Once upon a time,
In a kingdom far away,
There was a cave.
And in that cave,
There lived a dragon.
He was a very old dragon.
A very,
Very,
Very old dragon.
The dragon was so old,
In fact,
That he had quite forgotten just how old he was.
One thousand,
Two thousand years old,
Perhaps three.
Yes,
Something like that.
A very old dragon.
And very strong,
And very honest,
And very brave.
Having seen many worlds come and go,
Many castles rise and fall,
And many kingdoms born and die.
And not forgetting many knights.
Yes,
Many,
Many knights.
Many knights had come and gone over the years,
Down throughout the centuries.
Some knights he could remember,
And many more he could not.
But there were no knights that had ever been bold enough and skilled enough to best him in single combat.
No.
No knight that had ever been able to do that.
He was indeed an undefeated dragon.
Something of a rarity,
You might say.
One day,
While the dragon was sunbathing on his favourite rock outside his cave,
High up on the mountaintop,
And quite minding his own business,
A sudden realisation came over him.
Just when was the last time he had seen or heard from a knight?
Or,
In fact,
Seen and heard from anybody?
Why,
Indeed,
There had once been a time when he could not move for the long queues of knights outside his cave,
And the crowds of their supporters filing up and down the mountain.
He had been a very in-demand dragon.
This is very strange,
Thought the dragon.
Has the world forgotten I'm here?
He was,
After all,
A very big dragon,
With bright blue scales,
Hard as a rock that could resist the swing of axe and sword,
And big yellow eyes,
Bright as suns,
That could stare down any champion.
In fact,
Just a short time in the presence of this old and mighty dragon was enough to make your bones wobble and your knees shake.
Perhaps this is the reason I've had no visitors of late,
Said the dragon,
Fanning himself in the hot midday sun.
There are no champions coming to see me,
Because I am just too fearsome to look upon,
Too terrible to encounter,
And there are no knights left in the world brave enough to take me on.
He nodded,
Satisfied with this explanation.
But as the years went on and on and on some more,
The dragon began to yearn for news of the outside world,
And visitors to visit him again,
And people to sit with him on his rock,
Folks to drink tea with and gossip about the old days.
He could even rustle up some snacks if that would help with footfall.
Whenever he had battled with the knights and champions of antiquity,
He had always been sure to provide refreshments,
Both before and after proceedings.
A strange and sudden sadness came over the dragon.
Are there really no men and no women left in this land who are brave enough to look upon me?
He wondered.
Is it really that I am so feared from one kingdom to the next and from generation to generation?
However did this come to be?
And tapping his razor-sharp talons gently on the rock and swishing his long tail from side to side,
The dragon began to cast his mind back to his days as a young lizard.
Perhaps if he did this,
He might be able to find some answers to his questions.
But no matter how hard he tried,
He could not understand why the paths to his care were so long untrodden,
And the signposts to his lair so long unheeded.
The dragon let out a sigh and made up his mind.
There is only one thing for it.
I am left with no choice.
If there are no knights willing to seek me out anymore,
Then I will seek them out.
At last,
It is time for this old dragon to return to the world.
So the dragon got up from his rock,
Gave his body a good shake,
For he was very stiff from all these years without exercise.
And off he flew,
Down from the mountaintop and away from his cave,
Towards the villages and towns in the distance,
Back into the world at last.
But to his surprise,
The dragon found the world much changed.
You see,
It was not as he remembered it at all.
Gone were the castles with their moats and battlements.
Gone were the henges with their mounds and stones.
Gone were the forests with their giants and wolves.
Gone,
It seemed,
Were all of the other dragons like him.
And worse yet,
Gone,
It seemed,
Were the knights to do battle with them.
For when the dragon had been scouring the land for a time,
His heart leapt as he spotted a band of knights coming towards him.
Deciding that it was now or never,
He came to a theatrical landing in front of them,
Folded his great wings and sent a pre-emptive fireball over their heads for good measure.
You can imagine the shock he felt when he discovered that these knights couldn't see him at all.
No matter how much he hopped up and down for their attention,
No matter how many friendly fireballs he sent into the air,
It was like he wasn't even there.
The knights simply rode past him and on their way.
The dragon came to understand that the world had indeed changed in his long absence from it.
What was once the daily sight of dragons and giants,
Unicorns and trolls,
Fairies and witches,
Had faded from the world altogether.
And knights,
All knights,
All the world over,
Had forgotten how to see dragons.
Surely this could mean only one thing.
There was no longer any magic in the world.
Dragons like him had been forgotten.
Magic had been forgotten.
