Because a significant portion of this series takes place in Luntharda, there will be a LOT of new creatures and beasts introduced, as well as reappearances of some old favorites from the first. Here’s a quick look at some of what’s in store for readers just in SAVAGE …

FAUNDRA – We saw a few glimpses of them in The Dragonrider Chronicles, but they will play a much more significant role in this series. Since the elves are now at peace with their jungle home again, they are utilizing faundra once again. They use these majestic, elk-like creatures as mounts, as well as farming them for their meat. In size, they are taller than a horse but with a much shorter body length. The males have a set of long, regal white horns that are often worn by gray elf royalty.

SNAGWOLVES – The “scrunt” from Lady in the Water was such an impactful villain to me, and he was part of the inspiration behind these jackal-like predators from Luntharda. They have leafy-looking pelts that mimic the jungle floor so they can stalk their prey. Usually hunting in large packs of around twenty, they use their numbers to deter larger predators from attacking them. Their greatest weapons are their toothy jaws, which clamp down much like an alligator’s with incredible force. Once bitten, it’s nearly impossible to escape their grip.

SURTEK – A lone predator of Luntharda, this monster lives primarily in the trees and hunts by night. Despite its size, the surtek can move with incredible speed and agility – which it uses to stalk its prey of choice, shrikes. Gray elves fear this creature for its stealth, speed, and unsettling ability to electrocute its prey using a pair of bony, protruding pincers around its mouth. The pincers also have inward facing teeth that are angled inward so that the more a prey object struggles, the more stuck it becomes. Definitely not something you’d want to stumble across on your own!

And of course, DRAGONS – Can’t leave them out, can I? Once again, we will see lots from the dragons that call the sea cliffs of Maldobar their natural home. In size, they are typically twelve to thirteen feet tall. The dominant male, called a king drake, may grow to twenty feet. In the wild, they primarily eat fish and small game animals. Newly hatched dragons weight about fifteen pounds and remain at the nest to be fed and guarded by their mother. They remain close to her even after they learn to fly, which occurs about 3 months after they hatch. Female hatchlings will generally remain with the mothers longer than the males, who strike out on their own to compete for a social standing in their flock. They come in a wide variety of colors and temperaments, although the dragonriders prefer bold colors and patterns and aggressive, stoic personalities for their mounts!