Epic Sail – part 30
Wow! The group found the treasure and it’s even more powerful than they imagined!
When I wrote this story I had no idea that Douglas would have the missing pieces of the puzzle I needed for this joke. He was just there for a skeleton crew joke. It’s nice the way things turn out.
I was trying to come with a name for the dragon that was as impressive to me as Mark Oakley’s dragon from Theives and Kings, Cespinarve Rogue. (BTW, it’s an amazing series, and if you like fantasy you should give it a shot!) I was even excited when I was playing Baldur’s Gate, Throne of Baal, and discovered I had a house imp called Cespenar. (BTW, it’s an amazing series of video games, if you like fantasy, you should give it a shot! They recently revamped the original BG game.) But I didn’t just want to use a Cess-like name. My wife suggested Nestrom, (thanks, honey!) and I came up with the last name by looking through synonyms for juggernaut. I also discovered that thesaurus.com lists Goliath’s first synonym as Hercules. David vs Hercules would have been a very different story, I think.
So what are some of your favourite names you’ve read for dragons?
September 30th, 2012 at 1:13 am
Nestrom is an anagram of Monster.
September 30th, 2012 at 1:16 am
In DDO (dungeons and dragons online), all the dragon names are written in the D&D dragon language. In one dungeon, there’s a mind flayer controlling a dragon (named Aussircaex, or white sword). The PCs break his control, and he gets eaten. His name is Darastrix Achthend, or dragon food.
September 30th, 2012 at 10:12 am
Ingeloakastimazilian!! Also known as Icingdeath (From Icewind Dale stories)
Also Alduin and every other dragon named in the game, Skyrim. (I love how they describe a dragons breath attack as being made from 3 words of dragon language, so dragon fights are really just some wicked shouting contests.)
September 30th, 2012 at 10:28 am
Ribuprissin – Good eye! You must be top notch at Scrabble and English literature analysis! Nestrom was a complete subconscious thought though. I’ve never played DDO. Be sure to recommend Princess Planet to your guild members! 🙂
Hoppy – Icing death? He must have been fondant. That stuff is gross. 😛
September 30th, 2012 at 7:15 pm
Rats, I finally reached the end?! Aw. Well, I guess I have no more excuse for putting off doing my homework, then.
September 30th, 2012 at 9:40 pm
I’ve always been partial to the name that Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat) of the X-Men gave hers: Lockheed. (Then again, I *am* a big Aviation History buff…)
October 1st, 2012 at 10:22 am
Diana – I’m glad you devoured the planet!
Renyard61 – Agreed. I didn’t know what it meant at the time I read the comic, but it sounded cool.
October 1st, 2012 at 4:11 pm
Skeletons are really hard to draw, yet they’re fun and interesting.. especially if you’re just guessing or making a fictional creature..
nestrom here must have interesting looking wings since his wing arms are one solid bone with no elbow. Maybe he flits like a huge insect!
October 2nd, 2012 at 8:51 am
ColdFusion: Yeah, you’re right. That’s s drawing flaw on my part. I didn’t research a bird or bat’s wings before I drew that. I’ll fix it in my George Lucas years.
October 3rd, 2012 at 4:28 pm
I remembered another…. Bazil Broketail from a series written by Christopher Rowley. Neat story about dragons that fight for a human empire, and they use dragon-sized swords, shields, maces and such. Maybe Nestrom will use a sword! A really, really big scary one. 😛
October 6th, 2012 at 1:01 pm
Where I live, it’d be more common to say, “I found these fair and square.” I haven’t heard the expression “fair and keepers” before this.
October 6th, 2012 at 2:58 pm
Wolf Emperor – Yeah, “fair and square” is the common term that I’m riffing on. I’m mixing it with “finder’s keepers, losers weepers”.
November 9th, 2012 at 11:36 pm
I think Glaurung was a pretty evocative name. He was one of the first dragons in Tolkien’s Middle-earth. Read about him in The Children of Húrin and see if he fits the definition of evil you mentioned earlier.
May 31st, 2014 at 11:33 pm
I quite liked Chatulio from Year of Rogue Dragons. His name wasn’t super intimidating, but then neither was he, preferring to use deception, illusion and quick thinking instead of brute force.