Norman the Dragon

The Friday dawned bright and clear exactly as predicted by the Astrologers, an unusual fact commented upon by the Broadsheets. Leticia stood on the Board and then fell off, landing in a small snowdrift. This process was repeated several times which caused the crowd to widen their circle about her. Gritting her teeth, she smiled at the representatives of the Broadsheets and regained her position. After a short while of settling, she climbed off and asked for a push from the top of the snow slopes. The Board was moved to its new location and settled in place. Leticia mounted the Board, scooped one foot in the snow and she started down the slope.

With a gut-churning wrench, the Board levelled, dipped, levelled again and accelerated at increasing rate towards the lower slopes in a manner more resemblant of an Olympic skier descending the Hahnenkamm. She extended her claws to the edge of the Board and as she disappeared from sight, a loud Whoop of joy was heard. The crowds dispersed and many made their way back to Town to be there in time for her arrival.

It was three days before she arrived. Her Board was scarred, burned and almost in pieces as she arrived on the bank by the dock. A crowd had gathered and gave loud cheers and many crowns to the assistants discretely placed with collection boxes. Leticia stepped onto terra firma and collapsed in a heap. She was taken to the Dragons' Errant Hospital.

All things considered, she did quite well, according to the Dragon-board expert covering the event for a Broadsheet and he didn't know all that happened. When she had recovered her more immediate problems, Leticia declined to answer questions about her journey save that it had been exciting. It is known that several areas of hitherto impenetrable and largely unknown forest were opened along the river bank. Unkind rumour had it that she had invented a new way of clearing forests by simply flattening or burning them at high speed. Others had it that the forests had simply been burned as the result of a Lightning storm.

Survey parties took weeks to study the course taken by Leticia in her decent. The Guild of Naturalists reported gleefully that they had found 27 new kinds of butterfly, 14 species of bird life and a small clan of Dragons hitherto thought extinct. The Loggers Union found several new sources of trees suitable for development. There was enough work to be done in clearing up the mess to keep the Penal Battalion going for several months.

Later in her recovery, when Leticia was able to take tea in the solarium with her friends, Automata noted that the wounds were healing well, but suggested that an opportunity presented itself for Leticia to take advantage of the new "corrective" action offered by the Hospital. Her friends nodded sagely.

Leticia donated the Board to the newly-formed Dragon-board Association as a trophy, but it was kept in isolated splendour in the new Northern township's Guild Hall. The work on her "corrective action" went so well that Leticia gave a large sum to the Dragon's Errant Hospital who built a wing named after her. The Leticia wing was kept quietly busy and they were very discrete but soon re-located high up on the snow line, not far from the new township in order to maintain some semblance of security.

Automata considered that all had gone well and put together a few lotions and potions for the Hospital at a tidy profit. She thought it might stand her in good stead if she ever had to have any corrective action.

And thus the Kingdom got a new highway to the North.