In the ancient world, dragons roamed among men. Villages made treaties, some even befriended the dragons. Some villages garnished protection from their flying friends, others simply made do with their existence.
After years of peace, fighting broke out. The men of the times worried the dragons would turn on them and attacked the creatures. Bounties were put out, battalions gathered, even traps set to capture the few unsuspecting dragons.
In all this, there was one village separate from the chaos. High in the mountains, the village of Kayon was a peaceful place. They knew very little of dragons until they saw the shadow of thick wings fly into the mountains above them. Terror filled Kayon as the people worried what horrors were in store.
The wise mayor decided in order to keep the beast at bay, they would send a patrol of men and women into the mountains and present the beast with mounds of food. The tradition was set. Every full moon the village would gather a tax of food and send it to the mountain tops to feed the great beast.
Time past and many forgot the old tales of the dragons. The village forgot the purpose of their tax but continued it nonetheless.
One night, a dark shadow passed from the mountain and disappeared into the darkness. Some witnessed the great beast, others claimed to have seen it, but many no longer believed such creatures existed. For those that believed fear was revived. They continued the tradition of bringing food to the mountain more vigorously than before.
Gail lived in a family of believers. Since his fifth birthday, he marched to the top of the mountain with his family and laid the food at an old alter. His belief grew with every trip, for each time they returned the food they had left was gone. With each trip, he desired the pleasure of seeing the great beast.
“The creature can move silently and make itself invisible,” Some would say.
“It would assume anyone to be food if they stayed,” Said others.
None of this changed Gail’s mind when he decided to watch for the dragon. When the time came to take the food Gail pretended illness. After his family had gone a ways to the mountain he snuck from bed and followed. Silently he watched as his family and every other believer, placed mounds of food before the alter. When they had gone the air fell silent.
He waited, but patience was not something he’d expected to need. Quickly he thought back to the words of the unbelievers. At the instant, his mind swayed he felt the ground rumble. He turned back to the food and to his astonishment a great animal appeared from the path leading to the peak.
The creature stood taller than two of his houses stacked atop each other. Its green scales shined like emeralds in the moonlight. Its head swayed back and forth with a loud sniffing. Two large wings stretched across the stony canyon shading the moonlight. In a few short steps, the creature was at the alter consuming every morsel left for him.
Feeling as though he’d accomplished his goal, Gail began moving away from his hiding place. A stone slipped beneath his foot causing a great echo to sound. The dragon turned, its bright blue eyes locking onto Gail. The boy froze too scared to think.
“What are you?” A deep voice said.
Gail turned, locking eyes with the creature. He felt even smaller as the great head moved closer, the eyes matching his own size. The dragon’s mouth hadn’t moved, Gail had heard the words inside his head.
“I… I… I,” He tried to reply.
“Hmm,” The dragon responded sitting down as normal as any human would. A great claw came up to his chin and scratched as if he was thinking deeply. “You are a little human are you?”
“Gail,” Was all the boy could manage.
“Gail. I have not heard of Gail before. Is that like Dwarves?” Something about the dragon’s voice soothed Gail.
“That’s my name,” He added with a smile. Suddenly his limbs soften and he was able to move to a spot where he could sit and look at the dragon.
“Aww. So you are a little human. Gail.” The dragon seemed to practice the word. Gail was perplexed as the words appeared in his head, but the face of the dragon changed as if to verify the thoughts. “I am Grasslan.”
“Dragons have names?” Gail blurted. His cheeks reddened immediately. The creature opened its jaws and made a chirped growl that came out in three short bursts. Gail wouldn’t have known it by the sound, but in his mind, he felt the Grasslan’s amusement.
“Of course we have names, little human.” He answered, “How else am I to know what to call my fellow dragons? You don’t call your fellow humans human?” Gail chuckled.
“We don’t know much about dragons. Most people don’t even believe you’re real.”
Grasslan seemed to sober at that thought.
“No. Our kind has kept silent for a while. We find it is better to be mythical than to risk causing fear among humans. The big ones tend to lose their wits. You must be a very little human to be so calm.” Grasslan gave a smile, at least what could be considered a smile. Again Gail felt the dragon’s emotion rather than read it from its expression.
“I’m seven. Big people can be set in their ways.” Gail mused, “I wish I knew more about dragons. I was always scared of you, but you’re so kind. At least I feel you are kind.”
Grasslan gave Gail a longing look. For a moment he wondered why this small boy stood here. Humans had set traps for them in the past. There was something different here. He felt he could trust the boy.
