Nogard

Sort of a mix between fantasy and sci-fi. Nogard is different from all the other dragons.

Nogard was the smallest of all the dragons on planet Renchiu. His peers constantly derided him. Unlike them, whose scales and almond eyes were intimidating reds, oranges, browns, charcoals, and blacks, little Nogard was covered from head to tail in leafy green scales and had big, round, green eyes. His fellow dragons loved to play fighting games that would test one another’s bravery and strength. Nogard preferred to watch from afar and play with his treasured ‘dirt castles’, for there was no sand in the realm of Narla, where all the dragons lived. Nogard often wondered why he was so different from the others. He had never known his parents. What were they like? His Aunt Charmin and Uncle Mortog had raised him ever since he was an egg. They were like all the other dragons in appearance. Aunt Charmin had brown slanted eyes, red scales, and a long tail with flame protruding from the end. Her front claws were attached to her wings. Often, when Nogard was little, she would scoop him up in these wings and rock him to sleep. She had been the one who had found his almost camouflaged egg, abandoned at the base of a large tree. Charmin, ignoring the other dragons’ scoffing, hoped it was not too late and promptly took the egg home, and nestled it in her nest amongst her own. 

Yes, Nogard had siblings. Three brothers and two sisters to be exact. They had hatched from their rocky grey eggs much later than he had, but were ruthless all the same. His brothers, Xeno, Magma, and Sakhra, had taken after their father and were covered in varying hues of charcoal grey scales. Xeno and Sakhra sported large rocky clubs on the ends of their tails, while Magma, like his mother, had a flame. His sisters, Qaya and Garra took more after their mother, Qaya with orange scales and a clubbed tail, Garra, almost exactly like her mother, red scales and a flamed tail, with charcoal eyes.

When first hatched they had all loved and respected their older brother, but as they grew they fell under the influence of the other dragons, and, despite their parents’ chiding, began mocking him as well. Nogard, though deeply hurt, learned to live with it and learned to find comfort in that, Charmin and Mortog, although they insisted on him calling them Aunt and Uncle, truly considered him their eldest son and loved him very much. He lived this way until his thirtieth birthday, the most important birthday of his life, when his humiliation peaked. A Narlen dragon’s thirtieth birthday is like to a human’s sweet sixteen or quinceanera, it symbolizes coming of age. On this day, despite his desperate begging, his Aunt and Uncle planned a huge party to celebrate. Usually, since all a dragon’s eggs typically hatch about the same time, it is a birthday party for all the young dragons of the family, only minutes apart. But since Nogard when his egg was found was much older than his siblings, he hatched a full year before all of them (Narlen dragon eggs need to be incubated up to a year and a half after being laid. This means Nogard must have been laid a full year before his siblings when he was found, his siblings having just been laid. Leaving half a year for him to incubate, while still another year for his siblings). He dreaded the party for weeks. He had always only had small, family birthday parties. He had no true friends and had no one he could really feel comfortable inviting. He knew many young dragons would be forced to come by their parents out of respect for Uncle Mortog, who had recently become a great war hero in the battle against the Rench (a nearby humanoid kingdom) and was feared by many. They would probably spend their time griping amongst themselves or gossiping about him.

A day or two before the day of the party, Nogard awoke in his room of the family cave to a horrifying surprise. His tail, which since his hatching had always had a single leaf like shape on the end, was now a bright pink and orange striped, flower with pointed petals! Oh the humiliation! Surly, no dragon had ever been forced to bear such shame. His lifelong teasing he had been able to bear without violence, but this was too much. How could he even face his siblings or Uncle Mortog in such a way? Not even female dragons had tails adorned as such. He though franticly, “How could he hide it before the others awoke?” Maybe he could convince them that he had a club shaped tail now too! He wrapped the colorful blossom in burlap cloths and tied them on with twine, it was a little scratchy and heavy, but not too bad. He rubbed the whole thing in ash from the long dead campfire in his room. In the dark it actually looked kind of convincing. “Maybe they’ll buy it…” he thought. He walked out to the main front room of the cave that connected all the others and headed from there to the larder. He found Qaya and Garra already there chowing down on some chickens for breakfast. Nogard had always been disgusted by meat. All dragons ate meat, but not Nogard. He had tried to eat it many times when he was younger in order to satisfy his Aunt and Uncle, who were concerned for his health. He just could not keep it down. He headed to the right back corner of the larder where there were vegetables just for him. Since no other dragons in Narla ate vegetables normally, his Uncle Mortog had to acquire them by raiding the farms of the Rench. Which was not frowned upon for they were already at war with them over the Rench Zer (king) instructing his knights to steal Narlen eggs in order to train young dragons for more time efficient transportation. Most dragons had lost at least a few of their young to the Rench, Mortog and Charmin included. Aunt Charmin had told Nogard many times that she thought he had been stolen from his family by the Rench and accidently left behind by a careless knight.

