everywhere. No match for either of the foes, Cazlon and Shelldon are burned and beaten back. Left unprotected, Bela is inadvertently caught in the Trueblood’s erratic and deadly firestreams. Also alone and defenseless, Boja has flown away, trying to spare the others by drawing attention to herself.
Dragragon obliges the princess, pursues her, then readies his fire for a final, fatal burst. Rak joins him, but seems reluctant to revel in their imminent victory. The Trueblood berates the ambivalent dragodactyl and orders him to dispose of the Dragle and dragurtle approaching fast from below.
As Dragragon lunges for Boja, his fire bursting forth, he is suddenly and devastatingly blasted with flames hurled from Rak, who has swerved about and turned his fury against the Trueblood. Before Dragragon can react, the onetime partner strikes another serious blow that burns away the tyrant’s wings and sets his whole body aflame. Moments later, the stunned Trueblood tilts to one side, plunges groundward, and crashes among the trees far below. Taking no more chances, Rak flees from Cazlon and Shelldon and seeks shelter within faraway shadows.
All equally astonished, Boja, Shelldon, and Cazlon reunite and share in their disbelief of what has happened, namely the death of Dragragon raked by the fire of his own accomplice. As the rain abates, both Boja and Shelldon are saddened by the loss of Bela in the Trueblood’s fire.
Grateful to be alive, the three joyfully head for the royal chamber caves burrowed into Mamag's hillsides.
The scene changes to the interior of Grandohr’s mountain dwelling. Having witnessed and overheard some kind of calamity outside his cave, the grandfather fears the worst. When his granddaughter and the others appear, he gleefully rejoices in their safe return. As the four rest and eat, they discuss their plans for the future of Dragonia. Worried about Wingston’s absence, Grandohr is additionally amazed, though very skeptical, at the news of Dragragon’s demise -- especially that Rak was responsible.
From DRAGONIA: Tales Of The Golden Talon / Book III / The Hope For Zargahn
A C T I I I S C E N E I
Return Of The Truebloods, Final Judgment, Feast, And The New Arrival
Recuperating from their climatic battle with Dragragon and Rak, Boja, Shelldon, Cazlon, and Grandohr continue to rest and dine together. And debate the dubious death of the Trueblood.
The scene shifts to where Dragragon plummeted to a dense forest floor. Within a large crater created by his fall, the former king appears dead, his burned and broken body smoldering amid the damp ground turned to mud by the brief storm.
Woodland witnesses, who have arrived for a closer look, soon run for their lives as the Trueblood, like the fabled Phoenix, rises from his own ashes.
Seriously wounded and his death only a matter of time, Dragragon gathers his remaining strength for one last assault. Driven by his hatred, he reenacts a scene from years before as he ascends the mountainside. The painful climb will bring him straight to Grandohr’s chamber. And its unsuspecting occupants.
Meanwhile, inside the royal abode, all have eaten and drank their fill, mended minor injuries, and prepare for a much-needed night’s sleep. Cazlon returns to Moon Hala to inform his superiors of the recent events. The cautious Grandohr, however, wants the newly trained Dragle warriors to arrive according to plan and on schedule.
Scene briefly changes to the previously discovered passage to Zargahn, where the sealed entrance continues to melt from within as pieces and chunks crumble and fall away.
In the pre-dawn blackness, Grandohr’s chamber is suddenly and violently rocked by repeated blows that originate from somewhere outside. Awakened first, Shelldon goes to check on the disturbance. As a quizzical Boja and her grandfather enter the main room, the dragurtle, his shell trailing smoke, stumbles to the floor. He tells them that Dragragon still lives and, though gravely wounded and weak, has breached the entryway. Unless they escape soon, the Trueblood, or his fire, will shortly find them.
As Dragragon appears at the foyer of the destroyed chamber, ready to strike, he mysteriously withdraws. An instant later, an excited Wingston returns, shoots from the chimney flu, zooms to Grandohr and announces the appearance of his three new acquaintances. Of his three new Trueblood friends who have left their home in Zargahn to arrest Dragragon, and cease his evil reign.
Boja, Shelldon, Grandohr and Wingston exit the shambles of the wrecked chamber and halt on the large, exterior landing where Dragragon has been subdued by the no-nonsense trio of freshly arrived rescuers. The princess introduces herself to Brimstone, leader of the Zargahnian Truebloods. To one side is another male, Drazil, while Elysia, a female, stands opposite both.
