Dragon Approved Complete Series Boxed Set (Books 1 - 13): A Middang3ard Series

by Ramy Vance

  “And?”

  “And I disobeyed direct orders to provide you and your squads backup since there were no other dragonriders or mech riders available. Uh, sir.”

  Toppinir stepped forward and pulled Roy away from Alex. “You do understand that you placed your team in an extremely dangerous position?”

  Alex nodded, preparing to say something when Jim spoke up. “Alex didn’t put us in any situation. She presented us with a choice, and we all agreed it was the right thing to do.”

  “And you assumed that neither Myrddin nor the other higher-ups had a backup plan? You assumed you were honestly the last resort?”

  “Uh, well, we sort of hacked the system to see what the plan was.”

  Toppinir’s eyes went wide with surprise. “Which one of you broke into our system?” he asked, bewildered and a little impressed.

  Gill raised his hand as he lowered his head. “Me. I was watching the correspondence. There was no rescue planned.”

  Roy and Toppinir exchanged glances. Alex couldn’t read their faces. Neither of them spoke until finally, Roy sighed and said, “That’s because we weren’t expecting backup. Everyone knew the risks when they took this mission.”

  Alex couldn’t keep it in any longer. “But we helped! We took down Holmorth, and now everything’s cool!” she interrupted.

  “By disobeying a direct order. There’s a reason—”

  “It was a stupid order! We knew we could help, and we did. I don’t see why it’s such a big deal!”

  Roy and Alex argued, each raising their voice and trying to talk over each other. Toppinir looked as if he had already become bored with the conversation. He had started to gaze skyward. Gill came up to his side and followed his gaze.

  The meteor was still hanging in the sky, a green aura surrounding it. “I’m assuming that shouldn’t still be there,” Gill said softly.

  Toppinir looked down at Gill. “There aren’t many drow dragonriders,” he said unemotionally.

  “There is only one drow dragonrider. And one human rider, too.”

  “Hmm.” Toppinir nodded, neither impressed nor offended by Gill’s directness or tone. “To answer your question, no, that should not still be in the sky. Holmorth was the pilot. We assumed that once he was destroyed, the meteor would be as well.”

  Gill nodded as he sat down and crossed his legs. “Wouldn’t a meteor fall anyway once it’s entered the atmosphere?”

  Toppinir took a seat beside Gill. “Yes. Yes, it would.”

  Alex and Roy were still arguing. It was uncertain what it was about at this point. The tirade hadn’t descended into personal insults, but it was getting close.

  Jollies squeaked loudly and pointed up at the meteor. “Hey! Do you guys see that? What’s going on with it?” Jollies asked.

  Alex stared at Roy for a second before turning her attention to the meteor. Talk about being ungrateful, Alex thought as she looked up at the meteor. Then any thought of Roy or his opinions quickly vanished from her mind.

  The meteor was opening. There was a door where Holmorth had detached from the meteor. The door was slowly creaking open, and what came forth was devastating.

  Vrosks, giant bees, and bats came flooding out of the hole in the meteor—more than had been in the sky before. The number had nearly tripled.

  Brath jumped on Furi. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he shouted. “All right, guys, you know what time it is!” He anchored himself and pulled up, causing the dragon to climb to his feet and start flapping his wings.

  Alex ran over to Brath, waving her hands to get his attention. “No, Brath, hold on. We need to see what is going on!”

  Either Brath didn’t hear Alex, or he chose to pretend he didn’t. He took off. Roy came up behind Alex, clicking his tongue. “Looks like your squad doesn’t care for orders either,” he jabbed.

  Furi and Brath raced toward the swarm of dark creatures. Something flew in front of him faster than he could see. There was only a blur, and when Brath looked down at his chest, he was bleeding.

  Alex focused on Brath and saw him falling from Furi’s back. “Brath!” she shouted as she ran toward Chine.

  Up above, more creatures poured out of the meteor. There were too many to name, even if Alex had known their names. The sky grew dark as the creatures swarmed, blocking out the sun. The mech and dragonriders stared up at the meteor as the sky went black.

