The End, As It Were

And so, this Draconic Verse is coming to a close, as we find ourselves coming to the end of this tale. My narration returns to disquisition from description.

<The Knight jumped back to dodge a maelstrom of gnashing teeth. >

<As he did so, he nipped at the Dragon's face with his mighty blade.>

<The Dragon grimaced, paid was not a sensation it liked nor enjoyed.>

<Do not get cocky, you festering rot! it thought!>

<It slumped back a bit before breathing a pillar of flame.>

<Fortunately the Knight blocked this pillar with his shield.>

“How did his shield do that? Wassit magic or jus’ real good?”

“It was as magic as his blade, but with a quality of construction fit to match his foe.”

“Thas a cop out!”

“The Knight made a point of going in prepared.”

<The Knight jumped forward as the flames subsided, and tried to cut at the Dragon foot.>

<But the Dragon had seen this coming, and flew upwards with its mighty wings.>

But regardless, the ideas we gain from these experiences ARE passed on. In the form of tropes we use. The thoughts and feelings we experience are chased and recreated using these tropes. With them we can fine tune ideas and ideals, we can inspire others and aspire ourselves to greater heights in the form of tale spinning and life as it is or will be. Despite ourselves we celebrate these feelings; The intensity and fear seeing a land ravaged by great horrors; Surprise and curiosity when we learn something new about a character we knew; Despair and discombobulation when a story gains a new tragedy; Hope and elation when seeing characters we’ve come to know earn a happy ending. In this world we can’t help but seek these and many other feelings out. And to produce these feelings we fall back on tropes.

“Why didn’t it jus’ run away with those wings?”

“Pride most likely, and various other reasons you will hear in a bit.”

<After flying in the air, the Dragon then flew downwards, as fast as it possibly could!>

<It collided with the ground, unharmed due to its normally indestructible skin.>

<The surrounding area, was all but destroyed, with the fire truck mecha falling down.>

<This gave the lava slime a chance to attack, so it bit at the arm of the machine.>

<Fortunately the mecha was able to get back up and kick the monster backwards.>

<The mech then blasted the monster with water, causing it to lose more of its eyes.>

<As all that occurred the Dragon looked for the Knight.>

<Had this annoyance finally been squashed?>

“Of course not! I’s not dun right?”

“Don’t be rude.”

<Twas not the case, the Knight had actually climbed up onto the debris as the Dragon rose.>

“Told you!”

<The Knight then jumped off of said debris just as the Dragon collided with the ground.>

<Where did he jump to?>

<Why, onto the Dragon’s back of course!>

But even if these tropes become stale with overuse, or change to fit the times. The inspiration for telling tales is perhaps more sturdy.

<The Dragon roared with frustration, but the Knight…>

<The Knight did something unexpected.>

<He spoke.>

<“Why did you do it Dragon?” he asked interrogatively.>

<I cannot understand you rats disgusting tongues, though they do taste good.>

<“Do not lie to me, in my homeland you extorted our rulers for gold.”>

<“I SAW them speaking with you once or twice.”>

<You were there?>

<It was an honest question, the Dragon could not differentiate between humans.>

<“Of course, now answer my question.”>

<“Why did you do it?”>

<Do what? It thought dumbly.>

<“Don’t play dumb with me!”>

<The Dragon had no interest in questions, especially not that one.>

<Thus it attempted charge into a wall to knock the Knight off>

“Were the Knight an’ Dragon friends or something?”

“The Dragon didn’t recognize him, so no.”

<The Knight saw through this attack, and stabbed his sword into the Dragons back.>

“Was that rhyme on purpose?”

“How about instead of asking questions every five seconds, you just let the story play out.”

“Ok ok! Sorry Pa!”

