In Defense of Dragons

“There weren’t always dragons in the Valley,” Athena stated, looking down at her notes.

“That’s how it should be,” exclaimed a distant voice from the crowd.

“Shut up, man! Let her talk!” yelled another in response.

Instinctively, Athena clutched the pentagram that hung from a delicate silver chain around her exposed neck, rubbing the citrine crystal that lay in the middle of it. She closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath.

While waiting for the crowd to settle down, her mother’s voice rang through her head. “Stop fidgeting Athena. Stand up straight and look them straight in the eyes. If you're confident in what you say, people will listen.

“Get out of my head, mother. I don’t need your help today,” Athena grumbled under her breath. She exhaled slowly, dropping her hands to rest on the podium. She lifted her head proudly, pulling back her narrow shoulders as she gave a commanding look to the crowd.

“As I was saying…” Athena’s voice echoed as a wave of silence fell across the sea of people.

“There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. I understand that most of you here today weren’t born yet during those trying times. The ones that were, have forgotten what it was like so allow me to remind you. A third of the world’s population died overnight. The world was in chaos. But out of that chaos, came the dragons, who changed the world for the better. They became a beacon of hope, opening people’s eyes to magic and spirituality. The dragons were honored as well as respected.”

“But a year after World War III in 2052, they were no longer needed. The promise of peace had remained. The dragons had served their purpose. Yet, instead of giving them an honorable discharge, it was leaked that the government was planning on killing the program–dragons included. Over two million people protested in President’s City to force the government’s hand to keep them alive. They did, but without support or a place to call home.”

“The government had it right! Kill the monsters!” yelled that same distant voice from before. A few dragon haters cheered him on as others gasped in shock. The dragon sympathizers and worshippers shouted back at him with the standard rhetoric, “The dragons aren’t monsters, you are!”

Athena paused, narrowing her dark brown eyes as she scanned the crowd. She could never see who was behind that voice at previous rallies. Whenever he showed up, trouble always followed.

A childhood memory flooded Athena’s inner vision, as her mother’s voice echoed in her ears. “Remember Athena, it’s up to you to be the bigger person. You are special, never forget that. There will be some that will be spiteful, trying to make you feel bad. Don’t give them the satisfaction.”

When remembering the second grade, a boy at her school started calling her Lizzy and spreading rumors that she was part dragon. One day, while taunting her on the playground, Athena screamed back, “You better shut up or I’ll call my dragon and she will come to burn you alive!” The boy started crying and ran to the teacher. She didn’t expect it would be taken seriously. It was the first time people feared the dragons becoming dangerous, putting the dragons in danger themselves. It was also that day Athena learned the power words can carry.

Athena pushed the memory out and snapped back into focus. “May I remind you,” Athena shouted over the crowd, “three dragons lost their lives during the war. Yet, not one American soldier or ally was killed. Those three,” Athena raised her hand, pointing to the three dragons sculpted into Mount Rushmore next to Abraham Lincoln, “sacrificed their lives to prevent the nuclear bomb that would have hit this very spot.”

Athena fell silent for a moment to honor their memory, with the crowd following suit. A day in which she cried unbearable tears, along with her parents. To them, they lost three children. To her, she lost three siblings.

But it was Atlas that took it the hardest. They feared she would die of a broken heart. Athena slept outside for a month tightly next to her, consistently making sure she was still breathing.

Athena took another deep breath to hold back the tears welling up inside.

She continued, “The dragons aren’t dangerous. They are heroes and should be treated as such. Instead, they are being threatened and multiple attempts on their lives have been made due to doctored videos and the radical spread of misinformation. People are taking millennia old myths and legends and acting as if it is fact-based history. Have we not learned anything from actual history?"

"Social media was banned globally when the loss of empathy almost destroyed this entire planet. We have had peace for over a decade. Don't let the lies from those who want power and fame take over what we have built."

