- The word dragon derives from Ancient Greek and Latin words for a large serpent or fish. It has been a word in the English language since the 13th century.
- Dragons appear in mythologies the world over but there are distinct cultural differences between dragons in western mythology and those of the east. In Europe, they're usually reptilian creatures with wings which breathe fire and are often associated with underground caves full of treasure. Chinese dragons don't have wings and are more like large Snakes with four legs. In China, dragons are considered to be lucky, associated with good fortune, wealth and strength.
- The fact that there is dragon lore in almost every culture has led to speculation as to why that should be. Some scholars put it down to the innate fear of predators, in particular, snakes, common to primates even in areas where snakes are rare. The places dragons tend to live, such as caves, Mountains and spooky forests, are all places where early humans might have encountered predators. Some say the legends were inspired by Dinosaur fossils, or even that, contrary to the official scientific view, humans and dinosaurs once roamed the Earth together and were pretty real to our ancestors.
- The description of the sea monster Leviathan in the Old Testament of the Bible includes that it exhales fire and smoke. In the New Testament, in the Book of Revelation, Satan is depicted as a dragon. In fact, dragons are the personification of evil in many cultures - Ancient Egypt had Apepi, the serpent god of the underworld, for example.
- In numerous western myths, the dragon is defeated and killed by a hero, sometimes a god. Zeus, Hercules, Jason, Thor, Beowulf and St George, to name but a few.
- Get a dragon on your side, however, and there's no stopping you. Hence, ancient warriors often used the dragon as their emblem when going into battle. To this day, dragons appear on flags - the national flags of Bhutan and Wales have them - and coats of arms, such as that of the Prince of Wales in the UK.
- King Arthur's father was Uther Pendragon - Pendragon means "dragon's head".
- In the game Dungeons and Dragons, they can be either good or evil, are highly intelligent and can breed with any other creature in the game, including humans, creating a creature known as a half dragon. Dragons are long lived and see humans either as children to be protected or as slaves, toys or even food, depending on their alignment.
- In Anne McCaffrey's Pern novels, dragons have telepathic links with their riders and are of great benefit to the human race as they can destroy "Thread", a deadly spore that falls from another planet. These dragons were genetically engineered from Pern's native fauna by early human settlers.
- Chinese dragons are said to have power over rain, which is the origin of Chinese customs like dragon dancing and dragon boat racing. In China, the Emperor was the only person allowed to have dragons on his house, clothing or personal possessions. The Vietnamese also believe that dragons bring rain. There is also a Vietnamese origin myth that states the people there were descended from a dragon and a fairy.
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A Tale of Two Sisters
During a battle with supervillains, a horrific accident leaves the Warner family with no option but to believe their youngest daughter, Jessica, is dead. It doesn't occur to them that the bad guys could, or would, save her.
Jessica wakes up with no memory of who she is or how she came to be on a space station with two bionic legs, a bionic arm and a bionic eye. She is told her family abandoned her and is sent back to Earth with a mission - to kill them. While Jessica wants to kill her family, along with the twin boys who once rejected her, she knows what the Alliance of Supervillains are asking her to do is a suicide mission. She decides to get her revenge in her own way.
As Jessica puts the first part of her revenge plan in motion, she finds herself with an agonising decision to make. Before she can decide, the Alliance come for her, determined to make her do their bidding. This time, it's the Alliance who leave her, crippled and at the mercy of the Warner family, who have no idea who the Alliance's Black Rose really is.
Jessica finds herself having to re-think her decisions in light of what she now learns about her family, the Alliance, the twins, and herself. It would appear the Alliance have left her with an unwanted and permanent reminder of her time with them. Or have they?
Jessica's older sister, Jill, knows her destiny is to be a doctor and specialise in bionics and genetic variant medicine. She is also hopelessly in love with Christopher, Crown Prince of Galorvia. Can their romance survive the lies Christopher told her when they were both at school, an unplanned pregnancy and Sophie, the wannabe princess who comes between them?
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