Conflict of Souls

Let me tell you a story, a story about dragons.

I know, I know.

‘They don’t exist!’

‘How can you tell us a story about something that is only a fairy tale?!’

But is it?

For all fairy tales have a kernel of truth to them, thus so do dragons. People believe that they don’t exist because it has been made to look like as though they don’t and never have. Purely in order to ensure that they were not wiped from extinction during the Great Purge of the Ancient Days. Back when the gods of old, aka the dragons, were replaced by a singular god or entity. The ones who fought back were either killed as gods or in later years as terrors upon the land, such as the dragon that Saint George slew.

But some fled underground, underwater or to the far eastern lands where they were still revered, not as gods, but as magnificent beings of story, legend and song. Thus, the new way of the dragons came to be as most who survived, the ones who fled east, became enlightened and realised the tyranny of their old ways.

Curious now, are you?

Then come and sit, and let me tell you what the dragons did to survive.

The wise ones knew that they could be hinted if they were not careful so, in their caverns and protected lands, they conversed with those who followed them, spoke for many hours about potential ideas on how to preserve their ways as well as themselves without endangering their followers. Many days went by as dragon and human spoke to one another until one young woman pondered about the dragons merging with humans somehow. The eldest dragon, a dragon of Light, thought long and hard over this and she gazed at the girl. “The only way I know of, is for the dragon to merge, willingly, with a human. Share their souls within a body, allowing two to become one...” she reasoned and the girl nodded. “Could that work, wise one?” she asked and the dragon hummed in thought. “It is possible.... Though it has not been attempted as far as I am aware.”

The young woman though stepped up. “We must try though, wise one.... I volunteer myself!” she stated passionately, standing tall and indeed shocking those gathered. A fire dragon huffed whilst a billow of smog left his proud nostrils. “It cannot be done! If it was, we would have known!” he stated and a dragon of earth looked at him. “The dragon of light just stated that she knew of no attempts, and she is the oldest and wisest of us all....” she reasoned and the fire dragon huffed again.

The light dragon though stood and approached the girl as their bickering continued. Two sets of blue eyes connecting and understanding as the glistening dragon lowered her majestic head to touch the small human’s own head. “You realise that we have no idea what could go wrong with this? You are yet young and have much to experience of the world...” came her words of wisdom mixed with a warning and the young woman nodded. “This I know, but I know what could happen if we don’t at least try.... I am willing to make this sacrifice....”

That was enough for the dragon to know the heart of this young woman and nodded in consent. Focusing on her great power, her body slowly disappeared from sight and became an orb of light. This action caught the attention of all the others gathered as the light passed from the orb and into the young woman’s body, all the others watching and hoping as the orb disappeared entirely and the young woman gasped.

They waited on baited breath as the young woman collapsed onto her hands and knees, panting at the changes happening inside her. Soon enough, she rose though and her eyes opened, revealing the flash that the dragons recognised as their own. “Fear not my fellow dragons, I am well and so is this child.... We can live in cohabitable peace....” she reassured them all and slowly, each dragon merged with a human.

So it has continued, the dragon’s essence passing down the descendants of the original volunteers and indeed managing to breed between each other so more dragons emerged. But, in recent years, conflicts have driven many of them to remain within their human counterparts and not reveal themselves except in dire need, thus causing abnormalities within their humans. None of them knowing of their dual soul.

Until some years ago.....