A Dragon and a dream

 There are so many myths about dragons.

Our people have inspired, terrified, aided, destroyed, educated and given wise counsel to so many. We capture the imagination like no other. Dragons! We reek of history and brimstone.

Actually, the reek of brimstone thing doesn't apply. Most of us don't reek of anything. We bathe. With soap. We brush our teeth. Don't you?  Although, on the breath of a fire dragon, you might catch the barest whiff of brimstone, if  they have ingested a sulphurous compound for medicinal purposes. They say it dispels dyspepsia. But I digress.

Myths are important. They fill in blank pages of history where there can be no proof, because facts are missing. Some myths have more than a grain of truth in them. Others have more than a grain of salt in them, and should be taken with such. On every world where there are intelligent beings, you will find mythology. Creation myths, destruction myths, everything in between. Stories engage the imagination and fascinate. Our stories translate our perceptions of the world, no matter which world that might be. They're important.

There are as many myths and stories about dragons as there are dragons. That's a lot of stories, and a lot of dragons, too. Some myths are foolish. Some are true. Some are deadly. Let me explain.

There are myths which encourage one to believe that all dragons live in caves, hoard treasure, and bite the heads off humans who bumble by. We're portrayed as greedy, murderous, treacherous reptiles. Fact check: Untrue.

Caves were the original homes for humans, and  dragons.  But do you still  live in a cave?   Humans and  dragons hoard treasure. No, you say? Got any investments? Hmmmm. 

 

I admit, some dragons have behaved badly, and they have caused terrible press for us all. But I ask you: Have humans never killed? Are humans always honest?

   And we are not reptiles. Is the platypus a reptile? No. It is not.   Dragons bear eggs, but we are warm blooded.  We are an ancient and venerable people. There are those of us who can, and do, look like you. Never forget this.

Biting someone's head off was usually verbal, not literal, but  gore soaked exaggerations can capture more attention than the truth, which is much less exciting, and won't cause rounds of ale to flow.  In the old days, a sensible human who accidentally annoyed a dragon would engage in dialogue. They would apologise for their rude behaviour, accept being admonished and lectured about their manners, enjoy a profferred cup of tea, then hop on their horse, and go home.

Which brings us to myths concerning dragon hospitality, and the importance our culture places on tea, and good manners.

To dragons, offering a cup of tea is the epitome of courtesy. It's a long standing tradition, possibly dating back to the beginnings of friendly relationships between dragonfolk, and the first Chinese Imperial families. All who lived in those days are gone now. The tea tale has become an origin myth. But this myth is nice. We like it.

Some stories are not so nice. We need those too, but for different reasons.

An horrible theme of some of the more pernicious myths, is that of dragonfolk devouring human women. Grannies, maidens, peasants and princesses alike.  Ugh. We don't do that. We don't eat people. Ok, so maybe a dragon has, on occasion, bitten off more of something they shouldn't chew, but we do not eat people.

The deadly sorts of myths also encourage humans to believe that dragons had nothing better to do than to go flying around over fields scorching crops, burning villages and terrifying citizens. One might think that our biggest thrill in life was blasting castles to rubble, and carrying off all of the cows, just because we could.

Now granted, I will admit that the carrying off of a heiffer or two did occasionally occur. It wasn't often, but beef is tasty, and sheep tend to get stuck between your teeth.

Just like humans, not all of my folk are benevolent and good. There are some dragons with a penchant for moral ambiguity that would put a human politician to shame. And do remember, please, that we defended those villagers. Raiders and bandits stayed far away from a place that was known to be under the protection of a dragon. Don't you think that's worth a stringy heiffer here and there, or an excess bull? Many farmers were courteous enough to negotiate with a dragon every year in exchange for services. But again, we're speaking of ye olden days. It's not done anymore.

Besides. Any dragon fool enough to carry off cattle now, had better be prepared to become an instant sensation on social media. Or even worse...A meme.

Please don't think that I'm  completely biased towards dragonkind, I'm not.  You may have heard another myth about dragons. The myth about our shapeshifting abilities. This myth is true. We're magickal, and we can shapeshift, athough we can only shift from our dragon form into one other form. We're given the opportunity to choose once, when we are egglings. If we take the opportunity, we make our choice, and  that will be who we always are.

The ability to shift into a cat is very popular. Big cats, small cats, no matter. Cat is the number one choice. Cat form takes the top spot, because you can't choose to be a God. We're magickal creatures, but there are limits. If you can't be a God, be a cat. Next best thing.

Human form is the second most popular choice. I love cats, but if someone tells you dragons don't suffer from allergies, they're trying to sell you something.

Other animals are occasionally chosen, but you'll probably never see a dragonrabbit, a dragonpig or a dragonsquirrel. I did meet a dragonchicken once. Their eggs looked weird, they ran in terror when the wind blew, and they shed feathers all over the place.

