Dragon Scales

My story begins thousands of years ago, long before dragons and humans tolerated and worked with each other. It's a tale of hardship, friendship, magic, and death. Many people don't believe the facts of this account, but believe me when I say, it is every bit the truth.

The human pronunciation of my name is Pendragon, which in your tongue means chief dragon. As far as accuracy, this is the closest it can be to the truth. I am the chief of the dragons. My mate is named Brenna, which means blazing light.

The first time I met my dragonlord was fifteen years before we joined forces, 4,515 years ago. He was four years old and lost in this world. Many days and nights I've spent thinking about him, fondly thinking of the bond we shared, wondering how things could be different if a left turn had been a right and vice-versa.

Let me start at the beginning….

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As the chief of the dragons, one of the many duties I held was to fly the edges of the dragon realm to make sure all is as it should be, that outside influences did not invade. Those outside influences would be our natural animal enemies (like the Loch Ness Monster) or the more dangerous predator: humans.

The first time I heard his voice, I thought I was hallucinating. It was so faint I thought it was my mind making things up. The closer I got to the forbidden forest barrier, I heard it again, but louder and I could understand some of the words being spoken. Help me! The small voice said.

I tried to push away the tug at my mind to go closer and investigate, but the voice rang in my ears. Help me! The voice sounded closer. By that point, I could tell the speaker was young and very frightened.

This is the point I wish I could tell you I resisted and left, but there would be no story to tell or record to keep straight. This is the moment I usually think about the most when I wonder back to as a pivotal point in the timeline of my life. What if I had made a different choice? What if I had ignored that little frightened voice….?

But, back to that pivotal point. The voice continued to grow in volume, the emotions in the voice intensified, there was something I couldn't identify at the time. I came to learn it to be tears and sobs. They came more often than the words and thoughts as I listened and flew towards it.

The closer I got to the voice, the less I cared about the risk I was taking in going so far into the forest. When I couldn't fly any longer, I landed and moved throughout the trees until I came to a ravine that had a small stream. In a small bend, there was a felled tree. It looked as though lightening had struck and knocked a large portion of the tree down. Hidden in the branches was the voice. I kept my distance, but looked as closely as I could. This was the first time a tree had spoken and conveyed emotions. But then something moved inside the branches of the tree.

There, at the ground level of the branches, two eyes met mine. The tears continued to stream down the cheeks of the face of this creature. What is this thing? I ask, still unable to make out what had caught my attention.

I am a person. I heard in my head, almost as soon as I had finished asking my question. I'm lost, I want to go home.

I started to think this was not a good idea. Humankind did not deserve help from dragons. Within seconds, I had decided to leave and let this human to its fate and started to turn away to leave.

Don't leave me! The human practically yelled in my mind, causing me to stop and turn back to where I was originally looking. The human started coming out from the branches. The size of the human caused me to scoff. It was but a youngling, what the humans call a child.

"Can you talk?" the child asked in a shaky voice, so soft and quite I almost didn't hear it.

"I can," I answered, not sure where the words were coming from or why I was responding to the child.

"I don't know where I am. Do you know how I get home?" the small human asked as it wiped the tears from its face.

"Not by staying here," I answered, which was the most truthful answer I could give in the moment. I was still overwhelmed by finding the small human child and surprised that it was not terrified by my existence to run for its life like so many of the other humans had in the past when confronted with a dragon.

Something inside me told me not to terrify this human. As I thought about the whole situation, this child called me to him, spoke to me, had a hold on my free will that no other human had ever had. Looking this human child over, I could see there was no indication of fear at my massive size. If anything, it seemed intrigued and excited to see me up close. Without realizing, the child was right under my feet, looking up at me as though it expected me to answer its question.

"Did you say something?" I asked, no hint in my voice of the irritation I felt inside at being held there against my will.

"Will you take me back home?" it asked again.

"How do you expect me to return you to your home? Do you even know where your home is?"

"It is called Daobeth. It is close to the edge of the forest. I entered the forest when I knew I wasn't supposed to, now my mother is probably worried about where I am…." it looked around the wooded area inside the forest as if to try and remember which direction was the way home.

"Here," I extended one of my front paws for it to climb in, "I will take you home."

