I made some comment about wanting a historically accurate book about dragons. A friend of mine responded and the exchange ended with him asking where the myth came from. "Dragons, Tracy! The myth came from real dragons!" And as I quickly sought to reassure him of this clear and obvious fact, this is what came out:
His name was Tai Ping.
Tai Ping was a friendly fire-breathing lizard and loved helping all of the creatures near him. Tai Ping had a wife, Mei, and their three eggs.Tai Ping lived in the land of the Far East. There were all sorts of creatures who loved Tai Ping, but he loved none more than the fragile bipedal walkers, that we today, call humans. He nurtured them, he made them fires and kept them warm; and so, with his fire of life, the village grew. But as the years went by and the village continued to grow, the people started to take Tai Ping for granted, and the weak villagers he once helped became greedy. Understanding that his immortal life was beyond their comprehension, and that the newer generations were bound to not understand that what he offered was a gift, Tai Ping and his family gave the village what they needed and then in the blink of an eye, disappeared. And so, to celebrate the spirit of their long lost and beloved fire-breathing lizard, the people of China created fireworks in honor of Tai Ping and his family. They even made a year for him, the year of the fire-breathing lizard. There were many other animals that contributed to the history of China, but that's another tale.
Tai Ping and his family flew far, far, far away to the other end of the land, as high and isolated as they could go. The land here was surrounded by beautiful ice and water, but it was cold, so cold for a fire-breathing lizard. Nonetheless, Tai Ping and his wife had to stay, as their eggs were near hatching and needed care. After months in the cold tundra, a group of travelers settled in the mountains below Tai Ping. With the bitter cold, the fire-breathing lizards constantly breathed their fire onto their young, being sure they would be warm and cared for. One day, a young golden hair villager decided to crawl up the steaming mountain. Astounded and frightened at the immense power of the protective, fire breathing parents, the boy managed to blurt out a "Who are you!?" Too busy breathing fire onto his eggs, Tai Ping could only answer, "DRRAAAAAAAKKKKKKKKEEEEEE!!" And with the ferocity of his answer, the young boy ran away frightened! A drake! A dräke! Tai Ping and his wife stayed for as long as they could caring for their eggs...
I shared this story with another friend, and he asked the obvious question, "But where did the dragons come from?" I knew you would all want an answer, but as I told him, "The dragons come from the same place as humans. Africa. Duh."
Pointless post. I know. I'll work on this story.
Pointless post. I know. I'll work on this story.
