The Old Dragon

A short story about a dragon still learning how to get along with humans.

The Old Dragon

Written By Kane Hagwood

Overhead a village long forgotten by the passing of time and to the folly of fools who failed to tend their records, was a mountainous cave. Living within was an old dragon, often observing the sleepy village. Tired folk would wander the streets, unbeknownst to them that a dragon was watching their every move.

But why would a dragon care for the affairs for frivolous humans? With their pants, and their baked goods and their….

….Well, their companionship would be nice. If they weren’t so hostile!

But this village was full of humans! The most foolish fools could be!

The Old Dragon had lost count of how many times humans panicked in her presence. The Old Dragon could however count all the interactions with humans that were peaceful on one clawed hand, only needing two of her pointed digits in order to recall. There was that time when a little boy from that sleepy village wandered too far from the forest, climbing north along the jagged rock that lead to the mountain cave.

This little village boy had stumbled into The Old Dragon’s bathing area, wandering into the depths of her lair. She was just about to give herself a bath, when he stumbled into the magic pond that was her bathwater. Jumped right in it, without question. It was in her moment of disbelief, watching a strange little human flapping their arms in the enchanted pool of water, that The Old Dragon affirmed to herself that humans were, without a shadow of a doubt, idiots. Even their spawn. But being the nice dragon she was, she flew the boy right back to his home. And the thanks she got? Torches! Arrows! Oh, her scales ached for weeks after her return home!

And then there was the messenger who got lost on his way to a neighboring kingdom. No matter how often The Old Dragon recalled her encounter with the thin, nervous man, the mighty dragon could never remember his name. Nor the name of the kingdom he was supposed to be going to. He was a nice enough lad, but far too nervous in the presence of a dragon. Then again, most humans were. But without hesitation, The Old Dragon offered directions rather than a direct flight to his destination. Although friendly, The Old Dragon couldn’t forget former wounds that still haunted her. Both physical and emotional.

And as far as her wizard psychiatrist was concerned, he didn’t count. Although her psychiatrist was technically a human, The Old Dragon didn’t count wizards. No, their wisdom departed from too many human prejudices to be labeled as such.

The Old Dragon continued to sit on her perch, just outside the mouth of her cavern home, watching as the humans went about their lives. She thought upon her most recent session; there had been conversations about focusing more on herself rather than others. But they had also spoke of connecting and meeting new people.

“How am I supposed to do both?” The Old Dragon sighed. “Especially since they’re all so stupid.”

No matter how wise The Old Dragon was, there were many lessons still to learn.

Perhaps, one day, there would be a third human, who was not exempt for being a wizard, who would come along and change her mind.

But until then, The Old Dragon watched over the sleepy village, whose name has been lost to time.

Author's Note

I wanted to give myself a challenge a write a short story that was ACTUALLY short. I have a tendency to be long winded in my writing. While that isn't exactly a problem in MY eyes, I'm getting back into being on this site, and wanted to start small. I wrote this in about an hour, so don't be surprised by any grammatical errors that make poke out.

Please, feel free to leave a review and tell me what you think!

Reviews

[Kaine]

Kane
Thought I’d return the favour and review one of yours, now I wish I hadn’t. It makes me realise what a depressingly long way I have to go!
Loved it, real rhythm in the language that is lacking in my own efforts.

‘But why would a dragon care for the affairs for frivolous humans?’ Simply Lovely to say out loud.

But why would a dragon care for affairs of a human or two…of course he wouldn’t his a dragon!

and great economy story, I honestly don’t know how people write short stories, I rattle on like a dropped spoon in the sink.
Thanks again
One Kaine to another

[Kane Hagwood]

Hey, thank you for the review. I've been taking writing seriously for 20+ years. It comes with time and practice, but the real magic is finding your own voice to weave into your writing. Don't sweat your own work being perfect, or needing to match anyone else's. Have fun with it! Write it how YOU want to write it. That's the only way you'll truly get experience, which is how you write better stories--stories only you can write.

And I'm glad you liked the story! I might have to write another one of these.

[William Propsner]

I liked your 'Old Dragon'. As i'm not into poetry, i turned to your Old Dragon to amuse me. It was a nice comfortable read. I may have given the Old Dragon a name perhaps, Lydore or Gesela maybe. But it is your story and I did like it. A few words I would have changed but your delivery was good. Yes, it was short. A perfect 'short story'. I also write short stories. I have a lot of them in my book 'A Collection of Words' published and available on Amazon. The one that you read about the 'Hermit' was based on the old man that I actually saw on the fence line of Interstate 10 south of El Paso that day more than 20 years ago. The vision of him with his so contented look on his face got to my heart. I will never forget him. Like I said in my final paragraph, I wish I had stopped and talked to him.
Keep writing your short stories. It feeds your imagination and can inspire you for more of your poetry.
Get into the minds of your players in your stories, become part of their world, if for only a moment in time.
Imagination feeds the soul .
Good luck.
P.S. I wrote the Hermit over a period of three hours.

[Kane Hagwood]

Thank you for reviewing my story! Normally, I would have named the dragon, but I wanted to challenge myself, making the story around only 500 words. Even then, the count went over a bit, but I'm happy with how it turned out. Looking back on it, there's for sure some minor tweaks I'd give to it, but I try not to obsess over old work. Most of the time, I leave it be, trying to take note of things to do and not do in future works.

It's nice to speak with a fellow author, and I'm glad The Old Dragon was a comfortable read. It felt cozy to write, so I'm glad to hear it gave you a similar feeling. Your story about Joey really moved me, and that's really cool you got to see him! Here's hoping he's doing well.

Thank you for your kindness, wisdom, and generosity, friend. May you write with grace and wonder, always :)

[William Propsner]

Of course i'm sure his name wasn't 'Joey'. I gave him the name. 'Old Man William' is me....lol.
read moreOf course i'm sure his name wasn't 'Joey'. I gave him the name. 'Old Man William' is me....lol.
I"ve found that if you like what you've written after your first edit, leave it at that. Let those who read your imagination make up their minds about it. Most of the time, it will always be good.
And like you, it doesn't matter if the criticism you receive is good or bad, the important thing is....someone read your imagination. That's what counts.
God Bless

[ekostim]

I find this story to be an interesting premise and depiction of a dragon’s point of view! I did enjoy the various encounters depicted. Also, a good reminder of how one’s perception of another can very easily distort the true intent of actions.

[Kane Hagwood]

Thank you for reviewing my dragon story! I enjoyed writing it, and I'm glad others have enjoyed reading it so far. It was a challenge to keep it short, wanting to write about even more encounters, but didn't want to overdo it.

[Irene_asteris]

I really liked this story! I totally feel you when it comes to writing a short story. I struggle a lot making my writing short because of how so many ideas keep popping up while writing which you can't resist and note them all down into the pages. I kind of relate to the dragon because of how much I used to struggle socialising with others but now I kind of do while still living in my own cave.

[Kane Hagwood]

Thank you so much for reviewing my dragon story! I've really been trying to get back into writing short stories, that aren't long and attached to some massive collective web of other stories. And I too feel like the dragon, which I feel is where the inspiration came from. Although I think I might have a little more patience for people than she might haha.

Seriously, thank you for reviewing my story. I always love to hear what others think of my work, both good and bad. I'm just happy you enjoyed it :)

[Irene_asteris]

You have a really good talent for writing. I look forward to your future uploads. wish you best of luck!

[Kane Hagwood]

Reading that put a big 'ol smile on my face. That's very kind of you, thank you :)