Dragons In Our Midst

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Dragons in our Midst is a Christian fantasy series written by Bryan Davis about two teenagers who are "anthrozils".


Contents

[edit] Books in the series

There are currently four books in the series:

  • Raising Dragons
  • The Candlestone
  • Circles of Seven
  • Tears of a Dragon

As well as four books in the spin off series, Oracles of Fire.

[edit] Plot

[edit] Dragons in Our Midst series

Raising Dragons: A boy learns of his dragon past, a girl has known hers for years. They combine their faith, courage, and love to overcome evil, a slayer who seeks to bring an end to dragon heritage, forever.

The kids at school call Billy "Dragon Breath" for good reason. His breath is bad! It isn’t the normal, morning-mouth bad; it’s the hot-as-fire, "don’t-you-dare-get-near-me" bad. Trouble erupts when his hot breath sets off the fire sprinklers in the boys’ restroom at school, and his parents learn that they’ve kept their secret for too long.

Billy finally discovers the secret. His father was once a dragon! Now that’s a piece of news a guy doesn’t deal with every day! Billy feels betrayed, alien, lost. When the dragon slayer traps him on a cold mountaintop in West Virginia, Billy learns to battle with weapons of steel and spirit while relying on a power he doesn’t understand, a power that helps him learn to trust again.

Bonnie, an orphan, tries to find a home, someone to love her, even though she feels like a freak because of a body feature that she calls a deformity. But this unusual feature becomes a life-saving attribute as she discovers that her love for others and her faith in a creator hold the answers she’s looking for. Billy has a dream that he is a dragon fighting a knight. He wakes up and breathes on his hand and says “Ouch.” He goes to school, and during the first class he goes to the bathroom. The school Bully, Adam Lark, is in the bathroom on a step ladder holding a lighter to the fire sprinkler sensor. Billy climbs up the ladder and attempts to blow out the lighter. To Billy’s surprise his breath, and not the lighter, sets off the alarm! Just then Billy’s teacher enters the washroom and sees Billy and Adam who had just fallen to the floor and Adam slips the lighter into Billy’s hand. Billy looks like the guilty culprit. The boys are sent to the principal’s office! Billy is scared of the new principal because of his reputation and frightening pictures of dragons and knights on the office walls. At the principal’s office both boys are given a three day suspension. Meanwhile Bonnie comes in and identifies the lighter as Adam’s. Billy’s parents do not answer the phone when the principal calls home. Billy gets a ride home with his Professor, an English Oxford graduate. Billy sneaks inside his house so his mother will not notice him.

Later Billy overhears his mother having a conversation with his father and the two of them discuss when they should tell Billy that his father was a dragon. When Billy hears the bus he slips down the drain pipe and causally enters through the front door then he is called to the living room. His father explains that he was once a dragon and that Billy is an anthrozils which means he is fully human and fully dragon.

The Candlestone: Billy and Bonnie wonder about a number of unsolved mysteries. What was the strange book that the dragon slayers used to summon a dragon? Where is the magnificent sword that seemed to disintegrate the evil Devin? And what happened to The Candlestone, that strange gem, always absorbing light and with it the powers of dragons or dragon children within its sphere of influence?

The Candlestone not only absorbs light, it captures and holds encoded light, including transluminated humans, people who have been transformed into light energy by Excalibur, King Arthur’s great sword. When Bonnie enters the stone herself, she learns that many disembodied souls have fallen prey to the gems powers, but no one has ever escaped.

The two teens face their greatest fears, and they learn to use their strengths, both innate and newly found, as they battle powerful enemies, ancient fiends from times long past, and the horrors of the blackest of prisons, captivity with the walls of unearthly darkness, the crystalline tomb of The Candlestone.

This is the secound book of the four book series Dragons in our Midst.

Circles of Seven: The first book, Raising Dragons, plunged two teenagers, Billy Bannister and Bonnie Silver, into mind-boggling mysteries, life or death pursuits, and deadly sword-to-sword battles. In the second book, The Candlestone, Billy is led into mortal combat with a powerful dragon slayer. Separated from his friends and finding his dragon traits useless against this enemy, he has to rely on new weapons, a sword and shield he cannot even see.