“What would you say to learning more about the dragons?” Grasslan asked.
Gail felt the seriousness of the question. Without hesitation, he answered.
“I would like that very much.”
And so grew a grand relationship. Each full moon Gail would sneak atop the mountain and learn all there was to know about dragons. He learned Grasslan was nearly two hundred years old, and that he had arrived atop the mountain with his mother. He learned that dragons would often spend many years with their children preparing them to live on their own. He learned of the politics dragons dealt with among each other. Gail became a wealth of knowledge from both the human world and the world of dragons.
At eighteen Gail awoke to the sound of a horrifying roar. His mind was filled with a familiar connection, but his heart was feeling anger. He jumped to his feet and ran outside. A crimson dragon soured over the village spewing orange flames the laid across the houses like lava. In moments every house was aflame. Gail rushed into his own home and pulled his mother free. They hurried to the outskirts of the village dodging burst of flames and low-reaching claws.
As quickly as it had begun the dragon disappeared leaving behind the bright orange flames consuming Kayon. Gail felt the anger disappear as the red dragon faded away. He’d learned from Grasslan how to distinguish his own emotions from the emotions given by the dragons. Others in the village were not as well trained. Their fury was peaked and they grasped Gail by the collar.
“Where is your dragon?” They spat at him. His reputation had quietly grown over the years as the boy who spoke to the dragon. Gail refused to answer seeing the hate in the eyes of the villagers. They threw him down and drew their swords. “Where is it?” They demanded.
With a heavy heart, he looked upon his mother. He shook his head refusing to give up Grasslan. To his horror, the men seized his mother and laid the blade across her throat.
“Take us to the creature!”
Defeated Gail stood and lead the men up the mountain. Each step felt like his shoes had gathered mounds of mud. The men behind pushed him forward, but Gail continued his slow pace hoping they would simmer. He had no luck.
In a few moments, they stood at the mouth of a cave. The opening stood taller than four of their largest houses stacked atop each other. In the depths, Gail could hear the deep breathing coming from Grasslan as he slept.
“It wasn’t Grasslan,” He pleaded as they threw his mother down and moved towards the cave. He lurched forward grabbing one of their arms. “Grasslan wouldn’t attack us. He’s not even the same color.” The man ripped his arm away, kicked Gail to the ground, and spit at him.
“A dragon is a dragon.” Gail stood to retaliate, but two strong hands held him back.
The two men entered the cave moving silently on opposite sides. The creature laid curled up, moving only as it took in deep breaths. Kayon wasn’t a big village, but even they had heard the rumors of the dragon wars, and even they had heard the rumors of how to kill a dragon. The two men clung to the hope the rumors were more than that.
With a deep breath, the larger of the two men placed his sword between two of Grasslan’s chest plates. He counted in his head, his heart working to burst from his chest. At three he plunged the sword into the creature’s skin. With a roar, Grasslan woke, throwing the man aside. Immediately he felt the blood beginning to pour from his chest and the weakness followed.
The two men raced out of the cave, one holding a sword dripping with blood. Those holding Gail released him and rushed away. Without hesitation, Gail hurried into the cave. He rushed to the dragon, whose head laid weakly on the ground. He grabbed the creature’s nose.
“Grasslan! Grasslan!” Tears poured from his eyes, “I’m so sorry,” He cried.
“It is okay,” The deep voice rumbled in his head. He immediately felt the dragon’s forgiveness. “Sometimes we cannot combat the anger of men, no matter how kind we are.” Suddenly he felt the calming emotions fade.
“Don’t go,” He cried. The emotions grew stronger, then faded again.
“My brother,” A faint voice called in Gail’s head. “Take my brother home,” With those final words every hint of Grasslan’s emotions disappeared. Gail felt alone.
He hugged the dragon’s face for the rest of the night, comforted only by his mother. When the sun rose Gail stood wiping away the remaining tears. With a heavy heart, he made his way to the back of the cave. His mother followed him closely.
In the deepest part of the cave was a stone, about the size of a large chicken, sitting among other jewels. It was emerald green, matching the color of Grasslan’s scales. Gail grabbed the stone and immediately felt the emotions of the dragon fill his soul.
Standing on the shore, Gail’s mother gave him one final hug.
“You will find your way home again?” she asked.
“I will,” Gail promised. With a final push, his boat moved away from the shore and slowly faded as Gail headed to the land of the dragons.
Jacob Gittins 