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The Destiny of Moonspark

A young dragon learns that humans and dragons haven't always been friends

By Kate SutherlandPublished 2 years ago 8 min read
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(Image by GeorgeB2 from Pixabay)

"There weren't always dragons in the Valley."

Moonspark looked quizzically at her mother and asked, "What do you mean? This is our home."

"Yes, it's our home now. It wasn't always. You're old enough to know the whole story. The truth."

Moonspark padded over to her mother Pyrine, Queen of the Dragons of the Valley, and settled down on her haunches to listen. She admired the shine of her mother's fine scales, a deep and dark green as beautiful as emeralds in fire light, and she closed her eyes so as to better take in the purr of her mother's gentle rumbling voice.

"The humans weren't always our friends, you see. For many centuries they thought of us as evil, and made us their enemy. The mere sight of one of us in the sky would send the common people running for shelter, and the human warriors would come in a rush towards us dressed in their silver armour and brandishing their spears and shields."

Pyrine cast her gaze over the green valley below their cliffside cave where the human village nestled between an ancient cedar forest and the wall of the dragons' domain. The Hope River flowed its meandering path to the south of both the cave and the village, catching the light now in orange sparkles as the sun made its way down behind the distant hills for the night.

It looked peaceful now, but Pyrine remembered how the Valley had looked in the days of her own youth, so often filled with fires and smoke and the sounds and sights of battle. After a few moments of quiet contemplation the great dragon shook her head and spoke again, "No, we did not always live here. We used to live in our Ancestor Mountains.

"I know you have heard of these mountains, Moonspark, but you don't know how they came to be. You see, some of our ancestors were a very large race of dragons who themselves grew to be as large as mountains. In fact, they are the mountains."

Moonspark's eyes went wide with fascination as her mother continued.

"When these Great Ones reached the end of their long lives, after they had flown the skies and roamed the earth for thousands of years, they would settle themselves down for the rest of eternity, and they would petrify into stone. Moss would grow upon the Old Ones' backs, covering the shine of their scales, followed by flowers and shrubs and trees. Birds would come to nest and animals would come to take shelter and find food. The wilderness of a dragon's new earthen body would grow stronger and thrive with the passing of time, pulling energy from the dwindling spirit of the old dragon until at last her consciousness would no longer exist except in memory. In this way, each dragon's forever resting place would become a whole new world supporting Life in its many forms."

Moonspark piped up, "So, the ancient ones would sacrifice themselves?"

"Not a sacrifice exactly, for in their great wisdom they embodied the understanding that all life is connected, and they could no longer know the concept of personal loss," Pyrine explained.

Moonspark looked uncertain so the great dragon queen continued, "The Old Ones' lives were already at their end. There comes a time in a dragon's life when the only thing left to do is ensure that legacy left behind is for the greater good. No being wants to endure forever, and the Old Ones who became the mountains were ready to sit still and hold space for younger generations, and to support the continuation of Life itself on this world that sustains us. It is a great Giving Back.

"It was when we lived in our Ancestor Mountains that we first had contact with humans."

"But why did the humans hate us?" Moonspark wondered.

"Hatred grows easily from fear, my child. And humans are particularly fearful creatures, prone to creating terrible realities for themselves from the constructs of their very own minds. They are gifted and cursed with very active imaginations, which sometimes serve them well but other times blind them and skew their perceptions. Many adult humans suffer in the hell of their own creation, and no two humans see the world in exactly the same way. They don't see actual reality the way all dragons do; they see everything through the lens of their own minds and judgement."

Moonspark rolled onto her back and lazily stretched out her forepaws, enjoying the story time. Her mother went on, "When humans are still young, they are different. Human children are more connected to the spirit realm from which they came than are the adults, and so they still know the truth of their own beauty and perfection. They remember unconditional love, and they know the feeling of abundance because they understand that the Great Life-Giver provides all they need to live."

The young dragon turned to look up at her mother and said, "Why do the humans forget who they are when they grow up?"

Pyrine replied, "I am not certain, my daughter. It seems the struggle is part of the journey they've been given by the Great Life-Giver. They know, then they forget. And as the years of their short lives bring them into elderhood, some of them remember.

"It is the adult humans who fear what they don't understand. They are suspicious of pure generosity. They do not do well with the feeling of owing something to others, and rather than embrace their part in the reciprocity of life's give-and-take, they dig their heels in the ground and defend their sense of ownership and territory.

"Dragons do not naturally understand this mentality; we don't suffer from the human condition of seeking ownership and domination over other life forms. So when the humans came to the great Everwhite Mountain with their pick axes to dig for gold, the dragons watched with curiosity, wondering what they wanted with the shiny metal.

"As the dragons flew closer to observe, the humans grew wary and distrustful. A few of them picked up their spears, ready to defend themselves.

"One young dragon noticed that some of the humans were shivering against the cold snowy weather of the mountain, so he blew his fire down over them to warm them. The humans misinterpreted this act of kindness as an attack, and began to launch their spears into the air. One found its mark and killed the young dragon who had fired upon them, and his body fell to the ground below. He landed with such a force as to awaken the heart of the mountain itself."

"The stirring of the mountain awoke a feeling in the dragons they had never before felt. It was something like anger, something like a calling to make things right again to restore peace to the old mountain. They swooped down with their fire again, and this time their actions were fueled by rage, not kindness. It was the beginning of centuries of war between humans and dragons."

Moonspark sat quietly, contemplating what her mother had just told her.

"It is amazing how much damage a misunderstanding can cause when its emotional aftermath is allowed to ripple out unchecked," Pyrine reflected, "Dragons had never before been slave to their pain and emotions to such devastating effect. We had been sucked in by the power of human fear and became blinded by fear ourselves. Both sides were driven by their hatred and a desire for revenge, and our mutual destruction escalated."

"So what changed?" Moonspark asked, "Why are we friends with humans now?"

Pyrine smiled, nuzzled her dragonling again and said, "That is thanks to you, my daughter. And the innocence of human children, their ability to see and know and cherish real beauty."

"What do you mean?" Moonspark asked, yawning and closing her eyes.

The sun had long set and the night sky was darkening in a way that lets the light of the stars stand out more brightly. Pyrine looked down at her small daughter, so full of vitality and the happy innocence of dragonlinghood. She recalled the terrible weeks when she thought Moonspark was lost forever, how the humans had stolen her when she was still within her egg and had threatened to destroy her, this young heir to the Dragon throne. Pyrine remembered that it had been a small human child who returned Moonspark's egg to its rightful nesting place. This brave little human girl had risked her life to do what was right, and that single act of selflessness began to dissolve the habitual anger and melt the hardened hearts of the wounded dragons, and reveal the possibility for healing and change.

The dragons began to see there was hope for humans, for they recognized their own true nature in the pure action of this child. They realized that they were supposed to help the humans to remember themselves for the sake of all Life-- for if the humans remembered their sacredness, they would no longer feel the need to prove themselves by dominating others to gain a false and forever ravenous sense of self-worth.

"Get some sleep, Moonspark," Queen Pyrine said softly, "Let's leave that story for another day."

The large dragon settled herself down beside her daughter, who was already asleep. She sniffed the air, and felt the deep disquieting intuition that time was running short, that the peace between humans and dragons would not last; the humans' desire for ownership and control was still strong beneath the surface, the restless undertone of their coexistence.

Pyrine whispered into the night, "More change is coming soon, dear child. It will be up to you to help them remember."

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About the Creator

Kate Sutherland

Kate is a Song-writer, an Artist, and a Kung Fu Teacher. She loves exploring a multitude of creative paths, and finds joy in inspiring others to do the same.

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