Now in Circles of Seven, using their dragon traits and the wisdom they gained through their earlier adventures, Billy and Bonnie explore a multi-dimensional domain of evil. In this realm, they navigate seven perilous worlds, each one manifested in a circular plane of existence that leads them deeper into the domain of a powerful enemy.

The seventh circle holds a group of prisoners, captives of the evil mistress of the circles, and Billy has to find a way to set them free and give them new life. When tragedy strikes along the way, Billy has to face the most difficult decision of his life, whether to forsake Bonnie to rescue the prisoners or to find a way to save her, his best friend in the world.

Filled with action, danger, and suspense, Circles of Seven is sure to keep readers in their seats, following Billy and Bonnie to the exciting conclusion.

Circles of Seven is the third saga in a four book series entitled: Dragons in our Midst.

Tears of a Dragon: Tears of a Dragon is the fourth installment in the Dragons in our Midst series. This contemporary fantasy gives young readers all the adventure and excitement they love while opening their eyes to great themes such as faith, courage, wisdom, and redemption. Compared to The Chronicles of Narnia for its spiritual power and The Lord of the Rings for its depth of scope, this series has the makings of a classic.

Victory in the Circles of Seven came at a great cost to Billy Bannister and Bonnie Silver. A vicious evil was unleashed on the earth that only the dragons can defeat. With Billy’s father, the great Clefspeare, missing, Billy and Bonnie must lead the dragons into war against the Watchers—demonic beings as old as the earth itself. Masters at the art of deception, the Watchers gather most of humanity to their side. A remnant of wise humans, the friends of the dragons, unite in the struggle against the Watchers. With heart-stopping action, the final battle between dragons and their enemies comes to a climax. But in order to win the war, at least one of the dragons must die.

As the story ends, Billy and Bonnie are faced with the greatest decision of their lives. Will they keep the dragon traits that have cost them so much danger and heartache, or will they turn to normal human life and end the slayers’ lust for their blood forever?

Tears of a Dragon is the fourth and final saga in a four book series entitled: Dragons in our Midst.

[edit] Oracles of Fire

The Oracles of Fire are another series by Bryan Davis (author of Dragons in Our Midst) that goes along with the Dragons in Our Midst books. The series includes Eye of the Oracle, Enoch's Ghost, Last of the Nephilim, and The Bones Of Makaidos, the last two of which have not been released.

Eye of the Oracle: About 1,500 years ago, in the time of King Arthur, dragons ruled the skies. A rogue dragon named Goliath turned to the dark side, allying himself with Satan. Many others lost faith and followed in his footsteps, thus giving rise to the popular (yet incorrect) belief that all dragons were evil. King Arthur, unaware of the existence of good dragons, charged Sir Devin with the task of wiping out the species. Sir Devin did his job well, and soon only a few good dragons were left.

The prophet Merlin, at God's bidding, intervened and transformed the surviving dragons into human form in order to protect them. But one dragon, Gartrand, lacked faith, and so the transformation did not work on him. He fled in his shame and was captured by the slayers, who interrogated him and killed him. Before dying, he told them about the transformation in the foolish hope that they would spare his life. As a result, even the remnant were doomed to be pursued by Devin and his knights. But Merlin gave them a prophesy of hope, that one day dragons would live again.

[edit] Major Characters

[edit] Races

Dragons in Our Midst has several different species of beings featured in the series:

