Fantasy Explorations

Exploring the fascinating world of Dragons

• Solseit • Episode 9

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In this episode of Fantasy Explorations, Solseit dives into the fascinating world of dragons in fantasy literature. The conversation explores the cultural significance of dragons, their portrayal in various stories, and how these mythical creatures have evolved in literature from feral beasts to intelligent beings. The episode highlights notable works such as 'Draconis Memoria' by Anthony Ryan, 'A Song of Ice and Fire' by George R.R. Martin, 'Winterlands' by Barbara Hambly, 'Temeraire' by Naomi Novik, and 'Heartstrikers' by Rachel Aaron, showcasing the diverse representations of dragons and their relationships with humans.

If you are interested in exploring dragon lore in the world, this is a great place to start: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dragons_in_mythology_and_folklore


You can find more information about fantasy stories - with a focus on books - on www.solseit.com and on threads and IG at solseit_the_enthusiast.

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“Nobody move, I have a dragon and I'm not afraid to use it.”

Intro
Welcome to Fantasy Explorations, the place where to geek out about fantasy. I'm your host, Solseit, and I'm in love with fantasy, in all of its forms. I have been exposed to fantasy for most of my life, and I want to keep learning about this genre, so this is the adventure we're on.

This is how Donkey famously referred to dragons, and in fact the dragoness then becomes his partner in Shrek. This episode focuses exclusively on dragon and how they are portrayed in a few selected fantasy stories. I'm expecting this to become a recurring episode over time, but it is a fun episode to kick off as it is. In fact, dragons fascinate us. They have never existed, but we've been dreaming as humanity. We have been dreaming about them everywhere. In fact, dragons have been a staple of fantasy and mythology for a very long time. We've associated them to religion. Think about St. George. Or to folklore. Think about Loch Ness. And mythology, more generally speaking. There are two tangents that I want to make here. The first one is that we have been seeing depictions of dragons in medieval maps, where we would often see the sentence here be dragons at the edge of maps, with actual representation of dragons. And as a second tangent, every single continent in this world has dragons in their mythology. And I will leave a link in the episode notes for you to spend a little bit of time in exploring on this Wikipedia page how every single continent has its own representation, if you're interested. Fantasy uses dragons quite regularly. In fact, I would almost call dragons as a staple in fantasy. There is a lot of different representations, maybe the more popular in today's and maybe the more popular representation to the wider masses is through a Song of Ice and Fire, or even better, the adaptation of Game of Thrones, when Daenerys says, “I am the blood of the dragon do not presume to teach me lessons”. And this sentence highlights the attribute that most representations in fantasy or otherwise in any medium really has when it comes to dragons, which is that they are regal. The representation covers the two extremes from thoughtless animals to intelligent beings, almost human-like. So today we want to focus on a few of these representations. And to kick things off, because we did not have enough quotes already. I want to bring Ursula K. Le Guin's quote from A Wizard of Earthsea, “(…) but it is one thing to read about dragons and another to meet them”. The first book and the first series that I want to cover here, going through scary dinosaur type animals to a more intelligent, again, it's not that they are not intelligent, but a human like level of intelligence scale.

First selection - The Draconis Memoria by Anthony Ryan
I want to start with the Draconis Memoria by Anthony Ryan. And this is probably my favorite series by Anthony Ryan to date. And the world is steampunk and it is a time of exploration, navigation and hunting. There are also less known organizations that want to control and have control and have power. They want to have power and they actually wield power. And they specifically use, employ people who have a peculiar ability to process the blood of dragons. And there are four breeds that are available at that moment in time, and the breeds depend on essentially the color of the dragon. And so we have the red dragon, the green, the blue, and the black dragon. So what to do in order to keep this power and retain control over everything, really?