<The Dragon roared in pain, causing it to lose its footing slightly.>

<This gave the Knight a chance to jump off safely, while the Dragon’s side collided with a wall.>

As the narrator, I am nothing more than a trope. Perhaps the oldest? Certainly one of the more universal. My existence is for the explicit purpose of describing what occurs and explaining why it makes sense. In some ways I am a character, yet my traits are not found through interaction, but through the tale as I describe it to you. My personality is the personality of the tale itself. I have told countless tales, from adventures at sea to tragedies in outer space. I have watched stories grow and change with the times they are told and the spaces they inhabit. That is perhaps the most short-lived aspect of tales… even if the tale's story remains consistent, the experience it provided can never quite be replicated, either from the teller or to the listener.

<“Where is the princess’ corpse.”>

<Why do you care…?>

<The Dragon swiped with it’s tale, the Knight ducked under.>

<“I swore, a long time ago, that I would never allow a parent to mourn their child.”>

<“I have failed that, at the very least she deserves a proper burial.”>

<Than your mission is accomplished. The girl LIVES.>

<The Dragon used its tail again, but the Knight was prepared and sliced a part of the tail off.>

<The Dragon roared in pain, but the Knight could not savor this, he had only a single thought.>

<“I… beg your pardon?>

<Through the pain, the Dragon smiled sadistically.>

<Tis a special feature of my race… those I eat may become sustenance… or prisoners.>

<The girl has been trapped within me, unaware and unmoving.>

<Even if you kill me to release her… she shall be in a world wholly unfamiliar.>

<All her loved ones… dead. All memories of her… dead. She may a well BE DEAD!>

<The Dragon was laughing, laughing at his handiwork.>

<This laughter was punctuated by another quake, as the lava slime and mecha collided.>

<The mecha picked the lava slime up, and threw it to the ground.>

<But this display seemed to have little effect, the slime simply reconstituted itself.>

<After doing so, it fired lava at the mech, throwing the great machine backwards.>

<Though fortunately it managed to stay on its feet, its left arm was totalled.>

<“What did she DO to you? Pray tell what injustice she inflicted to deserve this?!”>

“Were the Dragon and Princess pals at some point?”

“Wait. And. See. The story will say.”

<That girl stole from me.>

<“Her name was - no IS - Sopia. She deserves that much.”>

<It matters not, it took some coinage of mine during a negotiation.>

<“How many?”>

<A couple… mayhaps as many as a dozen?>

<It was the Fairy who responded.>

<“That’s IT?!”>

“Thas it?!”

“Shush huh? Let them finish.”

<At this the Dragon chuckled darkly.>

<Yes… how does it feel mincemeat?>

<Knowing all that you are, all that you’ve done, is the result of a mere whim?>

<I do as I like because I CAN, your order is nothing but revenge over coins.

<“Well if anything I am angry for princess Sophia, for all we know it was just a nervous habit.>

<The Dragon was unprepared for this, while he swiped one of his powerful claws.>

<“I worried there was some injustice she committed, I already knew you to be petty.”>

<The Knight dodged once more, and sliced off one of the Dragons fingers.>

<Had she committed injustice, what would you do?>

<“I would stop you, no matter what.”>

This inspiration comes from all sorts of sources, and this source may answer the ultimate questions of all tales. Why tell the tale? How do you tell it? What feeling do you wish to elicit? But even the answers to these questions may find themselves changed with time.

<Why… are you not affected?>

<It was the Knights turn to show confusion.>

<He honestly had no idea what the Dragon was talking about.>

<The order you created is DUST.>

<Legends of you are fading.>

<So why, no HOW do you persist?>

<What allows you accept being forgotten?>

<The Knight simply rolled out of the way of another flaming pillar.>

<He chuckled in ernest.>

“I think that's funny.”

“Say why?”

“The Dragon could be talking about himself just as much as about the Knight.”

A tale meant for one purpose or another may find itself misinterpreted by the future generation who lack context. Or perhaps new context will change how we see the tale. A scientific discovery may date a tale concerned with realism. A famous tale may well become infamous if the author is outed as a monster. Perhaps even a moral lesson intended to show intelligence may be looked on as sheer foolishness due to a different moral center.

