The three books are:
- Mistress of Dragons (2003)
- The Dragon's Son (2004)
- Master of Dragons (2005)
The books are set in a world shared by humans and dragons. Dragons mostly keep to themselves, and have a law which prevents them from killing or meddling with humanity. However, one dragon, Maristara, broke that law, and set herself up as the ultimate power in a mountainous kingdom called Seth. The series deals with the consequences of that interference.
This series provides examples of:
- Abusive Parents: Bellona becomes the adopted mother of Ven, her lover's son. It turns out she's quite abusive to him, slapping Ven for asking about his father, and whipping him when he's broken her rules with a switch.
- Aerith and Bob: The series has ordinary names or ones close to them like Edward and Melisande. On the other hand, there are others such as Maristara.
- Affectionate Nickname: Melisande is called Melis by her lover Bellona sometimes.
- Alien Non-Interference Clause: Dragons have laws which prevent them from having much to do with humanity. A breach of these laws before the start of the books — specifically, the conquest of a human kingdom by a dragon — sets up the main plot.
- Amazon Brigade:
- The Sisterhood is protected by an all-female guard, since it's deemed inappropriate for the Sisters to be surrounded by men. The idea is startling to people who come from other kingdoms.
- The Sisterhood themselves are nun-like women who cast spells to fight dragons when called on with the aforementioned warrior women.
- And I Must Scream: Grald and Maristara perform a spell that lets them turn into a specific human, with the original still alive entombed for decades in agony.
- And the Adventure Continues: The trilogy does not wrap up every plot thread, with it being implied that the characters will be engaged in dealing with them later. In Dragonkeep, the common people are rebelling, though the army is returning and likely could crush them without outside intervention. The dragon civil war is still ongoing. Ven and all his half-dragon siblings must find an accepting land to settle.
- Arranged Marriage: Marcus returns home after his adventures and finds that his parents have agreed to his marriage with a young noblewoman, whom he hasn't met for years, when they were both children. Knowing that a prince's marriage isn't his to decide, Marcus is resigned after hearing this. The reveal that she's really a dragon in disguise, who's later killed, obviously ends this. The woman whom he falls for afterward however is very approved by his parents though.
- Artifact Title: The monastery once did house monks, but that was long ago. Now it has entirely women as residents, some priestesses though many of them laity. They still use this name for the site however.
- Attempted Rape: Evelina has Marcus drink absinthe, which gets him aroused enough to declare his love and want to sleep with her when otherwise he wasn't going to. However, they don't have sex with him under its influence, as he gets a severe allergic reaction to the absinthe.
- Aura Vision: People who have the dragon magic can see through the realistic illusions which Draconas disguises himself with. They see a shadowy shape around him of a dragon, his true form.
- Baby Factory: Members of the Sisterhood are typically supposed to be virgins (well, at least with regard to men), but that would lead to eventual extinction, so a group of them are designated as breeders. The process is controlled, and they do not have lasting contact with the fathers or with their specific offspring. Later in the first book, Melisande is subject to two different plans to produce children; neither party obtains her free consent, and she dies in childbirth.
- The Baby Trap: Evelina plans to get pregnant by Marcus and rope him into marrying her or making her his mistress. She even gets him aroused with absinthe for this. It doesn't work due to him having an allergic reaction, but she has sex with another man instead and then plans to pass off any baby which results as his anyway for the same purpose. It doesn't work since she didn't get pregnant.
- Bad Habits: Grald, an evil dragon, has human servants who dress as monks and nuns to fool people. The false monks are also trained to use powerful magic against their enemies.
- Bastard Angst: It's not that heavy, but Marcus has some anxiety over this. Though he was raised as a prince by his father, whose queen accepted him as her son, people still whispered how he'd been born out of wedlock to another woman. He also knows people believe bastards are prone to evil, and don't trust him as a result, along with him having a mental illness as a child.
- Birth-Death Juxtaposition: Melisande is killed right after giving birth to her sons.
- Bury Your Gays: Melisande it appears is a bisexual woman, having a female lover, Bellona, then feeling attracted to Edward too. She dies at the end of the first book, the only main character who does. Bellona raises her son as Melisande wished, but then gets killed in the next book herself.
- Butch Lesbian: Bellona is a short-haired, aggressive warrior woman who wears very masculine clothing (armor frequently early on) and even passes as a man for years. She's taciturn and shows little emotion, let alone affection, to anyone but her lover Melisande.
