Part 1 – The Unexpected Origin of Dragons

It began with a simple decision. To bring back a gift for a son.

It was never a bold general that the stories tell. Or a mighty King slaying a beast. It was a mid-level leader in training who found a small creature running around, actually it wasn’t even do anything that exciting. The story that’s told, in case you haven’t heard, is one where a general sees a small creature nibbling at his feet. Despite the small statue of the creature, they look down and see the potential. A vision of change. A future where he will lead his people. The bold strategy that will mean his enemies bow down before him. Or despites its small stature, it had gumption. And that’s what the general, or king in some parts, liked.

Gerald, or some similar name long since forgotten, actually was walking around looking for his sword, stumbled over what at first was thought to be a rock. It barely moved and half appeared to notice it was even kicked. This, in the wild, is what dragons do. They sleep most of the day, roll over in the midday sun to warm their bellies, and use the fire inside their bellies to keep them warm at night when it gets cold. As in 13 degrees or so. If ever in single figures they would actually move to be near each other. Or a cave.

If they have one purpose, it’s to eat.

Their wings? To fly to find food.

The fire? To cook the food before eating it.

Their sharp teeth? To eat the food and tear it apart, before swallowing it. Unless the next mouthful pushes it down.

Those sharp claws? Not to rip through armour, but to hold and save time for their teeth to tear it apart.

Nothing, actually, has evolved to fight. Put two wild dragons in a space together, the only action you will see is from when a living creature they can eat comes into view, then chances are, they will split it in half it between them.

Wild dragons, at least the original ones, not those that escaped years later, were lazy.

But like all things, a human got involved and things changed. Give a dwarf a new way of forging metal, they will improve their equipment and use it to cut deeper into rock. Give a goblin a means to write in new ways, and they will cause more confusion for beings around them with strange notes or markings. Give a race the change to build walls, and pretty soon a duende will appear inside it. Find some new gold, and sure enough, the local tax farmer will be there taking their share. Some things are just the way they are.

But find something in the wild, something innocent or harmless. Give that thing to a human. Then you get something wonderous. At least for a time. Then it can go in any direction. Normally bad for someone, and something.

A wild dragon, before this meeting, was just a way some villages kept wildlife under control. They were too lazy to breed out of control, but hungry enough to eat so much they couldn’t chase all the local creatures in one causing extinction. Too fat too quick.  But when they got too fat, they would work harder to get food, but give a chance for the surviving wildlife to escape, bread, and not go extinct. Then be eaten.

Balance in action.

Then came Gerald. Who had a thirst to impress his child. And now we have dragons. Big scary ones that grow too fast, too big and eat too much.

But that’s the next bit, the part that one on talks about after Gerald, sorry that General, found the miracle strategy.

–Click here to go to part 2–