A Trial By Fire

"There weren't always dragons in the Valley. The Grungpa speaks of a time when the Valley was deserted. The rivers ran dry, the trees were bare, the animals had no young. Then came the Hroynir, the great dragons. Nobody knows where they were born but one day they just appeared: some from underground, some from the clouds, and some, it is rumored, came from the realm of the stars. Then the Valley blossomed, the trees burst into fruit, the rivers swelled past their banks, and the herds and prides resumed their eternal dance of life and death."

Aruzir the Old stopped speaking and looked at the wide-eyed audience staring at him in the firelight, their round young faces illuminated by shimmering shades of gold. "And that is why, my children, we worship the Hroynir, for without them, all that is Green would turn to Brown, and all that is Brown would turn to Black, and from Black would come the Great Nothing." A few eyes became even wider, while a couple heads nodded sagaciously as if understanding perfectly what the old man was talking about. Aruzir chuckled to himself. One day they will truly understand.

Broyz was in the crowd, drinking in every word deeply. This was the shortest story in the Grungpa, but it was the best. And nobody told it better than Aruzir, his grandfather, his gomo. It was a tradition for his gomo to sit by a fire and tell stories to the village children, but Broyz could usually extract one more story just for himself as they retired to their hut at the end. Today, he had some burning questions and was waiting impatiently for the little meeting to end.

"Alright kids," said his gomo with a hearty chuckle, "that's the end of tonight's stories. Now go on home and if you see a Hroynir, remember to bow to it!" The kids laughed as a group and began to disperse, talking amongst themselves. Broyz went to his gomo, took him by the hand, and the two of them made their way to the hut at the end of the street. Normally, Broyz would reserve his questions till after he had been tucked in, but today, he couldn't resist himself. "Gomo," he said with an air of curiosity. Aruzir knew what was coming. Somehow he always knew these things. "Yes, Bobo," he said.

"Do the Hroynir even exist?"

"Of course they do, Bobo! Why do you doubt it?"

"But Gomo, I've never seen one! Mama and Papa went into the Valley to find them and never came back. I think they were eaten by Roarers. I think you are just making up these stories and the whole world just believes them."

His gomo chuckled heartily and said, "Bobo, I find it difficult to make you believe me. How do you think I can make the whole world believe me?" Broyz stifled a reply that had already been forming in his head. He then said, "Have you seen a Hroynir, Gomo?"

"Why yes, Bobo! I have told you this a thousand times already! Do you think I am lying to you?"

"No, Gomo, but I want to see one too! And I want to see it now!"

As if in response to his insistence, something wondrous happened right then. The two of them had reached the end of the street and were about to enter the house when a gold-red ring of fire appeared in front of them. It appeared as a small ring, no wider than Broyz's little finger, but in a matter of seconds grew larger than their house. And through it stepped out a huge dragon. A Hroynir had come to visit.

Broyz did not know how to react. He stood there, paralyzed, torn between fear and curiosity. Meanwhile, Aruzir, calm as ever, simply brought a wise smile to his face. He said softly, "Ah... it is time for the Audumlar. So soon, though?" The words didn't register with Broyz but he wouldn't have understood them even if they had.

The dragon, a splendorous specimen of red and gold, reared its sinuous neck with serpentine grace and snarled. Broyz's breath caught in his throat, his heart pounded loudly in his ears. Aruzir stood as still as a statue, eyes shining, like an artist admiring a beautiful piece of work. Then, to Broyz's surprise, he addressed the Hroynir.

"Wo Hroynir! Bowm en a du! Ke zeim it es Audumlar?"

Broyz couldn't believe it when the dragon replied with a voice as smooth as soft silk, "Wo Grungpador! Flieg du a hegsat! It es zeim va Audumlar. Za Broyzodir mas gib zas Grosparikzi. Mo Hroynirsaba as spok. Zeim es agon."

"Gomo...", Broyz said tremulously and grabbed his grandfather's legs, hiding behind them. Aruzir put his hand gently on Broyz's shoulder. "It's alright, Bobo. He won't hurt you, don't worry," he said in a calming tone. Then he chuckled lightly, saying, "You wanted to see a Hroynir, right? And now that one is here, are you hiding?" Broyz simply tightened his grip on his gomo's legs.

