Dragon Raja

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Dragon Raja (abbreviated as DR or D/R) is a fantasy novel, written by a popular Korean author named Lee Yeongdo. The story is told in the first-person view of the main protagonist Hoochie Nedval and the story revolves around the adventure of Hoochi and his companions as they are drawn into the quest of finding beings called dragon rajas, humans who and as bridges between humankind and dragonkind.

Originally the story was serialized in a Korean telnet network Hitel, where it gained explosive popularity and was soon published into book through the publishing company Golden Branch.

The serialization and eventual publication of Dragon Raja is considered as a notable landmark in the history of the Korean fantasy literature. After the release of Dragon Raja and its success brought a sudden boom of Korean fantasy literature. It is often commented that while before the arrival of Dragon Raja the fantasy literature was considered a minor and low-quality literature and Korean fantasy novels were very scarse, Dragon Raja brought the Korean reader's attention to the fantasy literature and inspired people to begin writing fantasy literature.

Contents

[edit] Plot summary

The rural town of Heltent is at the westernmost tip of Bisus, and is plagued by the black dragon Amurtart. The Viscount of Heltent requests the king to send a royal dragon, white Cathselprime to defeat Amurtat. However, Cathselprime is defeated and most of the expeditionary force, including the Lord of Heltent and the father of Hutch, the main character, is taken hostage, Amurtart demands 100,000 sels (unit of money) worth of jewels for ransom. Thus a party comprising of Karl Heltent, Hutch Nedval, and Sanson Percival takes off to the Bisus Impel, the capital, to report the result of the expedition and ask for aid in paying ransom.

Durning their journey, the party meets Iruril, Aphneidel, Axelhand, Unchai and Neria, who in their turns join the group. Also, a man called Unchai is arrested as Zhyponian spy, who was experiment on the weapon called Sacrilization, which uses a certain god's power to change the rules of the world, and is forced to travel with Hoochi's company as they escort him to the capital.

The party reaches the capital, only to discover that jewels are in very short supply. They find out that dwarves who mine jewels and provide them to human society are refusing to enter some of the mines, because they heard sounds of a dragon's awakening. It is the sound of Kradmesser the Crimson Dragon, which almost destroyed the Bisus kingdom before entering hibernation two decades ago. So the party decides to find a Dragon Raja, those with innate talent to communicate with the dragons, to quell Kradmesser's wrath and obtain their ransom.

[edit] Major Characters

Hutch Nedval(pronounced Hoo-chie) - The protagonist of the story. The story is narrated in first-person view of Hoochie. Son of the candlemaker of Heltent, a rural town terrorized by a black dragon Amurtart, he is humorous and quick-witted. He will often solve problems with his tactful mind and clever tongue. His journey begins when Cathselprime, a royal white dragon is defeated by Amurtat and sets out from his town to deliver the defeat message. His main fighting ability comes from his magical gloves, OPG (Ogre Power Gauntlet).

Sanson Percival- The guard captain of Heltent. A simple-minded and frank character, sometimes even considered dull-headed, Sanson is nonetheless a good-natured man. He is one of the people who journeys out with Hutch to deliver the message of the death and loss of Cathselprime to the king.

Karl Heltent- The half-brother of the Lord of Heltent. Middle-aged and unmarried, he lives quietly at the edge of the town. He is educated and intellectual character with proficiency in archery. He is one of the people who journeys out with Hutch to deliver the message of the death of Cathselprime to the king.

Iruril Serenial- An etherial elf who Hutch and his company meet during their journey towards the capital. She both a powerful sorceress and merciless killer, though appears to be naive at times. Extremely talented in summoning of spirits and magic, she quests to find an answer for the future of her race. She joins Hutch's party to gain better understanding of Men.

Axelhand Eindelf- The Knocker of dwarves, he is at the highest rank of honor in the dwarf society. A hearty, free-going and straightforward character, he adventures out to inform about the terrible danger that threathens both human and dwarven society.

Gilsion Bisus- A charismatic prince of Bisus, he is the rightful heir to the throne. He leaves the palace to roam freely around the world, and in that process the throne is passed to his younger brother. To Hutch however, Gilsion is his 'King' because he is a great leader that is close to him. His valuable possessions include Prim Blade, an enchanted sword that has self possessed will and ego.