And the answer is to find more people, to employ more people who can process this particular ability and they are called Blood-Blessed. The other ingredient to this concoction is the Blood of Dragon. And this means that dragons need to be harvested and they need to be seized in order for the harvesting to actually happen. So dragons at the start, at the very start of this story, they are feral beasts similar to dinosaurs or the way that at least I envisage, dinosaurs. The way that Jurassic Park of Michael Crichton tell us dinosaurs should be behaving. Dragons in this story are hunted, and dragons do not take kindly to being hunted, and so they often are able to do the opposite, which is to hunt themselves in packs. And so one of the quotes in this respect is quite powerful in explaining how they behave. “Reds live in hives and they don't like visitors. Get within a mile and they'll come at you in a swarm no amount of bullets can stop”. So if hunting is so dangerous, as clearly evidenced by this quote, which is a quote from one particular member of a hunting party to dragons, so what's the alternative to hunting dragons is to breed them.

The breeding pens are horrible and they are characterized by inhumane treatment. Dragons are seen as a resource and not as being. Another part of the book is particularly telling to this effect. “In all her years here, she had only toured the pens once and had found that single visit more than sufficient. A strong stomach was a requirement of her occupation, but even she had limits. It had been the birthing more than anything else that unsettled her. The nesting drakes would breed fire on their eggs, the waking fire the harvesters called it. The eggs would blacken at first, then a glow would appear inside as the gases contained within took light before exploding. Then the smoke cleared and the harvesters would immediately scoop up the small squawking infant before their mother could begin to lick away the soot, harden it, as she was by both education and profession, Lisanne still found the screams of both mother and infant capable of sending an icy spike through her heart”. As you see, it's really the depiction of these animals is quite feral. They are dangerous foes. They are powerful foes. And at the same time, they are essential in order for a particular organization to retain control and retain the power to control the world. And in order to do so, they really really scoop down to some of the worst behavior that one can imagine when it comes to treating dragons. Now, I don't want to go too much into the story. We really want to focus on the depiction of dragons, so I'm not going to bore anybody further. And we still have a few series to go in this particular episode about dragons, or this first episode about dragons. But it is a story that it's worth reading. really, if anybody follows me on Goodreads they know that every time Anthony Ryan has a new book, I will be picking it up. There is no question around that. But this is probably my favorite to date, and I'm hoping that the latest series, which is called Age of Wrath, will be unsitting, the Drakonis Memoria from the favorite Anthony Ryan series that I have. But for the time being, again, if you like dragons, if you have, if you love steampunk, if you love an interesting telling about exploration and navigation to some extent. This is a great book and this is a great series to pick up. On top of it, it's a completed series, so that never hurts.

Second selection - A song of ice and fire by George R.R. Martin. 
Next on our list, we have A Song of Ice and Fire. And I've put this depiction a bit more human because Daenerys is able to connect with the dragons almost as if they were, let me pass the term, dogs. She's the only one who can do that, she is the only one who is capable of doing that, but it is still unique the fact that this is actually happening. If you want to conquer the world, you best have dragons. This is the essence of the power in A Song of Ice and Fire. And the touch that makes it unique is the love relationship that the Mother of Dragons has with her dragons. “The green one shall be Rhaegal, for my valiant brother who died on the green banks of the Trident. Of the cream and gold I call Viserion. Viserys was cruel and weak and frightened, yet he was my brother still. His dragon will do what he could not. And the black beast? asked Ser Jorah Mormont. The black, she said, is Drogon.” If you watch a Game of Thrones, which is the live-action adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, you have a very good idea how dragons visually look and how cool they really are, but also how powerful and how they are essentially nuclear weapons that are enabling a young princess, with a vision, to carry her plans out. The series mostly captures two elements about dragons, in my opinion. The first is how fierce they are. They are striking and powerful in everything that they do. And the second element is really their relationship that the dragons develop with Daenerys.
It is similar to what George Martin does with the dyrewolves in relation to the Stark family. They are both dragons and dyrewolves , the physical representation of those families, and they provide invaluable support, morally or otherwise. Furthermore, because Dany has her dragons while she is with the Dothraki, there are also many parallels to horses, and an example of that comes from this extract. 
““They have been wild while you were gone, Khaleesi,” Irri told her. “Viserion clawed splinters from the door, do you see? And Drogon made to escape when the slaver men came to see them. When I grabbed his tail to hold him back, he turned and bit me.” She showed Dany the marks of his teeth on her hand. “Did any of them try to burn their way free?” That was the thing that frightened Dany the most. “No, Khaleesi. Drogon breathed his fire, but in the empty air. The slaver men feared to come near him.” She kissed Irri’s hand where Drogon had bitten it. “I’m sorry he hurt you. Dragons are not meant to be locked up in a small ship’s cabin.” “Dragons are like horses in this,” Irri said. “And riders, too. The horses scream below, Khaleesi, and kick at the wooden walls. I hear them. And Jhiqui says the old women and the little ones scream too, when you are not here. They do not like this water cart. They do not like the black salt sea.””

