Blog — Jessica Turnbull

Hi all!

This week I thought I'd share with you a snippet of chapter one of Blood and Water! I hope you enjoy!

Dragons may have been the first to rule the world, but humans have ruled better.

The large, terrifying lizards plagued the Earth with their constant territorial fights. Like most things in nature, they were responsible for their own downfall.

I carefully close the old book in my hands.. The cover is faded and worn, and the pages yellow from age, but I don’t care. It is the handbook for my next step in life. The chance to be more than just a regular girl. The chance to see my brother again.

Ignoring the roar of the train around me, I flip to my favourite chapter, identified by a folded corner and a faded blue ribbon. This chapter is full of colourful pictures of dragons and people working together. Some of them build houses; others help with shopping. My favourite picture is of a silver dragon soaring through the skies, a middle-aged woman wearing a leather jacket confidently clutching its neck. I hope that my future dragon will be faithful to me, though I know that’s a stupid thing to worry about. As long as I treat my companion well, it will be loyal.

Closing the old book carefully as the train shoots around a bend, I glance out of the window, watching nature zoom by. Gnarled trees and pastel flowers dot the landscape. I even catch sight of a fluffy brown rabbit rushing into the undergrowth. The outside world is hidden to us as children. We are hardly ever told what happens out there or what it's like. They don't tell us so that we won't become curious, but it has the opposite effect. At nineteen we leave our town and are released into the wide world, a thought that terrifies me. There's no way of knowing what's on the other side. At fifteen, I only have four years left until I find out.

“Hey, look! I can see the camps on the horizon!”

Someone at the back of the train jumps out of their seat and excitedly taps a window. “Look! One of the Years is practising dragon flying!”

Everyone oohs and aahs at the sight of a royal-blue dragon soaring through the air, its large wings slicing through low clouds. Its companion grips tightly on the reins, almost as if they are scared but trust the dragon's judgement. The dragon is about eight foot tall, its scales covered in emerald-green squiggles, almost like patches of ivy weaving up a tree trunk.

It's probably one of the older Years. Dragons don't finish growing until Year Three.”

I'm nervous.

I’m going to a new area, with new people, new school lessons and I'm going to see my brother for the first time in a year. I'm moving to Aria, one of the best towns in the country. While in a Primary Town you can't visit the people in a Secondary Town, and vice versa. The adults say it’s so we don’t hurt people if we discover our element early, but I doubt that. I've missed my brother, and my friends too – Marco and Maya the most. It's been hard not having them around every day. But now that I'm moving to a Secondary Town I can see them again and hang around with them.

Hopefully.

That's it for this week! Next Sunday I'm going to write about what element I would like to have if I was born in the Elemental Dragons universe.

Hi all!

For this week's post I have written character sheets for the main dragon characters in Blood and Water.

First, a bit of background. At fifteen, every Elemental is given a dragon egg. The egg they get depends on their social status. There are four types:
Common - for the poorest children.
Uncommon - for the middle class children.
Rare - for the well off children.
Premier - for the children of millionaires.
Each type has differences. For example; common dragons only come in three colours. Premier dragons have gemstones in their chests and clubbed tails.

The dragon will inherit the element(s) of its companion. There are eight elements:
Water
Fire
Wind
Earth
Ice
Electricity
Dark
Light

Most Elementals will only have one element, although there are rare cases of some having two. This means that they have to master both to unlock their true potential.

Because of the disaster elements can bring, most people are only allowed to use them in their homes. When they were first discovered they were used without limit, which increased crime and workplace accidents. This is why children are separated from their families, so they can learn to control their element(s) without hurting the public.

Now onto the profiles, the main dragons of Blood and Water:

Aqueous Adams: Black 'common' dragon with turquoise eyes. He has two horns below his ears that curl back towards his cheeks like a ram's. As the dragon of a water Elemental, he has royal blue swirls surrounded by small dots as markings on his face and front feet.
Aqueous grows from birth to a year old in Blood and Water. His colouring makes him a rare dragon in his subspecies, as only three black common dragons have been sighted on record. Although this should make him a bit of a celebrity, he is heavily discriminated against because of his common status. He is left out of certain training and lessons, but keeps in good spirits about it. Although he is a bright dragon, he is completely oblivious to Damayanti's feelings for him. He is the runt of the group.

Cerberus Adams: Brown 'common' dragon with amber eyes. She has two stubby horns that stick out at an angle. As the dragon of an electricity Elemental, she has pale yellow lightning bolt markings on her back and tail.
Cerberus grows from a year old to two years old in Blood and Water. As her companion and Aqueous' are siblings, the two dragons also consider themselves to be siblings. She is wild and energetic and comes up with unique ways to solve problems. Like Aqueous, she is discriminated against due to her status, but pays it no mind. Unfortunately this makes her a target for dragons who bully her. She is the most forgiving of the group.

Drea White: White 'premier' dragon with pink eyes. As a premier, she has a large white gemstone in her chest and a tail tip shaped like a club. She has two stumpy horns that just about protrude from her forehead. As the dragon of a dual Elemental, she also has two elements: dark and fire. This means that she has purple circular markings on her neck and orange fireball-like markings on her back.
Drea grows from a year old to two years old in Blood and Water. Unlike her friends, she is not interested in their silly games, she prefers to observe them play and make sure no harm comes to them. She is quick to fight back when challenged and given her large size she wins most of her battles. She is the strongest of the group.

Damayanti Howell: Black and white 'uncommon' dragon with yellow eyes. She has two long white horns that stick out of her head perfectly straight. As the dragon of an ice Elemental, she has pale blue snowflake-like markings on her legs and stomach.
Damayanti grows from a year old to two years old in Blood and Water. Despite joining the group later than the others, she fits in well. Like her companion, she is outgoing but harbours a terrible temper. Although she is able to keep this in control most of the time, Winter usually manages to get under her skin. She quickly develops a crush on Aqueous, but he doesn't notice her. She is the most ferocious of the group.

Asteroid Abbott: Brown 'uncommon' dragon with orange feet and orange eyes. She has two horns that curl back towards her ears. As the dragon of a wind Elemental, she has grey cloud-like markings on her face and neck.
Asteroid grows from birth to a year old in Blood and Water. She is quick to please her companion above all else, even if that means hurting her friends feelings. She looks up to Winter to the point of obsession. Although she liked the games when she was a hatchling, as she has grown she has tired of them, itching to get into a real fight. She is the most cunning of the group.

Winter Stirling: Pale blue and white 'rare' dragon with blue eyes. She has two horns that stick out of her forehead at a point. As the dragon of an earth Elemental, she has green ivy-like markings on her neck and back.
Winter grows from two years old to three years old in Blood and Water. She is loyal to her companion above all else, and follows his orders without question. She quickly realised Aqueous' feelings for, and uses this information to manipulate him into the Cindaraan regime. Although she is nasty to Aqueous and his friends, she is friendly to her companion and his friends. She is one of the group's enemies.

As dragons grow they get stronger and more familiar with their element(s). Once they hit a year old they are old enough to start learning more difficult elemental techniques, which more often than not, they pick up faster than their companion. However due to their wing strength, they cannot fly with their companion until they are three years old. This doesn't stop them from flying when they are younger, their spines and wings need time to strengthen before they can be ridden.

That's it for this week! If you like this post, let me know and I'll do the character profiles for their companions.

See you next week!