Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Chapter 30: Dragon Defense 

Time to brainstorm. Gregory knew that Vlad’s main line of defense would be that humans are inferior to dragons therefore, their defense would need to prove that not only were humans equal to dragons, they were indispensable. To eliminate humans would bring about the downfall of dragonkind as they know it. Furthermore, if they would swing the pendulum even just a little bit further, they would find that humans could benefit dragon society and their standard of living in a myriad of ways. 

They would use the classic trident defense. Three prongs of equal strength to establish the validity of their position. Prong one: due to the significantly lower life expectancy of the humans, they were inevitably more flexible in their thinking and more innovative in their problem solving. Dragons will do something the same way for 1000 years, then one dragon will go hang out with humans for an afternoon and realize the humans had found a better way to do it 800 years earlier. This kind of flexible thinking had brought them the rotisserie fire pit! A must have in every respectable dragon kitchen. It increased their enjoyment of sheep (their staple meat) by 100 fold. They stumbled upon that particular human invention after almost 2000 years of eating raw or burnt sheep. Let me tell you, burning mutton does not enhance the naturally grassy flavor. 

Prong two: dragon variance. Due to the 200 year dragon war we lost all dragon colors except the Rubys and the Jades. Now, we have finally brought back a few variations due to the intermarrying of the two colors but we lost so many family colors. We used to gather and see the whole array of beautiful jewel tones. And then, thanks to our own hatred and anger we destroyed almost all of our colors. Vlad would have us turn back to hatred and anger and continue to destroy. Svend, on the other hand, moved forward with love and brought back a dragon color! Something we thought was impossible! We now have violet in our midst again thanks to his rather unorthodox methods. Think of the possibilities if Mirabel’s transformation can be replicated. Perhaps we can see all of our colors restored to us again! 

Prong three: Vlad would have you see humans as weak and inferior beings. While they are much more vulnerable than we are, it would be a mistake to dismiss them as inferior. We previously established their flexible thinking to be to their credit. We should also acknowledge that while vulnerable, their smaller form enables them to create detailed works of art in all mediums that dragons could only dream of. They create homes with walls and windows and doors while we blast out a hole in the mountain and call it a day. They create tools out of metal to assist them and compensate for their small, weak form. They create clothing with the tiniest of stitches to hold cloth together in beautiful designs. They create jewelry that we collect and covet. Finally, they create food. Delicate pastries, breads, and pies. Sweet and savory masterpieces that would haunt our dreams if we were so lucky as to partake. Burnt mutton be damned. Humans eat like kings. 

At this point in his brainstorming, Gregory turned to Svend and Mirabel. “So, what do you think?”

“Well, you know them better than we do, but you’ve got me convinced.” Svend grinned enthusiastically. 

“It’s all good and well to tell them humans eat like kings,” Mirabel added, “but I think we should show them. We should bring samples of some of your favorite dishes so they can have a positive association with our arguments. It’s hard to be angry when you’re eating lemon cheesecake.” 

“Excellent suggestion. Though I think dragon tastes are not universal, perhaps we should present them with a variety of samples?” Gregory mused. 

“Will they be eating in their dragon form? Do I need to make these samples dragon sized?” Mirabel was a little bit alarmed at the thought. 

“No, no. We will only be presenting to the dragon council. They are all capable and willing to don their human form on occasion. Giving them a good reason to do so will also help them remember they are not so different from the humans after all. The human form lies dormant within all dragons.” Gregory assured her. 

“Well, in that case, we should present them with some sweet and savory selections. Show them that food can be more than burnt mutton.” Mirabel nodded to herself, glad to have something to contribute. She did feel like she had gotten them into this mess by transforming in front of Vlad. She immediately set to work preparing a menu. A feast fit for a king. Or a dragon. To start: stuffed sweet potatoes. These are the stuffed sweet potatoes she would bring them.