  • Angels: They act as God's messengers and soldiers. The only major angels introduced are St. Michael and the Cherub that guarded the Tree of Life. Most of the angels featured in the series are the Fallen Angels.
  • Anthrozils: Anthrozils are hybrids of humans and dragons. They are the result when a human and dragon procreate. They normally appear human but almost always develop dragon-like traits. Like their dragon parents, Anthrozils have photoreceptors in their blood that absorb their required light. Because of this, they are weakened by the effects of Candlestones. However, the presence of the dragon trait of healing negates the effect of a candlestone. They also have the ability to sense danger like dragons, however this can be lulled by certain flowers and herbs. Anthrozils will also have other draconic traits, so far dragon-traits that are revealed are having wings (Bonnie and Gabriel), the ability to breathe fire (Billy) and advanced intellect (Ashley). The name "Anthrozil" was coined by Dr. Conner (Bonnie's father and Irene's husband), by combining the Greek/Latin word "Anthro" (meaning "man") with the name of Godzilla, a well known fictional dinosaur/dragon.
  • Dragons: Dragons were specifically created to be protectors and servants of humans. Like the angels, the dragons act as messengers and soldiers of God, however, also like angels, some can be corrupted into doing evil. Light (especially sunlight) act as the energy and life force of dragons, they need at least a candle to energize themselves. It is revealed that the reason why dragons hoard treasure is that the treasure itself is used to reflect light in their regeneracy domes, a process in which the dragon contains itself in a cocoon of pure light. Dragons have special cells in their blood known as photoreceptors that collect and produce light. Because of these traits, dragons (and their hybrid offspring, Anthrozils) are weakened by the effects of Candlestones. Another interesting fact about dragon D.N.A. is that it's almost identical to that of humans, which is how dragons are able to procreate with humans after Merlin transformed them into human forms.
  • Fallen angels: These are angels that became corrupted and aligned themselves with Satan. The Watchers fall into this category. Also, the Watchers were assisted by snake-like demons known as Black Angels, which may also be a form of Fallen Angel. Morgan, is married to one of the watchers.
  • Humans: The creatures created in God's image and descended from Adam and Eve. Their D.N.A. is very similar to that of dragons and therefore are able to procreate with them. Much can be said about them.
  • Nephilim The abominable offspring of the fallen angels, the Watchers, and human women, Nephilim are a race of giants and demons. They were the cause for God to flood the earth, destroying them and their fathers. The spirits of the Nephilim later began to possess the bodies of dragons, turning the species against each other. After the flood, Morgan found a way to "grow" Nephilim from a plant like form. Because of this, this variety of Nephilim are immune from Excalibur's beam, in fact they actually grow stronger from it.
  • Underborns: Underborns are a human-like race, grown in a similar way as Morgan's Nephilim. They were mainly used as slave labor by Morgan and her allies in the underworld. Some surviving underborns made their way to the surface and lived lives as normal humans. Most (if not all) of the underborns were female. Only two female underborns survived till the starting of Enoch's Ghost

