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Quasar Riders of Zonardia Book 1: Lost Child
SPOILERS BELOW!!
Synopsis
The Princess's Imprisonment
The opening chapter reveals that a state of civil war is befalling a long-forgotten land of Battal, Zonardia. The last remaining members of the Rainbow Wings, champions of Loftia have stolen secret plans to the Bloodwings's secret weapon - the Moon of Doom, a floating sphere of magic and technology capable of leveling entire cities with a single blast. With that much power, the Empress Corvax would be able to conquer Zonardia, and then the rest of Battal. The Rainbow Wings have also recovered a rare Quasar Egg from the Imperial Storehouse.
Princess Enya Featherlight of Loftia is trying to transport the plans and the egg back to the Rainbow Wings base, but Bloodwings forces under the command of the Death Elemenstor and second in command to the Emperess, Lord Gunter Schwartzhart capture the Princess' caravan near Port Quagon with the help of the Vampyre sorcerer known as Razaghoul. The Princess was going to Port Quagon to seek safe passage down to the Shield so that he could enlist the help of Brahma Von Salomi, an exiled former Quasar Rider and a former comrade of her father.
Lord Schwartzhart is enraged by the resistance and kills the leader of the carvan. Fleeing into the forest, Princess Featherlight is wounded by a minotaur attack, but before being captured, she is able to give the egg and encoded information to her loyal Furniliars: the cowardly and prissy Chester Drawers and the fiesty but unintelligable Deetu the Ottoman. She then manages to strike the Air Gear Airport to teleport them as far to Von Salomi as she can manage.
On the Shield, the Furniliars end up landing in the Grasslands of Blee but are captured by Indie'Ahns.
Raven's Awakening
Meanwhile, Raven Darkblood is working as a common stablegirl in Blee, living with her childhood friend Isaac Purcheron, his younger sister Moonbeam Purcheron, and his uncle and aunt - Beryl Purcheron and Keg Purcheron. Now 17, Raven is feeling bored and dissapointed with her life. Although she traveled Battal for years, she never found another person who was half-human and half-dragon. She is beginning to feel tedium from settling down after a childhood full of adventures, and is also beginning to find it frustrating that Isaac still treats her like a little sister despite a long and unrequited crush she has on him.
Raven is heartbroken when Isaac announces that he wishes to leave the Purcherson ranch and move to the next town over to become a tavernkeeper and marry a girl he met there. After a heartbreaking farewell, Isaac leaves the the farm to seek his fortune.
An Indie'Ahn caravan comes into town, and Keg buys Chester and Deetu from the Indie'Ahn traders to replace Isaac. Chester tells Raven that Deetu is pleading with her to help her find Brahma Von Salomi. Thinking that the little Ottoman has become mildy FurniPated, Raven ignores it and polishes out the wear and tear on Chester and finds Princess Enya's message and a mysterious stone inside of him. When Raven touches the stone, it squeaks and hatches into a strange purple Dragon-like creature. Raven is also horrified to realize that she's sprouted hair on the palm of her right hand. Raven names the little creature Turqoisio and decides to raise it as a pet, since she's been lonely since Isaac left.
Raven raises the tiny creature for several months, discovering that it is able to communicate with her by projecting holographic images out of its eyes. She feeds it and it grows rapidly. She eventually starts teaching it how to read, so it can display more literal messages by projecting text.
Returning to the farm one night after trying to see if Turqoisio is ready to fly, Chester informs Raven that Deetu said it had finally found Von Salomi. The next day, they search Blee, but are attacked by a couple of Red Troll bandits, but are rescued by a well-timed Dryad's Perfume Gear strike from "Crazy Mildred", the local old and nutty cat lady. It turns out that Crazy Mildred was really Brahma Von Salomi all along. Von Salomi brings the young girl and the Furniliars back to her hut. Von Salomi recognizes the sign of the Harry Palm on Raven's hand, and reveals to Raven that she is far from being the last of her kind, and that an entire race of her people flourish on a lost continent in the sky known as Zonardia - and that Von Salomi knew Raven's father. Von Salomi reveals the history of the Quasar Riders, once peace keepers of Zonardia, they were betrayed by two traitors amongst their midst named - Senator Corvax and Lord Schwartzhart, who betrayed and murdered Raven's father.