Nogard picked up five carrots, two heads of lettuce, and half a dozen potatoes, although for a dragon he was small, he was still about the size of an average horse. He went up to Garra, “Hey would you be willing to roast these potatoes for me… Please.” He added. He liked potatoes, but they always tasted better cooked and Garra, other than Magma, who never did favors for him, was his only sibling with the ability to breathe fire. “I guess so Leaf Boy.” She said. She and Qaya were the nicest of his siblings, but they still insisted on a nickname now and then, ‘Leaf Boy’ being their favorite.  He rolled the potatoes over to her. “Let’s go to the main room.” She said, “I don’t want to burn all the food in here again”. Garra, while still trying to control her fire powers, had turned the pantry contents to ash a number of times. Leaving Nogard with burns all over him. She had gotten into horrible trouble. “Yes I do think that would be best.” He said, shivering at the thought of getting squelched again. All the other dragons, even those without fire breathe, were fire resistant, not Nogard.  He rolled the potatoes into the main room while Garra and Qaya followed. “Here’s good” Garra said, “Stand back!” Nogard retreated back to the entryway of the larder. Garra took a deep breath and blew. Fire spewed from her maw igniting the potatoes. “Whoops! How cooked do you want them?” she asked. “Just enough so they’re soft” Nogard replied…”Now’s probably good” Garra now put her wing over the potatoes entirely, sealing out the air fueling the flames. After a minute or so she raised her wing, slightly misty from the steam, revealing only slightly charcoaled potatoes. “Thankyou!” said Nogard, relieved she hadn’t tried anything ‘funny’. “Hey Leaf Boy!” Qaya said “What happened to your leaf?” motioning to his tail. There were limited lights in the cave, the individual rooms branching off from the main each had three torches on the walls, the pantry had no lighting, while the main room had no lighting except  a torch on either side of the openings leaving it to the others rooms. Garra’s flame tail had moved next to Nogard’s as he drew near to eat his potatoes. “I woke up this morning and it had changed.” He said truthfully. “So we match now?” Qaya exclaimed, “I never heard of a dragon’s tale completely changing shape near their thirtieth birthday. Usually it just grows a lot bigger, along with the rest of them.” “Well we all know Nogard is a ‘special’ dragon” Garra said, “Maybe he will get lucky and his scales and eyes with change color and shape as well.” After a while more of discussing his tail, Nogard at last retreated back to his room after wolfing down his food as fast as he could manage. His room was the only place that he had a true place of freedom from comments. Uncle Mortog and Aunt Charmin had insisted that his siblings should always leave him alone while he was inside it. It was the one request they actually respected. Leaving a dragon alone while they were in their den was like a sort of code that few dragons of all ages broke. As long as they left everyone else alone, they were left alone.

Eventually Aunt Charmin came in to coax him out, like she did every day. All dragons were homeschooled, Nogard was no exception. Their parents had a duty to teach them all that they knew. Uncle Mortog was a warrior, therefore he had a duty to teach his sons how to fight. Aunt Charmin was a food collector, it was her duty to soar over the countryside in search of meat for the family and teach her daughters to do likewise. She did not know which wild greenery were edible so she left the vegetable pillaging to Mortog, who was in the kingdom of the Rench often anyways. They had all learned to fly when they were young and now could soar almost anywhere with ease. Nogard was glad that out of all his many differences he shared this similarity. He loved to fly, it gave him freedom.