[edit] Anthrozils and Dragons

  • Billy Bannister: One of the two central characters. Billy is an anthrozil: he is both fully human and fully dragon. In appearance he is an average teenage boy. He is amazingly talented as an artist, with some of his works selling for as much as $50 (but he only keeps enough for his art supplies, donating the rest to the local animal shelter). His talents are extremely diverse, and he can draw a serious portrait or a hilarious caricature with equal skill. His dragon power is his hot breath (see Raising Dragons, below), which starts as just scalding heat and later develops into an actual flame, and his ability to sense danger. He has only just learned of his dragon ancestry. Son of Jared Bannister and Marilyn, he is also the grandson of Roxil and Goliath.
  • Bonnie Silver: The daughter of a princess. Daughter of Irene (Hartanna) and Dr. Conner. One of the two central characters, Bonnie is an anthrozil who has known of her dragon side for years. She constantly wears a backpack to cover up the two wings on her back. The wings allow her to fly, and they are extremely flexible. They are resistant to cold, and sometimes when she has to sleep outside she forms her wings into a cocoon to keep warm. When pressed for information, she elusively calls her wings a deformity. Contrasting with this is the fact that most people who have seen her wings think she looks like an angel, despite the lack of feathers. She is known as the virgin bride.
  • Ashley Stalworth: A high school girl who has remarkable intelligence. A laboratory assistant to Doctor Connor (Bonnie's father) and an expert in physics and light frequencies. She also has a special knack for figuring out what other people are going to say and finishing their sentences ahead of them, to the extent that many people she went to school with thought that could read minds. This ability provides for some very amusing interactions between her and Walter. It seems likely that Ashley's brilliant mind owes at least in part to the fact that she is an anthrozil. Her mother was a dragon- to be specific, Thigocia, an expert war dragon and healer. There is little doubt that chemistry exists between Ashley and Walter-especially in light of how much Walter gets on her nerves. Her dragon traits are intelligence and healing. She also is a fan of Lord of the Rings.
  • Gabriel Drake: Ashley's older brother, and the first child of Hannah (Thigocia) and Timothy (Makaidos) after they became human. When he was thirteen years old he was transluminated by Sir Patrick and taken by Sapphira and Elam into the Circles, where they hoped he would still be alive. There in the Circles he retained his human form, but when he leaves Hades, he is returned to his transluminated state. For forty years he served as a sort of guardian angel for other children of Dragons, including his sister, Ashley, and Bonnie Silver (Bonnie also thought him to be an angel because of both his name and appearance). His dragon trait is his wings, like Bonnie, and he has a witty sense of humor, much like Walter, which explains how the two of them get along so well.
  • Jared Bannister/Clefspeare: Billy's father. Jared is a dragon named Clefspeare in human form. He has no dragon powers as a human beyond the standard dragon longevity (he has lived as a human for some 1500 years or so), but he is a licensed pilot and displays impressive skill in hand-to-hand combat, honed by literally centuries of living in fear that the slayers may find him or (more recently) his family. The daily wrestling matches with Billy probably have something to do with it, too.
  • Irene Silver(Connor)/Hartanna: Bonnie Silver's mother, a dragon in human form. Taking on human flesh was a sacrifice for her, especially since as a dragon, she was in line to be the next Queen of The Dragons. It was a sacrifice for her in another way as well: while they were dragons Hartanna and Clefspeare were betrothed to marry, but Merlin told them that by taking on human form they would no longer be able to procreate with other dragons, even if those dragons were in human form too (undoubtedly this was needed to make the anthrozils a possibility, and their existence was vital to the future). But she became human, taking the name Irene Silver. Centuries passed, and at some point she married Dr. Matthew Conner, and they had Bonnie (who, ironically, will one day marry Billy, who is Clefspeare's son). Bonnie last saw her with a gaping sword wound, leaving little hope for her future. Miraculously, though, it seems she is still alive, as is discovered in the Candlestone.
  • Hannah Drake/Thigocia: One of the dragons Billy brought back to life in Circles of Seven, Thigocia is a valiant war dragon as well as a gifted healer. She is also the mother of Ashley Stalworth, a fact first implied by her similar ability to "read minds" by following what someone says to a logical conclusion. Thigocia was chosen to be the female dragon aboard Noah's Ark and was once the queen of the dragons, the mother of the entire dragon race after the Great Flood. Her husband is/was Makaidos, also known as Timothy. She is also the mother of Valcor (Sir Patrick), Roxil(Jasmine), Goliath and Hartanna (Irene Silver), and Clefspeare's (Jared Bannister's) grandmother. Transformed at Bald Top at the same time as Hartanna, Clefspeare, and Valcor, she took on the human name of Hannah, thus living by the title for centuries, until her human death in 1988. She was revived along with many other dragons in Circles of Seven.
  • Sir Patrick/Valcor: Once the dragon Valcor (Hartanna's brother), Sir Patrick (as he is now known) has found a way to become fully human. He is Shiloh's father, and was forced to let Morgan take her after Shiloh received a snakebite only Morgan could cure (no prizes for guessing who was responsible for the snakebite). He explicitly forbade Morgan, however, to use Shiloh as a hostiam viventium, or a living sacrifice.
  • Timothy Drake/Makaidos: Makaidos lived some time before Noah's Flood and was the male dragon chosen to board Noah's Ark to repopulate the dragon race with Thigocia. Because of this he became the King of Dragons. At first, Makaidos was hesitant because of the death of his father in Noah's Flood and that he respected Thigocia as a friend, rather than a mate (of course, over time these feelings evolved into true love). He and his daughter, Roxil, were the first to be slain by Devin and sent to Dragon's Rest. He somehow came back to life, fully human, and began his relationship with Thigocia, who had now become a human woman by the name of Hannah, to contribute in populating the earth with Anthrozils. He fathered two anthrozils with Hannah, Gabriel Drake and Ashley Stalworth, before he was slain again by Devin in 1988. For some reason Makaidos/Timothy was not sent back into Dragon's Rest, nor the Seventh Circle, with all other dragons who had died. Thigocia, Ashley and Walter are currently on a journey to discover his fate.

