The Dragon That Never Was

By Timothy S Currey

Every young woman in the village receives a dragon egg when she comes of age.

 

Young Kleia watched every single egg hatch with a heart full of longing. Raising a dragon of her own was her destiny. Her reason to live. Nothing else could give her life meaning the way a dragon could.

 

When she eventually got a dragon egg of her own, she learned that destiny is not always what it seems.

 

This is no ordinary tale of dragons—the kind with daring adventure, great battles, intrepid heroes, or comforting victories.

 

This is the tale of The Dragon That Never Was.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Timothy S Currey
• Release date: Mar 31, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201511258

Book preview

1

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Long ago, when the world was stranger, there was a chain of islands where a society of women lived with their dragons. The islands and the dragons vanished before our time. No one today remembers where the dragon riders came from, or why only women tamed dragons and lived among them. Everything we know about them comes from what is left of their oral tradition.

Most of their tales changed over time, as they tend to do. The dragons and their riders flew far and wide, spreading the stories to all the corners of the world. It was inevitable that all the stories of dragons would change to fit the cultures that received them. Details eroded, names changed, and after the passage of enough time, the events would change so much that the tales were no longer recognizable. Dragons were re-cast as the villains, men as dragon slayers, and women as victims in need of rescue.

This tale, on the other hand, never changed. Some small details were lost to time, but the heart of the story remains intact. This is because it was always a secret story, passed only to those who needed it. Now I am passing it on to you.

There was once a young girl named Kleia who wanted nothing more than a dragon of her own. When older girls came of age, there were great feasts in celebration, and the night sky was bright with jets of dragon fire. All the dragons and riders and children of the village would gather, and the young girl, now a woman, would be handed her own dragon egg by the village elder Zosime. Kleia watched each ceremony with her heart burning with longing.

Each egg was beyond precious. There was only one for each woman on the island. No one ever got a second. The older women would caution young girls any time they carelessly dropped something. They would say, Careful! If that were a dragon egg, it would roll into the sea, and you’d lose it forever!

The years could not pass quickly enough for Kleia. The others called her ‘Little Shadow’ because she was always following the dragon riders around the village. She attended every hatching, becoming familiar with the process. The baby dragons usually could break their own shells, but sometimes a weak hatchling needed the strong jaws of a dragon to crack the egg so that they could break free. Kleia’s heart stopped every time a hatchling struggled, and she cheered louder than anyone when they finally emerged.

She loved dragons with all her heart. She loved the color of their scales, their clever eyes, their claws and fangs, and above all, their wings. When the dragon riders rose at dawn to prepare for a day of flying, Kleia would help them with saddles and supplies unasked. Then she would stand on the cliffs at the edge of the island and watch the dragons and their riders take off. She always stayed until they were nothing more than specks on the horizon. How thrilling it must feel to have the wind on your face, to wheel and dive among the clouds! How strange and beautiful the islands and the sea must look from above! How free they must feel, how powerful and joyous and ... perfect.

Kleia was known for other things among the others in the village. The first was that her fascination with dragons often caused her to be distracted from her chores. No matter how many stern lectures she was given, this never changed.

The other thing she was known for was her smile. All the other women agreed that she had the best smile in the village. She did not just smile with her lips, but with her whole heart and soul. The joy and wonder in her heart shone brightly with every smile, and the feeling was infectious. Despite her being unreliable when it came to chores, the others were fond of her and loved to have her around.

It was the smile of one who looked ahead and saw only sunshine, never rain clouds.

2

The morning sun glittered brightly on the dragons’ scales. At seventeen, Kleia still found their beauty breathtaking. There was mystery in them, in the way the colors shifted and danced with the changing light, more varied and alive than any gemstone.

She finished cinching the saddle on the dragon Axagoras, a red yearling whose shoulder had recently grown taller than the top of Kleia’s head. He stood proudly with his snout pointed across the sea toward the rising sun. His claws dug into the earth, and his wings twitched. Like many young dragons, he was eager. Kleia ran her hands over his crimson scales, humming sweetly to him, her heart full of affection.

Kleia!

She stopped humming and turned.

Kleia, you must have mud in your ears! I was calling you. Didn’t you hear me? Astrea said. She carried a large leather bag over her shoulder, which she fixed to Axagoras’ saddle.

Kleia stepped back. Sorry. I must have been distracted.

I wonder why? Astrea said, laughing.

Astrea had long been Kleia’s friend, and was known to make light of everything, and to fill up the air with her laughter wherever she went. Some found her constant jokes tiring, but Kleia had always liked it. Whenever Kleia got lost in imagination, Astrea would always bring her back to solid ground. She was tall and athletic, and preferred exploring, flying, and climbing over dreaming and thinking.

Astrea took the reins and climbed onto Axagoras’ back. He turned his head toward her, and she scratched his chin. Kleia took another step back and smiled