So I really like this quote because it really shows the dragons in their early stages as frightening animals. They are already scary. In fact, we have even soldiers that are terrified by them, even if they still haven't shown how to breathe fire. And at the same time, they are, again, because they are so close to the Dothraki, there is lot of parallels made to horses. And so I really like the way that dragons are really portrayed, especially at the beginning of the series where they are a lovely pet to love and to fear, but they are revered at the same time. So there is a lot of that affection that comes into the process. And for Dani in particular, they have an enormous amount of meaning and she has an emotional connection to them. so all of this transpires in every single page of the book. And I particularly enjoy this almost human-like portrayal, almost with an element of loyal, feral approach to humans.

Third seleciton - Winterlands by Barbara Hambly
Next on our list, have Winterlands by Barbara Hambly. And this is a series that starts with Dragon's Bane, which was probably one of my favorite reads of 2023. Dragons in this world are villains. They're enemies that need to be killed, but there are very few humans that can do so. “A dragon is upward of 20 feet long and can kill a man with a single blow of its tail.” And why are dragons so further down in this list is because they are not only animals, who don't speak. They have in this particular world, dragons can speak. The main protagonist is Jenny, and she is in a long-term relationship with a man named John, who is also known as the Dragon's Bane, and he is the only human who has killed a dragon. She is a mage, but has very limited powers, and they face a cunning, powerful enemy, a cunning villain who is also a shapeshifter. And so the two of them, both John and Jenny, are not able by themselves to really put a stop to this threat. And then Jenny is able to bring the ace to the table and connects mentally with the dragon.
“I’m Morkeleb the Black. I am and will be slave to no one and nothing least of all a human woman, mage though she may be. I do no bidding save my own." And so this shows why Morkeleb and Dragon's Bane, it's in the middle of this list. Dragons here are feral, dragons here are regal and scary animals, but they can communicate with humans. They have a level of humanity that really makes a difference. “His wrath was like the lower of thunder sky building all around her. He loomed before her like a cloud harboring lightning. Then, without warning, he struck at her like a snake. One thin boned claw raised to slash. He would not strike, she told herself, as her heart contracted with terror and her every muscle screamed to flee. He could not strike her, for she had his name and he knew it. She had saved him. He must obey. Her mind gripped the music of his name, even as the claws hissed out.”

And so this is a story that elevates both Jenny and Morkeleb. Morkeleb hates the idea of being connected to a human, hates the idea of doing the bidding of anybody but his own, as we said before, as we read before. At the same time, he, Morkeleb, realizes that Jenny is not traditional human. And so over time, he starts to get closer to her.
“To be a mage, you must be a mage. And I see in your mind, that you fight for the time to do even that. To be a dragon, she said aloud, to force her own mind upon it, I have only to give over my control of you. I will not lose myself, thus in the dragon mind and the dragon magic. You will not thus get me to release you.”
They bond. A bond that highlights her unique ability. An ability born from the fact that she saves the dragon. And that connection is the best thing that could have happened to her. She is able to become more. In fact, she is the person that ends up saving the day. “Like a dragon, she killed without hate, striking hard and cruel, knowing that the first strike must kill or her small group would all be dead.” And so this is a story of Jenny learning to be ruthless, learning to be more like a drag. And the story becomes even more interesting over time because she needs to learn to become Jenny again. It's about relinquishing power for family. It is about making sure that she is able to return to what matters to her. Overall, a very compelling story, an empowering story for women and I would say even dragons in this particular instance. They're really the underdog. No pun intended. They're really the underdog of this entire story and they make a difference for themselves, but also for their own families. Now, Morkeleb doesn't have a family, but he gets really attached to Jenny. And so there is lot of sunken emotional connections in this story, which makes it so unique overall.