  The true danger of the meteor was yet to be known.

  Author Notes Ramy Vance

  February 13, 2020

  As many of you know, I also write in a universe called the GoneGod World. For the uninitiated, here’s the premise:

  The gods are gone. All of them. And with their departure, they closed their heavens and hells, exiling their denizens onto Earth. Now mythical creatures of all kinds live among us.

  Basically, in the GoneGod World, it is conceivable that Medusa is your neighbor (and depending on where you live, she is!).

  Recently I’ve been writing articles for a fictional magazine in the GoneGod World that, oddly, fit in Middang3ard. In an earlier release, I wrote about the 9 Reasons to Marry an Ogre and They Might Be a Gnome.

  In this one I’m exploring Badass Jobs Mythical Creatures are Better at than Humans…

  The job market is changing in the GoneGod World, and with an influx of a new and different kind of worker, I’d like to explore six badass jobs that mythical creatures would be better at than their human counterparts.

  Now it’s easy for this article to digress to the low-hanging fruit ... lazy ideas like a centaur as a carriage driver (they can pull the carriage and engage in interesting banter) or a hecatoncheires as a fruit picker (after all, they’re giants with a hundred arms).

  But such observations are cruel and do not remotely give these amazing creatures their due.

  So here are six badass jobs that mythical creatures would be better at than humans:

  1 - Deep Sea Explorers: Myraids - or sea-jinni - are the lions of the sea. Fast, strong and vicious, they hunt white sharks bare-handed, can traverse the English Channel in less than eight minutes and can swim to depths that human technology has yet to manage. And with over seventy percent of the world’s oceans yet to be chartered, why not use them to help us better understand our world? Who knows what we’ll find down there? Other Others? Aliens? Lost civilizations? Resources beyond our imagination? Whatever it is, we can’t afford NOT to do it.

  Want to see a myraid in action? Azzah appears at the beginning of Keep Evolving (click here: ).

  2 - Detective: Gorgon

  The GoneGod World’s favorite gorgon is Medusa, and she’s a policewoman in the Keep Evolving Series (click here: ).

  3 - Houris: Prosecutors

  Seleema is the GoneGod World’s resident houri, and stars in a short story in the House of the GoneGod Damned (click here: ). She’ll also star in her own series coming out in 2020.

  4 - Enoch’s Angels or the Twice Fallen: Archivists

  Probably the most famous Twice Fallen is Penemue … the angel who taught humanity how to read and write. He stars alongside Jean in the Keep Evolving Series.

  5 - Dark Elves: Ballet Dancers

  I’m just going to say it … ballet dancers are badass. Their physical prowess rivals a marine, their endurance would put most marathon runners to shame and their muscle control is the envy of Kung-Fu masters. Think I’m exaggerating? Check out Russian Ballet to see the kind of training they go through. But despite all that, they’re still just humans and there are limits to what the homo sapien body can do. But a dark elf? Now that’s a different story. Dark elves have incredible dexterity, are able to contort their bodies into shapes that no one with a spine should be able to do, treadmills break before dark elves get tired and if a human ballet dancer is as strong as a bull, then a dark elf is as strong as a minotaur.

  Author Notes Michael Anderle

  March 5, 2020

  THANK YOU for reading our story! We have a few of these planned, but we
don’t know if we should continue writing and publishing without your input. Options include leaving a review, reaching out on Facebook to let us know, and smoke signals.

  Frankly, smoke signals might get misconstrued as low hanging clouds, so you might want to nix that idea.

  I have NO idea where Ramy came up with the mythical creatures would be better than humans at concept.

  So, just to play along with him, I’ll choose firefighter as the occupation. BUT we have a problem (or challenge.) I’m not going to use obviously magical constructs (Ifrit or demon). I’m going to use something…not human.

  A Salamander.

  But, no magic. I’m going to use the mythical quality of the fire salamander that exudes a liquid that provides fire retardant (protective) qualities to whatever it is applied to. Say, the clothes of the firefighters.