"All life is connected on Earth. When a life is taken, we all feel it. The dragons are innocent. We will all suffer if another one is killed. The dragons have never taken the life of an innocent, yet many humans walk among us that have taken a life and still live. Why–“

“What about Victor Jones?” the faceless voice interrupted Athena once again.

Rage shot up through Athena’s spine so intensely she thought her long white cotton dress might start on fire. Her hands gripped the podium so hard that her knuckles started turning white as she felt her blood boiling. “Be the bigger person. Be the bigger person,” she kept thinking to herself.

Athena snapped back through gritted teeth, “Victor Jones wasn’t innocent.”

The voice provokingly replied, “says you. You were the only one that survived. How do we know you didn’t make up the story to protect your dragon?” The crowd began murmuring.

The scene of that night flashed across her eyes. She had gone out with friends that night and came home past curfew intoxicated. When entering the house, she saw her parents lying dead on the floor in a pool of blood, shot in the back of the head. At first, she thought she was hallucinating. She blipped a message to her friends asking if someone put something in her drink.

Then, from behind, a man knocked her to the ground. He forced himself on top of her, laughing, “Well, aren’t you a pretty little thing? Didn’t think this job would come with a bonus.”

Athena looked back at her parents.

Jones followed her gaze. “Oh. Is that your mommy and daddy over there? Looks like they won’t be much help.”

He bent down and licked the side of her face. Athena swung her legs around him, using all her strength, twisted him off her and got up to run. He grabbed her ankle, and she fell forward to the ground, hitting her head on the side of the coffee table on the way down. The hit discombobulated her defenses and Jones got the better of her. He took a knife from behind his back and ripped open her shirt, making a deep cut along her stomach as Athena screamed in pain. It only took 5 seconds for Atlas to break through the floor-to-ceiling windows, whacking Jones across the room with her 10-foot tail, breaking his neck.

The crowd continued to grow restless, demanding a response to the man’s question. Athena didn’t back down. She shouted back, “I won’t fall victim to your games. If you have questions, then show yourself. Or are you too much of a coward to face me?”

But there was no answer back. The voice accomplished what he wanted. Rioting had begun and there was no stopping it now. A small group chanted, “Kill the dragons” which enraged the dragon worshippers. Athena could feel the violence growing and out of the blue, a firecracker-like sound rang out in the crowd and people started screaming.

Someone screamed, “gun!” Athena stood there frozen, paralyzed in fear. How was that possible? Guns had been banned years prior. Only law enforcement and those with an approved special license could carry. That’s why when she saw her parents, she thought she was hallucinating.

The crowd started running in all different directions. Athena just stood there on the stage, staring down at the crowd in shock. She could feel the panic attack creeping up inside of her as her ears rang.

“Deep breaths, Athena. I’m coming,” Atlas said telepathically, breaking through the veil of panic. Athena slowed down her breathing and closed her eyes, shutting out the surrounding crowd. Then she heard someone scream, “Look! Up in the sky!”

Athena opened her eyes to see Atlas in the distance, gracefully flying through the sky with her rich dark green-scaled body rigid with determination. Watching her fly always enchanted Athena, no matter how many times she saw her. As Atlas got closer, her 48-foot wingspan sparkled from the crystalline layer that protected the bat-like wings.

The crowd stopped moving. Some took their attention to the sky, while others fell to their knees and started praying. It felt like time stood still for a split second before another “pop!” went off. Athena turned her gaze from the sky to the bullet speeding towards her heart. Atlas swooped down and blocked it with her right-wing. Athena grabbed hold of the harness that wrapped around Atlas’ chest and was lifted from the stage like a hang glider soaring off a cliff.

Athena turned back to look below. Gratefully, no one appeared hurt. Just as she was about to look away, someone caught her eye. One man in the middle of everyone running around stood still. The brim of his hat blocked his eyes, but she saw the smug smirk beneath the trimmed salt and pepper mustache and beard that decorated his face. There was something familiar about him, but she couldn’t figure out what. She stared until he was out of view.

Feeling defeated, Athena sighed, “All right, Atlas, let’s go home.”