- Cassandra Truth: Few people believe Marcus at first about Dragonkeep, a hidden kingdom supposedly right on their border, or its army that's coming their way as no one can see either one at first and as he'd been mentally ill as a child, seeing invisible things (which were real, but no one else knew). It's soon shown that he's right though.
- Cast from Hit Points: Marcus learns the more powerful spells take energy from him enough to cause exhaustion after he uses several while fighting.
- Child by Rape: Melisande becomes pregnant twice this way. In the first case, she's drugged with a potion by Draconas which causes her libido to increase, along with Edward's. This causes them to lose control, having sex (just as Draconas wished). However this isn't treated as rape by the narrative. Then shortly after this she's attacked and raped by Grald, getting pregnant from this too. She gives birth to two sons later, one by each.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Melisande and Bellona first knew each other as girls both growing up in the monastery. They fell in love together as teenagers and have become lovers since then.
- Counterspell: Draconas casts a protective spell to stop Anaro's attack in Master of Dragons. Unfortunately, this not only destroys the building they're in, but collapses half the city, killing or injuring hundreds from it.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: When the army of Dragonkeep attacks, Edward's forces are soon routed as they have magic no muggle soldier is able to counter, they're invisible and have a dragon on their side breathing fire down from the air. They are routed quickly, fleeing to a nearby castle.
- Death by Childbirth: The women whom Grald selected to bear half-dragon children he's fathered all die during or shortly after birth, because of the strain this causes.
- Decoy Protagonist: It initially looks like Melisande might be the main character of the trilogy — she's introduced first, she's tough enough to defy a dragon in Chapter 2, she's got a developed love interest, and she's in line to assume the position that the first book is named after (Mistress of Dragons). But then she spends the rest of the first book needing to be rescued and protected by other characters, being sexually violated (twice), and then dying after giving birth to characters who'll be important in the next books.
- De-power: Anora casts a spell on Marcus which prevents him from using his magic and is slowly leeching this away when he's weak. He's saved when the spell is broken due to her host body being killed.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Ven is thought to have a disability as a result of his odd gait from having dragon legs. Among all the reactions this gets him, the pity is the worst in his view.
- Double Standard: Rape, Sci-Fi: In the first book, two different factions want Melisande to have a child, and neither bothers with getting her consent. One side physically attacks her, which is properly treated as villainous and horrific. However, the other side overrode her ability to choose just as effectively by drugging her, and that's treated as mere distasteful meddling. Granted, she did actually show signs of attraction to the (unwitting and also drugged) third party she was left with, but there was no indication she'd have acted on it without the potion.
- Evil-Detecting Dog:
- Ven gets found out as inhuman by a dog when he's at a bull-baiting fight, which attacks him, ripping the leg of his trousers and exposing his scaly skin. He nearly gets killed by a fearful human mob as a result.
- Horses can sense Draconas is really a dragon in human form and are pretty hostile to him, but they tolerate him enough he can drive a horse-drawn wagon.
- Fantastic Racism:
- Ven is deemed a demon as a result of being half-dragon by ignorant humans if his draconic lower half gets revealed.
- The half-dragons in Dragonkeep conversely have been raised to view humans as naturally inferior and lesser beings. The human warriors there, and dragon Maristara, find them all disgusting monstrosities. Along with feeling they're a danger, it's enough for them to order their deaths.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture:
- The gypsies in the kingdom of Weinemaur are clearly based on the Roma, being nomadic people who have many different professions compatible with living constantly on the road, with some engaged in criminality as well.
- Draconas visits a land over the ocean with desert nomads who have the clothes and customs of bedouin Arabs in our world, with some Arab terms used.
- Fantasy Counterpart Religion: Unlike in Seth, the religion of Idlyswylde seems to be based on Medieval European Christianity, as God is mentioned to be worshiped. The poor view magic as demonic, with the educated believing it's fraud and superstition, which also reflects their common attitudes. Also they have a chivalric tradition, while holy pilgrimages are made sometimes to seek divine aid, practices that also existed among Christians of the era. Tonsured monks exist in Idylswylde, suicide is considered a mortal sin as with traditional Christian ethics, and people invoke Our Lady or Holy Mother like Mary too, along with the saints generally. Ermintrude even quotes from the Book of Ecclesiastes once. Satan is believed in also, and demons. When an army believed to be made up of demons is marching against them, people proclaim this is the Apocalypse.
