Fear the Dragons

The dragon was, frankly, a whole lot smaller than I imagined. Smaller, smarter, and much more terrifying.

The glowing dragon was whimsical in his look, miniature in his stature and had a pair of eyes that highlighted the deep pool of intelligence that laid beyond. As he peered down at me from the edge of summit, he nodded his head in in acknowledgment of my presence. Much of the folklore that was passed down to us as children, spoke of dragons. Violent stories, that described a beast with the ability to out-think any human and overpower a thousand men. The sands of time have drifted away a hundred times over since the last sighting, but according to myth, the mountain that I stand on now has been a breeding ground for generations.

"Human", the dragon spoke, his baritone voice reverberated through the valley below. The power behind it caused my heart to race. "Do you come here with ill intent?"

His eyes locked with mine, his peerless gaze never wavered.

"N-No dragon, I just came here to see if you existed. I wanted to see if what they say is true. Forgive me for your disturbance!", I quickly responded, hoping for a swift conclusion. I did not truly expect to meet such a creature.

"Oh? And what do they say about us?", he said inquisitively, a hint of amusement noticeable.

My mind frantically flipped through the hours of stories I have heard over the years, the endless rumors of their treachery consuming my thoughts.

"Th-They say you guys hate humans and you wish nothing but to harm us. You feed on our children, you burn our men and you claw our women to death, all for guiltless pleasure. They say you are intelligent beasts who bring nothing to this earth, other than fear and destruction. A dead dragon is the only good dragon. That... That is what they say! But they never said a dragon could be so very small! I'm sorry, forgive me!"

He let out a roaring laugh, then as deft as any hawk, he darted down off the summit and landed ten paces away from me, intentionally blocking the only escape route.

"Young man, I wish I could ease your mind and say those things aren't true. Oh, how I wish I could! But you see, we do enjoy consuming your offspring, we love the pungent smell of burning flesh as your men turn into ash, and I cannot deny that our claws tend to make their way into your woman. We are who we are, young human! Just as you are who you are!"

He began walking towards me, quietly pinning me into a hopeless spot on the cliffs edge.

"But why? Why do you hate us? What have we done to you?"

He stopped and spread his tiny wings open, the stance matching the look of anger on his face.

"Human, tell me, how many dragons have you seen in your life time? What about your father or his father before him? What about his father, or his father before him? How many dragons have they seen?", his voice vibrated the ground beneath us and I could feel the heat emit from his tiny mouth.

"I--I... None I guess. None of us have ever seen a dragon."

"And do you know why? Or are you too dense to have figured that out? Let me enlighten you, human child. Your people, you disgusting humans, have killed nearly every single one of my brethren. Unworthy creatures like you have eaten our offspring and hunted us since the dawn of time. We have had to hide in caves in fear of losing our lives, completely avoiding the open sky we long for so much. Did you fools think we would never fight back? Did you think we would just die out? We are not insects, you vile creature! We love our children like you love yours, we gather in harmony like you gather in harmony, and we show more civility then any of you could ever muster. How dare you come up to my mountain and ask me these insulting questions. I should kill you now!"

As he uttered the last syllable, a stream of fire erupted out of his little body, the flame stopping inches before my face.

"I didn't know! Don't kill me, please! I can be your friend!", I shouted back, standing a few paces away from the edge of the mountain.

"You can never be my friend! We have tried you fool, we have tried so many times! I am the last Dragon on this earth and I won't spit in the faces of my ancestors humoring your ignorance!", as the words slipped of his tongue, the abrupt reminder of his lonely existence altered his attitude. He shuttered away, his wings collapsed onto his back, his little body melted slowly the ground. "I am the last dragon alive... The only dragon to exist... Now, leave me be human. Let me live in peace"

Before I could say anything, his powerful wings flapped, causing a stir of debris to fling around him as he elevated towards the sun . I watched him disappear into the clouds, my heart hurting for him and the pain in his eyes stuck with me.

Descending down the mountain, I made a vow to myself. I vowed that I would find that Dragon again and I would use all my ability to help him.

Surely there was another female Dragon somewhere... there just had to be.

© 2017 NewWriterOldWorld

Author's Note

This is another writing exercise I did. See exercise in description

(most of my "stories" are writing prompts. Always working on my creativity :D)

My Review

Would you like to review this Story?
Login | Register

Featured Review

Charles Anthony Almanza

Really interesting premise you have here! I do like the idea of the main character standing toe to toe with a mythical beast. The dragon is definitely well fleshed out, and I could almost hear his voice in between the spitting fire in his throat, which is pretty great I think. My only concern is that although the story is told from the protagonist's point of view in first person, i know very little about him or her (them?) besides their wonting curiosity and seemingly altruistic intentions (even though I love that he wanted to find the dragon a good lay hahah). Overall, very well written. Taut, creative, with just a hint of suspense. I look forward to more of your writing, buddy.