<“If anything, I’m would be glad to be forgotten.”>

<The Knight smoothly dodged another pillar of flame.>

<As this was occurring, the mecha picked up the lava slime once more.>

<This time, instead of throwing it down, they shot a spray of water point blank.>

<“I was terrified you see, when I learned how much people looked up to me.”>

<The Knight charged forward himself, swiping again at the Dragon’s arm.>

<“I never intended to be a hero. I just wanted to stop you…”>

<“I thought this hero worship was unsustainable, that nothing good could come from it.”>

<“But then… a bit earlier… I saw a father and son reconnecting.”>

<“They used an oath… an oath I myself was taught by my master before you killed him.”>

<“The people of these lands… someway or another, must have picked up on it.”>

<“Well maybe not perfectly, but still…”>

<The Dragon attempted to get away, but the Knight used his sword to latch on.>

<“Through memory of my legend, I reconnected with my master once more.”>

<“Then I realized… how selfish I had been.”>

<“How so many people have been forgotten despite doing good.”>

<“At first, I saw this as further proof that I was undeserving.”>

<“With this, I realized what I had to do.”>

<“I can remember and pass on their tales once more.”>

<The Knight climbed his way onto the Dragon’s back once more.>

<“And now, your cruelty means I can save someone I thought lost.”>

<He made his way backwards, as quickly as possible down the Dragons spine.>

<They will be FORGOTTEN EVENTUALLY! JUST LIKE YOU!>

<“Perhaps! But I can help them live just a bit longer, and maybe, just maybe-!”>

<The Knight assumed a proper stance.>

<Just as the Dragon began to roll on its back to shake him off.>

<“Just as my legend allowed father and son one final moment together, perhaps these tales can do the same!”>

<The Knight, his blade true, lopped off one the Dragons wings.>

<“I would have gone for your head, but I could tell you were hoping I would risk that.”>

<“Some sort of trick up your sleeve, I presume?”>

The reasons may become dated or the results may change, yet our wish to continue telling tales does not.

“Hey…”

“Is for horses, but yes?”

“Will he be able to do that?”

“You don’t know?”

<The lava slime finally broke from the mech's grip.>

<It was visibly far smaller, but it still had teeth, though not of the literal variety.>

<It sent a blast of lava right through the mechs right leg, making it near worthless.>

“I wasn’t alive! You were but ya don’t talk ‘bout it till real recent!”

“Ah well… it was a pretty stressful day, trauma all around for all of us but…”

“But tha’s where ya met her?”

“Yes, I suppose it is huh?”

“I mean… does he live?”

“Wait and see, that's all we can do I’m afraid.”

All told, yes our tales are doomed to produce different experiences as time moves on. But is that not part of our obsession with them? We tell or show our children tales from our childhoods with the purpose of giving them new experiences. Experiences we are familiar with, yes, but not quite the same.

<As the Dragon roared in agony, the Knight went for a strike to its stomach.>

<HOW HOW HOW HOW HOW?! You were small fry before! Barely notable!>

<“I suppose I’ve improved?”>

<You were as trapped as I later became!>

<“Not quite, I learned much from our first battle, and even more from the successive conflicts.”>

<We fought once!>

<“Well, twice is more accurate, but I suppose you don’t remember the first?”>

<“I was in a large group back than, so I didn’t stand apart as notable.”>

<That changes nothing!>

<“Ah well, did you not notice? The obsessive notes my dead order kept?”>

<I saw! It mattered little… mattered…>

“Ohhh, you mean that-”

“Let them finish.”

<A look of horror came across the Dragons face.>

<“Every battle the old order did with you… was meticulously recorded.”>

<“The notes were than collected by my friend here-”>

<“Thats Me!”>

<“I learned every strategy, every trick, every weapon at your disposal.”>

<But there is a difference between hearing and being!>

<You couldn’t become so skilled so quickly!>

<“You truly are arrogant. You presume because you’ve never lost that you’re SKILLED?”>

<“You merely had raw power and abilities which break the rules of life itself.”>

<“You’re a child, always getting your way, finally being forced to an even playing field.”>

<“The moment you lost these advantages, you lost this battle.”>

<The Knight lopped off one of the Dragons back-legs.>

<It roared once more and backed away in pain.>

The important experience of changing ideals; gaining new perspectives on the world.