“Nogard” Aunt Charmin said, “It’s time to come out and join your brothers... And what’s this I hear about your tail?” she said. “I woke up and it had just completely changed.” said Nogard. “Let me see” Aunt Charmin requested. Nogard after a couple of minutes of hesitation swung his tail out from beneath his wings, almost all the ash now rubbed off, he trusted Aunt Charmin. “What’s this?” she asked, pulling softly on what was now obviously cloth. “It’s so embarrassing!” Nogard forcefully whispered, “Please don’t tell Uncle Mortog, I don’t want anyone to find out!” “Now now, I’m sure it’s not that bad” Charmin said, “Let’s get this mess off”, she carefully cut off the twine with her claws and removed the fabric, revealing the bright colored flower with pointy petals beneath. Nogard saw her half horrified, half surprised look before she recomposed herself. “Hmm, well I can’t say I’ve seen anything like this before.” She said, “I figured your leaf just grew a lot bigger… It’s kind of pretty you know.” She said while cocking her head sideways. “I’m already the weakest of dragons!” Nogard groaned, “Now I have a ‘pretty’ flower on my tail. That’s all I need.” “Well, if it makes you feel better you can cover it up until the party is over.” She said “But you have to realize you can’t hide it forever” Aunt Charmin then helped him put back on his disguise and walked with him out to the main room.

“There you are Nogard!” Uncle Mortog exclaimed, “Your brother’s are already outside. Let’s see that tail.” Aunt Charmin moved her tail away so as to make it darker near Nogard. “Wow, like mine it is. Think you can join us in ‘disarm your enemy with only your tail’ today? I still won’t put you up against Magma on account of the fire and all.” He added. Nogard looked pleadingly at Aunt Charmin. “Um… maybe you guys can practice something else today.” She said, “He did just grow this new tail and is still kind of awkward with it.” Mortog, about to respond, changed his response as she gave him the look. “I guess we can move that to another day.” He said “How you feel about standard ‘tooth and claw combat’?” he asked. “I guess I do need more work on that one.” Nogard admitted.

The rest of the day they practiced ‘tooth and claw combat’. Nogard luckily only received a few minor bites and scratches and kept his tail well-hidden while making various excuses throughout the day to be able to go back inside to re-dust it in ash. He was becoming better, but hated it all the same. Charmin showed Garra and Qaya the best way to stalk, kill, and move a cow. They had it cooked for dinner that night. “I don’t understand how you can’t like meat!” Xeno exclaimed for the hundredth time that evening. Xeno, was the youngest next to Qaya and didn’t always know when to stop speaking his mind. “I said that’s enough!” Aunt Charmin exclaimed, “I’m glad you like the beef. Now leave Nogard alone!”  “I still don’t believe it…” Xeno murmured under his breathe. Aunt Charmin ignored him. “You should have seen your girls today!” she said to Mortog, “So strong.” “I found it!” Qaya piped in. “Yes, Qaya has excellent tracking skills.” Charmin said “and Garra flame broils wonderfully” “Very good!” Mortog agreed. “Nogard beat Xeno today in ‘tooth and claw combat’” he said. “It wasn’t fair!” Xeno exclaimed, “Wimp or no wimp, he’s the oldest and I’m the youngest!” “Oh, please!” Uncle Mortog said “You’re all apart only by a couple of minutes and Sakhra, who’s fourth oldest, went against him last time!” “Put him against Magma.” Xeno said, “He’s third oldest” “Garra’s second oldest” said Qaya, providing useless information. “You know why he can’t go against Magma.” Mortog said. “In real life he will have to face flames!” Xeno retaliated “The Rench know we are flame resistant.” Mortog said, “They do not fight us with flame. Unless we get into a war with each other he should be fine.” Ending the day with that happy family discussion they all went to their dens to sleep.

The next day they practiced catching objects out of the air. The Rench often flew on dragons who were hand raised and tame, considering them as their family and not the other dragons. They often accidently dropped eggs as they flew to make a quick getaway. Warrior dragons needed to be able to snatch up the eggs before they were caught by another Rench knight or, in extreme heights, broke against the hard rocks below. This was Nogard’s favorite training exercise. Its purpose was to save life, not take it. He loved to soar through the air and catch the egg shaped stones, Uncle Mortog dropped into the air. They had to take turns being the bad guys, snatching the ‘egg’ out of the air before the designated good guy had a chance to grab it. Nogard preferred being the good guy, but it was always fun to see his brothers’ frustration when he snatched the stone out of the air before they did. It was a good day, though he often forgot about his tail and was filled with dismay when his disguise was becoming faulty. Luckily, his brothers and Uncle were too caught up in the game to notice a thing. When they arrived home they learned that Qaya and Garra had learned how to spy field mice from very high in the air and had a huge pile ready for supper. Nogard was even more disgusted then he had been with the cow. He was obviously used to his sisters learning how to hunt something new each day, but so many lives to make one meal! The cow had been big, but it was just one (with other things from the larder), the sheep from a few days before was about four, but hundreds upon hundreds of mice were piled upon the table.  He felt his stomach churn. Added was the stress of the party being the next day. He did not eat much that evening.

