Tatchos

Chapter 16: Dragon Stories

Svend longed for his human form. He missed sitting around a little kitchen chatting with his friends. But he would do as Gregory had commanded and spend two months with the dragons. Maybe his visit would get better with time. The closest thing he had found to those cozy evenings chatting was the story time that dragons sometimes held. Since they lived so long, dragons passed on their stories and history orally. Each family selected a master storyteller to train and memorize the stories of their kind. The royal storyteller was without a doubt the most skilled and well versed of all the dragons. The council employed her regularly as entertainment for their roasts.

One night, on the rare occasion that Svend was invited to the council roast, the royal storyteller, Euphemia, told this story.

“There once was a dragon who lived in times of war. Entire clans of dragons were lost due to their vicious turf wars with one another. Dragons fought against dragons, but humans remained in ignorance of the chaos and pain surrounding them. This was a time when humans were scarce and did not know of the mysteries of the world. They saw evidence of the dragon wars and thought the gods themselves were fighting.

This war raged for 200 years. By the end there were only two small families of dragons remaining. The Ruby Royals and the Jades. These two families were so entrenched with anger that they divided the world as they knew it in half and swore to never interact with each other again. They knew, if the fighting did not stop, all the dragons would be lost forever. 100 years came and went. The world was gradually healing from the fires and destruction the dragons had caused, but the two families were farther apart than ever.

One day a dragon by the name of Kenric Ruby looked around at his small family and thought, how will we ever move forward? He had reached the age where dragons usually find a mate and start a family of their own. He was trapped in this tiny circle of life with only his two brothers and his parents. Reaching out to the Jades was forbidden, nor did he have the least desire to interact with those barbarians, but what else could he do?

Kenric approached his parents and told them of his dilemma. They decided that it was time for him to leave the family caves and see what the world had to offer. Maybe there were other lands that held some lost dragon families. Although his chances of success were slim to none, Kenric felt this new adventure was more promising than the alternative, of staying with his parents forever and dying an old bachelor. So he said goodbye and went on his way.

Kenric traveled at his leisure. He diligently stayed to the Ruby side of the world, but the world was vast, far larger than he had ever imagined. He would fly during the day, soaring over mountains and lakes, and find nice cozy caves to sleep in at night. He also discovered that he liked to don his human form to get a closer look at the land. One day, as he was hiking in his human form, he stumbled across a small human village. Kenric had seen humans from afar but had yet to interact with any. This was the perfect opportunity to change that. He was, after all, trying to explore and learn new things.

“Hail, fellow,” Kenric called out as soon as he was within sight of a small group of maidens gathered around a well. “Might you have a drink for a traveler?”

“Hail,” the group responded unanimously, and after a moment one young maiden stepped forward hesitantly.

“I am Nova, daughter of Alaric, the village leader. To whom do we have the pleasure of addressing?”

“I am Kenric, son of Drogo, though I don’t expect those names to mean anything to you lovely ladies. I have traveled a great distance and seek and drink and perhaps a small ration to quench my thirst and hunger. Might you have any to spare? I can repay you with labor. My arms are strong.” Kenric gave a subtle flex to emphasize his prowess with physical labor.

“Indeed, Kenric, son of Drogo, come to the village and my father will greet you properly on behalf of us all. You shall dine with us tonight.” Nova seemed to gain confidence once she involved her father. She knew he loved to entertain travelers to hear tales from afar and learn what was happening outside their little village.

Kenric was pleased to have this opportunity to interact with new people. In all his travels he had yet to meet another dragon, but perhaps these humans would help him find direction in life. At the very least he could try some new foods. Nova said they were having something called “tatchos” for dinner. It sounded…. Interesting.

These are the tatchos Nova’s mother made for dinner. They were more than interesting, they were amazing!