Fourth selection - Temeraire by Naomi Novik
Fourth in this list, and so we're moving to even more human-like, we have Temeraire by Naomi Novik. And this is a dragon that shows affection and can build trust relationships with humans. “Dragons are strange creatures and there is no understanding them. Some of them even take a liking to naval officers.” This description fits Temeraire. The idea of this world building is thrilling. Imagine having dragons during the Napoleonic Wars and they are an essential part of the armies. are rare yet powerful, employed by both the French and the Brits. “England's aviators are her shield from the air and the navy is by sea, and when you have done half as much as the least of them, you may offer criticism.” One of these dragons, protecting England from the air, is Temeraire. He is an imperial, a very rare breed, and also very intelligent. It is a unique breed, as it is bred only for Royals in China. It is uncommon, in fact unheard of, to see them in Europe. In fact, Temeraire and the egg in which Temeraire came, was a gift for the French for the Emperor of France. During the first book, and I don't want to spoil it for you, but during the first book it comes out that Temeraire might be more than this and making him even more rare. But what really I want to highlight in this process is the relationship that Temeraire develops with his naval officer, and that's why the pun at the beginning, it's funny for those who've read the book, but essentially dragons connect to aviators. They don't connect to naval officers, but because Temeraire and the egg in which Temerer came is the result of the defeat of a French fleet by Captain Laurence and his team, Laurence ends up connecting with the dragon. He is a navy captain and he is exploring his life in aviation. And this is a clever plot device that forces us to experience the world with Laurence, who doesn't know much about habits and tactics or trainings that are deployed and used in order to make aviators and dragons better at what they do to protect England. As we said, aviation is connected and it's a fancy name. I actually like using the term aviators to refer to dragon riders. Temeraire is a very curious being and one of my favorite parts of book one. is when Laurence reads him books, because, and Temeraire specifically comments to this effect, he cannot read human books because they are too small and it would be difficult to turn pages with his paws. “He had never been a great reader himself, but Temeraire's pleasure in books was so great as to be infectious, and Laurence could not but think with satisfaction of the dragon's likely delight in the new book which spoke in great detail about gemstones and their mining, despite his own complete lack of interest in the subject.” And so there is even a little bit of, I would say, not so much hidden Easter egg about the fact that Temera, while curious about a lot of different subjects, is not the only one, I found it very peculiar that he would be interested in gemstones and mining because it's a bit of the archetype of what we think dragons should have and how they should behave. Really the highlight of the first book is the intense relationship that Laurence and Temeraire develop, even in a very short period of time. “Still, it was very unpleasant to think of never seeing Temeraire again. He had made no farewell, said no last kind words, and to simply stay away felt like desertion.” An even more poignant point, Temeraire is also an independent thinker, so he's not only curious, he's not only very intelligent, but he's also capable of making his own thoughts and follow his own reasoning and so making him a very independent being. And there are a few points and I found myself chuckling out loud a few times when reading this, but Laurence, who is a very conservative British who believes in the army and the Navy in particular, but in general in the protection of England, is always quite uncomfortable when he hears Temeraire having “positively revolutionary” thoughts.
“‘‘I am a King’s officer, and you are a King’s dragon; we cannot do as we please.’ ‘I have never met the King; I am not his property, like a sheep,’ Temeraire said. ‘If I belong to anyone, it is you, and you to me. I am not going to stay in Scotland if you are unhappy there.’”
And there is a few sprinkles throughout the story really of helping us Helping us understanding how much Temeraire has his own point of view his own perspective his own capabilities when it comes to independent thought and that's what makes the couple even more interesting, because you really have this revolutionary mind, which is also a young mind, right? So quite likely to engage also in revolutionary thoughts, and someone who instead grew up in a family where he knew what his duty was, and in fact is one of the sore points of the story. But in general, Laurence knows what his role is and what his responsibilities are and he is really connected to those responsibilities and he wants to make sure that Temeraire understands them too. And so very heartwarming, very unique portrayal of dragons and I cannot wait to see what else the story has to offer.

