The Lost and
Lonely Dragon
by Richard
Tornello
Dedicated to Neil P.
Williams friend and illustrator, 2021 RIP
Illustration By Stephanie Burgee ©
Used with permission palettemage@gmail.com
Once upon a time in a lush mountain
setting there lived a very lonely and unhappy
dragon.
In the land of his birth, dragons
were respected for their wisdom and beauty, but
he now lived in a world where humans despised
dragons. In fact, dragons were considered evil
monsters that brought chaos and death. Dragons
were always targets for unprovoked attacks by any
fool in armor who encountered them. And although
this land itself was beautiful, the dragon knew
he could never be happy there.
He vaguely remembered his old home,
having left it when he was oh so young. He had
been flying high over the ocean, doing aerial
acrobatics, a favorite past time of his. Then to
rest, he spread his wings. He was gliding and
basking in the sunlight, when he was caught
unawares in a terrible typhoon. Never
having flown so high, so long without the older
dragons to guide him or familiar landmarks, he
could not find his way back home. He was totally
lost.
After many nasty experiences with
people in this new world, The Dragon withdrew to
a place away where he felt no one would ever find
him. He discovered a great mountain with a deep
dark forest far away from those who would do him
harm -- which, sadly, seemed to be any living
thing on two legs. Animals and birds, on the
other hand, feared him at first. But when they
learned and saw he meant no harm then accepted
his presence.
Even though his memories of home
were fading as time went on (for dragons live for
a very long time), he knew deep in his heart that
he missed the good people and animals of his home
world. Sad and alone he said to himself over
again, "Dragons don't cry. I'm secure here,
I am safe…but alone. I have the animals."
It would have been more accurate
just to say he was alone, for the loneliness
seemed to weigh more heavily with every year that
passed and the idea of safety seemed less
important.
####
In the worlds of men and women wars
are a common occurrence. They cause great
suffering and not too much good comes from them.
Humans have persisted in this ritual bloodletting
throughout the ages. And wars are always followed
by famine and pestilence. Thus it was that the
people of one village, whole families, had to
flee their homeland, its fields rendered
infertile, its waters tainted.
Circumstances change -- and when
they have been very unkind for a long, long time,
sometimes they change for the better.
The people unknowingly took refuge
in The Dragon's lonely wooded and mountainous
home. It was so far away from all that had gone
on, from roads and marketplaces and castles, no
one had ever bothered to explore it. It was
almost as if the land was invisible or forgotten.
It certainly was not located on any current map.
The refugees that entered the forest
had very little food left, almost no shelter
except for crude tents made of cloth and fur
stretched over wood gathered from the forest
floor, and winter was approaching. The leaves
were changing color and falling to the ground
like red and gold rain; the geese flew in large
flocks almost blackening the sky; and the little
animals disappeared as they began their winter
hibernations. The people were tired and
frightened to the point where they lacked the
will to use the few tools they had salvaged to
build houses or gather more food.
War does that to people even after
the conflicts are over. The scars remain.
Dragons have keen eyesight,
incredible hearing and also have the gift of
understanding. They have no trouble with
different languages. All languages are the same
to them. Thus it was that the dragon saw the
refugees arrive and overheard their conversations
long before they got close and set up camp. He
knew what he had to do.
####
When the people reached the base of
the mountain they discovered food, lumber for
shelter and other items that the dragon thought
they might require.
"How did this happen? Who could
have done this? Is it for us?"
Of course The Dragon was not so
foolish as to come out of hiding and say, "It
was ME! No thanks required. I only wanted to help."
The people looked around and found
no notes, letters or tracks for that matter. It
was as if all this bounty appeared out of thin
air.
The days passed. Autumn turned to
winter, with snowdrifts higher than a man's head,
but heartened by the unexpected charity of their
unknown benefactor, the people built sturdy homes
with the materials provided. The dragon watched
over them, and when he saw or heard that the
people needed more wood, or meat or other
foodstuffs, he would deliver them to the center
of the new village, melting a clearing in the
head-high snow.
As The Dragon continued to assist
the people, they grew stronger and more settled.
You might ask how the dragon was never spotted.
Dragons have a cloak of invisibility!
Dragons are born with this skill. They are able
to bend light around them so that only a careful
observer just might be able see even the faintest
trace, well just maybe. Dragons can cloak and
uncloak at will
Day after day and year after year
the people attempted to discover their great
benefactor, to no avail. The Dragon cared for
them as his own, not looking for benefit or power.
That was the dragon's nature. It mattered little
to him if the humans knew it was their "local
dragon". Out of the kindness of his heart he
kept them alive in the first rough year. This
would have been considered normal dragon kindness
in his old homeland.
As it was wont to happen, one day
The Dragon, tired after his exertions, let his
cloak “fall” as he rested under a great
cedar tree. Where that tree came from in this
forest I will never know. It was the biggest tree
in the whole forest. There was nothing like it.
It was the dragon's favorite tree. He seemed to
feel he some received nourishment from its
perfume.
