“You can’t possibly still be hungry,” I laughed, but the little beast’s
eyes widened, and for a second, a twinge of guilt spread through my chest.
“Alright, here.”
I handed the little creature a piece of pumpkin, and he took it between
his front two paws and tore chunks of the vegetable meat off. Then he looked
up at me, and his mouth curved up into a smile again.
“How about we call you Smar Einn?” I asked, since it meant ‘little
one’ in the common tongue.
The little blue lizard narrowed his eyes at me again and tore off
another piece of pumpkin as he maintained eye contact and chewed slowly.
“Alright,” I said slowly. “Not that. What about stórr magi?”
This meant ‘large stomach’, and I laughed as the suggestion came out
of my mouth, but the dragon stopped chewing, narrowed his eyes to tiny slits,
and turned around on the table so his little back was to me.
“Aw, come on,” I chuckled. “I was only kidding.”
The dragon looked back at me with vibrant blue eyes, then whipped his
head back the other direction. For something so small, he could throw quite a
tantrum when he wanted to.
“Alright, alright,” I said, and then I had an idea. “What about Blar?”
The word meant ‘blue’ in the old tongue, but it seemed fitting
considering the dragon’s vibrant eyes and coloring.
He turned his little head around to look at me, and I offered him a
smile.
“You like Blar?” I asked, and he spun back around and continued to
eat his pumpkin. “Alright. Blar it is.”
It had grown dark outside while we’d eaten and figured out a name,
and I was exhausted from the battle earlier in the day, not to mention the
surprise of finding myself the new owner of a dragon.
A few minutes later, I pulled the pumpkin seeds off the stove and put
them into a bowl, then I gave Blar another piece of pumpkin before I set the
rest on the counter and banked the fire under the stove. After that was done, I
retrieved my book from the table and put it back under my bed.
My bed. I pursed my lips as I thought for a moment. I’d need a bed for
Blar. I looked over to the table but didn’t see him, and a slight panic filled me
as I scanned everywhere in the room.
“Blar?” I called, then I felt something touch my ankle, and I looked
down to see he was sitting right next to me, with a bit of pumpkin still in his
mouth as his tail curled around my leg. “There you are.”
The relief that washed over me was unfathomable. I’d only known the
little creature for mere hours, but the thought of him getting out and being on
his own scared me to death. It wasn’t because I was worried someone else
would find him, either, I just didn’t want him to be on his own and scared.
He’d only just hatched, and this world had to be as foreign to him as he was
to me.
It occurred to me then I didn’t even know where to begin as far as
making him a bed. Would he like a hole of some sort to sleep in? Or did he
sleep during the day and stay awake at night?
“It’s time for bed,” I said as I looked down at him, and his lips were
still smacking with pumpkin. “Where do you want to sleep?”
Blar shoved the last bite of pumpkin in his mouth, and then he moved
quickly up the wooden frame of my bed and onto the center of my pillow. He
patted it with his four little legs, then plopped down with a small but audible
sigh.
“I see,” I laughed. “I’ll make another pillow for you tomorrow, but for
tonight do you think we can share?”
The little lizard moved about one inch to the right, so I raised my
eyebrows at him, then he stood up, walked over to the right side of the
pillow, and plopped down again.
“That’s better,” I said with a small smile.
As I laid down next to him, I knew that logically I should be scared. I
didn’t know what he was capable of yet, he could set fire to my home while I
slept for all I knew. Still, I wasn’t scared, not in the least.
I blew out the lantern above my bed, then laid my head on my half of
the pillow. I could hear the small, steady breaths of the baby dragon next to
me, and after a few minutes, the breaths turned into miniature snores.
I’d waited my whole life for something spectacular to happen to me.
I’d always thought I was meant for great things, but I never knew what. I was
happy with my life, and I wouldn’t have asked for it to change, but this
strange thing that had just occurred was the most magnificent thing I could
have ever dreamed of.
A dragon was here with me, a real, live dragon. No Aesir had seen one
in centuries unless they’d happened upon one outside of our world, but I’d
never heard a tale of such a thing happening.
I wondered, though, if Blar listened so well to me, and he was so
docile, then why had his kind been hunted and driven from Asgard?
Something told me Blar wouldn’t just turn into a bloodthirsty dragon once he
was older, since he was obviously highly intelligent.
Maybe in centuries past Aesir couldn’t bond with dragons like Blar
and I had seemed to have bonded. There was some undeniable understanding
between us I couldn’t explain, but I knew we were kindred spirits.
Was I the only person who could communicate with dragons the way I
did with Blar? Would the eggs only hatch for me? Why had the egg hatched?
