A Dragon's Way

"There weren’t always dragons in the Valley, son,” said Paliteus. “But there have been ever since your ancestor, Polotius Draconius III, conquered these lands from the humans three centuries ago in the great War, and we’re going to keep it that way. Are you listening to me, boy?”

Maximus blinked. “Yes, father.”

“You had better be! I swear, kids these days are so addle-brained! Back in my day, dragons were more focused! They knew what needed doing and did it! None of this slipshod daydreaming and loafing around like you do all day long instead of doing your chores.”

“I do my chores, father.”

“Never the way I ask. We’ll discuss that later.” Paliteus took a swig of his mead, digging into the stone mug with his clawed fingers. “Anyway, as you should know, there are four generations of productive dragons following our great ancestor who have defended this land for…”

Maximus yawned and looked out the window while his father droned on about their family’s history. The sky in the valley was bright blue that day, which pleased Max. He longed to go out and fly through those luscious clouds, drink the water accumulated within, or vaporize the water with his breath. Whatever he felt like doing in the moment. Anything would have been better than listening to his father prattle on about “the glory days” of dragonhood. The summer was calling, after all.

While his father continued his lecture about Draconius history, Max kept glancing outside and aiming his slitted pupils at a long pathway in the valley. He would take this pathway to its end as soon as he was free from his father. His friend, Soren, told him about what lay at the end of that path the other day, and such a tale captured his attention so much that-

“Maximus!”

Max blinked again. “Yes, father?”

“What did I just say?”

A pause. “Ummm…”

“Just as I thought. You were daydreaming again. Oh, why do I even bother? At this rate you’ll end up a lousy burnout guarding treasure in a cave like your great-great uncle, Smaug.”

“I told you what I want to grow up to be, father. Do you even remember?”

“Of course, I remember!” Paliteus cleared his throat. “It… just slipped my mind at the moment.”

Max rolled his eyes. “I want to be Forager, father.”

Paliteus grunted. “Don’t be ridiculous, son. Foragers are the lowest class of occupation.”

“But it’s what I want to do! They make decent gold, and they go on great adventures.”

“Petty, thieving, and disgraceful adventures that bring bad names to their families. No son of mine will be involved in such foolishness.”

“Father, they bring back great treasures that benefit dragon society. Don’t you think-”

Puffs of thick grey smoke plumed from Paliteus’ flaring nostrils. “You are a member of the Draconius family and you will be a Defender like me and the great members of our great family before me! Is that understood?”

“But-”

“I said is that understood!?”

Max sighed. “Yes, father.”

“Good.”

“Can I go out, now?”

Paliteus stood on his hind legs and folded his front paws. More plumes of smoke puffed from his long snout. “After you burn the garbage out back. Not a single speck of trash should remain and no black tar on the wall. Is that clear?”

“Yes, father.”

Max padded outside. Once he reached the garbage patch behind the house, he opened his mouth and released short spurts of flame to avoid singing the back wall. The Draconius residence, a large fortress, stood amongst a row of similar houses of different colors. The house was shaped more like a tent than what books showed of old human houses. The base formed a square from which the exterior rose gradually to form the tip of a pyramid. A thick layer of dragonstone, which was impervious to the elements, made up the exterior.

Max rolled his eyes again as he carefully avoided getting any of his fire breath on the fireproof house. Whenever he asked why he had to take such pains, his father simply pointed at everyone else’s house. “You don’t ever see black on any other house, do you?” he would say. “It’s the principle of the thing, Maximus. We can’t have a dirty-looking house. It’s disgraceful!” Disgraceful. His father’s favorite word. Never disgrace the Draconius name.

Whatever, thought Max.

Once all the trash burned away, Max flapped his wings and soared into the air. He flew through the clouds, letting the midafternoon dew flow through his stiff scales. He faced the ground and eyed the dirt trail Soren told him about. His eyes gleaming with excitement, he flew down and followed the trail to the outskirts of the suburbs. Passing many other dragons and saying perfunctory “hellos,” Max kept following the trail until it led to a hole in a faraway mountain past the Elgin forest. He landed just outside the hole, an entrance to a vast and deep cave, and paused for a moment.

“I’m telling you, man, it’s there,” Soren had told him. “Just go through hole, keep following the path for a few yards and you’ll see him. A live human!”

There was no way. Humans had been extinct for centuries. At least, that’s what all the books said.

“It’s a lie, bro,” said Soren. “That’s what the Government wants you to think. Humans are still alive. I saw one, I’m telling you.”

Max wasn’t sure what to believe. He stared at the cave entrance and thought about all the stories he heard about human sightings. A TV broadcast of a lady recounting the time she woke up outside her house, the scent of human sweat oozing from her dragonhide stomach, flashed to Max’s mind. What a croc, he thought. The thought gave him pause, though. Could some humans have survived the War for Drake Succession?

Such a question created a wealth of inspiration for Forager advertisements. Large posters with Forager dragons in their sheepskin belts and sporting over-sized helmets adorned secondary school walls. Max lived for that image. Exploration was the jelly to his peanut butter, the butter to his bread, the blueberries to his pancakes, and so on. He dreamed of adventure, discovering new lands and maybe finding a mate along the way. The first step into this cave might just be his ticket to that train.

Max took a deep breath and stepped forward. He straightened his chest and lifted his head up. Gulping, he entered the cave.