[edit] Underborns

  • Sapphira Adi: Originally named Mara, through the two books is 14. She has sapphire eyes and Lily White hair. She at first when seeing the destruction of the tower of Babel loathed the dragons and God. Than as the books go on she becomes the maiden of the eye of the oracle for God and she befriends many dragons and anthrozils but angers others as well. She is an Oracle of Fire. She and her sister were oracles of fire but her sister 'died' in the chasm of magma, Morgan tossed her in. While she is in the underworld, she meets Elam, a human that was kidnapped from his parents, through a hole in the wall, though they can't see each other. Later on in the first book of Oracles of Fire, Sapphira meets Elam in person and at the end of the book she admits her feelings to herself that she is in love with him.
  • Acacia: Acacia is Sapphira's twin sister and looks exactly like her. She too is an Oracle of Fire. She was thrown into the Chasm by Morgan and 'died'. She was brought up by her teacher who ended up being Enoch.
  • Paili: Another underborn. She and Sapphira are best friends. She ends up marrying Patrick together they had Shiloh, but later Paili is poisoned by Morgan. Acacia ends up carrying Paili to the alter of Heaven. When healed in heaven she doesn't remember anything about Patrick or Shiloh.

[edit] Human Characters

  • Walter: 15 years old. Billy's best pal. Although dangerous when food is involved (See the "Hamburger incident" in the first book), Walter is a staunch friend. He is fairly tough in his own right, and well capable of thinking on his feet. He is not repulsed or horrified to learn about the whole dragon thing-on the contrary, he thinks it's cool (rather strange in light of Billy's breath). Interestingly, Walter is a direct biological descendant of King Arthur, as revealed in Tears of A Dragon. Despite this, in The Candlestone he was unable to pull Excalibur from the stone. Evidently Billy, despite his more distant relation to Arthur, was the one God wanted to lead. As well, there exists indisputable evidence of some chemistry between Walter and Ashley. He is always thinking of new jokes.
  • Professor Charles Hamilton: Billy, Walter, and Bonnie's history teacher, and a former Oxford professor who recently moved in from England. (He had been teaching at Castlewood Middle School for about a year before meeting up with Billy.) Deeply religious, a "Christian of the old school" as he calls himself, he specializes in Arthurian legends (actually, it's hard to find anything he's not an expert in). Amazingly, it is revealed in The Candlestone that Professor Hamilton is a direct descendant of Merlin, whom he resembles so closely that when they were first introduced, Clefspeare actually mistook the Professor for Merlin himself.
  • Marilyn Bannister: Billy Bannister's mother. She has no dragon blood in her, but she has often been endangered as well by the slayers because she is married to a dragon and her son is an anthrozil. She's up to the task, though, and not at all squeamish about self-defense- she once remarked that if the slayers tried anything they'd find out that Billy wasn't the only one "packing heat".
  • Sir Albert Devin/Dr. Edward Whittier: A dragon slayer with a list of aliases a mile long. He is bent on destroying every anthrozil and dragon in existence in order to thwart Merlin's prophecies. He is completely allied with the forces of darkness, and it is probably more than coincidence that his name is one letter away from Devil. He has lived since the time of King Arthur because he is able to draw youthful energy from the Candlestone he possesses, and from infusions of the blood of the dragons that he slays. He also allied with Morgan Le Fay, who has given him this ability of long life.
  • Palin: Sir Devin's squire. Though he is also one of the bad guys, he is not as bad as Devin because he actually believes that he is doing the right thing.
  • Shiloh: Shiloh is a girl whom Bonnie found trapped in the Sixth Circle. She looks just like Bonnie minus the wings which makes sense because she is Bonnie's cousin. She is not an anthrozil, however, because her father, Valcor, found a way to become fully human before Shiloh was born. Her mother ia an underborn named Paili, who was left in the world above by Sapphira Adi. She has lived in the sixth circle for forty years, arriving there three days after her fifteenth birthday. She is the one character besides Elam to eat the fruit of the tree of life, making her immune to Morgan Le Fay's poisons and possibly immortal.