Around the same time the dragon was
dozing two children came upon him. They had been
wandering through the woods. The two looked at
each other and back at the dragon and then to
each other again. They smiled. They picked up
some tree limbs and acting like soldiers began to
attack the dragon. They were really too young to
know better but old enough to know this was a
good and proper action for the given situation.
They were not afraid.
They poked and prodded, banged and
yelled all sorts of things. They did a dance
around the sleeping dragon.
The Dragon became aroused as one
would by a fly buzzing around while one slept. He
opened one eye to see just where this bothersome
noise was coming from. He spied the two and let
them continue their attacks for a while. Then he
realized, What's all this! They can see me!
How can they see me? He realized he had
“dropped his cloak” before he dozed off.
He awoke fully, quickly and alert!
His head turned around to face his
two attackers who were yelling and laughing until
the two big dragon eyes bore down on them.
The two children stopped immediately.
The dragon inquired gently, "Children,
just what are the two of you attempting to
accomplish here? And more importantly, why?"
"You're a Dragon," the
smaller of the two replied quickly. "Yes,
and we are soldiers and we are supposed to slay
you" said the other. Both were nodding in
agreement.
The Dragon breathed in a deep sad
breath and sighed asking. "Why must you slay
me? Have I done anything to harm you?"
"No, you're a Dragon.
It's the rules," one of them shouted. They
renewed their attack.
Brave little ones, he
thought. And aloud, he asked, "And who made
those rules?" over the clatter of their
wooden tree branch weapons banging harmlessly off
his armored body.
The children never had contact with
a real Dragon before. They had only heard stories
about dragons. They stopped their attack. The two
children looked at each other and back at The
Dragon and each other. They shrugged their
shoulders. " We don’t know exactly. You
know all the stories and just because," said
one. "Yes, just because," said the
other.
"'Just because' is not a real
reason for anything when you think about it, is
it?" The Dragon asked.
The children had no answer and were
puzzled.
The Dragon pointed to his tail and
gestured for them to sit, which they did with out
fear.
They sat by his tail and wondered
what was to happen to them. But they were not
worried. They had barely escaped the fringes of a
war and had seen the wounded and the dead on
their journey here. They had seen men fight 'just
because'. In other words, they had seen worse
than a sleepy inquisitive dragon.
As if The Dragon could read their
minds, he said, "Well first, I'm not going
to hurt you, just because."
The children giggled.
"And I'm not going to hurt you
for a real cause, either, since I don't
have one -- hitting me with sticks did no harm,
so it doesn't count. How's that for starters?"
"OK. We like that," both
of them said while nodding in full agreement.
Intuitively they both knew if something bad were
going to happen it would have occurred.
"Good." The Dragon smiled
inwardly (not that any one could tell from a
dragon's facial expressions anyway).
The Dragon was now serious when he
inquired, "Now answer me this, how did you
two get here? Why aren't you with your families?"
"That's an easy one," said
by the smallest. "We are all looking for the
person or people who gave us the food and
supplies. They never show themselves. We think it's
magic. The adults don't know what to think. They
want to thank who ever it may be."
The Dragon thought, that is good
to know -- but at this point in time I'm not sure
anyone would believe me, or these two youngsters
here. What to do, what to do...
Aloud, he said, "Listen you two.
I will help you find your benefactor." He
did whatever dragons do instead of crossing their
fingers -- dragon's talons, while surprisingly
deft are not made for crossing. He continued,
"However you must never mention me or that
you met me until I tell you. You may meet me here
and I will have some information or some
assistance for you, your family and your quest.
If they ask, simply tell them you found it under
this tree. You won't be lying since I will leave
what I find and what you require under it. OK?"
The Dragon was unsure of this plan. After all,
these two had attacked him, and they represented
the thinking of the villagers. But he decided to
take the chance.
"Okay," they responded to
his question.
"See you tomorrow. By the way,
what do you think the elders could use most?"
"Books, nails, tools, supplies
for household activities... and toys," they
added sheepishly.
The Dragon's heart thumped and he
raised his head slightly. "Books?
What kind of books?"
"We're not sure. We do want to
educate everyone. Everyone reads writes, studies
mathematics and science. We have few books since
we left our homes during the wars."
Hmmm, thought The Dragon. In the old
abandoned city on the other side of the mountain
there was a library. It had been well made; even
after years or decades of neglect, it remained
intact, the books and papers inside dry and
perfectly preserved. The rest of the city was
almost as sound. It was The Dragon's second home
especially in very bad weather, when dragon-sized
dry spots were hard to find. The Dragon read here
every chance he got. He was a voracious reader.
The subjects didn’t matter. This was his
second home.
The refugees had passed near the
city on their way here. The dragon would learn in
time that any place where he spent enough time
cloaked, that place became harder to see. Perhaps
if they had been less tired, less hungry, and
less afraid, they might have investigated the
area, but knowing only that it made them
uncomfortable to look in that direction, they had
bypassed the whole place as if in a dream.
The Dragon gave some thought to the
requests. Basic requirements I can do easily
enough. Books are another question, for other
reasons.... Removing the books from the
library would risk damaging them. He would have
to guide someone to the library. That would take
some doing and trust. Trust would have to earned
from by the dragon and less so by the children.