Von Salomi begins to relate the basics of Sorcery to Raven. Brahma Von Salomi then reads the message from Princess Enya, which asks him to take Deetu to the Rainbow Wing's secret base in the Land of Wind and Ghosts. Raven returns to the Purcherson farm to find it has been decimated, along with the nomadic Indie'Ahn tribe, by minotaurs riding on Giant Stink Bees.
Flight to the Misplaced Continent
Raven takes up an offer Von Salomi made to help train her in the ways of a Quasar Rider. Turqoiso has now learned to fly, but is not yet strong enough to carry all four of them. The group finds the solution to their problems in Captain Drim Brick, a rougish and devil-may care spica smuggler and Ambersion, his Boar Man partner. Captain Brick happens to own a getalt furniliar made up of hundreds of flying chairs lashed together he calls the Eon Rawk Hawk. Brick agrees to transport them to Zonardia, but on the way to the Eon Rawk Hawk, they are attacked by the Bloodwing's bee-riding minotaurs and make a speedy launch.
The Perils of Princess Enya
Meanwhile, at a Gerrian base in Illsuir-Asule, Enya remains imprisoned and has resisted interrogation using her half-elf and Air Elemenstor powers. However, when threatened with the destruction of her vacation home in Penquasar, she discloses that the Rainbow Wing base is in the Westerling Wastes. The Gerr Empire Admiral Fihzal T'thon destroys Penquasaur using the half-completed Moon of Doom anyway, as a display of power. Later, when it is discovered that the base in the Westernling Wastes is deserted, T'thon orders the Princess to be brought before Empress Corvax.
Landfall in the Desert
Brick touches down the Eon Rawk Hawk in the desert of the Westerling Wastes, but it was heavily damaged in a dogfight with the minotaurs and Giant Stink Bees. Brick was planning on leaving Zonardia after dropping off Raven, Von Salomi, Chester, and Deetu, but now he realizes that he and Ambersion must accompany them until they find an experienced enough Stream Elemenstor to repair the damage. They make it to the Maudeeb Oasis and purchase horses to ride on, with Raven and Turqosio flying above as reconasaince. On the way out of town, they stop in The Gemerald Cantina, where Brahma Von Valomi gets to display her amazing swordwoman and sorcery skills by easily slaying two insane psychopaths who harass Raven inside.
Brick discovers that the Bloodwings have taken control of the minds of feral minotaur Duruds by convincing them that they need to consume the knowledge of Ayle by drinking as much of it as possible. Additionally, the Bloodwings supplied these Duruds with enough ale to intoxicate many of their bretheren. The subsequent epidemic of suggestion-prone-aylekaholism among the minotaur has thrown them into a state of deep bloodlustiness... and for some reason, the epedemic riding of giant foul-smelling bees. (Probably, it looked like fun at the time)
Noting that the minotaur and their giant steeds need a constant supply of Ayle to keep themselves from eating eachother, the seven heroes go to Port Quagon, in the hopes that they can trace shipments of Ayle, which is exceedingly rare in Zonardia. By tracing the ayle-and-urine-soaked-path of the drunken minotaur, they hope to discover where Princess Enya is being held. En route to Port Quagon, Von Salomi instructs Raven in the use of sorcery, sword-fighting, and archery - and gives Raven her father's sword - Lightsabroc.
The Town of Port Quagon
At the town of Port Quagon, they meet Hazelica the Elf-Witch and her familiar, Snooglepuss who reveal amazing propechies about Raven's future. There's also 50 pages of Raven trying on various hats of all sizes and shapes, before eventually deciding that they make her look fat.
The Daring Rescue
The seven heroes reach Illsuir-Asule, having tracked the movements of the minotaurs to the dark city. Inside Brahma Von Salomi tries to seek out Lord Schwartzhart, while Raven convinces Captain Drim Brick to assist in rescuing the princess with promises of riches and fame. Brahma Von Salomi encounters Lord Schwartzhart, and a duel of blades and Elemenstation ensues.