The child climbed into my paw as my wings stretched out to their full length. Soon we were up above the tops of the trees, looking every direction to check for the home is of this small child. My eyes soon picked up on small trails of smoke along the southern edge of the forest and I made my way there, knowing a child this size couldn't make it any farther than from there to where I found it.

I found a spot some distance away, hidden behind the cleft of a mountain so my presence wouldn't cause a stir among the people in the village. Opening my paw, the small child slipped out and to the ground. After moving some distance away, it turned back and looked up at me.

"Thank you! You saved me," it smiled for a moment before it became sad and bowed its head.

"What is it now?" I found myself asking in a soft and gentle tone. In that moment, I found I was genuinely concerned for this small human.

"Will I ever see you again?" the boy asked after a moment of silence, looking up at me slowly, almost afraid that I would say no.

The pleading in its eyes pulled at my heart in ways I'd never known. "We will see each other," I tried to reassure him, my words sounded foreign in my ears, "all you need to do is call for me."

"How do I do that?" he asked, hope rising in his eyes.

"Just call for me, either in your mind or with your voice, like you did when you called for help in the woods, and I came to you."

"What's your name?"

"In your language, it is Pendragon."

"What is it in your language?" he asked, curiosity completely oozed out of of him.

"That is a lesson for another day," I answered, unable to keep from smiling at the small boy. This human is different from the rest. Great things will come from this boy.

I began to turn to leave when I felt a tug in my mind to know this child's name as well. Looking back at him, I paused for a moment. Part of me wanted to leave and never come back, the other wanted to keep my promise to that innocent face.

"My name is Ricard," he smiled, almost as though he could read my mind and sense that I needed to know who he was.

"We will meet again, young Ricard," I told him. "Our destinies are intertwined, whether we like it or not," my wings stretched out again and I took flight, leaving Ricard in the wake of my take off. His name means powerful ruler in his tongue, my mind processed as I flew away.

Once I was far enough away, I looked back at where I had left the boy, knowing that spot would become the starting point for something wonderful.

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Many years later, my life was drastically different then it was before that first day. For the fifteen years from that first fateful day, Ricard and I met as often as we could behind the cleft in the mountain so we would be hidden. Over the years, the size of the small village of Daobeth had risen to a great city, a small kingdom, but it continued to grow in size and power. There was a king, a counsel, guards, citizens, and a wall to protect the city.

As our friendship grew, so did the boy's size. No longer did he fit in my paw, safely nestled there while I flew. Many times, he would ride on my back, right between my wings, looking out over the horizon above my head.

After one such trip to check on the dragon realm, we landed in our usual spot. Something was different about this trip though. Instead of our usual talks and question/answer sessions, we were quiet for the entire trip. When we landed, he slipped off and went to stand in his normal spot while I looked at him and he looked at me.

"Pendragon, I have something to ask," he finally spoke up. "I don't know how you'll take it, it's not a normal request.'

"You'll never know until you ask," I told him, sensing that this was something that would change the course of our relationship.

"The kings' men have noticed the footprints around this area from their patrols. A member of the guards passed the news to one of the council members who whispered into the ear of the king…." he paused, something keeping him from finishing his speech.

"The king wants to see me?" I asked him, wanting to give him a helping hand to finish the story. My eyes watched him as he tried to breathe and keep from becoming overly emotional, something both of us had been working on with the other.

"Yes," he finally sighed, slowly looking up at me.

"Did he mention what he wanted from me?" I probed him gently for more information.

"Nothing in so many words," Ricard sighed softly, knowing I would want more than that. "He most likely wants to speak with you regarding establishing some sort of relationship between us and you, possibly with the rest of the dragons as well."

"The relationship you and I have is more than there should be between our kinds," I warned him, a sense of foreboding entered into my heart and mind. Something bad was going to happen if I went to see the king of the humans, but I didn't tell Ricard of that, for I knew he felt the same by how he had broached the subject and the look on his face when I said what I did.

"Magic is strong, there is always a price to be paid; good or bad," I warned him, "the bond we share is similar to magic. The things we do, the thoughts we share, are a magic in and of themselves. It can be exploited, if placed in the wrong hands," I cautioned, and not for the first time in the years we had been together.

"As I've come to find out," he sighed, looking all the more worried.

