Month: August 2026

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THE SERPENT‑ASCENDED: DRAGONS OF THE AUSTRALIAN REALMS

This week’s dragon is the…

CARPET PYTHON FOREST GUARDIAN

A dragon with moss‑patterned scales, leaf‑like wings, and a serpentine tail sits on a thick branch in a dense forest.

Draco spilota sylvanis — “The Canopy Warden”

Origin

Carpet Pythons’ arboreal strength produced a vine‑patterned forest dragon.

Physiology

  • Large, muscular body
  • Moss‑patterned scales
  • Prehensile tail
  • Wing membranes resembling leaves

Behaviour

  • Patient, strategic hunter
  • Protects forest territories
  • Uses constriction and aerial ambush

Habitat

Rainforests, eucalyptus forests, high canopies

Abilities

  • Forest Blend: Near‑perfect camouflage
  • Silent Glide: Minimal wing noise
  • Constrictor’s Embrace: Immense crushing power

Weaknesses

Avoids open terrain

Cultural Lore Forest clans believe these dragons judge the worth of travellers.

The below image illustrates a juvenile Draco spilota sylvanis, yet to fully develop into its adult form:

If you’re interested in seeing more of my creature posts, you can find them in my Bestiary.

Happy Reading!

Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. His titles are also available in libraries.

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The Dark Fantasy Worlds Behind My Books — And the Art They Inspire

A bright chrome machine with solar panels sticking out at the rear like mechanical wings, and 2 antennae poking up at the front. The machine sits on 4 legs atop a polished concrete floor. Red and black wires loop out the sides and D.E.D.D.1 is stenciled across the body.

Hello Readers,

Okay, so this image doesn’t really scream dark fantasy at all… right? But it is another AI generated image inspired from my books. This one is based on the machine in my short horror story ‘Darkness in Shadows’. The story is set in the 1980’s and the image was to reflect the style of the technology back then. While it has the elements I provided in the description, the image doesn’t look much like the machine I pictured in my head when I wrote the story. Anyway, I thought I would post it here for those that would like to see it anyway.

Happy Reading!

Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. You can also find his titles available in libraries.

If you liked this post, why not share it with your friends on social media.

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THE SERPENT‑ASCENDED: DRAGONS OF THE AUSTRALIAN REALMS

The next dragon in this series is the…

DEATH ADDER AMBUSH DRAKE

A small brown dragon with a short, thick body. The dragon sits amongst the leaf debris on the forest floor, breathing venomous breath.

Draco acanthophis occultus — “The Stillness That Hunts”

Origin

Death Adders’ ambush lifestyle shaped a compact, horned, viper‑like dragon.

Physiology

  • Short, thick body
  • Heavy skull with forward‑curving horns
  • Tail ends in a glowing lure
  • Camouflage scales resembling leaf litter or sand

Behaviour

  • Motionless for days
  • Strikes with explosive power
  • Uses lure to attract curious prey

Habitat

Forests, scrublands, desert edges

Abilities

  • Lure‑Glow: Hypnotic tail light
  • Venom Bolt: Short‑range venom blast
  • Perfect Stillness: Nearly invisible when stationary

Weaknesses

Low stamina; poor pursuit ability

Cultural Lore Hunters say if the forest goes silent, the Adder is watching.

The below image illustrates the Draco acanthophis occultus in ‘Perfect Stillness’.

A small brown dragon with a short, thick body. The dragon hides, almost invisible amongst the leaf debris on the forest floor.

If you’re interested in seeing more of my creature posts, you can find them in my Bestiary.

Happy Reading!

Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. His titles are also available in libraries.

If you liked this post please share it with your friends on social media.

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The Dark Fantasy Worlds Behind My Books — And the Art They Inspire

A group of mages and sorceresses sit around a large wooden table. A cloud of smoke swirls around a miniature castle in the centre and a small black dragon breathes fire at one of the mages beards. A tapestry on the wall behind, shows an open book with the words 'Making Magic' embroidered upon it.

Time for another image representing a scene from one of my stories. This one, generated with the use of AI, is a scene from my short story titled ‘Making Magic’. The story is set in the modern world and follows Alcus, a ‘would-be-writer’, on his visit to a writers’ group, where he meets a number of unique characters and experiences real magic. This is a short story with fantasy and horror themes, and plenty of laughs in between. As for the image, I couldn’t get the AI tool to give me all the characters the way I described them, and every time I asked it to fix something, it would change something else on another character. I’m slowly improving at writing my prompts to generate what I am asking for, but I still have a way to go, and with so many characters in this image, it was a big ask to get them all perfect. Anyway, the image represents the story scene well, even though it isn’t true to the characters descriptions.