“I feel a funny sorta bad for it…”

“I suppose that’s a feature of humans, our empathy gives us the unfortunate skill to relate to anyone and everyone.”

“But… but what them? Those folks who…”

“Well, maybe it’s harder for some people than others but… I don’t know, I like to think we all got it, and the people who don’t have problems!”

“Ya really are an idealistist.”

“Yes yes I’ve heard all that before… and it’s idealist, or idealistic, by the way.”

“Ok ok! Now it’s your turn to shush!”

<Don’t think… don’t think you’ve won yet mongrel.>

<“As I said before, I am no fool, I expect victory as much as I expect defeat.”>

<“All I can really do it hope for the former but prepare for the latter.”>

<This sentiment was almost immediately realized.>

<The Dragon attempted to fly into the air once more.>

<One of it’s wings were gone, so it could not do so elegantly, but it could be done.>

<And once more the Dragon than flew downwards at top speed.>

<The Knight knew, obviously, that he could not repeat the same trick twice.>

<Thus, this time instead of climbing onto rubble, he ran for a wall.>

<As the dragon made contact with the ground, he jumped from his new spot.>

<This time his target was the Dragon’s side, rather than its top.>

<But regardless of target, the Dragon was ready for this.>

<It sent a flaming pillar at the now midair knight, who was then sent backwards.>

<Straight back into the wall he had jumped from.>

“But regardless… Just know that everyone, and I do unfortunately mean everyone, has some sort of tale to tell. Some sort of experience or input that changes how they see things, sometimes in big ways, sometimes in little ones.”

“So I should be ok?! With all they said?”

“You should remember that hurting someone because they made fun of you is wrong.”

“Hmph… you seem’t ok with fighten’.”

“Uhh, that was for our lives?”

The ancient experience of following traditions; feeling thousands of years of human expression.

<The Knight and the mech were both worse for wear at this point.>

<Both had lost access to their left arms, and the mechs right leg now barely worked.>

“Why’re they not runnin’?”

“Because we had an oath to maintain, do you remember it?”

“Ahh…”

“Well I suppose you wouldn’t huh? The old order never returned, though it was given some honors for its work over the centuries despite the corruption in its later years. Repeat after me, ok?”

“Kay!”

““To the ends of humanity,

““To the end of the earth,

““To the end of all there is,

““In spite of,

““War,

““Tyranny,

““Corruption,

““And evil in itself,

““May justice… and heroism endure,

““Because it’s right,

““Because it’s decent,

““And because…

““It's the only way we can honor those who came before…

““And those who come after.

““That is…

““The role of a knight,

““To the bitter end.””

<Despite their difficult position, both continued moving as well as they could.>

<The Knight rushed forward, while the mech sent out another blast of water.>

“I made a point of memorizing it out of respect. It’s a bit cheezy, but I do see the appeal.”

“Dussit means Imma member now?”

“Huh… pfft… Yes! I suppose it does huh? You know this comes with a lot of responsibility right?”

“I-can doit!”

“Good than!”

The important experience of learning; creating a greater understanding of a subject.

<Do what you can HUMAN! I shall finish you yet!>

<The battle continued, despite the Dragon’s boasts t’was still an even duel.>

<The Knight spun past a tail thrust of the Dragon, and hacked another part away.>

<The mech used its initial blast of water to send the lava slime right into a wall.>

<After doing so the mech charged forward once more.>

<It used all the strength it had to close the distance despite its barely functional leg.>

“Why not just switch?”

“Are you speaking about our side, or the Dragon’s?”

“Dragons! Could ya mech hurt him any much?”

“Ah, not quite I’m afraid.”

“Could the Knight do anything to the lava thingie?”

