Chapter 26

“Uhhh, Vic? Are you awake?”

Despite the faint crackling of torches vibrating in his ears, Victor couldn’t bring himself to awaken. The morning hours had never been kind to him, but ever since the change it’s grown worse. Dragons like their sleep, it seemed. A rumble rolled out of his throat.

“Vic… i-is that still you in there, or?”

Despite fierce protests from his body, he pried his eyelids open. His maw flew open, and out flew a yawn. Leaving the comforting warmth of his next was a struggle, but alas: Time paid no heed to mortal requests. With a grunt, he pushed himself off the ground.

“I’m here!” shouted Victor, fluttering his wings and stretching his limbs. He relished in the new day with a deep breath, but the pleasantness he expected wasn’t there. Instead, the scent of fear streamed into his nostrils. A glance around his lair revealed the source. A cowering William seated against the wall, quivering in fear at the red dragon before him.

Did I do something wrong? Victor’s nerves took hold, as he licked his lips. He lowered himself before his friend, at a level which would’ve been eye-to-eye were William to stand up. “Will? Is everything okay?” William sheepishly nodded. Victor stroked his cheeks with a claw. “Why are you so afraid all of a sudden? I’m not out to hurt you.”

William’s muscles relaxed a bit, as did the smell. “I know, but… you scared me when you opened your mouth. For a second I thought you weren’t, uhh, yourself anymore. What with the weird sounds and all. Uhh, don’t take it personally, please.”

“Oh.” Victor hung his head low. His spirit sunk, and his slit-eyes became heavy in their sockets, as traces of the void returned. Even his friend found it difficult to not see him as the monster he had become. And who could blame him? Victor’s body was driven by instinct now; if the beast within demanded him to kill, he would.

“Nonono, it’s okay, I swear. It’s my fault, not yours,” William laid a hand on Victor’s neck.

“It’s okay,” Victor said, hoping to move on. Dwelling on it for longer would put his spirit back in peril. William nodded in reply.

“So, uhh, did you sleep well?” William asked.

Victor nodded. “Yes, really well, actually. It’s been one of the most peaceful nights I’ve had so far. And you?”

William smiled. “I don’t know why, but I loved sleeping against a dragon. I had this dream about hunting in the woods near Pine Grove with you and Eric, then stumbling on this weird cave with giant blue crystals. It was comfortably warm the entire time, as if your wing was tugged around me like a blanket.”

Victor smiled. At least some good had come out of his transformation. “I dreamed about swimming in a large lake as a dragon. I don’t remember much of it, but I do recall resting on some rocks afterwards, and airing my wings out. It felt strangely wholesome.”

“That sounds pleasant,” William said.

With a soft rumble, Victor nodded. “Being a dragon wouldn’t be so horrible, if it weren’t for the urges.”

“I understand.” William bit his cheeks. “That reminds me, how did you know I was scared of you? You didn’t even have to look at me.”

“Well…” Victor stopped to sigh. “This is going to sound strange, I know, but… I could smell it.” William eyed him dumbfounded. An awkward sense of guilt hit him square in the stomach. “It’s odd, but there’s these tiny differences in people’s smell. If someone’s happy, or angry, or scared, I notice details in their scent that give it away.” He licked at his gums, and lowered his head away.

“That’s, uhh, actually kind of uncanny, Vic.”

“I know. At least you’re not dealing with this,” said Victor, horrified by his own words. Gods almighty, I can’t believe I’m saying these things....

William shuffled into the space between Victor’s legs, and wrapped his arms around the dragon’s neck. “Don’t worry, you’ll always be my friend, right?” he said, hands rubbing the scales on the back of Victor’s thick neck.

At first, Victor didn’t understand why his friend came in for a hug. But when he felt the wet trickle down his snout, he understood. Deep down, William must’ve known how deep his suffering ran.

“Always…” said Victor, as he wrapped his forelegs around William’s back, and laid his snout over his shoulder. Talons stroking his friends’ back, he sulked. No amount of tears would teach him how to live with his condition. But it was good to have an opportunity to let everything out, with his friend there to support him.

* * *

“Alright then, here it is- Oh, wow.”

After several minutes had passed, the two were interrupted by a deep voice. A dark blue dragon poked his horned head into the lair, ears pointing up out of curiosity. “You two are Victor and William, is that correct?”

The two let go of their embrace. Victor replied with a sheepish nod. “Yes, that’s us. But who are you? And why have you come here?”

