Verminaard - The Last Dragon: The Out of Series, #3

By Marcel Pujol

Verminaard, the dragon that ravages the Kingdom of Pigotry, has kidnapped Princess Loreley, daughter of King Novak. Before the princess was kidnapped in broad daylight, there were almost no cows left in the kingdom, such was the dragon's appetite.
Gastón the "Ladle", a bard by profession, arrives at the main square of the palace when Novak is offering a reward for saving his daughter. Remorak, a merchant who wants the monarch's deposition tricks the unsuspecting minstrel into accepting the mission of rescuing the princess from the dragon's lair, and a mission that begins as an impossible journey, an unattainable task, ends up being a life lesson for such dissimilar characters.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Marcel Pujol
• Release date: Aug 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223320579

Marcel Pujol

Marcel Pujol escribió entre 2005 y 2007 doce obras de los más variados temas y en diferentes géneros: thrillers, fantasía épica, compilados de cuentos, y también ensayos sobre temas tan serios como la histeria en la paternidad o el sistema carcelario uruguayo. En 2023 vuelve a tomar la pluma creativa y ya lleva escritos siete nuevos títulos... ¡Y va por más! A este autor no se le puede identificar con género ninguno, pero sí tiene un estilo muy marcado que atraviesa su obra: - Las tramas son atrapantes - Los diálogos entre los personajes tienen una agilidad y una adrenalina propias del cine de acción  - Los personajes principales progresan a través de la obra, y el ser que emerge de la novela puede tener escasos puntos de contacto con quien era al inicio - No hay personajes perfectos. Incluso los principales, van de los antihéroes a personajes con cualidades destacables, quizás, pero imperfectas. Un poco como cada uno de nosotros, ¿no es así?

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

In the Kingdom of Pigotry , terror had spread.

King Novak didn't know what to do about it. The dragon named Verminaard had eaten almost every last cow in his vast kingdom, and people were beginning to spread the rumor that he would come for the humans, too.

But King Novak could never have suspected that it would be his own daughter, Loreley, who the dragon would choose to be his first victim. The guards at the palace had watched helplessly as Verminaard took the princess in his massive claws and flew away, heading north toward the Mountains of Doom, where he had her lair. But the strangest thing of all...was...that the guards swore by their lives that Loreley had been led away screaming, and therefore...alive.

King Novak did not what to do. He loved his daughter, of course, but his weak bones from the passage of time prevented him from even thinking about the possibility of going to her rescue alone. On the other hand, he could not in good faith order the palace guards or anyone in his kingdom to go in search of her beloved Loreley, and rescue her from the jaws of the fearsome and perfidious dragon.

So he organized a tournament, in which a champion would be chosen to go to the rescue of the princess, but no one showed up. Desperate, he offered a large reward to whoever dared to face Verminaard, but no one would accept the challenge. He offered his palace, his daughter's hand, his throne and his crown, but no one was so foolish as to let himself be tempted even by all the gold in the world, since richness would be of no use to one, if the dragon killed them on the spot in the attempt to save the heiress to the throne of Pigotry.

Desperate, hopeless and even... a little disappointed by the lack of gallantry of the citizens of his kingdom, he gathered them all in the square and thus spoke to them from the balcony of the palace:

-  Dear fellow citizens. You have heard me in these days that have passed, to offer you jewels, gold, and even my own throne for whoever had the audacity to save my daughter, Princess Loreley, from the powerful reptile... but none of you accepted. And who can blame you, after all? You have families and homes to protect. That is why today, I have decided to speak to you not as the regent chosen by the popular will that I am, but as Loreley's father, whom you all know well. She is the best woman of science in the kingdom, and I don't say that as a father but as the irrefutable truth that she is, and she has helped greatly in the advances that occurred in Pigotry in recent years, such as the invention of the wheel with which we now move our carriages, and the plow without which we would

Reviews for Verminaard - The Last Dragon

[Marcel “Liceo 17” Pujol · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great book for children from 7 and onwards! It not only entertains, but it also makes the kids think. Very updated too on the most positive and progressive changes in society, such as genre equality. And a King that is elected for a 5 years' term? Amazing!