“Nope.”

“Than why…?”

“First off, that's VERY clever of you to notice that! Truly impressive! But to answer? Well I guess… the ultimate reason is the same as always with that thing.”

“Pride or ego?”

“Hubris, arrogance, pick a synonym and any would work here. Pride kills us all, you’d do well to remember that.”

“But… but yall say I have ta believe in myself too?”

“Both can be true I guess? Pride can kill us, but we also need it to a certain extent. Remember pride is not just an overly inflated self image… it’s also underestimating the many around yourself.”

<The Dragon was prepared for a strike, but he was unprepared for an explosion.>

<The Chief, surrounded by a few others, watched the Dragon from a safe distance.>

<In the Chiefs hands was the bazooka.>

<Surrounding him were a few who had come with him to help set up the shot.>

<As this was happening, the lava monster was preparing another outpouring of lava.>

<In some attempt to block the mechs charge.>

<But a stream of water hit it from an unexpected side.>

<Another group of firefighters had carefully maneuvered a fire hose to that corner.>

<It was an effective trap.>

“Did ya time that on purpose?!”

“Haha! I had an inkling this would be the next scene!”

<These momentary distractions, while not particularly damaging, were more than enough.>

<The mech's working fist collided right into the lava slime’s throat.>

<After a moment it let out another burst of water, destroying the monster from the inside out.>

“Brutal!”

<The Dragon meanwhile… the Dragon… found the Knights blade lodged in it’s throat.>

The simple experience of joy; finding happiness in this rotten beautiful world.

<Ah… I’ve lost, haven’t I?>

<“Yes, you will most certainly lose at this point.>

<The Dragon was laboring to breathe as the Knight dragged the sword from its throat.>

<Tell me, would I have won, had they not interfered?>

<“Once more I cannot say, but the odds were 50/50 by my reckoning.”>

<All they did… was lower my odds… in your estimation?>

<“Not so, they have ensured your loss, though not quite yet by the looks of things.”>

<I’ll be… I’ll just be forgotten again, won’t I?>

<“That I cannot say, as it stands you will likely be remembered for quite a while however.”>

<HA! I was… forgotten once, what stops me from being forgotten again?>

<Say… Knight… just what are we?>

<The Knight tilted his head in confusion, it was a gesture he did not quite expect.>

<I have nothing… the story I left behind was forgotten by time…>

<That order you set up… devolved to corruption and mismanagement.>

<What point was there? In any of this?>

<In two empty nothings battling for a time and place not their own.>

<Our story… the story of the Knight and Dragon, will inevitably fade.>

<Once it does so… what then? Will all I am be erased? I may as well have already died.>

<“Was the reason you spared this center… because you were afraid to fall into that cliche?”>

<“You were afraid to be so predictable you would fade into memory even faster?”>

<Ha ha… I could not bring myself to consider it until after I was freed…>

<I thought exceptional cruelty might stand apart… but I have a feeling that would not be so.>

<As I said before, we are both nothing. To archetypes with little basis in this modern reality.>

<Incapable of escaping our roots, and doomed to burn with them.>

<“...Get up.”>

<What for?>

<“Your right… you cannot win but, maybe you can play your part one last time.”>

<That answers not my question.>

<Somehow the Dragon, who couldn’t read humans, could tell the Knight was smiling.>

“He was also still wearing a helmet. So I’m not quite sure how he did that.”

“Shush!”

<“You're right… We ARE both just bundles of centuries old cliches brought to this time.”>

<“We are tropes which have long since lost their luster.”>

<“But if that must be the case… why not give them a show as we bow out?”>

<“Two old fools going on one final quest, to show these youngsters what we were all about.”>

<“You will lose no matter what… so you may as well have some fun before you go.”>

<Just as it could tell the Knight was smiling, he could tell the Dragon was smiling as well.>

<“Most hated adversary! I am a Knight and the founder of the Order of Reclemation!”>

<“For the people of this land! For the children of this time! I challenge you!”>

<“My blade… carries with it, the efforts and hopes of all before and after me!”>

<“The people shall speak forevermore of your defeat! It shall ring out through generations!”>

<Human! Sir Knight! Hated adversary centuries in the making!>

<I am the mighty Dragon of no quarter! Conqueror of nations! A living weapon!

