the soulless wise

a dragon, 

seventeen lifetime old,

with a long, white beard, eyelashes, curving eyebrows,

and liquid, silver eyes,

removed a pipe from his lips,

his long, jagged nails gripping it with a dangerously delicate grip;

smoke of all colors leaking from his nostrils,

like the northern lights.

his scales possessed the world's secrets, buried deep within,

reflecting the stardust, the moon, the sun, the planets and the stars.

the water, the earth, the fire, the winds, the midnight sun and the sands of time.

eclipses, sunrises, sunsets, full moons, new moons, twilights, dawns and dusks.

springs, winters, falls, summers, love of all forms, beginnings and endings: life.

and as he leaned closer,

a grin spread across his sharp, venomous teeth,

pulling his scales tight across his angles jaw.

he laughed a low, seductive, menacing growl.

with burning, boiling eyes and thin, cracking lips,

he whispered:

"hush now, child, my child, the world is coming to an end, but fear not. you will live on. when all else is dead, you'll live on."