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A human scholar will tell you that the origin of dragon myths in different cultures is multifaceted and has evolved over time. At their core, dragon myths represent power, prosperity, and protection, as well as fear and destruction. They will say that the similarities come not from a shared origin but that despite the variations in their appearances and meanings across cultures, they are a natural psychological response to the human condition in much the same way that there are boogeymen in every culture as well as heroes and villains.
But we believe there was a time when human and dragon walked hand in hand, so to speak. There’s no evidence of this just as there is no evidence of humans and dragons not walking hand in hand. There is also no evidence of dragons breathing fire other than the tradition being a part of dragon culture for millennia. I don’t know why we find it so easy to believe there was some physiological way for us to expel flame from deep within us but not easy to accept humanity once thought of dragons not as myth but as real and lived in harmony with us.
In any case, whenever a dragon reveals himself to a human, there is a period of adjustment that invariably takes months. There’s a gradual change until finally the acceptance is complete and the comfort, the knowledge that the existence of the creature doesn’t pose a threat but instead represents the best possible ally on Earth. It takes time. It is, after all, a sea change in perspective.
But not for Brooke.
Most certainly, this is a sea change in perspective for her but there was no time involved. She went from shock to acceptance almost instantly and as for the comfort, that seemed to happen immediately as well. Certainly, she finds herself amazed as she learns new things and, of course, surprised and thrilled with each new experience. When I carried her for the first time, she seemed a little girl again, a child filled with wonder and joy. When she watched me hunt from the top of a mountain, she clapped her hands just like a child when I snatched up an ibex.
There is no disbelief.
There is no fear.
There is even no need to convince her of things. I express to her thoughts inherent in dragon culture, and she understands them. I don’t mean that she accepts my word. I mean what I tell her makes sense to her. What I tell her seems right and understandable. She inherently understands the difference between dragons who think as I do and the aggressive dragons who dream of world domination and would think of humanity as no more important than the goats and antelopes I hunt.
I can’t pretend I don’t worry about how Brooke will feel but I’m also damned tired of Brantley and, frankly, tired of his damned daughter, Amelie.
Lord Brantley stops talking and my father looks around the table. “Thank you, Lord Brantley,” he says, “who shall respond first.”
I have to fight back laughter when Brooke says, “I will, Your Majesty.” A human at the table not as an observer is already shocking to Brantley. Daring to speak is far more shocking.
I have to pull my thumb back to the point of pain under the table not to laugh at the look on Brantley’s face when my father says, “Please do, Miss Patterson.”
ChapterFourteen
Fire
Brooke
“You’re not talking about revealing yourselves to humanity,” I say as the true nature of his words hit me. “You’re talking about subjugating humanity, of enslaving us.”
By this time, I’m used to shocked expressions when I speak. In other cases, though, I think the idea of a girl in her twenties having insight into international business and, even more shocking, I suppose, having authority to make decisions they don’t believe I’m qualified or entitled to make. Of course, this isn’t an international business transaction. This is dragon stuff and pretty damned…uh, dragony. Yeah, that’s not a word but it’s accurate.
The man, or dragon, I suppose glares at me. He stands and says to Aiden, “Why do you bring this ape to a meeting of wyrms, hatchling?”
I see Aiden’s eyes narrow and his muscles tense. Before he can stand, though, his father stands. “Sit down, Lord Brantley!” If Aiden’s voice has the power of command, it is nothing compared to the power of his father. Brantley blanches and sits automatically. “This is no hatchling. You address Aiden Tan Vipera, Sixth of the Name, Inheritor of the Three Kingdoms, Keeper of the Flame of Nar, and Protector of Destiny. You address the Hero of Red Aerie and the son of my wings. You address the dragon you, your children, and your grandchildren will call king! He is no hatchling to be dismissed out of hand. You are my subject, and you are his subject and it is neither proper nor wise to insult him or his choice of guest.”
I see terror in the eyes of Brantley. If this dragon represents the primary challenge to the supremacy of house Vipera, it seems to me there is very little risk of that supremacy being challenged in any substantial way. It is also astounding to me to see the similarities between Aiden and his father for the first time. His father, in human form, seems to me almost as imposing as Aiden in his dragon form.
The king tuns to me and says gently, “Miss Patterson, I apologize for the rudeness. Please continue.”
“Humanity has not the physical strength of the dragons,” I say. I don’t know why I’m not tentative. “That is true but that doesn’t mean humanity has no value. Nor does it mean that humanity is somehow devoid of capability. Your wealth, your strength, and your position in this world comes from your effective use of human institutions and human industry. I agreed to move thousands of miles from my home, the first time I left my country, for no other reason than because the Vipera family represents the pinnacle ofhumansuccess.”
“But they are not human!” Brantley says and then looks even more fearful. “Uh, with respect,” he adds.
“But what allowed the Vipera family to be seen as the pinnacle of human success is constancy of purpose applied with lifetimes that last centuries. This is the true power of the family. Constancy of purpose over a century has an impact far beyond the most visionary and brilliant human whose professional career will last only forty or fifty years.”
He is silent for a moment. I can see the hatred and anger in his eyes. He finally says, “Then how much more would the ingenuity of humanity benefit dragon kind were we to harness it correctly.”
“You will find, Lord Brantley,” I say, “that the ingenuity of the human race is effective only when humanity is free.”
“I have heard enough!” he says angrily, “this is a discussion among dragons!”
“It is,” says the king, “and the matter is settled. If there ever was a time when wyrms ruled over humanity, that time has gone the way of the fire, and we will speak no more of it today.”
I’m about to ask what that means but Aiden distracts me by taking a piece of paper and writing on it. As the kind drives the discussion toward issues relating to development of safe havens in various mountain regions of the world, Aiden scribbles a note. Finally, he slides the piece of paper to me. On it, he’s written that dragons no longer breathe fire, that it was lost sometime in their history or prehistory. The statement though, is an idiom. When a dragon usesgone the way of fire, they use a phrase that means gone forever.
So, he can’t breathe fire. Well, that’s one more question about his nature that’s answered for me.