The visitor grunted, and bowed. “My name is Raghes. Lord Lothar himself instructed me to take over your teaching, and that of your… friend too. Well, I assume that’s your friend standing next to you. Unless that hug was for show alone.”

“That is my friend, yes,” Victor said.

Raghes nodded. “Alright, I see. Would you care to introduce yourself, human?”

William backed against Victor, eyes fixated on Raghes’s black horns. Victor smelled the air. Fear’s aroma had returned, and hung as a stormcloud around William. He licked at his gums. This isn’t going to end well...

“He’s not very talkative, I must say.”

Victor instinctively draped a wing over his friend. “Oh, I’m sorry. He’s still not too comfortable with dragons, besides me,” he said, then shook his head. Dragons besides me, ugh…!

“I see. Well, I wouldn’t mind giving him time to adjust. I understand it must be difficult for him.” Raghes took a few steps closer, and held out a claw. “Always start out on a good note. William, would you be so kind?”

“Go on, Will.” Victor nudged his friend towards the blue dragon with a bump of his foreleg. “It won’t be so bad.” I hope.

William didn’t like it in the slightest, but he had no choice. Raghes gazed peacefully into his eyes. He swallowed saliva, as he reached out towards the blue dragon’s claw. Slow but certain, hand and claw connected, held, then shaked one another, neither party backing away. Raghes grunted in approval.

“Well met, William.”

A chill ran up William’s spine, causing a sudden twitch. Raghes raised an eye, lowered his head to the small human, and sniffed his face. William’s limbs quivered with anxiety. The blue dragon’s occasional growls as he took in his scent didn’t help matters, in that regard.

With one final rumble, Raghes lifted his head back up. “You appear rather frightful. Why? Nothing’s been disagreeable so far, has it not?”

William shielded his stomach. “I, uhh, well, I, I don’t know...”

“He’s afraid of dragons, Raghes. Didn’t I say this earlier?” said Victor.

“Oh yes, but it caught me off guard,” Raghes replied, fluttering his wings. “ I wasn’t expecting him to be so frightened of me. The other prisoners were more accepting of those who had received the Blessing. They did not mind me at all when I visited them last night.”

Victor replied with an innocent nod. Of course, William had, like him and Eric, been led to believe dragons were nothing but monsters. It would take far more than a simple assurance all’s well for such feelings to vanish.

“Alright, enough of that. It’s time for us to start your lessons. You both have a lot to learn,” Raghes said. “Come, let us find a more suitable environment for learning.”

Victor rolled his eyes. Back to learning how to kill innocent people, great… Blue, grey, does it matter in the end?

The two friends followed Raghes to a hall, identical to the one Merahn had dragged Victor to a day earlier: Brown, cold, and empty barring the pile of training equipment.. Three carpets had been laid out; two for the students, one for the teacher, with a pile of logs in between.

“Please, make yourself comfortable,” said Raghes, gesturing with a talon at the two carpets. Victor and William followed, and lowered themselves onto the carpets. Victor shivered: The air was cold and damp, and scales only did so much. William fared a little better, thanks to his woolen clothes, but given how fierce he rubbed his arms against one another, it differed little.

“Alright, one more thing…” Raghes reeled back with a deep gasp of air and opened wings. A second later, he unleashed a gout of flames from his maw onto the log pile. The cold was replaced with a cozy warmth, akin to sitting by the hearth with a nice hot soup in the coldest months of winter. Victor and William held their claws and hands towards the fire.

“There, that’s better.” Raghes smiled, and sat upon his carpet. “Is the temperature acceptable for you two?”

“Yes,” William said.

“Most definitely, it’s a little cold still, but I think that’ll be a matter of time,” Victor said.

Raghes grunted. “Hmm, that’s good to hear. Okay, I would like to begin with a simple question, namely, what Draconism means to both of you. Is that alright?" The two friends nodded in reply. “Good, good. William, I’d like to hear from you first. Don’t be afraid of being honest, as I’d gladly appreciate it.”

“Uhh…” William appeared unsure of himself, covering his mouth with a hand. “It’s a religion that worships dragons and seeks to become dragons, because they believe dragons are better than humans. They want to rule over Lokahn, and the rest of the world.”

Raghes raised a claw to his chin, and tilted his head. “Hmm, I see. Victor, what does Draconism mean to you?”