"Does the king have evil intent with this meeting?" I asked the young human, the feeling of dread he held in his heart began to seep into mine. He nodded as his eyes came up and met mine. Those eyes I had come to know so well told the story of using the dragon for profit at no concern for the price such a request would cost. He most likely wanted to use magic that only the dragons knew as well.

I slowly agreed to meet with the king, the desire to talk this human out of using magic for evil purposes. Ricard and I walked back to the edge of the mountain, and I extended my paw for him to climb into it so he could climb on my back so I could fly there. When we arrived, I landed and let him down again. We both walked up to the doors of the large hall that had been constructed outside of the city walls.

This hall was large, large enough for a dragon to walk in and stretch out in its full glory. Ricard and I shared a knowing glance as the doors opened and I extended my paw for him to climb back up on my back. Somehow it felt right for him to be on my back as I walked in. The soft gasps of amazement and fear rose to my ears as I walked towards the dais where the royals stood around the kings' throne.

Once I was close enough to the dais, my whole body was in this hall. How have I gone without knowing this was here or being built? I asked myself as Ricard slipped off my shoulders to the ground.

"Welcome great dragon!" a voice called out so all in the hall could hear. I looked around and found the face from which the voice came. Down on the dais, stood several different humans, one sat on a throne with a crown on its head.

"Tell me human," I began, "why have I been brought here?"

"The time has come for our kinds to join forces for good, not evil. What good is there to be enemies?" the human with the crown called up as it stood to take a step towards me.

"Do you not want the magic that such a union may bring?" I asked him, knowing full well that my voice could be heard by all in attendance.

"Who needs magic when they have dragons on their side?" the king answered.

"Dragons at the side of the humans?" I asked, my eyebrows rose to convey how that sounded like servitude or slavery.

"It is not my intent to enslave the dragon," the king attempted to squelch my concerns. From my time with Ricard, I could tell this king still had something hidden, that in spite of his words he spoke he had another motive.

My eyes looked at this human, knowing my words would not have any sway with him, my gaze would make him speak his mind. After several quiet moments from all in the hall, the king cleared his throat and got to the heart of the issue.

"Let us get to the reason we are gathered here," he covered for the silence as he stood. "Great dragon, we wish to start a school that would teach humans and dragons how to communicate and work together; like you and Ricard have learned to co-exist."

"A school?" Ricard asked before I could. "You think it's easy to do what Pendragon and I do?" he asked, emotions started to fill up inside of both of us.

"The two of you would have full control over the school, showing how humans and dragons are to interact. The council and the rest of the human race are not to interfere," the king promised, sincerity in his words and eyes, this time.

He intends to keep his promise in this regard, I said to Ricard in my mind, knowing full well he could hear me. But that doesn't mean he won't try something later.

As long as the council follows his lead, we shouldn't have problems with the human race, Ricard answers. I know it sounds counter to what we feel and think, we need to trust him. During our exchange of thoughts, our bodies didn't move. Our eyes were on the council and the king.

"We will help with this school," Ricard answered for the both of us, "but if the dragons will not come willingly, the deal is off."

The king nodded in agreement and dismissed us. The people gathered in the hall were dismissed to begin the building of the school. Ricard and I left to speak with the dragons in my realm.

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As I stood on the ridge, overlooking Daobeth, the feeling of dread from years ago returned. The rest of the dragons who had worked with the other humans like Ricard and I had stood by me on either side. Things had started to turn for the worse as the school gained notoriety. Some of the dragons did not like how their dragonlords treated them and how much the dragonlords demanded of them.

Without warning, some of the dragons who stood by me took flight and attacked the city and the training grounds with fire and rocks. Some picked up items the humans made and dropped them from a great height to add to the damage and carnage. The sight before my eyes was something Ricard and I had never bargained for or envisioned.

When I took flight, the screams of the humans paused for a moment, but rose to a greater height as I flew in close to look for Ricard. I flew in close to the streets of the city and the pathways of the nearby fields. I called for him in my mind more than once but didn't hear anything in return. My anxiety rose as I attempted to find the human who had become dearer to me than I knew before now.

After what felt like an eternity, I heard his weak voice in my mind. Looking in the direction from which the voice tugged, I flew towards him. It didn't take me long to find the area where he was. Somehow, I had flown over him a few times at the center of the school grounds. The once beautiful main hall where I had been able to fit inside with my wings outstretched all those years ago was reduced to nothing more than a large pile of rubble.

