April 10, 1997

Dragon Slayer

John was a squire at the time of the dragon's first appearance. The red dragon came every decade or so to take the infants under two years old to his lair, never to be seen again. John was only thirteen when the dragon reared his hideous head and took his sister Cera. From that day on, he vowed to avenge her.

John had always had this theory that the dragon somehow tested the children to see who would become his slaves and who would be the dragon's next meal. He shuddered at the thought. John wanted to free those children who were slaves. However, he had been a squire for so long that he feared he'd never be a knight. He knew that the queen wouldn't let her daughter Margaret marry anyone less than one. That was Queen Corrianna's decree and social custom. But the princess and John had been best friends since childhood. Why couldn't the queen make one lousy exception?

One day he was out on the battlefield next to the knight he tended, Sir Hernan. Out of nowhere, a carefully aimed spear pierced Hernan's neck. He had only a few moments to live. In those last moments, Hernan made John a knight. Once the flat of Hernan's sword had been touched to both of John's shoulders, Hernan drew one last breath and died.

Sir John was left standing alone. He had finally obtained his chance to slay the dragon that abducted his sister. All John needed now was a plan. The dragon would come and get the infants at midnight. Sir John would follow the red menace to his lair and behead this hideous beast. He told his other friend Kannapol, a sorceress, of his plan.

"I admire your plan," she said, folding her fingers, "but it will take more than an ordinary sword to behead the dragon." With a flick of her hand she called from the mantle a sword. The sword was machete-shaped and along the cutting edge was a neat row of emeralds, rubies, and near the point, diamonds.

"This sword shall slay the dragon."

"Pol, this is too much," John said as he marveled at the sword.

Kannapol smiled. "This is the only sword short of Excalibur that will slay a dragon. But Excalibur is in Camelot with my brother and the king."

"I never knew you and Merlin were related."

Kannapol looked at the mantle clock. "The midnight hour approaches," she said, fear masked by solemnity. The dragon's footsteps were thundering through the village. Terrified screams echoed to Kannapol's tower from the doomed village.

Sir John left Kannapol's tower and kept the red scales gleaming with fire in sight. The dragon breathed fire, enveloping cottage after cottage.

When the dragon had taken all children under two years old, he began to retreat into the woods, leaving sobbing mothers and terrified children.

It was easy to follow the dragon, with trees being uprooted in the red monster's path and its size. John's breath caught as he thought of his sister going down this same trail. John let the dragon get ahead of him but not out of sight.

It was then that the dragon stopped, barely twenty yards away. He sniffed the air, while John silently let out a sigh of relief because he was down wind. At the same time, this was a curse. The dragon reeked like raw sewage from the past two centuries.

After the dragon had disappeared into his lair, John stalked forward for the kill. Both hands were on the sword (Kannapol had called it Emerod) as John peered into the cave. No children were there in the one room. Instead there were thousands of gold coins. Somehow, John knew that these coins were the children. Which one had been Cera? He thought as he touched his sword to the ground. The sound was huge as the dragon stirred. Gulping, Sir John tiptoed by the dragon with caution. He just had to see those coins. As he reached to see one of them, the diamonds touched one. He was shocked when his sister appeared, but not as he remembered her. She was thirteen now, the same age he had been when she was abducted.

"Cera?" John whispered.

"Hi, John." Even her voice was different. "There'll be time to get the rest of us later. Right now we -"

The dragon's angry roar cut her off. John didn't have time to think, so he drew Emerod and stepped back, shoving Cera behind him (much to her distaste). She started to put the coins in a large sack.

Meanwhile, John had fought the dragon until they were on the edge of a lake. The fire-spitting monster kept coming until John realized he was up to his waist in water. He put in a few attacking moves himself, but it wasn't until the gold coins were behind the dragon with Cera that Sir John remembered his purpose. With a swift stroke, Emerod was plunged into the beast's huge neck. The creature slumped down and was gone.

Sir John threw the sack of gold coins over his shoulder. He looked back to the lake and saw the once mighty dragon lying lifeless on the sandy shore. Sir John's sword still stuck fast in the dead beast's neck.

Sir John was given a magnificent parade, to celebrate his triumph over the red dragon which had terrorized the people for centuries. John's royal status allowed him to marry Princess Margaret. But local law prohibited them from taking the throne while Queen Corrianna was alive. This allowed them to do what they wanted. Together with Cera and Merlin, the pair opened an inn in Camelot. If one goes there, they will hear this story told beside the fireplace. And, if you listen hard, you can hear the celebrations of Sir John's village after he vanquished the dragon among the crackle of the flames.

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