[edit] Other Characters

  • Gandalf: Billy's cat. A minor character, but a good one. Gandalf offers readers a living connection of sorts to Billy's love of animals, as he came from the same shelter that Billy continues to donate his profits to. Gandalf is no doubt named after the wizard in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
  • Hambone: An old bloodhound belonging to an equally elderly "hillbilly" named Arlo Hatfield, Hambone's tracking skills are unmatched. He was called in to try to find Billy's dad after the plane went down, and later made it possible for Billy and his mother to find Clefspeare. Hambone took a bullet meant for Billy, so Billy took him in during the Candlestone until his health was restored, at which time he returned him to Arlo.
  • Larry: Ashley Stalworth's supercomputer, Larry shows up in Circles of Seven. Non-living he may be, but he is definitely a character. His most notable feature personality-wise is his unparalleled sarcasm, which is only made worse (from the viewpoint of his fellow characters) by his virtually unlimited sources of information and tendency to download the most annoying bits of info whenever he goes looking for a "snack", resulting in everything from incessant rhyming to constant quoting of Shakespeare with a southern accent. Some readers have noted that he has an attitude like Herbie, the famous smart-alec VW Beetle.

[edit] Biblical and Historical figures

  • King Arthur: Arthur is a well-known King of England. During his reign he was somewhat fearful and distrustful of the dragons because of the traitorous pursuits of Goliath, only having faith in his advisor, Merlin's trust in them. He requested the dragons assist his forces against the Saxons, to which the dragons agreed. Morgan also tricked Arthur into believing she was his sister for a time by drugging him. Fortunately Merlin was able to bring the king back to his senses and strengthen his trust in the dragons to the point that Arthur adopted Reginald/Jared (Clefspeare) and Irene (Hartanna) as his son and daughter respectively after they had gained human form. It was also revealed that Jared's human form strongly resembles Arthur himself to the point that Devin mistook him for the king when his back was turned. The knights that followed Arthur and their descendents believed that one day Arthur will return in spirit in the form of one of his descendents to bring new light to the world and defeat evil. This descendent proved to be Billy Bannister.
  • Elam: One of the sons of Shem, one of Noah's son. He was captured when he was living on earth by Morgan and taken to the underworld. Even so, Elam had a very strong faith in the Lord and just kept on getting by. He was forced to work with Nabal a giant that used to torment Sapphira. Sapphira finds him and they begin to become pretty close to each other. He can't age because he was forced to eat from the tree of life, when he was in Morgan's domain in the underworld. Later in the stories he becomes Markus after coming to the land of the living, helping Patrick and his wife. Elam after a few years he sets off on a mission from merlin himself. In the second book of Oracles of Fire, Enoch's Ghost you find out that he is in love with Sapphira Adi, but they are separated for the time being because he is in different worlds.
  • Father Enoch: A wise and just man, born long before Noah's Flood. During Eye of the Oracle he spoke through a red egg-like device known as the Ovulum, also known as the Eye of the Oracle. The Ovulum was passed on to Noah as well as many other characters throughout the series. Enoch did not think highly of Nimrod's attempt to enter Heaven. Enoch also acted as a teacher to many different protagonists, including Acacia and Elam. He now dwells peacefully at Heaven's Altar and on rare occasions is allowed to leave Heaven in order to help those in need.
  • Joseph of Arimathea: During their journey in the Circles of Seven, Billy and Bonnie are assisted by another spiritual guide named Joseph. Joseph first appears in the first Circle as a butler-like old man and gave the duo an umbrella for protection from the rain. He then appears as a younger man and provides a picnic with food for Billy and Bonnie. Billy noted his change in appearance and Joseph replied saying that it truly didn't matter what something appeared on the outside. In the Seventh Circle, Joseph helped Billy carry Bonnie's body to the Holy Grail, during this time he told Billy that Bonnie is a precious lamb, but a long time ago he carried an even more precious lamb (probably referring to Jesus himself). Later in Enoch's Ghost it is revealed that he assisted Paili and Acacia reach Heaven's Altar.
  • Lucifer: Lucifer, otherwise known as Satan, is, in truth, the source of all evil in the series. He is called "The First Dragon" and because of this, prejudice spread among humans towards dragons. Morgan and Samyaza swear their allegiance to him and worship him as a god. Lucifer himself appears in physical form as a dragon in Circles of Seven in the first Circle. He tempts Bonnie into eating the forbidden fruit and to gaze at her own reflection (by making her believe she was becoming a true dragon) but she refused. When Billy pierced Lucifer's body using Excalibur, black snakes dripped from the wound like blood and coiled around Bonnie. Lucifer again appears before Billy in the dark pit of Tartarus, taunting him and tempting him to eat the forbidden fruit as well. Again he fails, although he was slightly more successful in his efforts towards Billy than Bonnie.