Aruzir turned around and put his hand on the boy's back, cajoling him to come out of his hiding place. "Come on, the dragon's eager to meet you!" he said encouragingly. Broyz seemed to take courage from his grandfather's words and shyly stepped out from behind him. Keeping one hand on his gomo's trousers, Broyz looked up at the menacing yet mesmerizing spectacle in front of him. A Hroynir wreathed in fire. Wow.

But his wonder was short-lived. Aruzir turned to his nervous grandson, whose eyes had become as wide as saucers. He said, "Bobo, there's something I must tell you, something that I would have to tell you on your sixteenth birthday and not before your eleventh. But listen. A great challenge is ahead of you. A great adventure. Your destiny is about to unfold in front of you." Broyz simply looked at his gomo, confused.

"But you must go through it without me."

"What--"

"Listen, Bobo. The Hroynir has come to take me away. You -"

"What--"

"Yes. Listen though--"

"No... no...NO!" screamed Broyz. As if the energy held back by his fear had been suddenly released, he began to shout rapidly, "No, you won't leave me. I will come with you. The Hroynir ate Mama and Papa! I won't let it eat you too! I will also come with you!"

Aruzir stood calmly, waiting for the boy's outburst to end. Seeing Aruzir's calmness somehow confirmed Broyz's fear and the boy began to sob in earnest. "Go-mo, ple-ase do-on't go-o! Ple-ase!" If any tears fell down Aruzir's cheeks, they didn't show.

"Time has come, Bobo. But fear not, for in time, you will find me again."

Broyz exploded into tears and fell on the ground kicking, screaming, holding on to his gomo's legs. Aruzir scooped up the boy in his surprisingly strong arms and consoled him. Caressing him on his back till his sobs quietened, Aruzir said, "Bobo, listen. After I leave, go to Azikal, he will guide you further."

"NO! I won't!" said Broyz.

"Bobo!" said his grandfather sharply. "This is important, and I want you to listen very carefully. Azikal knows many things and he is the only one who will be able to guide you. When you see him, speak these words to him, "Mym Audumlar zeim es. Grungpador gom sa Hroynir." Can you repeat them?

A sobbing Broyz tried to repeat the words between his tears and hiccups. Naturally, he didn't get it the first time. But Aruzir and the dragon were patient enough to wait until he could repeat them exactly. By this time, the mental exercise had proven to be enough distraction to calm Broyz down so that he reluctantly agreed to be let down.

Then his gomo squatted in front of him, took his hands in his own and said, "Bobo, with my going, a great adventure is going to unfold in front of you. This is the adventure of the Audumlar. You know all the adventure stories, right? The hero always has a good time, and things turn out well in the end. Right?" Broyz nodded sadly.

"So, you're going to be a hero now, Broyz! And heroes don't cry, do they?"

"No, they don't."

"Good! So, now, let's see you get ready for your adventure. Wipe your tears and bid me goodbye."

Broyz mustered his courage and wiped his face with his sleeve. Then he gave his gomo the traditional goodbye salute. Aruzir smiled adoringly. He ran his hand through the boy's hair. He said, "Remember these words always, Bobo: Zeim brok neu tog neu nokt." It was a saying from the Grungpa. But some people used it as a spell to invite good tidings. "Time brings a new day and a new night."

Broyz just stood there silently, eyes downcast, head down. Then his grandfather went to the dragon and said, "Es Zeim." The dragon nodded.

Broyz looked up, and to his horror, saw the dragon open its jaws and swallow his grandfather whole. The suddenness of the event shocked Broyz beyond belief. He screamed, "GOMO! NO!" But before he could do something, the dragon disappeared through the ring of fire and the ring grew smaller and vanished, leaving Broyz alone in the dark.

The boy didn't know what to do. He was suddenly drained of all his energy, and he laid himself down on the ground. As his eyes closed to drag him to the depths of sleep, one thought stood up sharply, one thought he would not abandon for as long as he was alive, "I will make the dragons pay. I will swallow them like they did my mama, my papa, and my gomo." Then, all was darkness and unconsciousness.