Victor breathed in deep, straining his lungs to their limit. His blood boiled. Father had asked him numerous times in the last few weeks, as to what he thought of the Draconist religion. Alas, he didn’t have the courage, nor the right words for it at the time.

But now, eight weeks later, he did. “You venerate and worship dragonhood, to the point that you’ve forgotten about human suffering. You don’t care about what hurts the common man. Either they bend their necks before the dragon, or the dragon will slaughter them. You see yourselves as the rightful rulers of Lokahn, for whatever reason. This ‘Divinity’ says you are, and that’s reason enough, I guess.” He spat into the fire.

Raghes stared back dumbfounded into his eyes. Perhaps it hadn’t been wise to not mince words, but it felt good to get it off his chest. “Is… that what you truly believe, Victor?”

“Yes,” Victor replied.

“Hmm, yes.” Raghes sighed. “It appears we’ve become victims of a fatal misunderstanding. For the truth is far warmer than you’ve been led to believe. Allow me to explain.” He raised a talon in the air.

“We’ll see-” Victor broke off, and rubbed his head with a claw. A soothing feeling spread from head to tail, easing his tensions. All intend of rebuking the blue dragon had faded. It was as if he were a child again, and his parents calmed him down after a temper tantrum.

“In a time many centuries before us, Lokahn was a loose collection of warring tribes, who were being picked off one by one by a dark force, who sought to conquer the land and enslave its people. One day, a peasant boy was called to the Origin Mountains. It was here, in this very temple, that Divinity manifested before him. His destiny was to liberate the conquered lands, and save the Lokahnian people from foreign domination. His name was Reval.”

The tip of Victor’s tail twitched upwards. Reval? Haven’t I heard that name somewhere?

Raghes continued. “With his dragon companion Brynd, formerly a farm boy much like him, Reval went on a grandiose journey through the land, meeting the various tribes and convincing them to put aside their differences. He was a heroic man, and thanks to his efforts and leadership, he repelled the dark forces, and was crowned king of Lokahn. Ever since then, veneration of Divinity has been the order amidst Lokahn’s upper echelons.”

“Oh, wow.” William stared at Raghes, jaw hanging half open. Victor however, remained unconvinced.

“But enough about Reval for now. His story is yours to discover later. But what you ought to know, is that Draconism is not about power. Nor is it about subjugation. When one accepts Divinity’s blessing, regular life closes its doors on you,” Raghes narrated. He held his head high, and spoke in a deep voice. “Thus, to be a Draconist is to sacrifice for others. It is to protect the weak and unfortunate, not to enslave them. Many a dragon in the past vowed to never have children of their own. That is how devoted they were to this idea. Do you understand?”

“Well yes, but,” Victor 's tail whipped on the ground, sending rocks flying against the wall. “I haven’t seen any of that from your kind whatsoever. Quite the opposite, in fact.”

Raghes nodded. “I have heard. But know that those wrongdoings were the actions of rogue extremists, and not anything ordinary amongst our ranks. I apologise on their behalf.”

Victor rolled his eyes. “Thanks, I guess…” Deep down however, no apology would excuse his family and body being taken from him. Raghes could tell he wasn’t happy in the slightest. He laid one of his claws on Victor’s shoulder.

“My friend, I’ve heard many things about your wellbeing since your transformation. Are they true?”

“Probably.”

“Hmm, and do you have any problems with me inquiring why?”

Victor lowered his head, and shuddered. The blue dragon peered overhead, awaiting his response. “I’m not happy. I was forced into that fire, by my father and all the rest of you. Just a few days prior I had vowed to fight against your kin. It’s like a cruel joke. I lost my mother, my sister, my friends, and got trapped in a body with instincts and urges I can’t control.”

“...So, if I understand correctly, you were transformed against your will, and became fearful and self-loathing as a result?” Raghes said belated. William then coughed up a dusty breath. “Divinity bless you.”

“I guess,” Victor said, then sighed. “I’m terrified that these urges are going to get the better of me one day. What if I accidentally hurt someone, or kill innocent people as a result? I…” he shuddered, eyes wide open as he pictured it in his mind. The thrill of the hunt, sputters of blood, a triumphant roar, and finally the feast upon their flesh.

Raghes gave him an assuring smile. “Your fear is not needed, my friend.”

“Huh? But why?” Victor asked, “They keep hammering away at me, and they’re going to-”

“Yes, you keep feeling urges. Nothing will change that. But what are they telling you?” Raghes said, pressing the back of his claw against Victor’s chest.

