Disclaimer: My children requested that I write this story for them. They enjoyed it so much, I decided to publish it here. Enjoy.
Some worlds are big, and others are small, but the road to any of them begins in the soul. This is a small world with a big lesson.
The City of Mortal
The world in which our story takes place is called Ethos. Our heroes and villains reside in and around one of the few cities in Ethos called the City of Mortal. It was guarded by three dragons, each varying in size, abilities, and magic. This was because the citizens of Mortal had made a deal with the dragons. In exchange for sacrifices from the people, the dragons would avail the people of their power and protection.
You may be wondering why the people would do such a thing, but you only need to look in your own heart to know why people abandon God. Why do you hit your brother? Mock your sister? Disobey your mother? Ignore your father? As it is with us, so it is with the people of Mortal. They exchanged the light for darkness, the angelic for the demonic, the eagles for serpents, because they preferred to live in the dust rather than in the air; in short, they wanted to do it their way — they even wrote a song about it!
The City of Mortal used to be the Garden of Life. But when they made the deal with the dragons, they exchanged the Garden for a city of luxury and comfort.
Initially, the dragons exacted a cost from the people that was very easy to accommodate. But if you know anything about dragons, then you know they pervert all virtue. They use their virtues, like patience and wisdom, for evil rather than for good. For example, their patience is unmatched by any human. They can wait for centuries to get what they want and are willing to endure exceptional discomfort if they know in the end, their bellies will be filled with that which they desire most, human souls.
Making Deals with Dragons
When the citizens of Mortal met with the dragons, the dragons drew up a contract — because who's gonna argue with the dragons? The contract stated that the dragons would offer the humans some of their wisdom, magic, and gold in exchange for the humans’ first fruits, that is, vegetables and, of course, fruit.
Now, of course, dragons despise fruits and vegetables. They desired something far more valuable, but they were willing to wait, even eat things they didn’t particularly like, if it meant they would eventually be satisfied. In return for first fruits, the people asked the dragons how to run the city, called on the dragons to use their magic to protect the city, and even received a little bit of gold in exchange for the meager sacrifice of fruits and vegetables. The trap had been laid, and the dragons could already see their plan coming together.
After one year of fruits and vegetables, the dragons rewrote the contract. The dragons, those cunning devils, did not merely change the meaning of the words “first fruits”; they expanded the meaning to include more than fruits and vegetables. Now, “first fruit” would require the people to give them animals to eat. The firstborn of every tree and every animal was to be given to the dragons once a year.
The first year of animal sacrifices would forever scar the memories of the people. Even if you were deep within the City of Mortal, you would have heard the cries of the animals mixed with the songs of dragons as the sacrifices were consumed. It was the stuff of nightmares.
But it gets worse.
The dragons, though they were diabolically evil, were surprisingly mindful of fairness. But this was not in the best interest of the people. No, the dragons needed it to be a fair contract to deceive the people. This ensured that what was unfair for the dragons now would eventually be unfair for the people in the future. After all, who is going to turn down a deal where they trade an apple for some gold and magic? It is for this reason, after the dragons were defeated, that the people developed a saying, “All devils come with pen and paper, but a deal with an angel is always safer.” Who you’re signing a contract with is just as important as what the contract says.
As the contract demanded more “first fruits” from the citizens, the citizens received more wisdom, magic, and gold from the dragons in return — dragons always keep up their end of the deal.
The people were able to consult the dragon’s dark wisdom more frequently, request their dark magic for basic necessities, and even received more gold than the year before. But, just as the dragons had foreseen, the people were now dependent on the power of the dragons for the City of Mortal, not just to thrive, but to survive.
The dragons began to salivate at the thought of what would happen next year.
The year passed, and the Dragons redrew the contract. This time, they announced, “We now require the first fruits of the trees, of the animals, and of the womb. In exchange, the citizens of Mortal will receive even more wisdom, more power, and more gold.”
The men and women looked at each other. To the surprise of many men, the first person to agree was a young woman who was not yet a mother. The woman walked up, signed the contract, and turned and faced the people,
“My friends, I have talked with the dragons. Their wisdom is beyond anything we could think of on our own. Think of all that we could do for our future generations with the magic and gold they will give us. They also have, in their great wisdom, shown me the truth about us.” She paused, took a deep breath, and continued.
“How many of you remember when you were just a seed in your mother’s womb? None of you can! You were more like a parasite than a baby! Are we truly going to say our babies, who have yet to stop nursing from a breast, even have a “soul”? If they cannot even know their names, who their mother or father is, nor even the very City of Mortal, then what use are they? The dragons have assured us that this sacrifice will cost us a little now, but it will bring us great prosperity and comfort in the years to come.”