I chose human form. I'm glad I did. There are drawbacks, such as when I shift, I become human. I'm still dragon, but I'm dragon-human. I become soft, squishy, and physically weak. Subject to emotional vicissitudes, and  unpleasant physical experiences. Scaleless, small, and quiet. A human who is shouting will cause a dragon who overhears to laugh aloud, then deliver a wry comment - "Is that the best you can do?" But the advantages outweigh the liabilities.

In human form, I don't require as much oxygen to suvive. I'm smaller. I fit comfortably into tight spaces. My scales and tail disappear, but I gain opposable thumbs! Never underestimate the opposable thumb. It's a game changer.

And remember what I said about dragons all living in caves? Sea caves, land caves, crumbling castles? Do you want to live in a crumbling castle? I don't. Caves? Yuck. Under water? No. I'm not a sea dragon. Sea dragons will inhabit shipwecks, but avoid caves, because they know that an octopus prefers to live in an underwater cave. It will choose the best one as its primary real estate. No dragon would dare to evict an octopus from its home. Not only is it a dreadfully unkind thing to do, as you've been told, we dragonfolk have our myths and legends as well, and we aren't the only ones who shapeshift. Cephalopods do it too. Nobody wants to wrench someone who appears to be a humble octopus from their peaceful abode, only to encounter an infuriated Kraken in the middle of the night.

So, where do I live? Out in the cosmos, on a cozy interstellar craft, with my friend Glob, who is the heart, soul, and propulsion/navigation/life support system control. Glob is that small, glowing being, floating in a cylinder of nutrient medium, which you'll see as you look in from the hallway which leads to the bridge.

Glob is one of many. Each indivdual being is telepathically connected to all of them. On their home planet they live at the bottom of an ocean, which covers the entire surface of their world. They look like a vast layer of gelatinous goo, studded with tiny glowing spheres, and each gooey little sphere is a being. They are happy, peaceful folk . The majority of them never leave their world, but the ones who do joyfully co pilot starships, because their knowledge of  interstellar navigation, engineering, and life support systems is superb. Ship builders seek them out specifically, they're the finest co pilots in the universe. Their intelligence and curiosity is boundless.

To Glob's people, everything is something to think home about, and if one discovers something new, they are all instantly aware. A hundred monkeys are rank amateurs compared with Glob's people.

I was astonished by Glob's conversance with the culture of Earth, but due to the transmissions which have been beaming out into space since the first days of radio, its people receive the old broadcasts. They love them. But they're so far away, the more recent transmissions have yet to catch up. And even though they're surprisingly in touch with current events, (Co pilots get all the gossip first,) the broadcasts take more time to reach them. So there's a cultural gap.

One of Glob's first questions to me was,"When will we receive the latest episodes of "You Bet your Life?" I tactfully suggested that their future would hold many delights, explained syndication, and hinted around about Dr Who. Hey. Even if something is old, it's new if it's new to you, right? I was sloppy with my thoughts, but Glob's people are way too polite to snicker about spoilers. I warned them to be extremely careful about avoiding psychic contamination via news casts. They knew this, but thanked me for considering their emotional state. All of us are now friends for life.

Space travel is where human form comes in handy. My dragon form is massive. I'd be too big and heavy for the ship, and wouldn't fit into a spacesuit. If oxygen is in short supply, smaller lungs are better. Glob does its best to keep things temperate and breatheable, but accidents can happen, and if something goes wrong, I'll have a much better chance of saving both myself, and Glob, if I'm more mobile. 

So, suits. Lungs. Courage. And opposable thumbs.

With opposable thumbs, all things are possible. Things which would be way too awkward in dragon form. Shuffling decks of cards, dividing them into piles, or pulling them individually out of the deck at random; Laying them  out into patterns to see a story unfold in visual symbolism, it's a beautiful thing.  Sometimes I'll get the message wrong, but it happens to everyone who reads cards, no reader is perfect. Please, don't shoot down the messenger. Spacecraft parts are expensive, and my consultation rates are modest.

I've been fascinated by tarot since I first discovered it. Once a silly distraction for bored nobles and courtiers in Renassance Italy, Tarot has become a modern a form of divination which can be uncannily accurate. Tarot imagery reflects the human condition. I'm not surprised about the accuracy, what surprises me, is the ignorance of otherwise intelligent beings, concerning pretty picture cards. It's a like a fart in a spacecraft- No matter how you try to clear the air, it fouls the environment.

  I voyage through the cosmos, having fun, and staunchly confronting ignorance wherever I go. Earth no longer feels like home to me. I return there from time to time, but you'll be more likely to find me out here. An interstellar, tarot reading dragon, accepting clients from all over the universe. I love my Earth based clients, but I've discovered some amazing beings on some amazing worlds. I love them all. Mostly.

 I have stories to tell. And some of them, I shall tell to you.

(To be continued)

 

This is a work of fiction, for entertainment purposes only.  All characters are fictional. Any resemblance to any person, either living or dead, is purely coincidental.  No reproduction of this work, without express permission of the author. All rights reserved.

Dragons dislike plagiarism. You have been warned.