- Fantasy Gun Control: Although hand-held firearms still don't exist, cannons do in the books' universe. Edward gets them to fight dragons, perfecting highly maneuverable cannons that can shoot them from the air on his castle. It turns out humans developing cannons is what convinced some dragons they were now a dire threat, so they had to take control over human society secretly.
- Fille Fatale: Evelina is a fifteen year old girl who worked as a Honey Trap with her father, a professional thief. Later too she becomes a Gold Digger aiming to seduce Prince Marcus with the hope she can be a royal mistress and mother of his child.
- Flaming Sword: During the battle in Master of Dragons between the warrior women of Seth and the dragon army, the latter's commander has a spell cast on her sword which ignites it with flames. She cuts down several dragon warriors using it, whose armor otherwise stops ordinary weapons.
- A Form You Are Comfortable With: Draconas is the designated user of this on behalf of the Parliament of Dragons. He's a dragon inside, and can use their magic, but generally looks like a normal human, so he can be sent among humans without a fuss.
- Full-Frontal Assault: The warrior women fight topless, which is described as astonishing Edward when he sees this.
- Gender Is No Object: The monarchy of Seth is inherited by the eldest child, whether female or male.
- Gender-Restricted Ability: Humans with dragon magic use it differently depending on their gender. Females only use it defensively, males offensively. There is one exception in Marcus, who can do both. It affects them differently as well. Females have a temporary weakness which comes from doing magic. Males, however, are usually driven mad by it. However, by selective breeding Grald now has males who remain mentally stable whom he's raised to serve as elite soldiers along with the woman, making up a whole army.
- Gilded Cage: The Parliament of Dragons plans this for Melisande. They're not willing to have her wander around free with her magic, and they want her to give birth to a similarly-empowered son whom they can train "properly", but insist that she'll be "given the best of everything".
- A God Am I: The Mistress of Dragons, effective ruler of the kingdom of Seth, is worshipped as a goddess, and has a cult of priestesses to serve her. Her divinity is supposed to be passed on to successors, since she still has human form and physical bodies don't last forever. It's actually a case of Grand Theft Me, and moreover, the scheme is being run by a dragon, the very being the Mistress of Dragons is supposed to have ascended to divinity by defeating.
- God-Emperor: The Mistress of Dragons is worshiped as a goddess. She's also the true ruler of Seth, though a monarchy nominally exists.
- Gold Digger: The moment Evelina learns that Marcus is in fact a prince (even if not the heir) she sets herself to seduce him, hoping she'll become his mistress and the mother of his child.
- The Good Chancellor: Gunderson is steward to King Edward, serving him loyally and well.
- The Good King: Edward of Idlyswylde is kind, pious and very dedicated to his people. He leaves on a quest to find a means of protecting them against a dragon which has been ravaging the realm with no hesitation, doing all he can on their behalf.
- Grand Theft Me: This is the practice of the Mistress of Dragons, who never actually dies, instead living on in the form of a carefully chosen successor. The real person is still alive, but wishes that they weren't, being entombed while in agony for many years.
- Half-Human Hybrid:
- Vengeance, son of Melisande after she was raped by Grald, is roughly human-shaped, but has scaled legs and clawed feet like a dragon. He also likes caves, which the dragons usually live in, and develops telepathy like them.
- It's revealed all humans capable of dragon magic, which includes Melisande, have some dragon ancestry as well. This results from Grald and Maristara, dragons in human form, breeding with them secretly. Then their descendants were bred too, spreading this further, to serve them.
- Grald has fathered many more half-dragon children by women with the dragon magic, who have various draconic features, it's revealed later.
- Happily Adopted: Ermintrude treated Marcus, Edward's son by Melisande, just the same as their own biological children, loving him deeply. She's just as distraught as Edward when Marcus appears to go mad as a six year old.
- Happily Married: Edward and Ermintrude are a loving married couple. He feels deeply guilty after sleeping with another woman (though unknown to him, it wasn't really his fault). When he confesses he's fathered a son with her, Ermintrude immediately forgives him and accepts the boy, despite being sorrowful at what Edward did.
- Healing Factor: Dragons here can heal themselves of all except the worst injuries, through either magic or their mental discipline (going into a kind of a trance which stimulates healing). People who have the dragon magic also get this ability to a lesser extent.
- Healing Hands: Draconas can heal other people using magic. He does it several times.