Victor licked at his chops. “Well, whenever I’m hungry, I get this urge to go out and hunt for food. I feel it in my bones, I imagine it in my dreams, hunting and killing deer. And then I imagine a human in the place of the deer, and... ugh.”

“But, do you have that impulse all the time? Or does it disappear eventually?” Raghes smile grew smug.

“Well, it goes away after I’ve eaten something.”

“Indeed it does. Because your body is not asking you to kill. It is asking for nourishment, and meat is a dragon’s primary source of food. Your instincts aren’t seeking control, Victor. In the end, you are the master of your own destiny.”

“I don’t believe you. There’s a monster in me now, I know it.”

Raghes scoffed. “And, has that monster ever urged you to, say… kill that human over there?” He gestured towards William, who reeled back. Eyes widened, he stared back and forth between the two dragons.

“W-what? No, I’ve never once thought about hurting Will! He’s my friend!”

“Surely, that wouldn’t stop the beast within you from burying it’s claws into him, would it?”

Raghes words served to frighten William further. Now, he shied away from the two dragons altogether. “He’s lying, Will! Don’t believe him!” yelled Victor in desperation.

“Alright, enough tomfoolery. You of course, never held any ill intentions towards him. He’s your friend, after all. Your mistake is in believing the dragon within wishes to take control. It does not, and can not. Your dragonhood is but one part of you, and will always be subservient to your whims.”

Victor’s jaw hung slightly open in disbelief. It sounded far too good to be true. “What if I get hungry, and humans are the only thing nearby?”

Raghes smiled. “Nothing. You won’t harm them, unless that is what you consciously desire. If your wish is to protect, your draconic instincts will act accordingly. Stand between them and danger. Clean their wounds. Shield them with your wings. You get the idea.”

Is that... why I felt the need to cover Will last night? Victor rose from the carpet. “How can I trust you?”

“My friend, I speak from experience. You and I are not monsters, no matter how many times imperial propaganda claims so.”

Victor glanced towards William from the corner of his eye. His fear was gone, thankfully, and he listened to Raghes with great interest. A warm sensation brewed in Victor’s veins. Perhaps Raghes could be trusted after all.

”Take your time, Victor. All you must do is believe in yourself. Eventually, you’ll accept your dragonhood, with no fear.”

* * *

As lightning did Lothar pounce from the brush. Within an eyeblink, the prey was pinned to the ground, kicking and bleating in a futile attempt to resist. He took the goat’s neck in his maw, and jerked back. A satisfying pop rattled his bones.

Ahh, how I’ve missed hunting.

He stood over his kill, licking the blood from his chops. The urge to devour his prey right then and there tingled in his mind.. But, it was to be tomorrow's supper, as the other goats he had hunted would be. He grabbed the corpse with a claw, and flew back home.

Upon his return, another dragon took the goat towards the feeding hall in Lothar's stead. It had been the fifth kill of the day, enough for his liking. There was a limited amount of game after all, and the future provided plenty of opportunities to resume hunting. He had trained in the morning, and spend the afternoon hunting. Now, it was time for a refreshing nap.

“Lothar, are you there?”

A feminine voice called to him as he entered his lair. Lothar grumbled, and whipped his head around. Merahn’s purple eyes stared deep into his amber.

“What is it, Merahn?” Lothar said, then opened his mouth to free a yawn. A coat of dried blood still smothered his teeth.

Merahn sighed. “I’ve been looking for you all over, Divinity almighty. I wanted to ask, are you seriously letting that fool Raghes teach your son instead of me?! Have you lost your mind?”

Lothar frowned. “What is the issue, Merahn? Raghes has been a loyal Draconist for decades, surely he would be a great teacher for my child. And what makes you believe you have the right to insinuate otherwise?”

“Haven’t you caught on? All that blue fool will do is stuff that poor boy’s mind full of pacifism. He needs to see the glory in dragonhood, and not be turned into a weakling!” Merahn hissed.

Lothar’s throat rumbled with anger. “Listen, grey-scale, I have already forbidden you from speaking with my son. You have harmed him enough with your bloodthirst. Try to influence his education again, and I won’t hesitate to tear your throat out.”

Merahn’s hissing intensified. “You stuck-up pacifist, you…! Fine, have it your way!” With a whip of her tail, she stormed out of the lair. Lothar growled, and lowered himself onto his nest.

She ought to bless her luck… had it not been for her combat prowess, I would not have hesitated.