The Broken Heart

The Broken Heart

By

J. C. Jenkins Jr

My name is Kenta, and I am dead. How did I die; well, like every living thing, we grow old and eventually die. Even the stars that light up the night sky eventually grow old and die over time, so too do we dragons. That's right, did I forget to mention that I am a dragon?

Silly me; yes, I am a dragon, and yes, I am dead. Did I mention that? Well, let me start from the beginning. Like all life, my life began in darkness, the darkness was all around me, and I was comfortable living in my little universe, however silent it was.

Over time, that universe got smaller and smaller until it started to become uncomfortably small. Was this all there was to the universe? I didn't know; all I wanted now was to escape. I learned later that this is common to all new life. You see, I am a dragon, and this is how life begins for us.

I struggled against my confines in an attempt to escape. Finally, I felt my universe began to weaken until I eventually fell unceremoniously out of the tiny confines of my shell into a dark world; only this darkness was not as prominent as the darkness from which I escaped.

All around me, more such creatures burst forth from their shells and into this new bigger universe, however dark it may be.

There were ten of us, five different kinds of dragons, two of each type. I was the mate of a Silver male named Darlantan.

We were all alone, never knowing our mother or father. Our mothers died long before we were born, killed by the sons of our Mortal Enemy Takhisis, The Queen of Darkness. Did I forget to mention that she is a Goddess and hated our father, Paladine the Platinum Father and God of Light?

Yup, our Father is a God, and he mated with each of his five daughters, a copper, a gold, a silver a bronze, and a brass. Each of his five daughters would lay two eggs each, a male and female, to continue the line.

Like me, our mothers were dead, but before she died, a heroic gold dragoness name Aroura killed the five sons of Takhisis and spared our lives with her death by killing the most fearsome red dragon the world had ever had seen. We would never know our mothers; they had died long before we came into the world.

The Brotto we were born in was full of life to sustain us; the furry little creatures we learned were bats satisfied our needs. In time we grew into healthy dragons still far from adults.

Little did we know as we grew strongly in the safety of the Brotto; our enemies, the children of Takhisis, were growing stronger as well, safe from the eyes of our father Paladine and the other Gods and Goddess. We would meet them later when the First Dragon Wars broke out on Krynn.

Meanwhile, we never left the confines of our Brotto; we would soon meet Pattersmith, the wise old Sage that would teach us everything we needed to know about being a dragon. He would also teach us our history and from which we came.

Pattersmith was just as saddened about our parent's absence and the eggs that never hatched; we learned it was due to the failing magic of our parents due to their deaths. We would never know the dragons that failed to hatch, but we would learn about what it means to be the children of Paladine. He would also teach us what we would need to know to survive when the Dark Queens Children returned to Krynn.

Around the first time, we would venture outside of our Brotto and learn to use what was on our backs. We would discover just how big Krynn was and some of the people that populated. My sisters and I would stay in the Brotto and learn from Pattersmith while our brothers ventured out and discovered what existed in the world.

Around this time, I felt an awakening inside me, a need that I couldn't resist. It was a need ingrained inside each of us females. I sought out my silver brother and lured him in with the sweet-smelling musk that my body was secreting, and we would embrace and find ourselves buried in the snow.

When we woke, I felt another need inside me, a need to return to our Brotto with the precious cargo inside me. Silly Darlantan; he didn't even know what he did when we embraced. If there was one thing I could say about the dimwitted male; when it came to mating.

I returned to my lair and laid my eggs with my sisters; each had mated with their prospective mates and brought the next generation of Dragons into being. When my mate did return to the Brotto, it was near the time of Pattersmith's passing. Darlantan had been just as surprised about the sacred cargo in our Brotto even if he couldn't figure out just where and how they came into being.

What did I tell you about dimwitted males when it came to reproducing? We females have a trick up our sleeve to get a male to perform, and that's our scent. It drives them crazy with desire.

We said our goodbyes to Pattersmith, and he ascended to the Realm of the Gods. We were all alone again; I would miss that old Sage. He had taught us so much about the world and what it meant to be dragons. Our respite wouldn't last very long. The Dark Queen's children would return, and the First Dragon War would begin.

During that time, I would lose three of my brothers, killed by the red dragoness and the leader of the Chromatic dragons. She would be our greatest foe during that dark time. But the Gods had a trick up their sleeves even if the Gods punished the three rebels for their misdeeds.

If it weren't for them, we would have all died, and our children would never have been born. One thing I did lose before the War had ended was my beloved Darlantan. With his sacrifice, our children would live on and continue our legacy.

As with all things in life, the Dragon War ended, and we were victorious. So many innocents had died in that war; Darlantan had been just one of them. I had lost three of my brothers in that war. Aurican the gold is the only brother I have left, and it was up to him to teach our children the new gifts that they received from the Three Gods now considered traitors filled the sky with their presence.

Time passed, and our children grew strong with Aurican's tutorials, and oh, how fast they grew. My son would always come home and rub against me affectionately every day. I took comfort in his affections. As time passed, I grew more distant; my son's affections, no longer brought me joy. One day I stopped responding altogether, and it was at this point that I knew.

I was dying.

Everything in life, died in time; even we dragons who live for thousands of years eventually pass on; in time. I knew my time was fast approaching until one day; I knew that it was time. I left the Brotto that I was born in and found a secluded place covered in snow, and laid down to rest.

My family would find my body; they would bury me. They would remember where I was laid to rest and would carry it in their hearts and minds for generations—a time for which I will never see.

You may say I died of old age, but that is far from the truth. In truth, I had died of a broken heart. Now, I can finally be with my beloved Darlantan in paradise.