- Hide Your Otherness: For his safety, Bellona gets Ven to cover his dragon legs with concealing boots and trousers whenever they meet with humans at the faire. She warns that if he's found to be half-dragon, humans might kill him. It nearly happens when he's once found out.
- High Priest: Melisande is the High Priestess of the Sacred Order, or the Sisters of the Eye, an all-female clergy, who is also a seer. She succeeds the Mistress of Dragons, their goddess, after each Mistress dies and is deified in turn.
- Honey Trap: Evelina, a pretty teenage girl about Ven's age whose father robbed him, easily charms him into going off with her alone to supposedly get back the money he stole. It's revealed she has been the honey trap often in robberies or con jobs her father pulled before as well.
- Invisibility: Among many other illusion spells is a simple one which makes the caster invisible. It does not stop sound though, and the illusion can be broken if anyone so much as sneezes, so it's viewed as a weak spell. The dragon army is powerful enough to keep their entire force rendered invisible, but that takes many casters working together.
- Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: In a mild example, Draconas pricks Marcus with a knife repeatedly to make him answer his questions rather than stay in the telepathic dream world that he's enraptured by. Here it's justified as he knows of no other way to save Marcus from dying from his obsession, with the questions necessary for saving him.
- Knight in Shining Armor: Edward, King of Idlyswylde, is inspired by stories about these, and wants to fill this role himself. There's a dragon to drive off and the fair Melisande to rescue. He doesn't really succeed (since the dragon was play-acting and Melisande ends up raped and dead), though that's not really his fault.
- Land of One City: Dragonkeep is a hidden country which is one city and its surroundings, built into a great mountain.
- Last Request: Melisande's dying wish for Bellona is that she protect and raise her son.
- Lipstick Lesbian: Melisande is a sensitive, gentle woman with long hair who wears rich gowns most of the time. She is lovers with Bellona, who's the head of the sanctuary's warrior woman. However, later she's also attracted to Edward and they have sex (albeit induced by a Love Potion), so a lipstick bisexual actually.
- Love Potion:
- The Parliament of Dragons want Melisande to have a son, because that son will inherit powerful magic which the dragons can point at the Big Bad Maristara (more easily than they can point Melisande herself). They therefore give Melisande and Edward a potion which makes them want each other (and also guarantees successful conception).
- Evelina later gets Marcus to drink absinthe, which makes him aroused enough to declare he loves her, nearly having sex with her as a result. His allergic reaction precludes it though.
- Made a Slave:
- It turns out that the infant boys born in the monastery do not go to good families for adoption like Melisande had believed. Instead, they are made slaves of Maristara.
- Ven is kidnapped and sold to a traveling circus after some petty thieves discover his scaly, clawed legs (as a result of being half-dragon) so he'll earn money in the freakshow.
- Magical Incantation: The Sisters cast spells by chanting together when led by the High Priestess and Mistress of Dragons.
- Magic Is Evil: People in Idlyswylde mostly believe that magic is the work of demons, and loathe it. However, this isn't actually the case.
- Magic Knight: Draconas can use powerful magic, and also is good at just using his walking stick as a weapon in a pinch.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: Braun gets murdered with his death made to look like an accident from being struck by lightning. Draconas' father as well died with this happening.
- Mama Bear: Although she admits she's really not that good a mother to him, Bellona sets out at once to find her adoptive son Ven once he disappears and won't let anything stop her.
- Masculine–Feminine Gay Couple: Melisande is a more feminine woman who usually wears rich gowns who's described as soft due to having sedentary, more intellectual pursuits. It's revealed early on that her lover is Bellona, commander of the warrior women stationed at the monastery to guard it, who is described as slim, strong and muscular, wearing armor mostly.
- Master of Illusion:
- Draconas can cast illusion spells very skillfully which make something appear to be wholly different from reality. This is how he appears as a human in fact, not only to others but himself.
- Marcus later learns to, making an illusion which appears as Bellona still in her cell while he breaks her out of prison. Another illusion makes her seem one with the darkness while she walks out.
- Grald has hidden his entire city, Dragonkeep, under a huge illusion it's revealed, with the surrounding area just looking like normal forest. The only people able to pass inside Dragonkeep are those like him who know the secret entrances. His army learned to make themselves invisible with an illusion as well.
- Meaningful Name:
- Draconas, who is a dragon despite looking human.
- Bellona is the commander of the sanctuary's warrior women. Appropriately, her names comes from the goddess of war in ancient Rome.