Thought to have wandered off during the latter days of the plague and left for dead, Dragragon is held in contempt by his compatriots, who accuse him of violating Trueblood laws against malicious interference in the affairs of others. Brimstone will allow Boja, the Queen of Dragonia, to decide the criminal’s fate, to choose whether he lives or dies.
Still uncertain as to her own future, Boja orders Dragragon, who may die of his injuries in any event, to be spared. Despite Grandohr’s angry protests, the princess asks her grandfather to summon a physician to treat the Trueblood’s wounds and if possible, to save his life. Boja further declares that, should he survive, the defeated tyrant will be banished to Zargahn where his fellow Truebloods can deal with him as they wish.
As dawn approaches, Boja, Shelldon, and Grandohr then realize their warrior squadrons will appear at any moment and, if the new Truebloods overreact, create a dangerously unstable situation for everyone. When the sky is soon filled with Dragle combatants, Cazlon and his Commander, Boja’s brother, Karnis, descend first to investigate.
After a warm reunion between brother and sister, separated since birth, the warriors lower to the surrounding cliffs while the twenty-odd members of the Royal Guards form a protective circle around the princess. Karnis and Cazlon are informed of the dramatic change in plans amid the tense confrontation of Dragles and Truebloods, each of whom are distrustful because of Dragragon’s past deeds.
Finally understanding her inherited role as Dragonia's future sovereign, Boja quickly adapts to her position of authority. She puts everyone at ease and ingratiates herself with Brimstone, Drazil, and Elysia. Her first order of business calls for a banquet to be held later that day. The giant feast will take place in the great plaza that fronts the Cave of Queens. She sends Cazlon into the countryside to spread word of the event, and of Dragragon’s defeat by honorable Truebloods who have survived the plague. Karnis departs with his warriors for the island, Moon Hala, to escort all the colonies back home. Even the dragat, Bela, his body fur burned off, turns up alive, brought to the flightledge by a feline dragalico (calico) named Margeaux.
Shortly, the Truebloods, Dragragon, Boja, Shelldon, Grandohr, Wingston, Bela, and the contingent of Royal Guards have reassembled in the shady main courtyard just outside the royal temple, where the coronation and long-overdue banquet will soon commence.
The dragopossom (opossom) healer, Oppi, arrives per Boja’s request. With his medicines, he saves the life of an ungrateful, unrepentant Dragragon. The princess is surprised and gratified to spot a special someone Oppi has brought with him, who he discovered injured and dying in the nearby forest. Happy to again see Terra, her hummingbird stowaway from Earth, Boja realizes it was she who fought with Dragragon inside the Cave, and saved her and Shelldon from the tyrant’s fire.
Presently, the entire Dragle population, numbering in the thousands, arrives from Moon Hala. Each dropping white flower petals to the ground below, the blanketed square rapidly appears covered as if by snow. Like stadium attendees, the throngs settle around the pure white plaza. The last to descend are Boja’s mother and father, also not seen since her birth. Exchanging joyful hugs, the family is finally safe and together once more.
From every corner of Dragonia, hundreds of representatives have come to pay their respects to the new empress. Each has brought food for the buffet to be shared by all. With Brimstone’s prompting, the heavily guarded Dragragon restores the fallen log back to its former perch between its twin stone supports. As a prelude to Boja’s coronation, the extinguished oil-pools atop the two pillars, like huge torches, are re-ignited and set ablaze.
The towering waterfall that, from the high ceiling of the cave, spills just to the rear of the log and splashes into the great pool at its base, reflects the fiery hues on either side. Mixed with the indirect, filtered sunlight, the surreal, flower-strewn courtyard shimmers with a golden brilliance. A rainbow arcs through the fall’s misty spray. As Boja flies to the towering boom and perches there, hundreds of newly trained warriors form in columns throughout the square.
While Boja stands atop the log, her grandmother’s now restful spirit reaches out and fastens a sacred necklace, the Shafrah, about the neck and shoulders of the former princess.
Amid uproarious cheers, the new queen returns through the plaza, accompanied by Cazlon, her ardent admirer and for whom she has developed strong feelings of her own.
From the table prepared for her and the royal parents, Boja orders the banquet to begin. As her subjects file across the square, each depositing their donation of food, most characters -- met earlier -- are reintroduced. Torto, Shellsie, and Whanda appear, and, much to her mother’s dismay, the empress tries to meet and greet everyone.
