Amos Daragon_ The Mask Wearer - Bryan Perro [0]
Text copyright © 2003 by Bryan Perro
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York. Originally published in Canada as Amos Daragon, Porteur de Masques, by Bryan Perro, copyright © 2003 by Les Éditions des Intouchables, in paperback, by Les Éditions des Intouchables, Quebec, in 2003.
Delacorte Press is a registered trademark and the colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Perro, Bryan.
[Porteur de masques. English]
The mask wearer / Bryan Perro ; translated from the French by Y. Maudet. — 1st US ed.
p. cm. — (Amos Daragon)
Summary: To defeat the forces of evil which threaten his world, young Amos Daragon, aided by mythical animal friends, sets out on a journey to find four masks that harness the forces of nature and sixteen powerful stones that give the masks their magic.
eISBN: 978-0-375-89693-4
[1. Fantasy. 2. Adventure and adventurers—Fiction. 3. Prophecies—Fiction. 4. Good and evil Fiction.] I. Maudet, Y. II. Title. PZ7.P4342Mas 2011
[Fic]—dc22
2010023725
Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.
v3.1
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Prologue
1. The Bay of Caverns
2. Lord Edonf, the Stone Soup, and the Horses
3. Bratel-la-Grande
4. Beorf
5. The Game of Truth
6. Banished
7. The Druid
8. The Old Woman’s Egg
9. Beorf, the Gorgons, and the Naga
10. The Storyteller
11. The Woods of Tarkasis
12. Beorf and Medusa
13. The Return to Berrion
14. The Eyes of Medusa
15. The New Mission
16. The Berrion Army
17. The Battle
18. Barthelemy, Lord of Bratel-la-Grande
Mythological Lexicon
About the Author
PROLOGUE
Among the world’s most ancient legends exists the story of masks endowed with great power. These masks—priceless and known to bear the sacred magic of the elements—were given to a few human beings who possessed tremendous courage and spirit. There were four masks: one each for earth, air, fire, and water, as well as sixteen stones from which the masks drew their extraordinary strength. In the eternal fight between good and evil, between day and night, between the gods of the positive and negative worlds, the task of these chosen humans was to restore the balance between these forces.
Amos Daragon, son of Urban and Frilla Daragon, was one of those selected to accomplish this mission. From the day of his birth, his destiny was foretold by the Lady in White, who wrote it down in gold letters in the great history of heroes. As supreme goddess of the world, she was patiently waiting for the day Amos would realize his potential.
THE BAY OF CAVERNS
The realm of Omain was a magnificent place. A dark-stoned castle overlooked a small city with tidy streets. High above, mountains whose tops were covered in perpetual snow encircled the kingdom. From these snowy tops, a wide and winding river cascaded down the slopes and ran directly to the center of town in the valley.
There was also a small fishing seaport swarming with small and brightly colored boats. When the hush of nighttime fell over the fish market, the citizens were lulled to sleep by the sound of the ocean waves. Every morning, dozens of fishermen followed the river, raising the triangular sails of their wooden boats and casting their nets and fishing lines into the cove.
The streets of Omain were unpaved. One traveled them either on foot or riding a donkey. Every inhabitant was poor, with the exception of Lord Edonf, who lived in the castle. He was the ruler of this little paradise