Meet the characters

Dragons, fairies, gnomes, elves, werewolves and vampires. Daemons, harpies and even a few zombies. A princess, and an evil, though disturbingly handsome king.

Crispin Scales and the Golden Pearl is set in The Realm, a vast and magical land containing the Five Kingdoms – the watery Kingdom of Aequor (where Crispin lives), the Southern Kingdom of Lights, the Silex Mountains, the Pinguesco Crus Desert and the Central Forest Kingdom, home of the dragon King Podus Ducis.

Crispin Scales

Crispin Scales is the clumsiest dragon in the Realm. Unfortunate – because an ancient spell has chosen him to save the world, embedding a golden pearl in his chest to prove it.

When his best friend, the Princess Marlo, is kidnapped by King Gary and his side-kick, the evil armoured dragon Lux, Crispin reluctantly teams up with the rebellious witch Chance to try and save her. All standard stuff really – except Crispin must first learn to control his magic, escape a hungry pack of bloodhounds and get past the two-headed dragon.

Oh, and it would be quite helpful if he could avoid being killed. Something he’s not particularly good at.

Princess Marlo

Princess Ai-ting Marlo Pax Shuǐ is the only daughter of Maozhen Pax Shuǐ, the Emperor of Aequor. Marlo has almond coloured skin, violet eyes and luxuriously long black hair. Even though she is a princess, she has been allowed to run wild and her quick, bright smile is marred by a small chip in a front tooth, broken on one of her many adventures collecting phoenix eggs on the San Islands.

Marlo is fiery and intelligent, with the swiftness of a gazelle and the heart of a warrior.

Mage Retep

Mage Retep Pero Sol is the Kingdom of Aequor’s wizard. Despite a fondness for dumplings and moon cakes, he is a thin, wiry man who more resembles the palace fool than its respected wise man. Black-rimmed glasses frame his myopic blue eyes, with salt and pepper eyebrows that crawl across their tops like hairy caterpillars. He pulls his long grey hair back in a ponytail by a thick, leather braid, its tasselled ends capped with small square sapphires.

Mage Retep must train Crispin for his impending Coming of Age Ceremony, a job he finds a lot harder and much more frustrating than he thought it would be.

Chance

Chance is a young witch from the Silex Mountains sent to live with her father, Mage Retep, when she is expelled from witches’ school. Ever the rebel, Chance has dyed the silky straight tips of her long, white-blond hair a rich purple. Her favourite accessory is a wide black leather belt, an assortment of knives, baubles and chains hanging from it like an oversized charm bracelet.

Clever, and powerful for a witch her age, Chance would rather fly around on her air-skater causing havoc, than help Crispin rescue Marlo, a task she reluctantly agrees to do.