  So technically, this choice doesn’t work better than a human (still have to save people, pick them up, etc.) but rather, in a symbiotic relationship, those firefighters who have fire salamanders as collaborators will be able to deal with horrible fires better. Their equipment will have a special mythical you might say protection against the dangers of the heat and flames that others do not.

  Ad Aeternitatem!

  Michael Anderle

  Sacrifices

  Dragon Approved™ Book Seven

  Chapter One

  In the green valleys of Middang3ard, the sky grew dark and oppressive. There was a storm coming, a much larger one than what played out in the sky. The flashing crimson lightning was only a foretaste of what was to come.

  All throughout the land, folks eyed the sky with growing mistrust. There hadn’t been blood clouds like this for a long time, long enough that many people had forgotten what they foretold. Yet the fear was there.

  Parents hid their children inside, tucking them in early before the true night descended. They hoped blankets and candles would ward off any danger, hoped dreams would protect the young innocents.

  Not all children were home; there were some who had left their homes. They had come to Middang3ard to fight in the war to end all wars. Those children stood in a valley underneath the large mass of black clouds in the gray sky, staring up at the blood-red streaks of lightning as their friend plummeted toward the earth.

  Alex was watching the sky, watching the horror unfolding above her. Brath had been unanchored from Furi, who was falling, madly flapping his wings, trying to fly. Whatever had hit them must have been incredibly strong. Alex couldn’t imagine anything that could hurt Furi that much.

  The world seemed to be in slow motion. Even though Alex knew Brath was falling and there was something she needed to do about it, there didn’t seem to be a rush. Brath fell so slowly.

  Gill’s scream punctured the time distortion, and Alex felt everything return to speed. Her eyes focused without her realizing it, and she could see Brath’s eyes, wide with fear, as he turned, still falling.

  Alex turned to Jollies and shouted, “Help him!”

  Jollies pulled up on Amber and flew toward Brath. Gill was already on Timber, pulling the dragon into the air. They both raced toward Brath.

  Above Brath floated a meteor. The meteor should have fallen hours ago, but it was not truly a rock. It hung in the air like a blade waiting to drop. Alex still wasn’t sure what the object was. First, a wizard had emerged from it. Now giant bees, vrosks, and bats were flying out through a hole in the side.

  These creatures headed for Brath, swarming in a mass of black wings flapping mindlessly as if they were denizens of hell released upon the world of the living.

  Gill broke away from Jollies, heading straight for the closest beasts, those who looked as if they were getting close enough to strike Brath. The drow slipped under them, his dragon Timber blasting up a concussive force from his mouth that pushed the black-winged bats back.

  Timber maneuvered under Brath so the gnome fell onto his back. Gill checked to see if the gnome was okay.

  Brath was still breathing, but his face was badly burned, and he was now unconscious. Gill turned Timber around, ignoring the creatures from the meteor as he hit his comm. “Brath is hurt,” Gill explained. “We’re coming down.”

  Jollies and Amber were flying around Furi. They were spraying a healing salve on the dragon, working as fast as they could. They hoped the salve would wake Furi before he crashed into the ground.

  That was their only option. Furi was far too large to try to support out of the sky. If the salve didn’t pop the dragon’s eyes open, nothing could save him.

  Furi continued to fall as Jollies and Amber flew around him, still deploying the bright green healing mist. Suddenly, Furi’s eyes popped open and he flapped his wings, creating a gust of wind that almost knocked Jollies off Amber.

  The pixie and her dragon flew away from Furi as he regained his balance, looking around for his rider. When Furi saw Brath lying on Timber’s back, Furi raced toward him as Timber landed next to the rest of the dragons and mech riders.

  Alex climbed onto Timber and helped Gill lower Brath off the dragon. They placed Brath gently on a mat on the ground.

  Roy walked up silently behind the remainder of Team Boundless, as did Toppinir, the elf’s and the human’s eyes locked on what was going on above them all. The sky grew darker still as the wings of the creatures unleashed from the meteor blocked out the light of the sun.

