Happy St David's Day!
King Arthur's daughter Rhianna Pendragon would like to wish all her readers a very happy St David's Day!
The third book in the Pendragon Legacy series takes Rhianna and her friends on a quest to Dragonland (Wales), where her cousin Mordred has just discovered the third magical Light, the Crown of Dreams, in a dragon's lair. Not only has he found the Pendragon Crown, he's also found the body of his witch-mother Morgan Le Fay, who was wearing it when she died...
They emerged in a vast cavern, which stank of dragon. Jewelled daggers, rusty swords and dented shields were piled around the walls, along with what looked suspiciously like human bones. One of the piles had avalanched, and his bloodbeard captain lay groaning underneath it. His men hurried over to help.
“Leave him,” Mordred snapped, seeing that the man was still breathing. “Find the crown, you fools! Quickly, before the shadrake comes back.”
While his men searched through the dragon’s hoard, Mordred rode his horse slowly around the cavern, prodding at the treasure with his spear. “Where is it, Mother?” he whispered.
“Here, my son,” whispered a woman’s voice from the shadows.
Mordred froze. His mother’s spirit lived in the underworld of Annwn now, and until today he’d always needed her dark mirror to speak to her. “Where?” he said warily.
“Right under your feet, you foolish boy,” the witch hissed. “What do you think is making the light in here?”
Mordred’s horse stopped dead and threw up its head, banging him on the nose. He looked down and sucked in his breath.
His mother’s body lay half buried under the treasure, her dress torn and stained. A crown encircled her dark hair, glittering with coloured jewels. As his horse’s hooves dislodged the pile, he saw that one of these – a large green stone at her forehead – was glowing eerily. There wasn’t a mark on her, and for a wild moment he thought she wasn’t dead. Then he saw her spirit rippling in the green light. Dark magic.
His gaze fastened greedily on the crown. He slid clumsily out of his saddle and fell to his knees beside her. He tugged at her dress with his left hand, pushing the dragon’s treasure off her body with the stump of his right wrist. “Help me, then!” he yelled at his bloodbeards.
They came running.
“Morgan Le Fay!” the captain breathed, still looking a bit dazed. “So this is where she ended up. I always wondered how she died.”
The bloodbeards assume the dragon killed her, but they are wrong. There are quite a few dragons living in Dragonland when this story takes place, and Rhianna and her friends soon meet a pair of red ones who try to steal her sword Excalibur. Also, the shadrake who stole the Crown from King Arthur is still around. But Morgan Le Fay died by magic, the way she lived.
Her ghost warns Mordred not to put on the Crown, because one of the jewels is missing. This is King Arthur's stone, containing the king's secrets, which Merlin warned Arthur to take out of the Crown before he met Mordred in their final battle. Arthur gave the jewel to his queen Guinevere with instructions to give it to Rhianna if he was killed in the fighting. Mordred did manage to kill Arthur, but while the king's jewel is safe he cannot use the Crown to take the throne of Camelot.
Whoever gets hold of the jewel and restores it to the Crown will discover the ancient secret of dragon riding, as well as the location of the fourth Light, the Grail of Stars, which has the power to bring King Arthur back from the dead. So if you enjoy stories about dragons (particularly red ones like the dragon on the Welsh flag), why not dust off your armour, saddle up your horse, and celebrate St David's Day by joining Rhianna on her third quest!
The Pendragon Legacy quartet is available from Templar in hardback, paperback and ebook.
Book 1: SWORD OF LIGHT
Book 2: LANCE OF TRUTH
Book 3: CROWN OF DREAMS
Book 4: GRAIL OF STARS (coming in October)
The unicorn suggests you read this series in order starting with Book 1, but if you would like a taste of Rhianna's adventures and can't wait, the Lance of Truth Kindle ebook is currently on special offer for only 99p until the end of March 2013 (remember to check the price before downloading!)
The third book in the Pendragon Legacy series takes Rhianna and her friends on a quest to Dragonland (Wales), where her cousin Mordred has just discovered the third magical Light, the Crown of Dreams, in a dragon's lair. Not only has he found the Pendragon Crown, he's also found the body of his witch-mother Morgan Le Fay, who was wearing it when she died...
“Leave him,” Mordred snapped, seeing that the man was still breathing. “Find the crown, you fools! Quickly, before the shadrake comes back.”
While his men searched through the dragon’s hoard, Mordred rode his horse slowly around the cavern, prodding at the treasure with his spear. “Where is it, Mother?” he whispered.
“Here, my son,” whispered a woman’s voice from the shadows.
Mordred froze. His mother’s spirit lived in the underworld of Annwn now, and until today he’d always needed her dark mirror to speak to her. “Where?” he said warily.
“Right under your feet, you foolish boy,” the witch hissed. “What do you think is making the light in here?”
Mordred’s horse stopped dead and threw up its head, banging him on the nose. He looked down and sucked in his breath.
His mother’s body lay half buried under the treasure, her dress torn and stained. A crown encircled her dark hair, glittering with coloured jewels. As his horse’s hooves dislodged the pile, he saw that one of these – a large green stone at her forehead – was glowing eerily. There wasn’t a mark on her, and for a wild moment he thought she wasn’t dead. Then he saw her spirit rippling in the green light. Dark magic.
His gaze fastened greedily on the crown. He slid clumsily out of his saddle and fell to his knees beside her. He tugged at her dress with his left hand, pushing the dragon’s treasure off her body with the stump of his right wrist. “Help me, then!” he yelled at his bloodbeards.
They came running.
“Morgan Le Fay!” the captain breathed, still looking a bit dazed. “So this is where she ended up. I always wondered how she died.”
The bloodbeards assume the dragon killed her, but they are wrong. There are quite a few dragons living in Dragonland when this story takes place, and Rhianna and her friends soon meet a pair of red ones who try to steal her sword Excalibur. Also, the shadrake who stole the Crown from King Arthur is still around. But Morgan Le Fay died by magic, the way she lived.
Her ghost warns Mordred not to put on the Crown, because one of the jewels is missing. This is King Arthur's stone, containing the king's secrets, which Merlin warned Arthur to take out of the Crown before he met Mordred in their final battle. Arthur gave the jewel to his queen Guinevere with instructions to give it to Rhianna if he was killed in the fighting. Mordred did manage to kill Arthur, but while the king's jewel is safe he cannot use the Crown to take the throne of Camelot.
 |
| Is there a jewel missing? |
Whoever gets hold of the jewel and restores it to the Crown will discover the ancient secret of dragon riding, as well as the location of the fourth Light, the Grail of Stars, which has the power to bring King Arthur back from the dead. So if you enjoy stories about dragons (particularly red ones like the dragon on the Welsh flag), why not dust off your armour, saddle up your horse, and celebrate St David's Day by joining Rhianna on her third quest!
The Pendragon Legacy quartet is available from Templar in hardback, paperback and ebook.
Book 1: SWORD OF LIGHT
Book 2: LANCE OF TRUTH
Book 3: CROWN OF DREAMS
Book 4: GRAIL OF STARS (coming in October)
The unicorn suggests you read this series in order starting with Book 1, but if you would like a taste of Rhianna's adventures and can't wait, the Lance of Truth Kindle ebook is currently on special offer for only 99p until the end of March 2013 (remember to check the price before downloading!)