  • Merlin: Merlin was King Arthur's advisor long long ago, as well as a devout prophet of God. He was knowledgable in the ways of the afterlife and the supernatural and was a trusted friend among the dragons. It was he who turned all of the dragons human in order to hide them from the wrath of the dragon slayers that sought to eliminate them. When Sir Devin plotted to overthrow Arthur, he used Excalibur's translumination beam to turn himself and the mutionous knights into light and were sucked into the Candlestone. When Billy and Bonnie became trapped in the Candlestone, he assisted them in their escape. He was temporarily freed from the Candlestone and Professor Hamilton became the host for his mind and soul temporarily until Billy was able to separate the two using Excalibur. After this Merlin guided Ashley's grandfather's deceased soul to heaven. During his time when he was one with the professor, Merlin imparted important knowledge in Hamilton's mind that would later help Hamilton and his friends/allies in their later adventures. After the destruction of the Candlestone, Merlin continued to act as a spiritual guide to Billy and Bonnie and guided them in their journey in Dragon's Rest.
  • Morgan Le Fay: Morgan used to be human. She was born some time before Noah's Flood as Lilith (she also claimed to Billy that she was also the Lady of the Lake that gave Excalibur to King Arthur), and she was the wife of one of the Watchers (an exceptionally nasty group of fallen angels, the Watchers were the fathers of the Nephilim), Samyaza. She learned much dark magic from her husband, but she lost her humanity in the process. Time is short for her if she cannot regain her humanity, and the only way for her to do that is to find a willing "hostiam", a host she can possess (the same way a demon does). The requirements are strict: it must be a girl or a woman. The hostiam must willingly give herself to Morgan if she (the hostiam) is of age. If not, Morgan can only do it with the permission of the hostiam's legal guardian. And for some reason the hostiam must be kin to the king, either by blood or adoption. Morgan hopes to trick Billy into letting her have Bonnie, since Bonnie's dying father told Billy to take care of Bonnie, but Billy refuses, and she ends up with Walter's sister, Shelly Foley, as her hostiam for a time.
  • King Nimrod: A Biblical king born some time after Noah's Flood. He attempted to defy the laws of Heaven and set out to build a tower that would reach the Heavens, allowing normal people to gain access to Heaven and God. He once possessed Excalibur and the first Candlestone, which gave him an advantage against the dragons that attempted to undo his efforts. He died when he shed some of Sapphira's blood, because of the "curse" on her. It is revealed in Eye of the Oracle that Devin is a descendent of Nimrod. Nimrod's son, Mardon, now carries on his legacy.
  • Noah: A righteous man, commanded by God during the time of the flood in order to build an ark to protect his family as well as two of every animal species in order to repopulate the world after the flood had receded. He was friends with Makaidos and Thigocia, as well as the rest of dragonkind. He lived long after the flood as well, acting as an advisor to Makaidos and teaching him about the Messiah. In Enoch's Ghost, Thigocia, with the help of an oracle, was able to see that Noah now dwells happily in Heaven with his family.
  • Samyaza: Morgan's husband and the leader of the fallen angels and demons, the Watchers. He is allied with Satan and commands some of the demons under Satan's control. He taught Morgan how to use black magic allowing her to become a powerful sorceress. He was imprisoned within the Depths of Tartarus in the Seventh Circle until Billy was forced to release him along with his army of fallen angels when Shiloh and Clefespeare also were imprisoned there. He took Ashley to assist in freeing Devin from the Candlestone in Tears of a Dragon and personally fought Clefspeare in the final battle, where he was defeated for good.

[edit] Poems

This is an actual poem from Dragons In Our Midst, taken from the first book in the series, Raising Dragons. It seems to have been written before Merlin gave the dragons human form, since it does not mention the event.

Merlin's Riddle

When dragons flew in days of old

With valor in their wings,

One fell prey to evil's song

And learned what Satan sings.

Goliath, stained with Satan's words,

Made other dragons flee,

For songs like leaven spread decay

Corrupting souls born free.

Now Satan's scales coat dragon lore;

He hides between the lines.

He sings foul words in books corrupt

And dances on their spines

Are dragons vile? Are dragons tame?