Tears formed in the dragon's eyes as he looked upon the receding knights,
Who were totally oblivious to his grand and fantastical presence.
They did not see his bright scales as hard as iron,
Or his long tail as strong as oak,
Or his proud horns as sharp as swords.
Years passed,
And more years,
And then more years still.
On and on the dragon flew,
Mile after mile,
Kingdom after kingdom,
Ocean after ocean.
But nowhere that he searched could he find a knight,
Or indeed anyone,
To look upon him,
And tell him that they could see him,
And tell him that he was still a part of this world.
The dragon slowly began to make peace with the idea of living out the rest of his days as a lonely dragon,
In a lonely cave,
On a lonely mountaintop.
He would have to accept that there was no more magic in the world.
He was the last of his kind.
I have failed,
Sighed the dragon,
As he turned his flight path towards home.
There are no more knights to challenge me.
There are no more jewels to be found.
And it was at that very moment,
Just as the day was drawing in,
And the sun was casting its golden floodlights across the land,
That the dragon spotted something unusual in the distance.
It was a graveyard,
All on its own,
In the middle of nowhere,
Surrounded by overgrown brambles and thicket.
And all alone,
Amidst the tombstones,
Tending to the graves,
There was a knight.
The dragon just couldn't believe his look,
For this looked promising.
This was a knight such as the type he remembered from his youth,
With iron sword and helmet,
With chainmail and tunic,
With golden rings and bracelets.
Oh yes,
This was a proper knight.
The dragon immediately steered his wings in the direction of the solitary knight,
And plopped down quietly behind him.
Good evening,
Said the dragon nervously,
For he was afraid that this knight,
Too,
Might no longer see him.
I seek a jewel with the bravest knight.
Is that you,
I wonder?
I am not the bravest knight,
Replied the knight,
Without turning from his work of tending to the graves.
I am but a poor and forgotten knight.
I have no king to serve with my sword.
I have no cause to honour with my oath.
I have no companions to sing with round the campfires.
The knight stood up and turned to face the dragon,
And as they surveyed each other,
The dragon's heart leapt again in his chest.
For this,
This was a knight who still knew the mystery.
This was a knight who could still feel the magic.
This was a knight who looked on dragons.
You can see me,
Said the dragon,
Unable to disguise his excitement.
Of course I can see you.
I'm a knight,
Replied the knight.
Oh yes,
There was still some magic left in the world.
And the dragon had found it.
But another thing was also clear.
This was a knight who had seen better days.
For he was an old knight,
With silver hair and beard,
Rusty mail and armour,
A hunched back and a weathered face.
He was a very old knight who had seen many battles,
And many years spent tending his graveyard.
The dragon looked around at the rows of well-kept little graves,
And then peered down his snout at the knight again.
You are indeed a knight,
And I am indeed a dragon,
Said the dragon kindly,
For he was very pleased to make this knight's acquaintance.
And what are you doing all the way out here,
I wonder,
All alone in this graveyard,
When you could be seeking a new king to serve,
A new cause to swear,
And new companions to care for?
The old knight gave the dragon back,
Look for look.
As you can see,
I am old now,
Replied the knight.
Too old to seek my fortune or adventure in a new land.
My sword arm is weary,
My body grows heavy with old wounds.
I have no wife to stand with me,
Nor children to come after me.
Aye,
There have been times when I have tried to go back into the world,
But it has only been a stranger to me.
There is no place for someone like me anymore,
Someone who has seen the things I've seen,
Who has done the things I've done.
For too long I quested in foreign lands,
Too long I roamed in distant wars,
Too long I hunted fabled treasures.
I am an old man now,
The world has no need for old knights like me.
Near,
Nor dragons either,
I'll venture to say.
Here is my place,
Dragon,
Here among the graves of my fallen companions,
Though they sleep quietly now and do not know I am near.
Do not know I am the only one of them still living,
Do not know the burden of that.
The dragon took time to consider this carefully,
For it seemed worth the considering.
He wrapped his talons together,
One scaly hand in the other,
As he often did when he was thinking something over that was worth the thinking over.
Well,
How about this?
Said the dragon.
I seek a duel with the bravest knight.
I have searched high and low for just such a knight.
I have searched all the worlds over,
But I have not found him.
But you are a knight,
And I am a dragon,
And once there was an old custom between us,
Between knights and dragons when they come together.
I see that you still have your sword,
And though it is old and heavy,
For the sake of the old ways,
Will you accept my challenge?
The old knight thought about the dragon's words for a while,
And then nodded.