The Royal Family enjoys the feast while seated at the special table reserved in their honor. With Shelldon and Terra at her side, Boja is introduced, by Grandohr, to the Aakylan Council of Ardens, a group of four who advise the queen and execute her wishes, and over whom the grandfather is head Arden. Due to her unorthodox upbringing, Boja represents a major departure from tradition, and the conservative Council is, at first, concerned over her unusual behavior. The new queen informs them of her plans to rebuild and reshape all of Dragonia.
Boja, who at long last has happily accepted her role as ruler, meets again with the Truebloods and their prisoner. With the help of some friends, she forces Dragragon to receive a much-needed bath in the royal pool. During the event, Whanda speaks privately with the Trueblood foe, then alerts the queen to a bit of unfinished business that deserves further investigation.
After most have fed from the huge buffet spread in the middle of the plaza, the Truebloods, minus Dragragon, all eat their fill.
Back at the royal table, Wingston and Terra, who have grown very fond of one another, dash off for the forest hinterlands.
Meanwhile, Boja learns that Cora, the dragonicorn who fought with Rak, has died as a result of losing her horn. Though grieved, Boja is reminded of the dragodactyl and wants to thank the absent hero for saving the lives of herself and countless others. She sends Cazlon to find Rak and bring him back to the plaza.
Boja spots Rhed, the dragulture, and his pal, Po. Speaking through Po, the Mistress of Darcklan acknowledges the new queen’s ascension to the log. A worried Karnis suddenly appears and whisks his sister away to the royal table.
As Rak descends to the square, Boja welcomes the former foe, always considered a traitor to the realm. He appears humbled by the queen’s offer of forgiveness and friendship.
The dragodactyl then joins the Truebloods and amid some tense moments, shares a meal with the somewhat tamed Dragragon, who holds Boja solely responsible for his unjust fate and imprisonment.
When the late afternoon wanes, Boja and Shelldon bid farewell to the Truebloods who are invited to, once again, consider Dragonia their homeland. Together with their prisoner, they depart the courtyard and head back for the passage to Zargahn. Boja and Dragragon steal a final glance at one another, and the empress wonders whether she did right in letting him live.
Back at the royal table, Wingston and Terra hurriedly return. The excited humming’gird tells Grandohr that he and his new outworlder friend have discovered something urgently important. Wingston’s news must wait as an absent Boja tends to other business.
With her newfound friend, Rak, in tow, the queen along with Cazlon, Karnis, and Shelldon, returns to where Jonaf and Melia, her parents, are stricken with shock by the dragodactyl’s approach.
At the table, the former princess assures everyone of Rak’s restored loyalties. Cazlon sees a lone straggler who tries to remain hidden as he steals from the buffet leftovers. When the culprit is pointed out to Boja, she orders his immediate arrest. Rak grabs the traitor, Urrol, and brings him before the angry queen, who conducts a mock trial and sentences the draguirrel to hard labor helping fix the damage done to the homes of others.
As sunset nears, an exhausted Jonaf and Melia, plus the remaining Dragle families and others, all return to their caves high up the mountainside. They long to sleep in homes denied them for so many seasons. Shortly, only Boja and Shelldon, Rak, Grandohr, Wingston and Bela, Terra, Karnis, Cazlon, and Ahken (another Guard seen several times before) linger in the deserted, food and petal-strewn plaza.
Finally allowed to speak his piece, Wingston tells Boja about a big, unbroken egg -- a Trueblood egg -- he and Terra found in the nearby forest. The queen remembers Whanda also confiding to her a story of something unusual in the nearby forest. Despite the protests of family and friends, she insists on investigating the mystery. Though unable to fly with the others, the cane-wielding Grandohr is coaxed into reluctantly riding on Rak’s shoulders. Hampered by his burned wings, Bela sits aboard Shelldon as everyone makes for the darkening woodlands.
While dusk falls, the small group arrives at their destination and gathers around the exposed Trueblood egg, uncovered by the recent storm. All assume the unhatched chick inside has perished and its unknown parents are long gone.
Though warned by the Mistress, while in Darcklan, never to utter her true name aloud, a careless Shelldon blurts it out by accident. A moment after, the powerful specter, Lucent, rises from the pit that harbors the egg. While all tremble before the spirit’s frightening presence, she demands the life of whoever violated her commandment.
Before Shelldon can state otherwise, Boja steps forward and takes responsibility. She explains their quandary over the egg, whether they need transport the dead chick to Darcklan or not. The displeased Mistress reveals that the baby Trueblood, though weak, has not yet expired. Boja then begs the governess to spare the infant’s life, to restore its health and allow it to hatch.