Depends on whom you ask.

Do scales hide tricks of Satan when

He dons a fearful mask?

One man corrupted all his kin;

One dragon brought all shame.

One man redeemed his fallen race;

Will dragons find the same?

Yet dragons dwell in hearts of men,

From God and some from baals,

And some sing songs with angel's wings,

While most chant Satan's scales.

God redeems what man cannot

Forgives whate'er thou didst

Who else can save the men of earth

With dragons in our midst?


Merlin received this word from the Lord after the dragons became human:

Merlin's Prophecy

When hybrid meets the fallen seed

The virgin seedling flies

An orphaned waif shall call to me

When blossom meets the skies.

The child of doubt will find his rest

And meet his virgin bride.

A dragon shorn will live again

Rejecting Eden's pride.

A slayer comes and with his host

He fights the last of thee

But faith alone shall win the war

The test of those set free.

A king shall rise of Arthur's mold

The prophet's book in hand.

He takes the sword from mountain stone

To rescue captive bands.

This poem shows that Billy is the Child of Doubt, Bonnie is the virgin bride, Sapphira is the hybrid, orphaned waif and virgin seedling.

Merlin's Promise

With Sword and stone,

The Holy knight,

Darkness as his bane,

will gather warriors in the light,

cast in heaven's flame.

He comes to save a remnant band,

searching with his maid,

but in a sea of sadness finds,

his warriors lying splayed.

A valley deep, A valley long,

Lay angels dry & dead,

Now who can wake their cold, stone hearts,

Their bones on tablespread?

Like wine that flows in skins made new,

The spirit pours out fresh,

Can hymns of love bring fourth the dead,

and give them hearts of flesh?

O will you learn from words of faith,

that sings in psalms from heaven,

to valley floors where terrors lurk,

In Circles Numbering Seven?

[edit] Trivia

  • In Circles of Seven it is revealed that prior to the dragons' transformation into human form, Clefspeare and Hartanna had been betrothed. Alas, circumstances were against them-it just wasn't meant to be (read the book Raising Dragons to see why they didn't just marry anyway, since they were both turned into humans). However, in a bit of irony, one of Merlin's prophesies indicates that Billy and Bonnie will one day marry.
  • Although Tears of a Dragon marks the end of the series, the prequel to the series, "Eye of the Oracle" and the other three books in the "Oracles of Fire" series ("Enoch's Ghost", "Last of the Nephilim", and "The Bones of Makaidos") cover the adventures of Walter, Ashley, Thigocia, and Karen, as well as other characters introduced in "Eye of the Oracle". The title of this series is connected to a reference to "Oracles of Fire" in Tears of A Dragon while Billy and Bonnie were exploring the resting place for dragons' souls called "Dragon's Rest".
  • Before becoming human, Hartanna and Clefspeare was in line to be the next Queen and King of The Dragons. The loss of her and his birthright was compensated somewhat when King Arthur adopted her and him as his daughter, thereby making her a princess and Clefspeare a prince among humans.
  • Because King Arthur adopted Clefspeare and Hartanna, Billy and Bonnie are, in terms of law, cousins (of sorts). Thank The Maker they are only so in legal terms. Thigocia was the mother of Goliath, Roxil, Valcor, Hartanna, and others. Goliath and Roxil are the parents of Clefspeare, which makes Bonnie Billy's great-aunt!
  • As is only fitting for someone who is a prince (of sorts) Billy's first name means "bold protector."
  • In Merlin's prophecy, Billy is the "child of doubt." And in case it isn't obvious, Bonnie is the virgin bride. Clefspeare is the dragon shorn, and humanity is Eden's pride.
  • Roxil almost kills her grandson, Billy in the circle of seven.
  • Bonnie's father subjected her to a unique brand of child abuse. He drew samples of her blood for experiments with the photoreceptors it contained, which are the source of a dragon or anthrozil's power, longevity, and healing abilities.
  • Bryan Davis makes references to The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, series of which that have been compared to Dragons in Our Midst, several times in the series (such as Excalibur being similar to a lightsaber and Ashley being a fan of Lord of the Rings). This is probably intentional from the reviews Bryan received from his story. The series also makes references to Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, more specifically the Inferno portion of it.

[edit] External links