EDIT: Added a direct, verbatim quote from the story.


A short story set in the world of The Last Dragon Chronicles, inspired by the death and rebirth of Gideon in The Fire Ascending.

I’m currently deciding whether or not to continue this story. Comments welcome

When I first came up with this idea, I called it 'Song of the Firebird.' I changed it to match the trend the canon books followed. This is based on the origin story of Gawain, who was delivered to Guinevere by a golden eagle named Gideon - an eagle that died almost immediately after he arrived. The actual death scene is based entirely on the canon, it's just in Gideon's perspective this time rather than Agawin's.

To the few of you who have actually READ The Fire Ascending, yes, I'm perfectly aware of who Gideon actually is. However, his backstory had plot holes in it the size of Texas.


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The Last Dragon Chronicles: Fire Song



I stood at attention before my queen, head held high and beak at a perfect horizontal. Internally, however, I was weeping. Gawaine, the last dragon, was at death's door. That sybil...she would pay for this, Godith would never allow such an affront to go unanswered. I would remain with her until her fire tear struck the earth, loyal until the very end.

I was a very old bird, a golden eagle whose feathers had long since lost their luster and talons were dulled with age. My sight was not what it used to be, either. I failed to protect her from the Sybil and now wanted nothing more than to die with her, to live out my own final moments at her side.

But this end was not for me, for my Queen had one final task for me to carry out.

”Gideon...” she whispered in dragontongue, lowering her mighty head to look me in the eye. “These wounds are grave...but they shall not be the end of me.” I said nothing but could not keep the confusion from my eyes. “It will take many centuries and I shall never see you again, but I will recover from this. I must sleep now, until the moment of my return comes and the Isenfier burns its brightest.” She paused and slowly withdrew something from under her wing. I could not see it but my heart raced. “I have one final task for you, ever-loyal Gideon. Fulfill it and you have my blessing to live out your final days in whatever way you wish.” She placed the object in front of me and I stared dumbstruck at the bronze egg before me. A dragon egg!

”Your...your majesty?” I asked haltingly, uncertain.

She nodded. “My son, the last of the dragons...protect him as you would me. Seek out the Sybil Gwilanna. You shall know what to do with the egg when you have found her. Her cave is many miles north of here.”

I nodded resolutely, placing a talon protectively on it. “And you, my Queen?”

Sadness filled her gaze and she shook her head. “Good-bye, Gideon. We shall never meet again - and I regret that very much.” She lay her head down and I turned toward the cave entrance. Grabbing the egg in both talons, I flew from the cavern into the night and set out in search of Gwilanna.



My heart soared, my wings given a strength I had not felt in years. I crossed rivers and forests in search of my goal, the cave of the the Sybil. However, as weeks passed and the wearling stirred within its shell, my strength ebbed and with it so did my resolve. The stops grew more common and longer, I was losing the will to continue...then I looked down at the egg and I felt a burst of strength, just enough to keep me moving forward.

By the time I finally found Gwilanna, however, I knew I had reached my end as well. My feathers were ragged and torn from the journey, my vision failing. I squawked desperately at the cave mouth and soon a young girl with fiery hair came running out, followed by a boy equally young. I did not see the Sybil, but my old heart beat a little faster knowing I had accomplished my goal. I could barely stand, but I made my message known to them perfectly clearly: “I have traveled far. I was sent to find shelter by the queen, Gawaine. This is her only surviving son.” My message delivered, I collapsed on the ground on the spot. However, as the boy carried the egg in the girl picked me up gently and I was brought into the warmth of the cave as well. They said some things to me in response, but I was barely conscious at that point.

I lost all sense of time after that. I remember seeing an old woman glaring at me at one point, but her sole interest was the egg. Eventually, it finally hatched. I would have given my left wing to have had lips, so I could smile at the wearling as he emerged. He resembled his mother so much. He looked around weakly, then saw me. I nodded to him and he opened his mouth - I thought to say something, but no words came out. Instead, a ball of fire emerged and struck me in the chest.

i felt no pain, but as the flames consumed me I knew I was dying. I did not hate the dragon for doing it; I saw pity rather hate in his eyes and knew this was an act of mercy. He knew I was at my journey’s conclusion and put an end to my suffering. I embraced the inferno.

The red-haired girl, however, did not. She grabbed me and ran to the river outside the cave, trying to extinguish the blaze. It was no use, dragon fire was not so easily put out. She was weeping as she embraced me, the flames having no effect on her. I wept my own tears as my vision faded, but they were tears of joy. Because of me, there was a new dragon in the world. My tears held no fire, no auma, I would not return to the earth like a dragon, but I cared not as long as I fulfilled my duty. It was comforting to know, however, that this girl would comfort a dying old bird in his final moments. I knew at that moment it was she I was meant to find, not Gwilanna.

As everything disappeared, a trill emerged from my beak - a song of sadness, an end to a life. Dragons sang at the end of their lives, sounds the unenlightened thought of as meaningless roars. It meant that life would always go on, even without them, and sometimes...sometimes because of them.

This was my swan song - no, my Fire Song.

I closed my eyes as the dragon fire touched my auma at my core and my body turned to ash in her arms.