The Man With the Sun in His Chest

There weren't always dragons in the Valley, and when there were, we found peace in their presence, for dragons have long been the teachers of wisdom and patience. Many lessons can be learnt from these creatures of fire and air. When one has a burning fire deep within them, they can become easily consumed, it takes true patience and empathy to cool the flame and act through kindness. Creatures of such immortality experience first-hand the destructive nature of ones own inner flame, the raw power and potential stored in a single wild spark can ignite a whole nation. one misguided thought or impulsive action can ruin all that one holds dear and precious in their heart.

For dragons it is a right of passage to tame their inner flame, for me, it is a duty that I owe to myself and to others.

'The man with the sun in his chest.'

I have been named many things in my life: honey, sweetie, Jerry, funny, kind, caring, heart-broken, lost, reclusive, distracted, impatient, aggressive, unhinged, crazy... but the one that seems to have stuck is, 'the man with the sun in his chest' or 'Sunny' for short. At first glance, the name seems rather stoic, no? But the meaning behind those words run deep, and it does not colour me in a kind light, for the sun is a source of infinite destructive capabilities, and although it is beautiful and warm from a far, stand to close and you will burn.

My story, like many others, started off pure. A child knows no ills other than the denial of candy, and the crash of sugar, but once he has reached adolescence, the cruelty of man becomes ever so apparent, and although the child may want to remain pure, it will taint the light he shines with bitterness and distrust. Healing happened, internal work and repent followed, lessons learnt and tears shed, but those fowl lessons were doomed to repeat themselves. How many times must one heal his own trust, mend his own heart, and open himself back up again before he finally gives in? For me, the betrayal of a friend, the paranoia of a mother, the mind games of an ally, the cruelty of a simpleton, and the lust of a women was the breaking point. Two long years, one thing after the other, with no time to heal or process, I found myself growing smaller and smaller, until the good natured heart I was determined to protect was scarred forever...

A man can only take so much.

That's where my Adventure began, a boy of youth, with the soul of a bitter old man, desperate to end his own suffering, desperate to find peace, and willing to do anything to achieve this. I had grown sick of even myself. Who was I to utter the cold words of infectious hopelessness? What gave me the right to crush the spirits of a well meaning friend only trying to help? How could I call myself a man when I find it only too easy to upset those who I take for granted? No more will I suffer; no more will I allow my inner flame to burn others; no more will I be weak to the cruelties of men! Today is the day...

The day I hunt a dragon!

With my provisions at the ready, garments equipped and prepared, horse saddled and mounted, I decorated my small country home with a fierce dust cloud, engulfing the surrounding snowy-white-flowered meadow as Castielle and I galloped full speed towards 'Dragons Bane Valley'. The fabled valley had gained it's fame not only from the dragons of which resided there, but also from the immense beauty that it possessed. Rumour had it that the waterfalls glistened a cool turquoise, that the trees grew boundless and ancient, dripping with vines and honeydew, and that the very cliff-faces themselves were bejewelled with natural crystals ranging from translucent opals to transparent purples. It is said that a moment's gaze can drive a man insane, as it makes him grateful to the All-Father for creating such delight, while simultaneously eclipsing all other beauties, rendering him unable to enjoy the simpler splendours of mundane life.

The sound of the wind pulsing through my wavy black hair and the drumbeat of my stallions gallop silenced any thought of doubt that I might have had. Adrenaline was a friend of great power, but equally as weak as my courage. Not 5 minutes of determined steadfast adventuring had commenced before I realised how foolish I had been... Dragons? DRAGONS? No one has seen a dragon for decades, I have NEVER seen one! What if the rumours aren't true? What if they catch one whiff of my flesh and devour me and my noble stead whole? Or worse, savoured every bite... What was I thinking..., foolish Sunny, foolish!

My mind rambled through each and every reason why I couldn't have been any more stupid when...

"Spectacular, ain't it?" A funny looking old man with a straw hat and crooked looking pipe professed to me. "Not 2 days ago that was made, mm hmm," he continued.

"Nice fella too, real soothing voice! Helped me through a pickle with the misses e' did, now we be making love again like when we were kids." He chuckled, daydreaming into the distance with a perverse smirk.

"What you talking about old man, I don't have time for your nonsense," I scoffed.

"Why, the giant foot print yer standin' in, ain't that the reason you stopped er'?"

The confusion on his face seemed sweet and kind, almost reminiscent of the simplicity of a child... How annoying! But he was right, when I looked down I found my self in shock, a 4 toed footprint, slightly smaller than my little house, surrounded Castielle and I. It had crushed all vegetation and soil into a rock solid platform, leaving a charming wound on the lush fields of Drunganor. Two days ago I was fishing by the foggy waters not too far from my home, how could I have missed a Dragon only 5 minutes away? I took a breath to calm my frustrations and looked back around to the old man, I could see by his expression that he had drifted into another perverted daydream. "Sorry, sir, but can you tell me where he went? Did he have a name?" I asked gently attempting to redo the horrible first impression I'm sure I gave.

"Sir now, am I?" he chuckled. "One moment I'm a dirty ol' man and now I'm a sir?"

I gritted my teeth. "Actually...," I paused to breath. "I never called you dirty, only old." I corrected him, hoping that pointing out his mistake might warm him up to me.

"And you called me a man, too!" he chuckled to himself, as though he'd been waiting to say that "I'm only messin with ya kid, you seemed easy ta mess with."

Another annoying chuckle.

After a few moments of what I assumed was him replaying the scene in his mind, he let out a micro chuckle and continued.

"Sure, I know where he went, right over those mountains there, e' mentioned somethun about a concert, Veriathain was his name, and he waddunt too plain either" He let out a whimsical chuckle this time.

I was gone before he could finish his joke, I bet he went home to tell his wife all about how he messed with Sunny... that dirty ol' man.

Amazing! All my doubts and worries found themselves answered by a simpleton rambling mostly to himself, Dragons are still around, and they truly are kind and wise! I can't wait to meet Veriathain, the dragon who will teach me everything!

If I had anyone who cared enough to watch me go, they would see my silhouette heading straight for the mountain, but since I didn't, I would just have to imagine it for them.

It looked majestic.