Fifth selection - Heartstrikers by Rachel Aaron
And we get to the very last entry, which is Heartstrikers by Rachel Aaron. And this is the last step, if you want, the moving from feral animals to very intelligent human-like beings into essentially dragons that can be shaped as humans. And there were a few picks for this one, as for example, Anomander Rake, yet I decided to go for Heartstrikers for two reasons. The first is because I wanted to have an urban fantasy title on the list. And the second is because it really, this story presents in this world building, shares a very peculiar take on social aspects of the society created by dragons, for whom power and strength are the most important traits for supremacy. all of this is challenged by Julius, the protagonist, one of the protagonists of this book, and the dragon protagonist of this book. And he is the biggest underdog of this entire society of dragons. His mother, Bethesda, is the most alpha of them all.

““That’s exactly the problem!” Bethesda roared. “You’re a dragon! Dragons don’t worry about bothering. We demand, Julius, and the world gives. That is the rightful order of things. I thought if I left you alone, your instincts would kick in eventually, but it’s been seven years and you’re as bad as ever. Clearly, something in that head of yours is broken beyond repair, and I don’t have the patience to wait any longer.””

This is a parallel world to ours, a place where magic, spirits, and dragons coexist, to some extent, with humans. And there is one specific area, geographic location in this world, called the Detroit Free Zone, or DFZ, as the place where there are no rules, a place where dragons are not welcome, for awesome reasons that are explored in the same series, but is not the goal of today's content. And this is where Julius makes his first step in this power-hungry world. The social structure of dragon clans is also quite interesting. Most dragons have their own territory. For instance, Bethesda controls North America with her clan, Heartstrikers. Her clan is essentially made of her own children, as Bethesda hatches many dragons. In fact, there is oftentimes a derogatory term being used when describing her as the broodmare. And she has, as we said, she has many children, she calls them children that help her with maintaining her status as the top of the food chain of the dragon race. And she is appalled by Julius' behavior. The only thing that Julius wants to do in life is to be a good dragon. And this is the paradox. Nobody, nobody, maybe with the exception of Bob, who understands what that really means and why Julius wants to pursue this particular line of behavior. This misunderstanding also includes the biggest comedic relief on the entire story, Justin, who is a twin sibling to Julius, and he does everything in his power to make sure that Julius doesn't get harmed. And so, Justin, in one of his interactions with Julius, says

““He’s a human,” his brother snapped. “Humans serve us. Get that through your skull. You’re a Heartstriker, a dragon, an ancient and fearsome predator. You should be making people fall at your feet for the honor of doing your bidding, not paying them, and definitely not letting them lie to you without repercussions.””

And more to the Heartstriker.

“The Heartstriker clan was known for its beauty, not its size. Justin, however, was the exception to the rule. Even at twenty-four, he was already nearly forty feet from nose to tail, a heavy, winding snake of a dragon with a viper’s head crowned by a feathered crest. A pair of enormous, gloriously colored wings in blue, green, and gold extended from his feathered back, and his tail was a long whip of trailing plumage. All of this was supported by four thin, scaly, but enormously strong legs that ended in raptor-like feet tipped with curving talons, which were currently digging into the scorched parking lot like the asphalt was freshly turned dirt. But while his claws were definitely not to be messed with, it was his brother’s fangs that made Julius shiver.”

It is lighthearted and yet it tackles quite important behaviors and quite important activities overall. So this was a very brief take on a few different books that tackle dragons in very different forms and representations.


Outro 
And I hope this was an exciting topic for you as well. Thank you for spending time with me today. Next time on Fantasy Explorations, we will dive into Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson, which is book one in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. One of the books that I talk about with a lot of passion, with a lot of love in the intro episode. 

If you had fun and did not hear any other episodes, please follow and feel free to listen to the other published episodes. you want more information about my fantasy adventures, please go over to soulsite.com. You will get a bit more information about what I pursue in fantasy, what I like, what I explore overall. Alternatively, you can also find me on Instagram or threads at the handle below. See you next time.