Dragon Keeper
Encyclopedia
Dragonkeeper is a children's fantasy
novel by Australian author Carole Wilkinson
. It is the first book of the Dragonkeeper trilogy. The second book is Garden of the Purple Dragon
, first published in 2005, and the third Dragon Moon
, first published in 2007. There is also a prequel to the original Dragonkeeper novel called Dragon Dawn
. Dragonkeeper won several Australian awards, including the 2003 Aurealis Award for best young-adult novel.
The novel is set in ancient China, during the Han Dynasty
. A slave girl saves the life of an ageing dragon and escapes her brutal master. Pursued by a ruthless dragon hunter, the girl and the dragon make an epic journey across China carrying a mysterious stone that must be protected. This is a story of a young slave girl who believes she is not worthy of a name but finds within herself that the strength and courage
to make this perilous journey, and do what must be done.
, an aging dragon
, his wife (who soon dies), and a young slave girl are used, abused and neglected by the cruel Master Lan. Nameless and alone, the slave girl is without hope and her only friend is her pet rat, Hua. After one of the Imperial Dragons, the mate of the aging one, suddenly dies, the slave girl feels guilty and responsible. She finds herself coming to the aid of the last dragon, Danzi. The two escape, but when the emperor finds out that one of his dragons is dead, Master Lan blames it on her and she finds herself chased by the imperial guard
s, who believe she is an evil sorceress. A necromancer and a dragon hunter, who are determined to kill the dragon and take the dragon's stone, are chasing her and the dragon. The dragon, Long Danzi (meaning courageous dragon), tells the slave girl her true name: Ping
(meaning duckweed). Ping discovers her destiny as Dragon Keeper, but she is unaware that the dragon stone is an egg. Now she and the dragon must go on a dangerous journey across China to Ocean, an apparent magical healing place. She must protect a mysterious stone that is vital to the dragon's legacy. While travelling with Danzi, Ping learns many things that will, in time, help her with her struggles. Ping also learns the value of friendship and courage. After, Danzi and Hua must go over Ocean when they're hurt by Diao, the dragon hunter. The stone (now found to be an egg) hatches, and out of it comes...a purple vegetable. Or at least that is what Ping thinks. Eventually Danzi claims it is a baby dragon. It moves, and just before Danzi leaves, he gives the baby a name: Long Kai Duan. Ping is now left alone with the baby dragon. The last of the first.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
novel by Australian author Carole Wilkinson
Carole Wilkinson
Carole Wilkinson is an award-winning Australian writer, best known for Dragonkeeper .-Career:Wilkinson's family emigrated to Australia when she was 12 in 1963. Up to the age of 40 she worked as a laboratory assistant until she decided on a change of career.To help her achieve her goal she studied...
. It is the first book of the Dragonkeeper trilogy. The second book is Garden of the Purple Dragon
Garden of the Purple Dragon
Garden of the Purple Dragon is a children's fantasy novel by Carole Wilkinson, published on September, 2005, by Macmillan Publishers. It is the second in the Dragonkeeper series and the predecessor to Dragon Moon...
, first published in 2005, and the third Dragon Moon
Dragon Moon
Dragon Moon is a children's fantasy novel by Carole Wilkinson, first published in 2007. It is the final book of the Dragonkeeper Trilogy. The books before it are Dragonkeeper and Garden of the Purple Dragon. The trilogy, based in ancient China, during the Han Dynasty, has won many awards...
, first published in 2007. There is also a prequel to the original Dragonkeeper novel called Dragon Dawn
Dragon Dawn
Dragon Dawn is an adventure module published in 1989 for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Plot summary:Dragon Dawn is a Dragonlance adventure scenario which explores the continent of Taladas, which was not involved with the War of the Lance; in this adventure, the player characters...
. Dragonkeeper won several Australian awards, including the 2003 Aurealis Award for best young-adult novel.
The novel is set in ancient China, during the Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
. A slave girl saves the life of an ageing dragon and escapes her brutal master. Pursued by a ruthless dragon hunter, the girl and the dragon make an epic journey across China carrying a mysterious stone that must be protected. This is a story of a young slave girl who believes she is not worthy of a name but finds within herself that the strength and courage
to make this perilous journey, and do what must be done.