Over time The Dragon supplied the
settlers with less and less. He was able to
observe they were able to fend for themselves
rather well. He also noticed these people were
not warlike as the others he had met in the past.
He chalked up the initial rude awakening he
experienced by the two children to their past
experiences and cultural myths. The two children
met him every now and then. He was polite but
careful knowing quite well what humans were
capable of doing especially when they were afraid.
As the children grew older and
bolder they asked more specific questions. The
first one being, “Okay Dragon, so what was
so different about your old home. And what’s
your name. We call you The Dragon. Surely you
have a name?”
The Dragon answered as best he could
to describe in detail aspects of his existence
that no one ever knew but had heard about in
various myths. “Its a place far to the East
where nothing was like this, where dragons were
respected. And The Dragon will do just fine as my
name.”
The Dragon had some questions for
them too. For example he wondered and questioned,
“How do you got away with the level of
chores I noticed everyone else doing. And why
aren’t you missed on these long excursions
from home?
"All of us have a trade or
business. Some of us, in addition to the physical
work you have noticed, have a duty to teach. We
have been chosen to become teachers for our
people. Parts of our lessons are to go around and
explore our surroundings, discover all there is
to discover and uncover. We are trusted and not
questioned too much. We have to write stories,
relate to our work linking back to the older
books and making relevance to our times. We, like
all of our people, are given lesson in
mathematics, sciences, the arts and other
incidentals. To answer directly, we were chosen
and we are free to go about as we please."
The older of the two began, "We
must tell you that meeting you, AND your very
existence, has altered some of our preconceived
ideas which leads us to question the basics from
which we take root."
The Dragon was amazed. Those are
big and wise words for such young children -- or
even for many adults. Maybe they are special and
have been recognized as such. I can only imagine
a world of such minds. He was more and more
inclined to show them the old city and the books.
As of this time he had not. He was pondering a
correct and safe method for this as he asked,
"Children, are you still searching for books?"
"Of course. Always. We love
them and what they bring to light good bad and
otherwise."
"Come sit on me and I will
transport you to a place where there are more
books then you can ever read in a lifetime. It's
not too far as the dragon flies," he said
with some humor. "Yes, no, maybe another
time? It is up to you."
The older of the two put hands on
hips looked up straight into the eyes of The
Dragon which I have not mentioned, was a more
content being than ever before he could remember
being. "YOU are a dragon. And up until now
you are the first dragon we have ever met. You
are supposed to eat us or enslave us or do
something terrible horrible. But yet you haven't."
The younger child said to the dragon,
"We questioned the concept of DRAGON with
the elders one time. They told us you are not
supposed to exist. You are supposed to be an
allegory of some kind for the myth structure of
the general society according to them."
The Dragon shook his head in
admiration. They seem to understand
the words they are saying. They are not just
repeating them like clever little birds...
"...That being the case, we
said no more to them," the younger child
reiterated and continued. "However here you
are! You do exist. Your existence and habits are
contrary to our myths. In conclusion, and based
upon the contradictions we feel safe. Yes we will
go with you." And off they flew.
They flew high and wide. The Dragon
wanted them to see their world from his vaunted
position as a sky animal as well as their land
perspective. They flew to the abandoned city. He
circled around it so they could take in its size
and direction from their home. They landed in an
open old park. The streets were dusty, dirty, and
like any abandoned city except things were intact.
Oddly there were no broken windows, though there
were rats and cats and bats along with a few dogs.
No thing appeared to fear anything else and all
the animals seemed to know the dragon. It was
almost as if by the very fact that these beings
were escorted by the dragon they were safe.
The Dragon led them to the library.
They knew what it was immediately and squealed
with delight. The library was The Dragon's
favorite building. This was his home. He lived
here. He read here. He loved HERE. The Dragon had
great wisdom, especially for one still as young
as he was and for his breed. Some he had been
born with. Other knowledge and wisdom he had
acquired in here. Most took at least 2000 years
to accumulate wisdom such as his. He was
different in that way.
The two gasped as he opened the
doors. They were huge. The building was one of
the larger ones on a strangely designed city grid,
flanked by two other great buildings with a road
leading straight down to yet other impressive
structures with dusty monuments. As they walked
the halls and stacks they knew the elders had
never seen anything like this in their lives.
There were stories about places like this.
Everyone thought they were just that, stories and
myths.
After many hours of poring through
the stacks they had to return home. Not wanting
to leave they set up another time to come with
the dragon. The Dragon smiled inwardly. You could
hardly tell anyway. He had to fight fear and
prejudice to protect and hide his treasure. This
was his treasure, the library. And now he had an
even greater treasure, someone to share all his
treasure.
Flying back with the children The
Dragon showed them his aerial skills. He did a
loop the loop, a barrel roll and finished up with
a cobra stall to a controlled glide in, wings
wide and a gentle flare. Plop. The children were
laughing all the way.
THE END?
Copyright
© 2009 revised 2021 Richard Tornello
All rights reserved by copyright holders.
All characters, except The Dragon, are fictitious.
Any resemblance to persons living or dead, places,
or events are coincidental.
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