THE DRAGON PRINCE

Once, long long ago in times long since passed there rested in the embrace of mother earth a kingdom by the name of Sthela. Sthela was a wondorous and prosperous land with fertile farms and plenty in food and water and bubbling mines of gold and silver. The kings of this land had always ruled wisely and the queens had always ruled generously. The king of this land was now ruling wisely and the queen generously. They were god people, the king and the queen. They did everything in their ability to fulfil their duty to their people and their ancestors. But alas there was one duty they had not fulfilled. it was to secure the future of Sthela in the hands if a wise and capable heir. For the king and queen had no heir. No soul to entrust the future of their land to. No soul to love and cherish as nature loves all things. No legacy to leave behind as they passed through to the other side of the veil. This left the kind and queen distraught. For where the land weakened wolves would be ready to pounce. And the land of Sthela would be prosperous no more. The queen one night as she taught about these things, pleading to her god for the blessing of a child fell asleep. And in her dream she saw the form of an old woman walking with a cane calling to her. "Who are you?" The queen questioned. The old woman simply nodded and said, 'My queen, do you not wish for the gift of motherhood, do you not wish for a soul to call your child" The queen nodded "Then" the old lady said "Go to the glen outside your palace and at the root of the tallest oak tree you shall find two flowers one red one violet. should you wish for a boy- valiant and brave, eat the red flower. And should you wish for a girl- strong and beautiful, eat the violet flower. But under no event or circumstance should you eat both" Saying so the old woman faded away from the queen and first lights on dawn gently woke the queen to the sound of singing songbirds. The queen like all men and women in that day and age knew, that should her God decide to grace her with a miracle she must not ignore the blessing, lest she bring forth divine wrath upon herself and her people. So as the sun acesended in the sky the queen sat in her palanquin and made way to the glen. There just as she had been told two beautiful flowers grew side by side. One as red as the color of blood. The other violet like a bride's dress. The queen sat there a while. contemplating. should she choose the boy he will have to go off to war but should she choose the girl, the girl will be taken away from her for marriage. Finally as the last lights of dusk retreated from the sky the queen picked the red flower and ate it. It was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted. it was a fruit from heaven itself. It was so delicious that the queen could not help but want more. Unheeding to the warning she was given she took the violet flower and ate the delicious fruit of heaven. Nine months later the old woman's promise bore fruit. The queen had given birth to twins. One bore the beautiful face of the queen's beautiful babe, and the other was a hideous demon. It had black hard scales instead of tender bronze skin. it had spikes and horns in place of silky black hair. It had claws instead of fingers. teeth as sharp as razors. The tongue of a serpent and a hundred legs like a worm. The queen threw the lindworm in the brazier outside her window hoping against all hope that the world would forget about the monster just as she wished it to. But the world rarely works as a mortal wishes it to. For twenty years after the queen gave birth to a valiant child and a monster, Nature came to remind the queen just that.