All right,
He said,
Unsheathing his battered old sword with its rusty old blade,
Upon which the last of the day's sun glinted.
You may have your duel,
Dragon.
So it was,
They came to battle.
They battled far into the evening,
Long after the sun set,
And well into the night.
On and on they fought,
Sometimes the dragon gaining ground,
Sometimes the knight.
Under the watchful eye of the moon they harried each other,
To and fro with sword and shield,
With fire and tail,
Heavy armour against tough dragon hide.
They fought and wrestled without rest,
As if it were the last duel of all time between dragon and knight,
As if it were the duel to end all other duels.
The dragon heaved with all the might in his bones,
All the strength in his tail,
And the knight danced with new life in his sword,
And new courage in his heart.
Until it was,
Just as the new dawn broke across the land,
That the dragon fell under the blade of the knight's sword and cried out,
YIELD!
YIELD!
I yield to you,
Knight!
Lay down your sword and let me live!
And the old knight averted his killing strike from the dragon's neck.
He threw away his sword,
And collapsed down next to the dragon.
So that they came to stillness,
Side to side,
Side by side,
Together on the grass.
So,
Said the dragon,
You are the bravest knight after all,
For nobody has defeated me in a thousand years.
I,
Said the knight,
With a weary look behind his eyes,
I am a used-up,
Forgotten old knight,
But victory is with me yet,
It seems.
What will you do now?
Asked the dragon.
I will stay here and tend the graves of my friends,
Said the knight.
Now,
The dragon felt something building in his chest,
And he couldn't ignore it anymore,
Even if he wanted to.
Well,
I didn't tell you this at the start of our duel,
Said the dragon,
Peering down his snout at the old knight next to him.
But I am not,
Actually,
Just any old dragon,
The knight looked up in surprise.
In fact,
I am not like other dragons at all,
The dragon continued.
You see,
It is like this,
When I challenge someone to a duel,
And if they are able to defeat me,
That means I am now in their service.
The knight did not speak,
So the dragon continued.
I am a magical dragon,
You see.
I am the last of my kind.
There are no more dragons like me in all of the kingdoms,
For I have searched far and wide for them.
Many hundreds of years have gone by,
And it seems the world has grown weary and empty of my kind.
The old knight nodded sadly,
For he could well relate to this feeling that the dragon had.
Because you defeated me in the duel,
And I am now in your service,
The dragon went on.
This means one of three things.
One,
I can now craft you a sword such as the world has never seen.
A sword that will best all other swords.
A sword that will win all men to its glory.
A sword that will bring you a kingdom,
And a beautiful queen alongside it.
Or two,
I can carry you on my back anywhere in the world you would like to go.
Across the oceans to see the valleys and the mountains of your youth,
Or up into the heavens to see the stars and the moon,
Further than any man has ever gone before.
The dragon hesitated,
Took a deep breath,
And continued.
Or lastly,
Three,
I can take you with me to the other world.
What is the other world?
Asked the knight.
The other world is the place where all magical dragons go to at the end,
When the world has no need of them anymore,
And it is time to leave the mountain.
It is a place of peace and joy,
Of contentment and healing.
I think you will like it there.
Only the magical beings like me know where it is,
And know how to find it.
It is a true and happy place where magic and mystery lives on.
That is,
Until the time comes when the world has need of us again.
And so the dragon and the knight came to it at last,
Finding their fates strangely entwined after so many long years alone.
The dragon in his cave,
The knight in his graveyard.
So I ask you now,
Brave knight,
Said the dragon.
Which one of these would you accept?
The knight was quiet for a long time,
Thinking over the options that he had been given.
He looked around at the graves of his companions.
I would journey with you to the other world,
My friend.
But I cannot leave this place,
For who will tend to the graves of my companions if I am gone?
And who will keep the weeds and the wolves at bay?
As it happened,
The dragon had already considered this.
With your permission,
Said the dragon,
I will raise a great hill above their heads.
A hill to shelter them from the wind and the rain,
And to keep them warm in wintertime.
A hill to be a market in the land of where they rest,
Away from weeds and wolfkind.
There,
Beneath the hill,
They may sleep,
In safety,
Until ever they wake again.
To this,
The knight agreed.
And so we reached the end of our tale.
But only a short while later,
With the old knight nestled safely on his back,
The dragon unfurled his wings one last time and lifted himself into the air.
High,
High above the hill they flew,
A lovely hill,
Such as the type you would remember,
And yet you could have sworn it wasn't there before.
And away they went,
The dragon and the knight,
Over the mountains,
Across the seas,
To companions,
Into the sunrise.