Exasperated by the whole affair, the Mistress will, this one time only, concede to Boja’s request, especially since the Truebloods had suffered the loss of so many from the plague. As the governess recedes within the pit, the egg shakes and hatches out a large male Trueblood baby. Boja names the infant Tim, too, after her child friend from Earth. The newborn as well as his name, Timtu, are both quickly adopted.
Incapable of flight as a hatchling, Timtu is tethered to Boja as she accompanies the others on a hike back to the Cave of Queens.
Once again at the temple plaza, it is apparent that Grandohr and Rak, his new form of transport, have become good friends. Wingston and Terra are obviously much more than mere friends. The courtyard and all within it are radiantly illuminated by the huge torches burning within the Cave.
Final farewells are bid as all look forward to the eventful days to come. Wingston announces that he and Terra have a nest built high up a nearby tree. Grandohr and Rak soar up the Mountain where they will join Jonaf and Melia. As Cazlon, Karnis, and Ahken turn to leave, Boja calls Cazlon to her. Both gaze longingly at one another as she tells him he will hence be the queen’s special ambassador, and accompany her wherever she goes.
Soon only Boja and Shelldon remain, neither of whom, since their original trip to Earth, have ever been out of the other’s sight for more than mere moments of time. Bela, still recovering from his burns, is with Timtu who enjoys his first meal from the banquet’s leftover morsels.
After some brief words between the two, about their friendship, the future, and how the baby Trueblood bears a striking resemblance to Dragragon, Shelldon lifts into the peaceful night and makes for the pond, anxious to rejoin his sister and other friends.
A happy but somewhat melancholy Boja retires, along with Bela and Timtu, to the temple interior. With the dragat asleep and cradled in her lap, the baby Trueblood secured to a pillar, she sits nestled beside the pool, its water lapping against the rocks, lulling her into a deep slumber.
Final Scenes
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Special Visual Notes
In the last scene of the original story, Book III, The Hope For Zargahn, Boja sits alone inside the Cave of Queens with Timtu and Bela. As she reclines against one of the pillars that supports the royal log, fires blaze from atop each of the twin supports. Formed by the flames, flickering, illusory shapes dance across the walls and ceiling of the enormous cave.
While Boja sleepily gazes up at the array of undulating streaks of light and shadow, she imagines seeing many things, grand events to come, all manners of people and animals, some friendly and familiar, others unfamiliar, worrisome, even frightening (teasing glimpses of a sequel).
Described previously in SCENES II and III of ACT I, wherein we see the outside world reflected first in Shelldon’s eyes, then those of Boja, the last moments of this end-scene again shifts to a close-up view of Boja’s eyes. The interior of the royal temple, the fleeting, fanciful images seen, are all once more reflected solely in her eyes.
As Boja slips away, her eyelids slowly close as our view steadily recedes from her and the cave. We can only imagine how her happy heart yearns for the advent of both a new dawn, a new love, and a new era for Dragonia.
Fade to black.
Against the brightness of a rising sun, of waves crashing against a rocky coastline, the film concludes and end credits scroll into view.
* * * *
Speaking of scrolls . . .
You're currently on page DRA10 (Treatment for Film)
listed under DRAGONOMICON
On page DRA11, you'll find the Scroll document from the first book in the DRAGONS AMONG US series, The Ghosts Of Walker Pines. Why is this so important, you ask? The main reason I included the complete text from the document is because it tells a story that was two years in the making, and requires two full chapters as it appears in the final Kindle eBook. As the basis for what was intended to be an open-ended series of four or more novels, the tale told by the scroll needed to be high, wide, and deep, with lots of sub-plots and mini-stories of its own. Take a look if you like this sort of thing.
listed under DRAGONOMICON
On page DRA11, you'll find the Scroll document from the first book in the DRAGONS AMONG US series, The Ghosts Of Walker Pines. Why is this so important, you ask? The main reason I included the complete text from the document is because it tells a story that was two years in the making, and requires two full chapters as it appears in the final Kindle eBook. As the basis for what was intended to be an open-ended series of four or more novels, the tale told by the scroll needed to be high, wide, and deep, with lots of sub-plots and mini-stories of its own. Take a look if you like this sort of thing.
You've read the film treatment, bought the soundtrack, and seen the movie.
Now read the original eBooks before Hollywood actually gets its hands on them.