Unchai Baltan- A spy from Zhyphon, a country that is currently at war with Bisus. He joins Hutch's party when he is caught experimenting Sacrilization. He is a very capable spy and a fighter with many ablilities. For example, he can cause great fear in his opponents with his 'klling aura'(殺氣/살기) which is a common specialty among Zhyphon warriors. Zhyponian culture forbids him from speaking to any females other than relatives, causing indirect arguments with Neria. However they grow quite close.

Neria- 'Neria of the Trident'. She is a thief but prefers the nickname 'Nighthawk'. She tries to rob Hutch's party at the crossing of Iramuse bridge. She becomes a friend and later joins the party. She is rough and hot-tempered, but deep inside she is a delicate person with a warm heart.

Aphneidel- A young wizard with too much self doubt. He encounters Hutch's party in the beginning as enemies but realizes his past follies and later joins Hutch's party. Hutch calls him by the nickname 'Top-mage' for his essential service throughout the journey.

Jeraint Chimber- 'Teperi's misfortune'. As a priest of Teperi, he has powers to make the 'perfect choice' between a yes or no question. He is easy-going and high-spirited, and has little respect for the binding rules that applies to a priest.

Tyburn Highseeker- A mysterious blind mage who stumbles into Heltent during the battle between Cathselprime and Amurtat. He rewards Hutch with a pair of Ogre Power gauntlets for helping him do work around the town.

Nexon Hurichel- Son of a Raja and presumed a Raja himself. He is a noble-born with great ambitions. He secretly plans to overthrow the King Nilsion and rule the kingdom of Bisus.

[edit] Major themes

The main theme of Dragon Raja is human relationship, characteristics that makes humans humans, the theme that is repeatedly explored in different ways throughout the book.

Human Harmony

One of the recurring aspects of human relationship is the human trait that allows them to harmony with these that are different from them. During tha story it is quoted- To create a wall hay, dirt, clay, and water all need to be mixed together. They are different substances but end up creating harmony. it shows that people need to be different, unique, with indivisuality to make harmony. Elves call themselves a failour of Uphinel because they are all the same, the do not create true harmony because they are the same. Harmony is when difference is mixed perfectly without conflict, because they are the same, they are unable to create Harmony.

Human Individuality

Another aspect of human relationship that is seen in the book is the fact that humans have individuality or ego, that they keep dearer then their own life, and because of this reason they cannot cannot accept those that are identical to them. Because of indivisuality, something that humans possess while all other races do not, humans are able to make harmony with those that are different from them but it also makes humans cling to their individual self, unable to accept these that are identical to them.

Multiple Identity

The last trait of humans that is explored in Dragon Raja is the humankind's ability to embrace his or hers different identies. The famous line of the novel, I am not one is repeatedly spoken by many characters throughout the novel. This illustrates the human ability to possess many different identities and embrace all of them at the same time, even though they may all conflict. Karl, a character in the novel, explains this quote to the Dragon Lord by saying he is Karl the Hutch's old friend, Karl the half-brother of Lord of Heltent, Karl the Sanson's friend and Karl the leader of the group. He has so many identities yet is able to embrace and seek harmony among all of them, which is an ability that none of other races, not even the dragons, possess.

[edit] Races

In Dragon Raja there are eight sentient races present, eight type of beings who can talk, think, have consciences and worship gods.

