Grusa-kal's Burden

Chapter 3

(Three Weeks Later)

Grusa-kal stood at the northern end of the circle of dragons who had winged their way to this meeting. All five types were present, and most were Elders and Masters. Most were equals, and those that were not ought to be. Thus, all stood equidistant from the magically sustained fire burning in a carved-out rock in the center. A sign that the meeting was in progress.

"Now that we have all shared our stories and have agreed that the humans are a threat, we must begin to discuss our options," a fortune dragon said.

"We need to know more about their capabilities," said Klhega. "We know they have no magic; they build weapons that they can hold in their paws, and have many reasons to hunt us, but what else? How intelligent are they? What is their natural temperament? I know a few things, but not enough for full answers."

"Their language is basic, at least where I'm from," a swift dragon said. "Like a basic version of Wyrmic. Perhaps not enough to negotiate with, but enough to suggest a higher intelligence."

"I noticed that humans have different vocal sounds depending on where they are located, though their writings and drawings have some similarities. It may be hard to negotiate with more than a few clans," another swift dragon said.

"In order to negotiate," Grusa-kal said, "both sides must be able to fully understand the terms and requirements, as well as intelligent enough to discuss the agreement in the first place. We know we can, but we lack the evidence to know if they can in large enough numbers to matter. Anyone in disagreement?"

A spirit dragon let out a roar.

"Then speak," he said.

"I travel the world. I have seen many humans and dodged a few. Humans are capable of far more than we give them credit for. Sure, for the most part they have little organization beyond their clans, and have no unified language, but I think that can be overcome in the search for peace. It may be a simple matter of using magic to give them whatever extra intelligence they need to begin negotiations."

"Assuming that they are willing to use it for peace and not war," said a conjuring dragon.

"It will take time, but it can be done."

"I believe it is the last thing we need," said a strength dragon. "Already they use what higher intelligence they have to hunt dragons and other Laku. They have made their lack of magic an advantage. For a species that has no inhibitions on killing, that is already too much intelligence. Perhaps we should do the opposite."

"Do that and you risk taking away their ability to sustain themselves, and that may be enough to Turn on us," a fortune dragon said.

"Were this the case, how could the rabbits and the birds and all of the other creatures living on this world sustain themselves? Humans, like dragons, were not always thinking beings," the strength dragon said.

"They appear not to possess the body to hunt and kill," said Grusa-kal. "But they do appear capable of gathering plant material, and even cultivating it in some circumstances. Taking away their knowledge of weapons and lowering their intelligence will not doom them. But it is only a temporary fix, for evolution has plans for them to be thinking beings. Magic can only do so much against evolution, as any magical species can attest to."

In waiting for this meeting, Grusa-kal had observed invisibly the few human clans nearby, studying every aspect of them that he could. Just as magic had affected the development of dragon kind, weapons, a magic of a different sort, had affected the development of humankind.