Meanwhile, Drim, Raven, Chester, Turqoisio, and Deetu storm the local base and make a daring rescue of the Princess. They also free another captive, the mysterious and brooding rogue swordsman and Fire Elemenstor, Ariphas Hardfall. They are confronted by Razaghoul the Vampyre. Raven duels Razaghoul, and is nearly defeated until Ariphas Hardfall hits him with a Hell Shryke.
On their way out the Gerrian fortress, the companions see Von Salomi and Lord Schwartzhart dueling, distracting the minotaur troops. Von Salomi allows herself to be struck down by Schwartzhart, causing her body to dissapear, leaving nothing behind but a cloak and some filthy, flithly undergarments. Raven is horrified, but his companions drag him out of the town with the Gerrian forces in hot pursuit, taking the Princess and Ariphas with them.
Disco Dance Party
The gang takes a detour to Berry Town, where they have a drunken disco dance party, and chug fermented berry juice while gettin' down. Ariphas, particularly, makes a drunken pass at Drim, Turqoisio, Chester, Princess Enya, Raven, Deetu, and Ambersion - in that order.
To the Rainbow Wing Base
The eight heroes head north, accross the haunted range of canyons, deserts, and spare prairie that comprises the land of wind and ghosts, to get to King Grograman’s Desert Fortress, the current Rainbow Wing base. On the way there, Ariphas reveals he is actually the estranged son of Lord Schwartzhart. Behind them, a Gerr Imperial Army comprised chiefly of minotaurs follows them, having let them escape so they could discover the rebel base.
The gang of eight reach the Desert Fortress just in time to shield themselves from the army. Ariphas is locked up, but not because of his parontage, but because of his drunken groping of Princess Enya back at Berrytown. Raven is introduced to the current leader of the Rainbow Wings, Weitzell Kern. They are also introduced to Private Zharkia A'shon and Ceruleo, who were the only remaining Quasar Rider team the Rainbow Wings actually had until Raven and Turqoisio arrived.
Plans are made to send Raven to Psilocybe to complete her training amongst the High-Elves. Raven starts to develope a small infatuation with Drim, who is infatuated with Princess Enya, who secretly fancies Ambersion - and Ariphas is silently brooding in a cell, and experiencing extreme bouts of emo while wanting to do everyone. Raven is also pleasantly surprised to find Hazelica and Snooglepuss amongst the Rainbow Wings.
Meanwhile, Drim has been paid, he's found a Brickabracker to repair the Eon Rawk Hawk, and is planning to leave along with Ambersion.
The Ring of Detour
Two Tribbits show up at the base and ask Raven to toss a ring into Mount Firecracker. She does so with ease via flight, causing several Sorcerers on The Shield to explode. Then she returns to the Land of Windd and Ghosts.
Two Climatic Semi-Final Battles
A team of burrowers discover that the army of Minotaur is burrowing under the Desert Fortress, poised to overtake it. In addition, with knowledge of its location, Admiral Fihzal T'thon has the Moon of Doom moved into position over the Land of Wind and Ghosts.
The Rainbow Wings retrieve the Moon of Doom plans from Deetu and prepare to assault it, using Raven and Zharkia alone. The tactic involves using the Quasar to sneeze Jehreg into a large gaping portal in the Moon that has "Please Do Not Sneeze Acidic Snot into this Hole - Thank You, the Mngmt." Raven and Zharkia manage to accomplish it, with surprise help from Drick and Ambersion in the Eon Rawk Hawk who helps blast Lord Gunter Schwartzhart and his own personal Quasar out of the sky. The Moon of Doom explodes in a huge pyrotecnic display.
Meanwhile, in King Grograman’s Desert Fortress, Princess Enya and Ariphas Hardfall confront and slay Razaghoul, releasing the minotaur army from his control.
In a civil ceremony at the Fortress, Raven, Drim, and Ariphas awarded medals by Enya for their valor in the battle. Ambersion doesn't get one, because Enya is racist, so he walks up to her and punches her unconcious while everyone else looks away and whistles.
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