Journey Of The Mind

There weren't always dragons in the valley. The fact that I could now see them told me the boom shrooms in this region were getting stronger. Boom shrooms were the hallucinogenic mushrooms that grew naturally in the valley. They were also my people's drug of choice. One of my favorite past times was taking an eighth of boom shrooms, walking up the north mountain and seeing what new things my mind would create as I overlooked the beautiful valley. I had seen some pretty outlandish things, but never dragons until that day. I sat on the mountaintop and watched them for hours as they twirled and flipped about in the bright afternoon sky. They came in all colors and sizes, temperaments and designs. I knew they only existed in my head, so I applauded my own imagination for creating them. After a couple hours, I decided to head back down the slope and engage the magnificent creatures. I was curious to see what else my mind had in store for me. Many flew above but seemed not to notice me. The first one that I encountered on the ground was enormous. It was neon orange, nearly 5o feet tall on all fours, with it's spine being lined with bony spikes 5 feet tall. I stood and stared in awe as it cleaned it's scales with a rough looking tongue that was double my size. After a few moments, the neon beast turned around a it's deep, ocean blue eyes met mine. It waited for me to speak, but I had no words. So it filled the silence with a booming voice,

"Hey buddy. Need some help?" I chuckled in response, giddy and impressed with what my mind had created. I answered,

"Just admiring your color. Tell me your name." The dragon bared it's teeth, razor sharp and gleaming.

"My name's Braddock. And yours?" It said. I laughed again before responding,

"I'm X." Now he laughed at me,

"X? What kind of name is that?" I was slightly offended,

"Oh, like 'Braddock' is some legendary warrior's name? Sounds like a hand tool. Alright, you're boring me. Change colors now!" I ordered, believing that I had dominion over all figments of my imagination. Braddock smiled, clutched that back of my shirt with a huge claw, and lifted me to his eye level,

"What are you, royalty?" He said, drooling. "Even if you were a king, I don't take orders from your kind." Braddock's claw sliced into my upper back, and the pain felt very real. I started to fear I was having a bad trip, so I pleaded,

"Ok, ok. Sorry B...Braddock. I was kidding. P...put me down please? I'm too small to be a meal for you anyway." He pulled me closer to one of his eyes as it swirled like a bright blue storm,

"Try and command me again, and I'll make an appetizer out of you." With that, he roughly set me back on the ground.

"Ok, ok." I said, trembling. Still in shock at what had just occurred, I reached behind my neck where I felt his claw cut me open. My hand was covered in blood as I brought it before my eyes. How was this possible?

"Sorry about that." Said Braddock. "You just pissed me off a bit. Want me to seal that cut for you?"

"Seal it?" I asked. "What are you, a dragon doctor?" I was in bewilderment, reaching behind my neck again and again to check for further bleeding. Braddock smiled,

"I'm no doctor, but I can stop that bleeding with a bit of fire." My eyes grew larger,

"Fire? You're not even real! I'm not actually bleeding!" I caught myself before raising my voice any louder.

"Suit yourself." He said, turning around to be on his way. The pain grew sharper and sharper.

"Wait! Alright." I didn't want to bleed to death in the rare possibility that this was all real. Braddock gently clasped my arm between his claws and turned me around.

"Don't move." He said. I could hear him exhale ever so softly, like someone blowing an eyelash off their finger before making a wish. Then, intense heat. I could smell the searing of my own flesh as the pain hit me. Before I could struggle, he was finished. I quickly checked the wound and found that it had stopped bleeding.

"Thank you Braddock." I winced.

"No worries buddy. Just try to show us dragons a little more respect from now on." With that, he launched into the sky with 2 flaps of his giant wings.

"I will!" I yelled after him.

At this point, I still wasn't convinced that what just happened wasn't a hallucination. So I set out to find another dragon amidst the rolling hills. Over and over I would run my finger over my new scar, expecting it to vanish. The skin remained raised where I had been sliced. Still, I dismissed it as a powerful delusion. After a mile or so of walking up and down the green hills, I came upon a sleeping purple dragon. It's tail was curled around it's body as it snored, exhaling puffs of smoke. It's body was the size of a cottage, covered with tiny scales, each the size of a pebble. With every breath it took, it's torso would expand, the small scales reflecting the afternoon sun. As my eyes followed the emitting smoke rise slowly to the sky, I heard the deep breathing suddenly cease. Tingles of fear crept over my skin as I lowered my head. Two feet from my face was a huge yellow eye, the slit expanding as it's gazed bored into me. I couldn't speak. The creature stood slowly, yawned, and reached forward with it's front claws. It's body elongated with an arched back, much like a gigantic cat waking from slumber. I finally mustered the courage to talk,

"Uh...hello." The beast snatched me up by my ankles, held me upside down, and examined me thoroughly.

"You don't look like much." It said. "Won't even wet my appetite. But, I suppose you might taste good." As I drew closer to the dragon's chasm of an open mouth, I screamed,

"Nooooo! Please! I'm not worth it!" The dragon paused, raised it's brow, and gently set me down.

"You're not worth it?" It asked. "Well that kind of attitude quite saddens me. I'd hate to eat a man who thought so lowly of himself. It would mean you'd die before living a joyful life." Confusion joined my overwhelming fear.

"Why would that matter?" I asked. The dragon's face turned sorrowful as it answered,

"Because, if you've lived with such a heavy burden of low self esteem, and I ate you, I'd be depriving you of the chance at happiness." As my fear dissipated, intrigue took it's place. I thought of running, but I couldn't leave without understanding his philosophy. So I inquired further,

"So, you only eat people who are living happy lives?"

"Correct." Said the dragon.

"But, aren't you committing an even greater offense by cutting a happy life short?" I asked. The dragon smiled.

"Al happy lives are cut short eventually. It just gives me peace knowing that there was happiness at all before I end it. But if I eat you, I've robbed you of that possibility altogether."

"Huh." I said. "Well I appreciate it. May I ask your name?"

"Pallint." He reached out a claw of friendship for me to grasp. I reluctantly shook it.

"Nice to meet you Pallint. I'm X."

"Nice to meet you too." Said Pallint. He now wore a grin that displayed how proud he was of his good deed.

"So, do all dragons share your values?" I asked, feeling much more at ease.

"Oh no." He said. "Our functions vary from dragon to dragon. We each have wisdom to impart, unique in itself to every one of us."

"Wisdom?" I asked, now sitting cross-legged at the foot of my new mentor.

"Yes. Have you met any other dragons before me?" He asked, standing on his forelegs while seated.

"I have! I met Braddock." I answered in excitement.

"Oh yes. Braddock." Said Pallint nostalgically. "He's a good dude. And I suppose he taught you something?"

"He did!"

"And what was that?" He asked in a teacher's tone.

"Respect for anything that can kill me."

Pallint chuckled, "Ha ha! Well that's one way to look at it. But it's a good nugget of knowledge." He then began cleaning his claws with his snake-like tongue.

"And what did you teach me?" I sat in anticipation of the answer. Pallint glared at me in disappointment,

"That's up to you to figure out."