  • Human - Children of Uphinel and Helcaness. They are the only ones who are favored by both Uphinel and Helcaness, the two supreme powers of the world. They also worship all semi-gods that exist, while other races may acknowledge the existence of all semi-gods but worship only one or few among them.
  • Elf - Children of Uphinel. Their primal religion is Grang'elvelr. They are in perfect harmony with the world. They are commonly referred as "Little children of Uphinel"
  • Dwarf - Children of Helcaness. Their primal religion is Kariss Numen. Talented miners and blacksmiths they are a proud race who count honor above all else. They have ability to see through all illusions and deceptions.
  • Hobbit - Children of Helcaness. Their primal religion is Teperi. They are a race of very short body height. It is notably that many of hobbits are thieves, all at least steal regularly.
  • Orc - Children of Helcaness. Their primal religion is Hwarencha. Somewhat shorter and broader-built compared to humans, they have appearance similar to bipedal pigs.
  • Fairy - Children of Uphinel. They are in tune with the forces and gods of the world itself, and have very little use of religion. They are able to pass through dimensions like how we pass through different countries.
  • Dragon - Children of no god. They answer to none but themselves. Their race that is deeply connected to magic and they are the ones that first taught magic to all the other races.
  • The Eighth, Unknown Race - No details, but presumed children of Uphinel by fans to balance the numbers. They are mysterious beings who are mentioned only once during the entire book, and there are no details about what kind of race there are, or whether they even exist. The existence of Eighth Race has been a subject of large debate among the fans and is often subject of jokes. Some of the guesses at what the Eighth Race is, include - Gainer Kashnep(A mysterious being that appear in every single novels and novellias written by Lee Yeongdo), the Fifth Race(Another mysterious, unknown race that appear in The Bird That Drinks Tears), The Elves(Another mysterious race, unknown race that appear in Polaris Rhapsody),

Those mysterious races, the Fifth race (In fact, First race) in The Bird That Drinks Tears, the Eighth race in Dragon Raja, The Elves in Polaris Rhapsody,all have in common that they have disappeared by an act of will. Although not much is said about the Eighth race, the fact that two races left the world as they have achieved "perfection" seems to reveal one of the main themes of all his works, Man's Final End.

[edit] Gods and Religions

Uphinel and Helcaness are the two supreme deities in the world of Dragon Raja. Uphinel represents Harmony, and Helcaness represents Chaos. They are closer to a symbolism, representation of these two supreme states, the two ultimate rules of the universe then being a humane, conscience deities. There is no direct religion worshipping Uphinel and Helcaness. It is said that at the genesis of the world, the two created time and therefore the world began. All eight races are children of either of these two deities, except humans and dragons; humans serve both Upinel and Helcaness; dragons serve no god and answer to none but them selves.

There are many other lesser Gods that exist in the world of Dragon Raja. The lesser Gods worship one of Uphinel and Helcaness, and are worshiped by seven known races in their turn.

List of lesser Gods in the world of Dragon Raja, in no particular order;

  • Grang'elvelr of Elf and Purity - Primal religion of the Elves
  • Edhelbroy of Cosmos and Storm
  • Teperi of Hobbit and Crossroad - Primal religion of the Hobbits
  • Orem of Rose and Justice - Primal religion of Dukedom of Ielse
  • Leti of Sword and Destruction
  • Kariss Numen of Dwarf and Fire - Primal religion of the Dwarves
  • Yasas of Eagle and Glory - Primal religion of Bisus
  • Nileem of Freedom and Chain - Primal religion of Zyphon
  • Collie of Cats and Dream
  • Hwarencha of Orc and Revenge - Primal religion of the Orcs
  • Gheden of Crow and Disease
  • Yilseine of Mountain and Concealment
  • Isa of Oblivion and Aurora
  • Simunian of Earth and Recollection - Primal religion of Humans as a race, the Great Mother Earth
  • Grim Ocenia of Seagull and Aspiration - Primal religion of Humans as a race, the Great Father Ocean

[edit] International publishing

Currently Lee Yeongdo is making a deal to get his works published in the United States. Currently they are talking about 3 Dragon Raja books, while the rest are unsure. The US company says that they want direct translation from Korean to English. Many Korean fans are excited about this news. They are waiting for the turn out of the latest meeting.[1]

Dragon Raja been already published in China, Taiwan, and Japan with highly successful results. Finally the Japanese version of Dragon raja is finished with all 12 books published.

[edit] Adaptations into other media

  • An MMORPG based on the novel was released and has became available in various countries such as South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia and Canada.
  • In 2004, the Korean manga adaptation of the novel was published by Taesung.

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ 이영도 공식 출판 카페(판타지 소설,피마새,눈마새,드라) :: 네이버 카페


[edit] External links