Happy Reading!

Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. You can also find his titles available in libraries.

If you liked this post, why not share it with your friends on social media.

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THE SERPENT‑ASCENDED: DRAGONS OF THE AUSTRALIAN REALMS

TIGER STRIPE CHIMERA DRAKE

Draco scutatus variegatus — “The Pattern‑Shifter”

Origin

Tiger Snakes’ banding patterns evolved into adaptive camouflage abilities.

Physiology

  • Flexible, amphibious body
  • Scales shift between striped, mottled, or blotched patterns
  • Hooded crest with iridescent sheen
  • Webbed limbs

Behaviour

  • Highly adaptive; thrives in any biome
  • Uses pattern‑shifting to confuse predators
  • Hunts with sudden lunges

Habitat

Wetlands, forests, coasts

Abilities

  • Pattern Morph: Changes scale patterns instantly
  • Amphibious Breath: Toxic both in air and water
  • Hypnotic Display: Dazzling colour pulses

Weaknesses

Pattern‑shifting drains stamina

Cultural Lore Shamans call it “The Many‑Skinned One.”

The below is a rare image of a Draco scutatus variegatus hatchling, captured in its natural environment. The young drake is yet to develop its frilled, iridescent hood and its rear legs.

If you’re interested in seeing more of my creature posts, you can find them in my Bestiary.

Happy Reading!

Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. His titles are also available in libraries.

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The Dark Fantasy Worlds Behind My Books — And the Art They Inspire

A crazed looking old man in red overalls, holding a meat hook. He has patchy, wild white hair and and jokers grin. He stands in a rundown old room; the wallpaper is covered in red arcane symbols and is peeling from the walls.

Here we go with another image I have created using AI tools. This one is an illustration of a character known as ‘The Caretaker’ from my short horror story ‘Low Life’. Yes, I know the title of this blog post refers to dark fantasy worlds, but that’s not referring to the genre of the book, it’s referring to the world, and I reckon the world is dark and it is not real, therefore it is a fantasy world. Alright, I might be stretching things a bit, but how about we just let this one slide, eh?

Anyway, the world behind this piece of art is dark indeed, a rendition of a hell with 18 levels in fact. The idea came from the title and theme of the anthology that I originally wrote the short story for – ’18’, which was published by Vision Writers. I subsequently released the story on its own under my own imprint, and later included it in an anthology of my own short stories called ‘Ripples Through Murky Water’. Needless to say, I’m really pleased with how this image came out, it fits the description and portrays the character well. Again, this isn’t exactly how I pictured him in my head, but it is quite close. This version of the character kind of reminds me of a cross between Jack Nicholson in ‘The Shining’, and Christopher Lloyd as Doctor Emmet Brown (A.K.A ‘The Doc’) from ‘Back to the Future’. I don’t have a problem with that, after all one of these falls in the same genre, right?

Happy Reading!

Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. You can also find his titles available in libraries.

If you liked this post, why not share it with your friends on social media.

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THE SERPENT‑ASCENDED: DRAGONS OF THE AUSTRALIAN REALMS

This weeks post is for one of my personal favourites, the…

RED‑BELLIED EMBER DRAKE

A shiny black dragon with a bright red underbelly, sitting in a steaming river.

Draco porphyriacus ignis — “The Riverfire Serpent”

Origin

From the Red‑Bellied Black Snake, these drakes became semi‑aquatic fire‑aligned predators.

Physiology

  • Glossy obsidian scales
  • Underside glows ember‑red when agitated
  • Steam‑venting gills
  • Paddle‑like tail

Behaviour

  • Ambushes from riverbeds
  • Uses heat to boil water around prey
  • Highly protective of nesting sites

Habitat

Rivers, swamps, billabongs

Abilities

  • Steamfire Breath: Superheated vapour blast
  • Boiling Aura: Raises water temperature around it
  • Ember Flash: Blinding red flare from belly plates

Weaknesses

Vulnerable when fully dried out

Cultural Lore Said to be the guardian of sacred waterholes.

The below image illustrates the Draco porphyriacus ignis in a state of ‘Ember Flash’:

A black dragon engulfed in flame as its ember‑glow ignites the billabong in molten fury.

If you’re interested in seeing more of my creature posts, you can find them in my Bestiary.

Happy Reading!

Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. His titles are also available in libraries.

If you liked this post please share it with your friends on social media.