The Warrior & The Dragon

About the Book

THE WARRIOR & THE DRAGON

A Tale of Magic, Transformation, and Discovery

Jason returns from the Succession War a broken man, haunted by the weight of battle and desperate for the quiet refuge of Smoky Springs. But peace, it seems, was never truly his to claim.

Entrusted with delivering a sacred athamé and awakening the dormant magic that stirs within him, Jason quickly finds himself hunted. Erlender, a calculating and ruthless necromancer, has set his sights on the kalasha Jason carries — an object of power that the necromancer will stop at nothing to possess.

In the wilderness between danger and destiny, Jason encounters Akela — a wolf who walks in human skin. Through her guidance and an unshakable bond forged in trust, Jason undergoes an astonishing transformation, shedding his mortal form and stepping into the ancient, formidable body of a dragon. It is only then that the threads of a long-forgotten prophecy begin to reveal themselves — one that Jason had never heard of, yet had somehow been living all along.

When he intervenes in a kidnapping, still wearing his dragon skin, Jason's presence draws unwanted attention to Smoky Springs and lays bare how defenseless his community truly is. Refusing to leave them exposed, he takes matters into his own hands, training the valley's women and children in hand-to-hand combat and the art of the quarter staff.

His preparations are tested sooner than expected. A savage, coordinated attack led by a necromancer descends upon the valley, and the residents stand their ground with everything Jason taught them. They hold — but victory comes at a steep cost. Jason is left gravely wounded, his body pushed beyond its limits.

It is in this fragile state that the deeper layers of his journey begin to unfold. With the help of the valley's healer, he finally unlocks the magic that has lived inside him all along. A fae steps forward to guide him, teaching him to wield what he has only just discovered.

For six years, Jason has lived with the shadow of Erlender at his back — always close, never quite close enough to strike. Then, carried on a cold whisper of wind, the truth arrives: Erlender has found Smoky Springs.

Now Jason must face the choice he has long dreaded—pursue the path laid out by fate, or stand between the necromancer and the people he swore to protect. Both roads demand everything he has. Only one can define who he truly is.

About the Author

My first short story, in 1960, was about the first astronaut to orbit the Earth. It was barely fiction; Yuri Gagarin did it in 1961, and John Glenn a year later.

In high school, I wrote a story about a device that suppressed the survival instinct, leaving its victim defenseless against a waiting predator. I also wrote one set amidst the chaos of World War II.

Writing took a back seat in college. In 1973, having earned an MS in Math, I tried storytelling again. But the road back filled with ideas that failed to take shape.

Three themes kept returning, though. The first was a young man caught in the snare of magic, seeking the means to defend himself. The second involved dragons drawn into the messiness of human affairs, or watching humans attempt to meddle in theirs. The third followed a thief who made the mistake of stealing a cursed magical artifact. Each concept had potential, yet none of them grew into a full story.

My professional life followed a different path. My career in aerospace began as a student at Occidental College, where I held a part-time position at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. After graduation, I joined TRW and spent 30 years there before the company merged with Northrop Grumman, ending one chapter.

During my time at NG, I earned a secondary teaching credential. When a high school position didn't open, one at El Camino Community College did, and I taught there for 15 years. One of my most memorable moments came during a unit on non-Euclidean geometry. I introduced a group of non-STEM students to the Möbius strip and let them discover the strange and beautiful properties of that topological curiosity.

My teaching career ended just as the COVID-19 pandemic began. I returned to the stories that had never quite left. A few years later, The Warrior and The Dragon emerged; the book that those false starts had been preparing me to write all along.