Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Black Dragon Codex by R.D. Henham


In the Black Dragon Codex you follow the adventure of the black dragon whelp, Septimus, and the thief Satia. Septimus is trying to start a hoard so he can be recognized as an adult dragon. He waits patiently in human form at an auction for a rare valuable magical artifact. When he loses the auction he becomes angry and ravages the town in his dragon form. Meanwhile Satia sneaks out of the mission home she is staying in and goes to check on her friends in the auction. However she is captured by the angry Septimus.

Septimus takes her to the cave, where he lives with his mother. However before they even land they are attacked by a wizard. Septimus's mother tries to fight him, but is captured by the wizard. Before he can capture her son however she forces him to change into human form and he fall from the air with Satia and escapes. The two are forced to work together, despite their distrust, if only to escape the wizard. Satia mainly working with Septimus to find his mother, because he threatened to kill her otherwise. Not the best working relationship, but good enough for them.

After a couple of tumble ins with the wizard they get captured by these slave owners. They are forced to mine with the goblins that are trapped there. Satia convinces Septimus that they can escape if they catch the hobgoblins by surprise. They smuggle explosives from the mining site and plant them around the camp of hobgoblins. Satia goes to help a stuck goblin in the blast zone, however she gets buried in dirt from the explosion."The last thing Satia saw was a dark flow of earth that bore her over the edge of the crevice." (Henham 84) She is later dug out by the goblins. Satia and Septimus later escape with the help of the prisoners.

They stage a rescue mission on the wizards castle with the help of a goblin from the camp called Gneech. They sneak through abandoned passage ways and eventually rescue Septimus's mother."Pausing he climbed over a fallen mass of rocks within a deep corridor." (129) I'll stop there so I don't spoil the ending.

1) Do you think Satia should go on working with Septimus even though he threatens her? Or should she try to escape and leave Septimus to fend for his own looking for his mother?

2) Even though Septimus wants to leave on his own, and be recognized as an adult he still feels the need to help his mother. He is still a little boy at heart. As young adults we are starting to look to try and make a life of our own. Is it important to rely on your parents even though you are trying to be a adult, or should you make your own way without any help?

11 comments:

Brandon Messner said...

1. I do think that Satia should keep working with Septimus because an escape would be too risky. From what I understand, Septimus is much more powerful. Thus, it would not be wise to try an escape. Besides, why would Satia need to leave him?

2. I think that parents exist to guide you no matter how old you are. They will always be older and wiser than you and I think that that is one of their main duties: to help. So, I do think young adults should still rely on their parents, just not as much as children.

Josie D 7/8 said...

1. Satia should keep working with Septimus, even though he did threaten her. At that point, she is probably too far in helping him to be able to leave without feeling some sort of guilt. Besides, I think she should help him find his mother, since his mother did help to save Satia's life.

2. It is important to realy on your parents even though you are trying to become an adult. Your parents have had experiences you have never had and can give good advice about how to handle situations you have never even thought of. In order to grow up and become an adult, you have to learn how to accept live and learn from your parents.

Millie W. 7/8 said...

@Brandon
She would probably leave so she could go back to her city. After all if Septimus hadn't kidnapped her then she would still be there and not on the run from the wizard with him. Yes, I think parents are always there to help as well.

@Josie
Yes but septimus got her in that danger in the first place, so the feeling is a bit contradictory. His mother saved her along with him, but he kidnapped her. I imagine she would get lost if she did try to run away anyways. That is just my speculation though.

Kyle N.1-2 said...

1. I think Satia should keep working with Septimus, because not only do they seem to work together well through their distrust, Septimus is a dragon...he can probably fly and find her again, and he won't be very forgiving then.

Kyle N.1-2 said...

I forgot number two earlier...
2. I think everyone should stay loyal to their parents no matter what age you are. Without them, you would never even BE where you are, nonetheless exist. I think you should always rely on your parents for help, even though it is sometimes EXTREMELY hard to do so.

Freddy B. 7-8 said...

1. I think Satia should help Septimus because he needs help. However, she has no obligation to do so and could leave without any guilt.
2. We definitely need to rely on our parents throughout our life, but only in some amount. We cannot rely on them for everything, yet we need them for some things.

Ashlyn W. 7-8 said...

1. I think Satia should keep working with him because she really does not need to leave. Leaving him would be too dangerous also. I think she should just stay with him and help him out even though he threatens her.

Abby M. 1-2 said...

1. I really think that the answer to question one depends on how thier relationship has evolved throughout the book. If it is the same as it was when the book began, where Septimus is constantly threatening Satia with death, then obviously Satia should leave him for her own safety and freedom. However, it seems as though the two got through a lot together in the book and thier relationship may have become more then just one of fear and hate. If this is the case, then Satia should perhaps stay with him.
2. I think that young adults, and even adults who are out on their own always need their parents. Though we must learn lessons for ourselves in life, we always still need the wisdom and advice of our parents, who have been there before us and can teach us from their experiences. I think that it is important to rely on your parents, but not to the point that you need them constantly, as this is just a sign that you are not strong enough to go out on your own.

Paige G. 7-8 said...

I think as teens we should slowly stop relying on our parents help. Instead of them being guardians they should become more like advisors.

Sydney S. 1-2 said...

I think that Satia should try and help Septimus out, because he needs her to help him.

It is important for children to rely on their parents. Its part of a parent's job to be there for their children. However, as they start to grow older, I think the parents should help out less and less, and let them discover things on their own. Like Paige said, I believe they should become more like advisors.

Mrs. Sherwood said...

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