HOW TO SAVE THE DYNASTY

HOW TO SAVE THE DYNASTY, by Mary Soon Lee, Artwork by Andrea Alemmano

How to Save the Dynasty

 

     Set out brush, paper, inkstone.

     Record the lineage of the dragon.

 

Rinse one river dragon in melted snow;

remove ribs and lungs, then truss.

 

Roast at low heat over phoenix ashes,

basting each midnight with cinnamon oil.

 

     Do not weep. Remember the battles,

     the cemeteries razed by the enemy.

 

On the sixth day, stuff dragon cavity

with wolf heads soaked in bamboo sap.

 

On the twelfth day, remove from heat.

Set on salt while preparing sauce.

 

     Do not weep. Fetch your sword,

     the sword that slew the dragon.

 

Tap your left median cubital vein

collecting blood in an iron chalice.

 

Whisk with starlight harvested

from the White Tiger of the West.

 

Serve cold to the enemy commanders

while promising fame and immortality.

 

     You will be damned with them.

     Redemption requires sacrifice.

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Mary Soon Lee is a Grand Master of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association, and winner of the AnLab Readers’ Award, Dwarf Stars Award, Elgin Award, Rhysling Award, and Utopia Award. An illustrated edition of her epic fantasy The Sign of the Dragon was published in 2025. She hides behind a cryptically named website (marysoonlee.com) and BlueSky account (@marysoonlee.bsky.social).

Andrea Alemanno  is a compulsive illustrator  who fills the line spacing, preferably at 300 dpi.
He’s  from Italy and loves to move into a new city searching for inspiration. In every city,  he constantly keeps drawing.  Now, 3 decades later (and a little bit more), he is  still drawing and learning something new everyday.  He loves the traditional touch into a digital tools world so uses pencil, ink and digital colors to give life to his artwork.  Sometimes he shares his knowledge with wannabe illustrators.  His work has been selected for several awards and he’s currently working for Italian and international publishers.