<Many have fallen to my maw! You may be the last, but you will certainly not be the last!>

<When that princess of yours escapes, she will come to your grave!>

<Both charged at each other, a strange smile on both their lips.>

Yes… for centuries, humans have told tales for reasons innumerable. But perhaps this is a case of overcomplication. We tell tales because we like them, we remember tales because they affect us, and we grow and change with them… in a sense they are our cousins, endlessly growing alongside us. An ever present set of companions we can never quite abandon.

“Why did… Why do that? Ain’t the Dragun a bad guy?”

“I couldn’t really understand it myself, at first I thought he went positively BATTY! But then… I suppose then I just sort of thought about it for a while. The Knight… he wanted to embody his legend, embody honor and chivalry as people thought it should be long after those who saw its reality had died. He wanted to do right by my friend… your uncle, after his father had died.”

“So he was… trying to be the best guy?”

“I suppose he was, in a clumsy way, trying to save absolutely everyone, Dragon included.”

“D’you think I… I could be like that dad?”

“Well that's up to you. I think that's really only up to you. After all, the kids at school are treating you pretty poorly right? It’s all right to not be some sort of super hero. Just as the Knight always wanted to do right by his oaths… as long as you do right by yourself, while yeah it wont go perfectly, at least you won’t have many regrets.”

“Many?”

“Always room for error!”

“Geez! Le’s finish the tale ok?”

“Ha ha! Maybe I can get the Fairy to talk to you?”

“Tha’s cool! Oh yeah so… does he live? Does he? Does he?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

The verses of our lives, poetic and crude; horrible and humorous; real and fake. They are what we are, were and will be.

<The final clash was the sort of thing dreams are made of.>

<Twas a beautiful dance of blade and flame, as both adversaries matched the other perfectly.>

<It was quick, every stroke planned and executed flawlessly, people could barely keep up.>

<Yet they watched all the same.>

<A crowd had begun forming, a crowd of people came to watch the spectacle.>

<Well perhaps that is unfair and inaccurate.>

<There are tales we are told as children, tales of heroics and goodness.>

<As we gain experience, we lose our ability to trust in these values fully.>

<Most reasonable individuals would consider this a worthy trade.>

<But in this moment at this time, in this space… it seemed as though these values came to life.>

<The heroic Knight, his body battered, pressed forward despite the odds to win the day.>

<The cruel and viscous Dragon, doing all it could in death’s throws to end the Knight.>

<It was a pointless battle, yet to all watching and to those participating…>

<It may as well have been a duel to decide the world itself.>

<“I shall survive… to help the princess, to pass down the memories of those fallen.”>

<I shall end you, to destroy this twisted ritual of artificial immortality.>

<“Let’s go, DRAAAAGGOOON!”>

<Thank you… worthy adversary.>

<We all know the story, it is a tale we have all heard some variation of for centuries.>

<And finally, his blade true, the Knight slew the Dragon.>

<The End.>

“Tha’s it?!”

“I guess that's how they adapted this tale. All adaptations tend to be a bit different from each other really, it's often the subtle differences that matter most.”

“B-but-”

“He did in fact survive. Though after making sure a few books were written, and giving Princess Sofia any help she required, he purposefully left the public eye as it were.”

“Why?!”

“Because that’s what a hero would do, or perhaps it's just because he never liked the idea of fame?”

“Can I ever meet him?”

“Well… I don’t wanna speak for him, you know? He has a life he keeps to himself, it is his life, and his alone. But… who knows? We all have our travels, our own tales… maybe someday, you will meet him. On your own journey. If it is for the good of the people, for what's good and decent, who knows? Maybe things will work out? Your tale is just beginning, after all.”

The End.