  Roy shook his head and said, “The dark clouds would have been appreciated more than this. I see that not listening to orders runs through your entire team.”

  Alex stared daggers at Roy as she got to her feet and got in his face. “Do you have anything else you want to add?” she said, barely able to keep from punching him in the face.

  Toppinir put himself between them. “Hey, this isn’t the time,” he said. “They have a man down, Roy. Lock it down.”

  Roy bowed, his face sincerely contrite, and said, “I am sorry.”

  Alex didn’t want to let it go, but the sky was full of monsters, and Brath was hurt very badly. “Is there anything we can do for him?” Alex asked as she knelt next to Brath.

  Roy paced, scratching the stubble on his face. “Our medic died in the first wave.”

  “Don’t you have wizards or someone with healing magic or something?”

  “Not in the mech or dragonriders. We’re strictly an artillery squad. Most of the mech riders are human, and the dragonriders aren’t wizards. We riders ain’t known for our magic.”

  Toppinir was staring at the sky, his eyes nearly as dark as the clouds. “I can help him,” he said softly. “My ties to magic are stronger than most here. Healing a few burns shouldn’t be a problem.”

  With grace and solemnity, Toppinir knelt beside Brath and ran his palm over the gnome’s face while murmuring softly under his breath. The air around Brath changed—grew cold and then warm. The burns on Brath’s body faded like carvings on stone, weathered by wind over the years.

  Brath sat up, his eyes opening sleepily as he scratched his face where the burns had been. “What the hell happened?” he asked.

  Alex punched Brath in the shoulder. “You flew off like an idiot without thinking of what could happen!” she shouted, pointing at the horde of monsters in the sky. “You could have gotten yourself killed.”

  Brath laughed bitterly as he got to his feet. “Isn’t this a suicide mission?” he asked. “Since when are we worrying if we’re going to die?”

  Alex didn’t have an answer for Brath’s snide comment. He did have a point. Arguing over who died on a suicide mission was like arguing over who was going to get the first bowl of hot soup; it didn’t matter what order you were in, there was enough to go around, and it was going to get cold soon enough.

  Roy and Toppinir were both transfixed by what was going on above. In a morbid way, it was beautiful. Alex had hardly seen the sky in her brief life, but she could never have imagined one looking like this.

  The sky reminded her of death. She had never visualized what death
looked like, but now she knew it was like this sky. Not the good kind of death, falling asleep in old age and never waking up. This death would be violent and heart-wrenching.

  The rest of Alex’s team came over and watched the sky with Alex, Roy, and Toppinir while the dragons gathered in the background, examining Furi’s superficial wounds. All of the mech riders and dragonriders were fascinated with what was going on above. They knew it would have to be dealt with.

  A creeping dread started in the back of Alex’s mind, and the hairs on her neck bristled. How are we going to kill all of them? she wondered. It finally dawned on her that there had been no way to save Toppinir and Roy. The two hadn’t been in any immediate danger, they were just up against unbeatable odds.

  Roy let out a heavy sigh as he walked over to his mech and climbed in. “Okay, boys and girls, who’s ready for round two?” he asked.

  Alex couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The man didn’t sound like he had a problem with the odds they were facing. “Wait, are you serious?” she exclaimed. “Are you really thinking about going up there? Didn’t you see what just happened to Brath?”

  Roy lit a cigar. “No offense, but me and my squad aren’t nearly as green as you and your friends,” he wheezed. “We’re not going to go down in a couple of minutes. Maybe a couple of hours, a dozen if we get lucky. We’ll put a dent in them no matter what.”

  There was a determined flavor to Roy’s words. Alex had never heard anything like it. Even though she had said earlier she was ready to die, listening to Roy showed her she had been mistaken.

  Alex would have fought tooth and nail to stay alive. She would have schemed and plotted and struggled to the bitter end to hold on to her life. Roy didn’t have to say he was willing to give his life for the cause. It was evident in his voice, in his face. The man was all in.