- Military Mage: Grald has sired and raised an elite army of humans who have the dragon magic. Both male and female, they're trained to fight together. Males wield offensive magic, females defensive to protect them from enemies.
- Missing Mom: Melisande is killed shortly after giving birth to her sons.
- The Mole: Someone in the Parliament of Dragons is working with Maristara, the rogue dragon who conquered Seth, and has been eliminating dragons who get too close to the truth. It turns out to be Anora.
- Monster Protection Racket: Draconas gets close to King Edward by presenting himself as an expert dragon-hunter after arranging for his ally, the dragon Braun, to stage attacks (actually non-fatal, though rumour naturally talks them up).
- Muggle–Mage Romance: Melisande, who's trained in using magic against dragons and a seer, is lovers with Bellona, a muggle warrior woman. Relationships are encourages between priestesses (who are also magic users) and the warrior women at the monastery. It turns out this is to further bind them into service by Maristara, as they're thus more attached to living there in the monastery together through having lovers.
- Nice to the Waiter: Edward was taught by his father, the king prior to him, that they must refrain from mistreating their servants. Doing so would make them not a true king, and particularly since the servants couldn't fight back. Therefore he refrains even when Edward is really angry with them.
- Opposites Attract: Melisande and her lover Bellona, extending to many things. The former is a pale-skinned blonde priestess with magic who's a more sensitive, physically softer and open-hearted woman. Bellona meanwhile is a black-haired, brown-skinned, muggle lay warrior women, while she keeps closed off to other people emotionally (aside from Melisande). She's also hard-edged and muscular.
- Our Dragons Are Different: Dragons in Dragonvarld have the typical western design, as vast scaly reptilians who fly and breathe fire. They are born in caves, with the babies not even seeing daylight at first. Most only have children once a lifetime, therefore dragons remain pretty rare. Dragons in general make their homes inside caves, being able to constrict themselves surprisingly for this purpose. Their bones are hollow as with birds in order to fly, with their strong scales compensating for otherwise vulnerable bodies because of this. Dragons have a democratic government and more than equal intelligence to most humans. They live very long lives, lasting for centuries. Dragons can breathe not only fire but noxious gas, and do great magic. They have a strong Healing Factor and thus can come back from most injuries. Dragons also can do magic, such as creating illusions and casting lightning. They can also see heat, and track living beings' this way. Mostly dragons speak to each other via telepathy and view each others' thoughts as bright, very colorful images. Some even can take human form.
- Parental Abandonment: All children who are born in the monastery do not ever know their parents. Melisande, one of them, has long wondered who hers are.
- Parental Substitute:
- Bellona serves as Ven's adoptive mother on the death of his birth mother.
- Ermintrude also willingly adopts her husband Edward's son Marcus by another woman, loving him as her child.
- Path of Inspiration: The whole Sacred Order it turns out is a front for use by Maristara, an evil dragon, who secretly created it long ago to fight hostile dragons attacking Seth, ironically, taking over all its leaders and using the sons the women have as her accomplice's slaves without them knowing.
- Perfectly Arranged Marriage: King Edward of Idylswylde with Ermintrude. They had never met before their wedding, which neither of them had a choice in. Despite that, they genuinely love each other and have a very happy marriage.
- Playing with Fire: The false monks set everyone who was with the traveling circus on fire using the flames of their torches, which shoot out forming into balls that quickly burn them into ashes.
- Poor Communication Kills: If Bellona had been willing to talk to her lover Melisande rather than sticking to her conclusion of infidelity and treason, the plot of the first book might have been rather different. They later reunite and talk it out, but by that stage, Melisande is on track to die following childbirth after being raped, while Bellona is on track to have to fight her own estranged troops.
- Rape by Proxy: Melisande and Edward are attracted to each other, but don't act on it voluntarily as both are in committed relationships with other people. When they're fed a Love Potion by trickery, they passionately have sex as part of a plan by the dragons (it also insures conception, so Melisande becomes pregnant too). This is not really treated as rape in the book however.
- Religion is Magic: The Sisters of the Eye are nun-like magic users who all live in a monastery together under their High Priestess and Mistress of Dragons, whom they worship as a goddess.
- Roguish Romani: Glimmershanks is a gypsy, the corrupt head of a traveling circus who was also a thief in the past. His gypsy looks and charm are very appealing to many women. In fairness though, he's not really any worse than criminals who aren't gypsies. He is still the only gypsy though.
