Prince Michael and The Dragon

Prince Michael and the Dragon is a short book about a young prince in a mythical kingdom (El) who leaves his home and family for a far off land to slay an evil dragon. The setting for the story begins with a father who is still in the process of grieving the loss of a young son (Lionel) and begins telling a bedtime story to his two remaining sons (Michael and John). As the story opens a messenger arrives to the king's castle to report the appearance of a dreadful dragon in the northwest territory. At the same time a messenger from the King of Heaven appears and says only Michael can slay the dragon with his sword "Avenger" and he would be accompanied by two companions he had not yet met. Michael then sets off for the northwest territory to find and slay the dragon. Along the way he meets a great hunter named Zackery, who becomes one of his companions. When he and Zackery reach a small village, Shocho, not far from where the dragon is located, they meet a knight named Aaron, who is the second companion. While in the village, staying at an inn, Michael and his companions are kidnapped by minions of the evil lord Diabolos. He remains in a dark dungeon for several days and is prompted by the thought of merely pushing on the door. When he does so the door flies open. He then locates his companions Zackery and Aaron and frees them. Together they make their way to the great chamber of Diabolos and have to fight their way out of the castle. In the process of the fight Zackery is mortally wounded and Michael, using an amulet his sister Mary gave him, is able to heal Zackery's wound. As they begin to leave the castle, they notice Diabolos and his army leaving the castle to invade the land of El. At this point, being forewarned by a messenger, The King of El is forced to quickly gather as many forces as he can to defend his land. His children John, Lionel, and Mary assist in the preparations. At the same time Michael and his companions are seeking out the dragon, which is also the evil lord Diabolos' source of power. Michael and his companions, in the process of locating the dragon, are forced to slay a giant and rescue a beautiful princess named Alethia. When the dragon appears Michael and his companions fight an exhausting battle with the dragon and almost despair of slaying it. However, using his mighty sword Avenger, and Mary's amulet, Michael is able to slay the dragon. As Michael and his friends are busy fighting the dragon, the King of El works hard to save his kingdom from Diabolos' onslaught. During these battles Prince Lionel is killed along with many other soldiers of the king. Once, however, Michael has killed the dragon, Diabolos loses his power and he and his army can no longer stand against the Kingdom of El. At this time, the kingdom is saved and the dragon and Diabolos are dead. When Michael returns home with his companions and Princess Alethia, it is a happy time mixed with sadness over the death of Lionel and so many soldiers. As the court is gathered together to celebrate the end of the battle, Prince Lionel appears as a messenger from the King of Heaven to tell his family that he has taken his place in the presence of the King of Heaven, and they too had places reserved for them one day. At the direction of the King of Heaven Michael marries Alethia and becomes King of the North.