ONC 2024 ~ On Hold
Once upon a time there was a little golden dragon. He was the last of his kind and knew nothing of the ways of dragons. One day his hoard of gold was stolen by some men from the castle down the hill. This is the story of how the l...
The big dragon looked at the lonely dragon and roared a terrible roar. Then she turned to the uneven man, who cowered on his throne, and she spat sparks at him. "You will pay for turning me and my people to stone, you crooked wizard!" And the great new dragon turned and left the cave.
"Take your treasure and leave me!" the uneven man said to Golden Scale.
Golden Scale was confused, for no treasure had appeared. But there was a dragon who could teach him how to fly, so he could return to the castle and get his old treasure back. This was good enough for Golden Scale, so he followed the dragon out of the temple.
"My name is Golden Scale," he said to the dragon once they were all outside. "I think I rescued you from the uneven man's spell."
"You did, little one," the enormous she-dragon said as she smiled down at Golden Scale. "I am in your debt, so tell me. What do you wish of me?"
"I have always wanted to learn how to fly, but you are the first dragon I have met who could teach me how."
The she-dragon nodded, her red scales glistening in the afternoon sun. "Flying is not about flapping your wings when you are a dragon. It is about filling your belly with hot air that will make you float. You must fill your mind with the heat of rage. Then when you breathe in, your anger will heat the air inside you, and you will fly." Then the great she-dragon roared another angry roar and filled her lungs. The air smelled of sulfur as the large Red Dragon took off and flew away.
Golden Scale closed his eyes and thought about filling his mind with the heat of rage. He thought about how angry the humans made him for stealing his gold, and how angry the uneven man made him for taking his last piece of treasure, and how angry the Red Dragon made him for leaving him alone, and how angry he had always been for being left in that cave all by himself with no one to take care of him. Then he inhaled and the rage inside him heated the air in his lungs, and Golden Scale began to float.
With the added buoyancy from the hot air in his stomach, the dragon was able to fly for the first time. He held Shina in his claws and flew away as fast as he could toward the shore and off the island.
Golden Scale made it to the beach and breathed fire on the sand and landed on the beach. He lay down beside his melted sand castle to rest his weary wings, for he was not used to flying.
Yellow Feather came to land next to him. "You flew, Golden Scale! You really did it!"
"No thanks to you!" Golden Scale said. He was still angry from almost getting turned into a statue, and from losing his treasure, and from being left alone again.
Shina scurried down to the sand and stuck his tongue out at Golden Scale. "You don't have to be so mean about it, Golden Scale."
"Don't tell me what to do," the dragon said. "I could burn you up if I wanted to."
"I thought we were friends!" Shina was ready to run at any second, just in case Golden Scale really did decide to set him on fire.
"I don't need any friends," Golden Scale said. "All I need is my treasure, and now that I know how to fly, I can go get it." And with that, Golden Scale took off in the direction of the castle, leaving his two companions behind.
Golden Scale had never felt more magnificent. Flying through the air was like nothing he had ever experienced, and now that he knew how to fly, he knew he would never walk anywhere ever again. He was a dragon, after all, and it was time he started acting like one.
Golden Scale realized that he hadn't been home to his mountain labyrinth in a long time. From his vantage point on the back of the wind, he could easily see the large red dragon flying home to her mountain cave. He chased after the dragon with all his might, until she reached the mountains and landed.
"The humans stole all the treasure," Golden Scale said.
The red dragon roared an angry roar. "We shall go retrieve it," she said.
"I can show you the way," Golden Scale said.
The setting sun was about to turn the turquoise sky to black as Golden Scale and the Red Dragon flew to the castle at the foot of the mountains.
Night fell, and the nocturnal dragons grew more and more valiant and ferocious as their draconic instincts came to them in the darkness, proving just how mercurial dragons can be. They reached the castle and saw with wonder that the village inside the walls was aglow with a million lanterns. Music was playing and villagers were dancing. The whole town was celebrating something, and the festival would make it impossible for Golden Scale to sneak about undetected
The Red Dragon exhaled until her stomach deflated like a balloon and she could sink back down to the earth. In the process, she breathed fire down on the unsuspecting village as she came swooping in and landed on the boulevard in the center of the town. The villagers screamed and ran for the cover of the nearest buildings.
Golden Scale breathed fire and landed beside the Red Dragon. Fire spewed from his mouth and engulfed the villagers. When he saw the villagers scream and run in pain and fear, he instantly felt awful. He tried to put out the fire by snuffing it out with his claws, but he crushed the villagers. He didn't know his own strength, but it was clear that the villagers thought the dragons were here to kill people and destroy their town. They began to rally around the entrance to the castle, where knights came out with their shining armor and weapons. He also noticed that there were some men wearing robes with hoods that covered their faces, as well as some archers with bows and arrows.
The counter-attack came all at once. The archers shot arrows at them, the knights charged in with their swords, and the men in the robes raised their hands, and lightning rained down on Golden Scale and the Red Dragon. He roared in fear, and more fire came from his mouth. The knights had big shields to block the fire, and the archers and robed men were too far away to feel the flames. A lightning bolt hit Golden Scale's wing tip, and the dragon cried out as his wing went limp against his back. The knights separated Golden Scale from the Red Dragon, who was so keen on finding her stolen treasure that she didn't notice Golden Scale was in trouble. The knights slashed at the little dragon's legs with their sharp swords, and Golden Scale roared in fear.
Golden Scale inhaled and felt himself start to float up into the air. With only one wing, he flew topsy-turvy through the air and could not control where we went. He flew straight toward the castle wall and the men in the robes, who ducked for cover. Golden Scale crashed into the castle wall head first, dislodging a fang in his mouth. He scrambled around and set himself right, feeling the snaggletooth with his tongue.
The dragon noticed that he had almost landed on a man in robes, who was sprawled out on the ground in front of him. The man wore a familiar-looking trinket around his neck. Golden Scale grabbed the man in his clawed hand, not wanting to hurt him, but only wishing to find out where the rest of his treasure was. Then, as the lightning and arrows and swords continued to rain down on him, Golden Scale retreated up the castle wall. Climbing proved to be rather easy, since Golden Scale weighed very little when he was full of hot air. He reached the top of the castle in no time, and he leaped from one tower to the next until he was on the highest turret.
The broken tooth in his jaw was the least of Golden Scale's worries. His right wing was hanging limp at his side after being struck by the lightning. His other wing had a few punctures from arrows, as well as a tear from a sword. His golden scales were gleaming with blood from the knights' attacks. He was trapped on the top of the castle with no way to control which way he flew.
And that is how a dragon and a wizard came to perch on the highest tower in the castle at the foot of the mountain.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