I landed close to the middle of the pile, having heard Ricards voice coming from the center of what was the main hall where he had been preparing for a gathering of the dragons and dragonlords. He had wanted to calm the waters between dragon and human, but the rift between our two species had obviously become too great.

I dug as quickly and as safely as I could, not wanting to put more stone on top of him, but not wanting to harm him more by removing too much weight too quickly. As I worked, my heart continued to pound, and the blood rushed through my body as though my life depended on saving this human who had become so dear.

With the removal of the last stone, I found the dragonlord who could have stopped this whole situation from spiraling out of control. He laid there, body mangled, blood pooled around his body.

My heart fell, his body was shredded beyond recognition. As I stood there, looking down at his body, my mind and heart searched through all of the history of the dragons and of magic to remember something, anything that could help. That was when I remembered: my scales could save him. I started pulling off scales around my heart as quickly as I could, laying them over him to protect and heal him.

"Pendragon, stop," Ricard faintly said. "It's of no use, I'm not long for this world."

"This is not how it's supposed to end," I replied, knowing full well he was right in spite of my efforts to save him.

"It is up to you now; you must continue the training. They all look to you," Ricard continued.

"It will not be the same, young dragonlord. Humanity will not see another like you," I interjected again, an eye always watching the scales to see if they would work in spite of Ricards words.

Ricard took one slow breath, smiled up at me, then closed his eyes as he exhaled for the last time, peace replaced the stress and strain he had lived with all these years.

With anger and loss in my heart, my head reared back as a roar of grief filled the air throughout the five kingdoms. The ground rumbled beneath my feet. The sounds of war waned as my roar softened.

My mind was blank, my body numb as I stood over Ricards body. Time passed and I didn't notice how much passed until I realized a voice was speaking to me in my mind. I blinked and looked around for the voice.

Off to my right stood an old man, long white hair and a white beard, hunched shoulders, and leaned against a tall staff. He stood there silently, how long he stood there I never knew. The look on his face and in his eyes at that moment told me he knew things I would never know. That he knew what it was to be without someone in your head and heart in the way Ricard and I were connected.

"Don't worry," the old man said, "things do get better, but not for long. Humans do become greedy, the dragon will become extinct, becoming nothing more than a myth. But dragons will be remembered. Take heart Pendragon, Ricard's death will not be in vain.

"Now go, bury your friend. Take care of your kind. Let them know what it's like to be connected to a dragonlord, continue the training the two of you began," the old man finished and turned to leave.

As I picked Ricard up, I turned to thank the old man for his kind words but saw no one. I extended my wings and flew to the mountain where Ricard and I met on more than one occasion when we first met. Having slipped into the side of the mountain, into the cave Ricard hid with the magic afforded him, I laid him on the ledge he used to stand on so we could look each at each other at eye level. Once I had said my goodbyes, I left, causing a rockslide to cover the opening, to keep anyone from finding his body. I never saw that man again after that day.

Once the funeral proceedings were finished, I left Daobeth for good, returning to my lands and never hearing the call of another dragonlord for over four thousand years.

Many of the dragonlords and dragons who stayed behind knew a time of peace and continued the trainings of dragon and dragonlord. Times were good for them. I knew many dragons who wisely guided their dragonlords to serve the Five Kingdoms where others struggled and ultimately failed.

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I tell this story so the facts do not become legends and myth, but history. Many other dragons and dragonlords may twist the facts to serve their purpose. Humans may forget this and chalk it up to be legend and myth, claiming that dragons cannot exist.

The mighty city of Daobeth is now just stones that show the mere skeletal system of the great city. What was once a great city, often considered the most powerful kingdom of the Five Kingdoms of this land, it fell as though it were nothing. After thousands of years of semi peace and prosperity between the humans and dragons, things went wrong. The dragons rose up again and attacked the city, causing so much of what Ricard and Pendragon fought and died for, to be plunged into a semi extinction.

Regardless of the outcome, this account is precious because it is the origin story for a very famous dragonlord. A dragonlord who is known more for the magic he possesses than his ability to commune with and rule the dragon. The dragons know him as the last of the dragonlords, but humanity knows him as Merlin………