Before he went to bed that night he pleaded once more with Aunt Charmin to cancel the party, “Please, you know I haven’t made any close friends with any of the other dragons. They’ll only come to honor Uncle Mortog because their parents will force them too. What if they find out about my tail? There are hundreds of them! How are we even able to feed that many dragons?” “Your sisters and I have been storing up food in the cellar beneath the larder for a while now.” Aunt Charmin said, “I love you. This is good for you. Maybe you can make a friend. There has to be some decent dragon out there that will treat you nicely.” “I love you too.” Nogard said “But, maybe I should try to go find other dragons like me. I know there are no other green dragons in Narla. Maybe I can go on a trip, if I find other floral tailed dragons I will come and tell you, then go back and visit you for holidays. If I don’t, I will still come back, though it is pretty clear that the other dragons, except for maybe Garra, will not quit mocking my appearance.” After what seemed like an eternity of thinking, Charmin responded, “Ok, if that is truly what you think is best and what you want to do, go. But, you have to go to the party tomorrow. It’s too much planning to simply go to waste. Besides, every other dragon has a big thirtieth birthday party. You don’t want to exclude yourself any further than you already are. Don’t worry. It will be fine. Good night.” Nogard slept horribly.

In the morning, when Aunt Charmin came to wake him up, he was still exhausted and had slept on his left wing funny. He stretched and flapped them a few times to regain proper circulation. “It’s a big party” he told her “No one may even notice if I’m not there.” Aunt Charmin laughed, “No you’re going to the party. You don’t even have to make a speech or anything. My mother made me at my thirtieth. You just have to be there. Maybe talk to a few people.” “Ok” said Nogard, still very much not wanting to go, but not wanting to disappoint his Aunt.

Luckily, the party was not until the evening and was only supposed to be about three hours. That afternoon however, Uncle Mortog insisted that they needed to do ‘disarm your enemy with only your tail’ combat. No matter of coaxing from his Aunt could convince Mortog otherwise. “Please!” begged Nogard, “Just one more day. That’s all I ask.” “Come on!” said his Uncle, “You’ve been doing fine these past few days. You’ll do great. Your brothers are already waiting outside. Let’s go.” He said it in his usual cheery manner, but when Uncle Mortog said “Let’s go” he knew it was no longer up for argument.

When they reached outside his brothers were already practicing, tumbling over each other in a disarrayed tangle. The goal of the exercise was to pin the opponent to the ground (or force them into some other hold they could not fight out of) until they surrendered with using nothing but one’s tail. This was usually done by wrapping the opponent’s tail around their neck and pinning them to the ground, putting all their body force into their own tail, which held them there. Nogard usually hated this exercise anyway.  His brothers were so stubborn; they never wanted to give up. Now he felt panic swell into his throat, terrified of having his tail discovered. 

Author's Note

I've been sort of creating my own world for a while now in a story that is not yet finished (a story separate from this one). Please let me know of this story (one of several to come) on the planet Renchiu. P.S. This information is not provided in this portion of the story, but the Rench are a people with very pale skin with hair colors of cherry red, lime green, varying shades of blue, and pure white. They are tall, long, and lanky. Most have grey, blue, or green eyes.

Reviews

[Takudzwa Christopher Ma..]

I Quite enjoyed it....it kept me reading till the end....I am really left wondering what Nogard is and how everyone would react to his odd quirk

[Morgan Bland]

-P.S. I know in this vast world many have little time, but if you are one of the few that are blessed with some and eyes to read, please do so.

[Morgan Bland]

-Story not finished yet. Please let me know if I should complete it.

[Morgan Bland]

:P Sorry. Please let me know what you think of this story.