Lumiscale

I know what you’re thinking.

You play D&D. You’ve read George RR Martin, Melanie Rawn, and Rebecca Yarros. You know the difference between a wyvern and a wyrm.

And you’ve never heard of a lumiscale.

Yep.

That’s because I made them up.

Hey, I’m a writer! That’s what I do!

Besides, dragons make fantasy better, right? Right?

Now that we have that out of the way, let me tell you how these little guys came to be.

They were born in the making of my second book, Blood on the Ferns, alongside the umbrathril.

The umbrathril came first. It was dark and a little scary, so I wanted … the opposite. If the umbrathril was a creature of darkness, I wanted this to be a creature of light. Something luminous.

With scales.

A lumi-scale.

Get it?

I know, maybe I could have tried harder on that one. But I like it.

And so I imagined a little dragon with delicate wings and a bioluminescent lure it uses to catch its insect prey. An elegant creature that glows softly and guides lost travellers.

The very last thing you’d imagine in a brutal environment that pits monster against monster in fights to the death.

And the worst part? It was so peaceful that it didn't even know what to do.

The umbrathril took pity on it and mercifully killed it quickly, so it wouldn’t have to endure a worse fate.

Gah, I cried.

But first… I had to come up with a whole backstory.

Obviously.

The lumiscale became a guardian of nature and lost travellers, using its light to guide them to safety. A creature of tranquillity and harmony, it is usually found in pristine environments, gracefully gliding through the air or coiling among the flora. It slides between the Upworld and the Slipworld with ease—here one moment, gone the next, a little like a will-o'-the-wisp. It seeks out seclusion and serenity, building nests in the tallest trees on either side of the veil or within delicate canopies, where its offspring can grow strong in peace.

And every dragon needs mythology, so I imagined it living somewhere in southern Asia, where, according to local legends (that I just made up), the lumiscale is regarded as a symbol of enlightenment and spiritual awakening. Lumiscales have a deep connection to ethereal realms—aka the Slipworld—and their luminescence represents knowledge, compassion, and inner wisdom.

Which is why killing one is considered sinful.

Encounters are thought to be a blessing as they bring a sense of wonder and enlightenment to those fortunate enough to see one.

Yeah…

Now you know why I cried when I had to kill one.

I’m going straight to heck.

I’m off to find my tissues again…