Before the dragons roar again in Celestial Convergence, meet Thump Valeon’s newest headache and Lyra’el’s most mischievous fox.

Valeon hadn’t asked for a companion. Certainly not a fox.

But there he was fur the color of autumn fire, tail flicking, eyes gleaming with mischief. He sat right in the middle of the path to Lyra’el as if the great floating city had been built just for him.

Valeon pinched the bridge of his nose. What in all the realms was Lord Karrenen thinking, giving me this creature?

The fox blinked up at him, then thumped his tail against the stone. Once. Twice. The sound echoed like a drumbeat of defiance.

“I am not naming you,” Valeon muttered.

The golden banners of Goldmoor swayed in the high-vaulted hall, sunlight streaming through windows to gild the polished stone. Courtiers gathered in nervous clusters, their whispers subdued as King Alex and Queen Jeanne entered, regal side by side.

At their heels padded Casper, the cougar’s tawny coat gleaming in the light. Where guards stood with steel, Casper carried no weapon but his presence. His amber eyes swept the chamber, and silence followed in his wake.

A messenger stumbled forward, breathless with tidings of unrest beyond the borders. Unease rippled through the court. Jeanne’s hand gripped the throne’s arm as tension weighed heavy, but Casper pressed against her side, a low rumble steadying her resolve.

Alex’s gaze fell upon the cougar, and a flicker of pride touched his stern features. “Even our fiercest knights could not hold this hall so still,” he said quietly, for Jeanne’s ears alone.

The Queen rose, steadied by the…

Just a fun fact from behind the scrolls of Vacari…

There’s a black panther in the books—graceful, fierce, and unapologetically loyal. Her name? Pumpkin.

What many readers may not know is that Pumpkin is inspired by someone very real: my own little black cat, also named Pumpkin. 🖤

Her personality—the sass, the sharp glances, the smug purring when she’s pretending not to care—is entirely her own. I didn’t invent her. I just gave her longer claws and a forest to rule.

In the story, Pumpkin has become a loyal companion to Keisha and a small but mighty presence in a world of dragons, darkness, and destiny. And every time she curls up by the fire or takes down something twice her size, know this: she’s channeling a real cat who is absolutely certain she runs my house.

(She’s not wrong.)

A side tale from E’vahona, in which a certain panther is not amused.

They left her.

Again.

Not with a heartfelt goodbye.

Not with a whispered promise.

Just… gone. One morning, Keisha’s scent was fading on the wind. Ong’s too. The skies stirred with dragon wings, and Pumpkin had watched from the treetop, tail twitching.