- Seers: The High Priestesses of the Sacred Order can tell if dragons are coming by looking into the Eye, a magic bowl which lets them scry this way.
- Shock and Awe: The first explicit spell that Ven casts is a lightning bolt, killing a bandit who beat his adopted mother Bellona severely along with his confederates. Draconas also later demonstrates the spell too because Ven tried to weakly deny this happened.
- Skepticism Failure: Educated people like King Edward in Idlyswylde didn't believe in dragons before one attacked their kingdom. This also went for magic, which had been dismissed as only tricks and fraud before that turned out to be quite real too, indeed their only hope for stopping the dragon.
- Sleeps in the Nude: Bellona, commander of the monastery's warrior women, always sleeps naked so she can quickly put on her armor if necessary on her waking up without changing clothes.
- Slipping a Mickey: Ramone, a seasoned thief, drugs Ven's ale and robs him when he's down.
- Superpowerful Genetics: The Sethan woman with the dragon magic pass its abilities down to their children. For the boys it often drives them insane over time unfortunately, as they get lost in the telepathic communications dragons send which they're capable of seeing.
- Super-Strength: Ven is far stronger than a human, able to rip his chains out of their bolts then bend his cage's bars while seeking to escape with only his bare hands.
- Sweet Polly Oliver: Bellona dresses as a man when she's with Melisande in Idylswylde, since there a woman without a husband would be suspect (presumably while pregnant in particular). When warrior women from Seth come for them, they do this as a disguise too. Later while raising Ven, Bellona dresses and passes as a man for years, with other people believing she's his father.
- Tampering with Food and Drink: Evelina poisons Lady Izabelle's wine to murder her so she can have Marcus. It works out in his favor, as unbeknownst to her Alora is possessing Izabelle's body and leeching away his magic, so the death of her host body broke the spell, freeing Marcus.
- Tap on the Head: Ven and Bellona are both knocked senseless on different occasions, with no ill effect from it afterward.
- Technical Pacifist: Draconas can't kill humans as it violates dragon law with the greatest penalties. He can still help other people fight and kill humans though, but must limit himself to non-lethal harm on them directly.
- Telepathy: Dragons communicate with each other this way. Their mental language is made up of colorful images that have meanings to them. Ven, who is half-dragon, develops this too, as does his human half-brother Marcus.
- Title Drop: "Dragonvarld" it turns out is the name the dragons use for the world of the setting, which means 'dragon world'.
- Torches and Pitchforks: When Vengeance is born as an obvious Half-Human Hybrid, the midwife raises an angry mob to kill him, considering him to be the work of the devil.
- Training the Gift of Magic: Draconas trains Marcus over several months to use his magic, which would end up killing him otherwise, sending him off home afterward.
- Unwitting Pawn: The Sisterhood of Seth play this role. They think that their efforts are keeping Seth free of dragons, but they're actually only repelling all dragons except the one they unknowingly serve and whose predations the "attacking" dragons are trying to end.
- Vow of Celibacy: Generally speaking, members of the Sisterhood aren't supposed to have relationships with men, although exceptions are made for a breeding program, and they're all quite able to have relationships with women. Melisande, the high priestess, and Bellona, the captain of the all-female guard, are lovers. When it appears that Melisande has run off with a man, it's a big scandal.
- Warrior Monk:
- The Sisters of the Eye are nun-like women who use magic to fight dragons.
- Grald has many monks capable of deadly magic, called the Blessed by the lay people.
- We Are as Mayflies: Dragons live an unspecified but very long time, with a few decades being next to nothing for them while humans could die in that same period. Their species is so old they were around when humans' ancestors had first evolved from the slime.
- Woman Scorned: Bellona, Melisande's lover, thinks she left the monastery with a man. Convinced he's her lover, Bellona zealously hunts her down (as deserting it is forbidden) due to her perceived betrayal, but still has mixed feelings. She's relieved when the warriors under her fire arrows at Melisande but all still miss despite being expert shots, as they don't actually want to harm her either.
- Would Hurt a Child: The human warriors in Dragonkeep have no issues with slaughtering the half-dragons, with the oldest teenagers and many toddler aged or younger, believing they're disgusting monstrosities.
- Younger Than They Look: After he sees her again six years after the last time they met, Draconas sees Bellona has aged greatly, looking much older than in her early thirties, being very gaunt and her black hair already going gray.