The men were too afraid to argue with such an intimidating woman, and the women had been deceived into believing they would use their gold and wisdom to have bigger families. “One child dead will lead to houses with 7 heads.” But this never happened. As their comfort grew, their families became smaller and smaller. They began to live like the dragons. They were wise, they were powerful, they had gold, and they were childless.
That woman’s speech was all it took...
The following year, the women of the city walked the path to the top of the mountain to sacrifice their children, and the men stayed home with the others.
After raising the child for a year, the firstborns were fed a magic berry — courtesy of the dragons — that put the child to sleep. The mothers then veiled their faces, put their children in their baskets, and carried them up the path to the dragons’ mountain.
Initially, the women were saddened, but the dragons continued to remind them that a few babies, who couldn’t even speak yet, were not truly human…yet…and so they shouldn’t feel bad about such things; “It is no different than giving us vegetables or fruit,” the dragons would say.
Legion, the head dragon, assuaged one mother by asking her to call her dog by name. The dog came running. Then Legion said, “Now call your baby boy. The baby burst into tears and tried to crawl away. “See,” said Legion, “They are no better than dogs.”
Each year, the people gave more and more babies to the dragons, and the people received knowledge of how to prosper without children. The dragons inspired the people to invent new technologies that no one thought possible. Clothing was also improved by the scales the dragons shed and returned to the people, something Legion said was a demonstration of “dragonic charity” for the people.” Finally, the people received the finest gold, not too much, of course. The dragons were greedy creatures. The only thing they loved more than gold was a human soul.
After several years, the people’s needs were completely satisfied. Everything was comfortable. The people of Mortal had all their needs met. There was no question they could not answer, no object they could not build, no thing they could not buy. The people were trapped.
The Dragons
You now know how the City of Mortal found itself in need of saving. Now it is time for you to learn about the dragons.
The first dragon was named Green. She was a small dragon, no bigger than a large dog. Her demeanor was kind, but that was only to deceive ignorant children. Her bite was painful for adults, but deadly for children.
Despite mothers fulfilling their sacrificial requirement, Green continued to hunt foolish children in her spare time. Many mothers in the City of Mortal had lost their older children to the bite of this devilish dragon after she had lured them away from their homes.
Green was also the fastest of the three dragons. One moment she was on the ground, and in the blink of an eye, she was in the trees, singing sweet melodies about envy and greed that attracted the children with weaker souls! A perfect imitator and deceiver, as all dragons are, she would imitate the voice of a mother, telling them that she had their favorite candy with her in the woods.
The only children that were spared were the children whose parents taught them about who the Logos was, how to recognize His voice, and to heed His teachings. These children learned that it was not the “kindness” of one’s words that indicated safety, but whether they were true — “love without truth is only a lie,” the Logos-fearing mothers would say. Those children who were neglected in such teachings were lured into the woods at dusk, just before dinner time, where they met their fate.
The second dragon was Blood. She was named this because of the blood-red scales that covered her body, but what was more intimidating were the sharp spikes that lined her back and arms. They were all over her body and razor-sharp. At their base were faint stains of blood. Within their cracks and crevices of the spikes were bits of dried flesh from the prey she had recently hunted.
Blood was more shrewd than Green. She would entice men to anger or bloodlust. She was a manipulator, a dragon who feeds on the rage of men and young boys; the more rage a man had, the tougher and juicier his soul would be.
When a man approached, Blood would simply sit and stare into his eyes. With her piercing gaze, she could see within their eye all their triumphs and failures. It was this ability to see a man’s past through his eyes that enabled her words to pierce their unguarded hearts, make their blood boil, and eventually cause them to make a fatal error in battle.
Blood was the protector of the final dragon, who ruled Mortal from the top of his mountain. This final dragon’s name was Legion.
Legion was the dragon with more heads than you could count. His scales were black and shiny like obsidian rocks but stronger than diamonds. He had the speed of Green and the wit and shrewdness of Blood. He was the King of the Dragons, and the rest of the dragons were his queens.
Legion’s power was unmatched, and the more souls he ate, the stronger he became.
Those are the dragons, and after nearly a 100 years, the City of Mortal had begun to stop having children altogether. The dragons were becoming more insatiable, and the townsfolk were living on borrowed gold and ideas. There was no longer any the people would be able to satisfy the dragons in the next year. It was time to kill the dragons.
The Knights
Now, what would a story be without its knights? Our story has two: Sir Courage and Sir Perseverance. These men were the last knights remaining in Mortal.