10 August 2020 –- Song 11: Dragons True – Segment 9

Ah, another Dragon. Those of you who said early on that you looked forward to the Dragons in our story should be getting your wish about now. There are nine all together in the narrative. See if you can list the ones so far. If you are feeling feisty, imagine what the Dragons to come may be like – what purpose they may serve in the tale. Still, the title of this song is “Dragons True,” in contrast to others like Seagrace and the blue dragonfly of earlier songs.

Still, the “humans” and the canine in the story line are worth knowing, and each has more than one story to tell.   In this segment we discover more about each, and their relationships deepen and intertwine. Below, after winding their way through cave and cavern, the four current characters stand together in an uneasy circle.

 

“Prithee, come to us now – feel our welcome.”

                        Do I sense sinister intention here?

                        Curiosity and place leave no choice

                        I round the corner. Argose stays behind . . .

 

            My bowels loosen as I turn to face

            a lizard, nay, a Dragon of such a size

                        it could eat two men and a dog dessert

            I gasp and swallow my voice – Argose hears

                        and he rushes in barking, snarling, and

                        lunging at the Dragon, then backing off

            The Dragon unhinges its jaws, forked tongue

                        slithers out, a white proboscis slashing

                        from its gaping mouth, throat exposed pink-white

            Improbable thick legs strange-bent angles

                        as at elbows, each bend sprouting six claws

                                    peculiar-pointed spears from each wide foot

            Now it turns to reveal its armored tail

                        long again as his massive gray body

                        he turns again slashing the appendage

                                    aimed at Argose who leaps to a corner

                                    continuing to bark and yip in fear

 

            The girl rotates her black-and-rust-hued cloak

                        swings it over her right shoulder and strides

                                    with confidence borne of the familiar

                                    grounded in trust to the Dragon’s left side

                                    and slowly strokes his back as if a child

            He relaxes his militant posture

                        turns away from the girl and faces me

                        massive tail goes loose and limp on the floor

            Argose gone quiet emits trembling whines

 

            “This Dragon proud has been bestowed 

                        an echoing name from ancient ways

                                    I present for your acquaintance EndMaker

                                    and by that name consecrated sacred

                                    a brother - fourth of nine and first of three

                                    I request your presence and your mercy”

            A sonorous “hmmmm” seems assent to this

                        as EndMaker shifts from foot to foot

                        taking two pounding steps toward my small space

            Argose timidly joins me and we bow

                        in recognition of this ancient beast

                                    for say this body’s multiple red scars

                                    welted up from his iron-clad gray hide

                                    healed now but surely gained in many wars

            This audience with EndMaker stops here

                        with stomping to farthest corner of the chamber

            The girl now regards the giant fondly

                        turns to us like a schooled inferno guide

 

            “Things have not always been so for this one

            Hills and forests he roamed – river shores walked

            But on mammals he preyed from farms, in woodlands 

                        killing when hungered with nothing wasted

                        solitary living without others

                                    of alter tribes and without his own kind

            Five hundred years he lived so – never took

                        a human life although in the scare times

                        he filled his belly with a dog or two”

            She looked at Argose who whimpered faintly

 

            “How these past things can you possibly know?”

            “He has told me thus and so true it be”

                        All his brethren this way lived and hunted”

            “But how know you this for you are too young?”

            “I do but look youthful. In truth I’m old

                        unto five hundred years we are as one

            The end of our lineages both we are”

Background

From whose imagination did “Dungeons and Dragons “come? Who first said, “Beyond here there be Dragons”? What are a fair maiden and her knight without their Dragon? And on and on. Some say that the prevalence of dragons in our myths and archetypal mind come from our primitive selves: small, furry, scurrying mammals – tasty tidbits for large lizards. Admit it. Dragons are fascinating. No matter that they are the stuff of nightmares, we want them to exist. We want them to live. Consider the Dragons in your lifetime. Which ones are your favorites. Were they helpful or dangerous, or both? If you see a movie trailer that features a Dragon, are you likely to watch the full movie?

Lest we forget, three other characters hold the stage with EndMaker: The strange girl in the rusty-black cloak, the MC, and as always, Argose. But let’s be honest. A Dragon holds the center when it appears. Each of the three mammalian players has a vibrant relationship with EndMaker. The girl obviously has an ancient link. The MC is ever on the “journey of Dragons,” curious and courageous. And then there’s Argose; fear is on his mind, and loyalty is in his heart.

Exploration 1: Let’s say you read last week’s post that segues into this one. As the MC rounds the corner and “comes to face . . . a Dragon . . .” do you find yourself reacting something like, “Ho Hum. Another Dragon. How booorring”? Or are you excited, or at least interested, in seeing what this Dragon is going to do and say? Be honest. Where do you stand on all these appearances of Dragons throughout the story? (More to come, by the way.)

Exploration 2: Although the focus is primarily on EndMaker in this segment, what new can we learn about the girl in this segment? What more about her nature and kind is revealed?

Exploration 3: Will EndMaker eat Argose?