Plot introduction
In the far western mountains of the Han Empire in ancient ChinaHistory of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
, an aging dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
, his wife (who soon dies), and a young slave girl are used, abused and neglected by the cruel Master Lan. Nameless and alone, the slave girl is without hope and her only friend is her pet rat, Hua. After one of the Imperial Dragons, the mate of the aging one, suddenly dies, the slave girl feels guilty and responsible. She finds herself coming to the aid of the last dragon, Danzi. The two escape, but when the emperor finds out that one of his dragons is dead, Master Lan blames it on her and she finds herself chased by the imperial guard
Imperial Guard
The Imperial Guard was originally a small group of elite soldiers of the French Army under the direct command of Napoleon I, but grew considerably over time. It acted as his bodyguard and tactical reserve, and he was careful of its use in battle...
s, who believe she is an evil sorceress. A necromancer and a dragon hunter, who are determined to kill the dragon and take the dragon's stone, are chasing her and the dragon. The dragon, Long Danzi (meaning courageous dragon), tells the slave girl her true name: Ping
Ping
Ping is a computer network administration utility used to test the reachability of a host on an Internet Protocol network and to measure the round-trip time for messages sent from the originating host to a destination computer...
(meaning duckweed). Ping discovers her destiny as Dragon Keeper, but she is unaware that the dragon stone is an egg. Now she and the dragon must go on a dangerous journey across China to Ocean, an apparent magical healing place. She must protect a mysterious stone that is vital to the dragon's legacy. While travelling with Danzi, Ping learns many things that will, in time, help her with her struggles. Ping also learns the value of friendship and courage. After, Danzi and Hua must go over Ocean when they're hurt by Diao, the dragon hunter. The stone (now found to be an egg) hatches, and out of it comes...a purple vegetable. Or at least that is what Ping thinks. Eventually Danzi claims it is a baby dragon. It moves, and just before Danzi leaves, he gives the baby a name: Long Kai Duan. Ping is now left alone with the baby dragon. The last of the first.
Major characters
- Ping - a slave girl who Long Danzi offers the position of the new Dragon Keeper and to journey with him to the ocean .
- Hua - a rat Ping carries around with her. Her only friend before she meets Long Danzi. Danzi disliked Hua until Hua ate a centipede that crawled into Danzi's ear.
- Long Danzi - an ancient green dragon; the last wild imperial dragon in the Han Empire. He travels with Ping to the ocean where he takes a mysterious stone, but he won't explain to Ping what it is. His name means 'courageous dragon'
- Long Kai Duan- a baby dragon- son of Long Danzi and Lu Yu - a dead dragon, who was made into pickle and eaten after she died. The dragon stone is the egg of Kai. His name means 'Beginning'
- Master Lan- Ping's master- a lazy and cruel man - fake Dragon Keeper
- Diao - Dragon Hunter Diao, who hunts Long Danzi throughout the novel for the dragon's body and his stone (the dragon egg).
- Wang Cao - a herbalist who used to be Long Danzi's companion until they were separated by dragon hunters.Wang Cao Wished to be Dragonkeeper
- Jiang Bing - a boat woman secretly working with "The Necromancer".
- "The Necromancer" - Necromancer who had possession of Long Danzi's stone and has an evil desire for it. He acquires it from Diao after Ping and Long Danzi lose it.
- Liu Che - Young Emperor of China and Ping's friend for a short while. His father died after eating the Dragon Pickle of Lu Yu, Danzi's mate who died because of misery like most of the other imperial dragons.
Main awards
(Younger Readers) 2004 Children's Book Council of Australia Awards.- Best Children's Book 2004 Queensland Premier's Literary Award.
- Best Young Adult Book 2003 Aurealis Awards.
- Winner of the 2006 Kids Own Australian Literary Awards (KOALA) Older Readers.
- Winner of the 2006 Kalbacher Klapperschlange Award (Germany)
Other awards
Dragonkeeper also was:- Shortlisted for the 2006 COOL (Canberra's Own Outstanding List) Award.
- Shortlisted for the 2004 NSW Premier's Literary Awards.