Was it because I’d talked to it?
I thought then maybe I could do it again. If I could find another dragon
egg then maybe I could hatch it as well, and I could show all of the Aesir
dragons weren’t to be feared. They could be our allies. Pet seemed too
diminishing a word when I considered how intelligent Blar was, so I couldn’t
call them that. But if I could show Odin, his family, and the rest of the
council that dragons weren’t bloodthirsty, and that they were intelligent and
capable of bonding with us, then maybe the world would change as we knew
it.
I smiled to myself, then.
Rath, the no name orphan who would bring dragons back to Asgard.
It was with that thought I drifted off to sleep.
I woke to the bright light of morning that flooded into my home
through the window above my sink, and for a second, I was sure the night
before had been a dream, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw Blar’s tail on
the pillow.
I reached my hands up then and patted around the top of my head. The
little dragon was nestled into my hair, but when I started to pet him, I felt his
body flip onto his back, and he stretched out and grabbed my hand with his
two front paws.
“Come here,” I laughed as I grabbed him and set him on my chest.
He sat up and yawned at me, but as I looked at him, I thought he was
bigger than he’d been the night before. Just slightly, but he seemed longer
than my forearm, which was the measurement I’d taken before we fell asleep
“Did you grow overnight?” I asked.
Blar stood up, then, and he zoomed over to the front door of my home
and put his front paws on it before he looked back at me.
“You need to go outside?” I asked, and I walked over and opened the
door. “Don’t go far, you can’t run off and be seen.”
Blar looked at me, and I knew he understood, then he scurried out the
door and over to the tree across the yard to do his business. Again, I was
impressed by his complete understanding of the world around him, even
though this couldn’t possibly be his home world.
After he finished, he waltzed back into our home and scurried up to the
kitchen table.
“Ready for breakfast, huh?” I chuckled as I grabbed the pumpkin from
the night before and handed him a piece from the bowl. I wondered if all
dragons were vegetarians, or if Blar ate meat, too. Either way, he seemed to
really enjoy the pumpkin, and if he could eat the same things as me then that
would make getting us food so much easier.
I needed to figure out a way to get more information about dragons
without being suspicious about it, though I didn’t think anyone would suspect
I had one of my own. Still, I couldn’t leave Blar alone at home, not yet at
least. That meant I’d have to take him with me into town.
I looked around the room as I handed Blar another piece of pumpkin,
then picked up one for myself. How could I conceal him?
My eyes fell on my satchel, then, and I did a quick measurement in my
head. It looked like he’d fit in it, though I wouldn’t be able to put much else
in it aside from him. And if I wore my cloak and covered my satchel with it
then it wouldn’t be likely anybody would see him move around in there.
Where was I headed, though? I didn’t want to risk taking him to the
castle library. I’d have to identify myself when I went in, and there was a
chance they would ask to look in my bag since no weapons were allowed in
the library as it was a place of knowledge.
No, that was out of the question.
Eira was the eldest member of my warband, though I knew she wasn’t
old enough to remember the dragons. It was possible she would have some
knowledge I didn’t, though, so I thought I might start there. Usually, she
could be found with the other older warriors in the great hall, so that’s where
I’d go.
“Eat up,” I told Blar. “We’re going to leave soon.”
He looked up at me with bright blue eyes, then devoured the piece of
pumpkin in his paws before grabbing another one out of the bowl.
I quickly threw on a pair of pants and a yellow tunic, then I pulled my
long, sandy blond hair back into a low ponytail and tied it with a piece of
leather. Once I had the satchel over my shoulder, I secured my cloak so it hid
most of the bag, and I was ready to go.
“Alright,” I said as Blar finished another piece of pumpkin and
grabbed one more to fill its place. “Can you get in the satchel? You’ll have to
be quiet since we’re going to town.”
I held the bag out to the table so he could climb in, and he looked at the
opening of the satchel, then grabbed the edge of the bowl full of pumpkin and
started to attempt to drag the bowl into the satchel with him.
“Hey,” I laughed, and I grabbed the bowl, but he held on by his front
two paws and looked at me as I brought the bowl up to face level. “We can’t
take the whole bowl with us, but we can take some.”
I lowered the bowl far enough where he could hop off, then I retrieved
a smaller, pocket sized leather bag from under my bed, dumped out the seeds
that were in it, and filled it with pumpkin.
“There,” I said. “Now, we have some for the road, but you have to get
in the satchel and be quiet.”
I held the bag out once more, and Blar quickly scurried in face first,
and his little tail swished back and forth before it disappeared into the bag. I
was about to close the top of it when his two little paws reached out with an
expectant grasping motion.
