Version 1
quote:
Cirole pumped his wings twice then proceeded to glide. The green coast of Vandyer beckoned to him. An inviting change compared to the rocky cliffs of Scandalvine. Fifteen years of living on a steady diet of reindeer, walrus, and redheaded Scandalvinians had been enough for him.
Let’s see what Vandyer has to offer.
A chorus of squawks and honks caught his attention. Cirole tilted his leathery wings and maneuvered to tail the migrating geese. With a burst of speed, he cut through the center of the V and caught the lead gander in his teeth. He looked back to see the flock scatter in all directions. His eye ridges quivered in delight to see how well he disrupted their formation. He chewed, then swallowed. Even the geese taste better here.
Version 2
quote:
Cirole pumped his wings twice then proceeded to glide. Vandyer beckoned to him. He flew over its green pastures, filled with abundant livestock and healthy wild life, once. Dalgan the Mighty chased him and his fellow youngling brothers off centuries ago.
Let’s see what Vandyer has to offer now.
Towns and small cities dotted the countryside. Wide expanses of plowed fields filled the spaces between. Over the mountain ridge, a large city nestled in a sparkling blue bay. Cirole took note of the extravagant palace at its center. In every other city resided its own castle. Perfect.
The thought of settling in Vandyer began to appeal to Cirole. First he would need to deal with its infamous dragon guardian.
Version 3
quote:
Cirole spit out the old leathery boot. He worked his tongue along the back of his teeth; the taste of moldy clothes was still there. He eyed the offending boot and spat a small ball of fire at it. Startled yelps of terror came from the back of cave. The last ten Scandalvians huddled together, trembling in the furthest corner. He glanced at them and groaned.
I’ll lose the contents of my third gullet if I eat another dry, bony red-haired northerner ever again.
Cirole stepped out of his cave and sniffed the air. His ears perked when he caught a whiff from the brewery from across the sea. Over there was the land of plenty, of ale, of his favorite dish, and his greatest rival, Dalgan the Mighty.
[This message has been edited by snapper (edited November 23, 2008).]
...I would read more
That said version 1 reads better to my untrained eye.
Version 1 is clearer for me but not compelling. My problem is here you are with something hunting - I did like to reference to eating the Scandalvinians, it told me that Cirole isn't a humanoid, but no tension. Are the people below him shouting "Egads, it's a bird, it's a flying boat, it's a ????" or not. In the second version we still have the boring hunt and a bunch of names I had trouble parsing but the end was a reference to "its infamous dragon guardian." Could Cirole be the tiniest bit anxious before that point about running into the guardian while he's flying over Vandyer land? Also, what made him come "back" (?) after 15 years?
If you keep the first paragraph from the first version and the second paragraph from the second version, it might hook better. Then Cicole can go off geese hunting.
Startled yelps of terror Probably just me, but I don't really associate "startled" and "yelps" with great terror. I think they're more of a surprised reaction, but if they're in a dragons cave and have just watched him eat one of their mates then I'd expect a stronger reaction.
I’ll lose the contents of my third gullet if I eat another dry, bony red-haired northerner ever again. This move into 1st comes out of nowhere. Maybe you forgot to italicize it or something?
His ears perked when he caught a whiff from the brewery from across the sea. I thought it a bit strange that his ears perk when he catches the smell. Also, the repetition of "from" is distracting. Maybe "he caught a whiff of the brewery from across the sea" or "he caught a whiff from the brewery across the sea".
Over there was the land of plenty, of ale, of his favorite dish, and his greatest rival, Dalgan the Mighty. Slightly confusing sentence, that one. The biggest hook I see in this opening is Dalgan--maybe give him his own sentence? On the first (speed) read through, I thought for a moment that Dalgan was his favourite dish. I can't see many making that mistake but I still think the mention of Dalgan will have more effect given his own sentence rather than stuck on the end of that long winding sentence. At the moment he is last on a list which includes the very vague "plenty", "ale", and some unspecified "dish"...it doesn't make him sound very important to say he is Cirole's greatest rival.
Good luck with it