“Fine,” I chuckled and rolled my eyes before I handed him another bit
of pumpkin. I slipped the leather baggy into my pocket, then headed outside
and began the walk toward town. I stopped by my fruit trees first though and
picked a large red apple. I used my cloak to clean it off, then I pulled my
small knife from its sheath on my waist and cut a piece of the fruit off.
I opened the satchel to see the little dragon was curled up at the bottom
of the bag on his back, and he had already eaten the piece of pumpkin I’d
given him just moments before.
“It’s an apple,” I said as I lowered the piece of fruit down next to him.
“We can’t just have pumpkin for breakfast.”
He took the piece of apple meat, but didn’t look impressed, so I cut off another piece and stuffed it in my mouth.
“It’s good,” I assured him, and he took a small bite. I could tell he
preferred the pumpkin, but I couldn’t just feed him one thing. He’d liked the
cabbage and potatoes the night before, though that was before he’d tried the
pumpkin.
As I walked toward town, I continued to cut the apple and slip little
bits of it into the satchel. I could feel Blar move around some, but for the
most part, he remained still.
The day was beautiful as I made my way to town. It was bright and
sunny, and the air was quite warm and pleasant outside. The sky was bright
blue and cloudless, and the grass was its usual vibrant green. The trees were
filled with fruits and flowers, and the breeze smelled of sweet lavender.
I really did live in the realm of the gods, and despite my orphan
had as a mere mortal.
I took a deep breath as I chewed the last of my apple. I was nearly to
the outskirts of the Asgard suburbs, so I tossed the core into the trees and
took the final step out onto the street closest to my home. I could hear the
sounds of the market up the hill, and I could see the silhouette of Odin’s
castle further away. I followed the sounds of the market, but once it was in view, I skirted to the side by the forest and made my way around. I didn’t
want to draw any attention to myself, and I didn’t need my hungry little
companion to smell any of the food sold there and decide to poke his little
head out.
I pulled a piece of pumpkin from the bag in my pocket and slipped it
into the satchel. I was going to drop it down like I’d done with the apple, but
my fingers had barely entered the bag when the pumpkin was snatched away
from me.
It seemed a bit early in life to already have a favorite food, but I had
plenty of other fruits and vegetables in the garden he’d yet to try. I’d be sure
to make something different for dinner that evening.
Once I’d passed the market, I got back onto the cobblestone street and
followed it further up toward the castle until I came to the halls. There were
several great halls for the different warbands, but I headed to the largest one
reserved for celebrations or the use of the eldest warriors. The halls
themselves were expertly made. They were wooden and shaped like an extra-
long barn with large double doors on the front, and above the doors sat the
symbols of the warbands pai
nted in various colors.
The symbol above the door of the elder warrior hall was painted in
gold, and Odin’s crest sat above it to symbolize that all who entered had
impressed him in some way. It was always a strange sensation walking into the building, but I’d been there many times before for victory celebrations.
I quickly pulled out two more pieces of pumpkin from my pocket and
slid them into the satchel.
“I’m going into the hall now,” I whispered. “You have to be quiet. I’ll
give you more pumpkin when we leave.”
Then I rapped on the door and heard a female voice call out for me to
enter.
The wooden door was heavy, but I was careful not to show it as I
pulled it open and walked through. Eira sat at the long table that filled the hall
along with several other elder warriors. Each of them were the leaders of
different warbands, and they all looked the part. Much like Eira, the women
who sat at the table were incredibly beautiful, but stoic and fearsome, while
the men were large and almost haggard looking. They were also covered in
scars, but somehow seemed more welcoming than the women. The men were
easier to smile, but I thought that might be the mead that always seemed to be
set in front of them. They reminded me of Hagar, though, and I figured
eventually he would get a seat of his own at the table, since he definitely fit
the part.
“Warriors,” Eira said, and the corner of her mouth lifted slightly as she
regarded me. “This is one of my more fearsome charges.”
“Fearsome, eh?” one of the men laughed. He had a large scar across
his forehead and jet-black hair that matched the fur cloak he wore on his
back.
“Fearsome indeed,” Eira said. “Volrath is quite fun to watch on the
battlefield.”
“Is that true there, laddie?” the elder asked me with a grin.
“I dare not defy what leader Eira decrees,” I said with a small, amused
smirk.
Everyone was quiet for several seconds, and I worried I had offended
them somehow, but then the man burst out into a raucous laugh and banged
his pint glass on the table.
“I like Eira,” he said after he caught his breath, then he turned to me.
“Come join us, lad, we were just having a pint and discussing battle
strategies.”
“I don’t mean to disturb,” I said with a small bow to show respect. “I