March 21st, 2013

Dear Master Jack:

Let me tell you what happened after I saw the human through the temple window.

I lay on the ground shaking with fright. Though I was three years old and already knew three languages and had learned much about my world, I had never met a human before. I had been told that humans not only seem to enjoy harming one another, but they are likely to harm a dragon if they encounter one. I heard strange sounds coming from inside the temple and my curiosity overcame my inclination to flee. Slowly, I got back to my feet and peered into the window once more. The human, on the other side of the wall, was doing the same thing and once again we found ourselves face to face. This time though we did not react so abruptly. Instead, we stood there staring at one another. I marveled at how vulnerable the human looked. Why, it had no scales to protect its body, not horns, and no teeth of any consequence. How could such a weak looking creature be dangerous?

“Greetings dragon,” the human said in a quavering voice. “I am Li.” I could not help smiling when I heard this. It was strange that such a frightened creature should be given such a name. Li means power or strength, and this poor human did not look as if it had either. There again, the human was speaking to me, which I had to admit showed that it had courage.

“I am Lian, daughter of the Huangshan Clan,” I said.

“You are a female?” Li asked.

“That I am. And you?”

“I am a male of course. Do I look female?” Li said, getting red-faced and looking annoyed.

“Forgive me Master Li, but I have never met a human before and do not know how males and females of your kind differ.”

“Humph” Li said, the annoyed expression on his face fading. “I suppose under such circumstances such a mistake is acceptable,” he said. “You are the first dragon I have ever seen.” He gazed at me with great interest. “You are not very big. I thought dragons were supposed to be large creatures.”

I felt myself get stiff with indignation. “I will have you know that I am only three years old,” I said, trying not to lose my temper, “and that when I am full grown I will probably get four times as big as I am today,” I added, smoke starting to drift from my nostrils.

“Ah. Then you will be a very grand looking creature when you are older,” the boy said nervously. I realized then that my anger had frightened him. It was wrong of me to lose my temper in such a way. After all, the human did not know about dragons and our ways.

“Perhaps you could join me behind these rocks and tell me something of yourself,” I said, trying to be gracious. My parents always told me that it is the job of those who are bigger and stronger to show extra consideration for those who are smaller and weaker. Though I was only three, I was still a fair bit taller and longer than the human.

Li, surprised by my invitation, left the window and soon the two of us were seated behind a large rock that hid us from view. Our cause was helped by the fact that fog had drifted around the temple. People walking up the many steps to the temple would have no idea that we were so close.

The first thing Li did was to offer me some food. Cautiously I took one of the round cake-like things and when I nibbled on it I found that it was a kind of fried bread, and a tasty treat. In whispers we talked and I learned about the boy’s life, his family, and his hopes and dreams. I found some of what he said hard to understand. It seemed that humans greatly valued possessions not because they were beautiful or useful, but because owning such things made them look important in the eyes of other humans. We dragons do not feel the need to seem more than we are.

When I told Li that there is no ranking system or leadership in dragon clans he was astonished. “Who makes all the decisions and maintains order?” he asked. “Who makes sure that laws and rules are obeyed?”

“We make decisions together, and we do not have any interest in breaking our clan rules,” I explained, somewhat mystified by his attitude. “We are equals,” I added, “though we do ask the Elders to advise us on occasion.”

“Do you mean that you, a female, is the equal of your brothers?” he said in astonishment.

“But of course. I am as strong and as intelligent as they are. I can think and reason as they do.”

“But females are weak and cannot learn as males do,” he said.

“Perhaps with humans this is the case, but not with us.” I spoke very forcefully bringing that conversation to a close.

Li and I spoke for some time longer and then he said that it was time for him to head back to the town. “I came to pray for my father, who is very ill,” he said sadly, “to ask that he be healed.”

“What is wrong with him?” I asked, and when Li described his father’s symptoms I knew at once that the man had caught a disease that was common in human settlements. We dragons had heard of it and my great-grandmother had a mixture of herbs that she used to treat the illness, which dragons sometimes caught when they went to trade with humans.

“We dragons know how to treat this illness,” I said, and I offered to bring some of the herb mixture to him.

“Truly? Do you really know the cure?” Li asked, his eyes wide, hope shining in his eyes. “Will you really share it with me?”

“Truly we do know the cure, and of course I will share it with you. Wait here and I will bring the herb mixture to you,” I said.

“You must be quick. I must be back home before it grows dark,” Li said. “Otherwise I will not be able to find my way home.”

“I will be back as soon as I can,” I said, and I flew away at speed, flying just above the trees into the fog.

March 14th 2013

Dear Master Jack,

“My clan lives in the Huangshan mountain range,” Lady Lian said, settling down on a pile of coverlets that had been placed on the floor for her. “It is a place of great beauty, with steep rocky peaks and beautiful pine trees. Over the centuries, we have carved hidden caves into the rock, caves that are many hundreds of feet up from the valley floor. In some places in the mountains, humans have carved steps into the stone, many hundreds of them, but they cannot reach our caves because the sides of our mountains are so steep and the rock is too hard.”

“It is a very beautiful place,” Grandfather said, “and I was reluctant to leave when Branwen and I visited you.”

“It is indeed very beautiful, and maybe one day you will come and visit us, little Gryf.” Lady Lian’s golden eyes rested on me for a moment or two. “When I was three years old and had enough flying experience, my parents decided to take me to visit my aunt’s family. Aunt Ah-lam lived with her partner’s clan in the mountains around Mount Tai, to the north of where we lived. We set off one summer morning and were there a few days later. Aunt Ah-lan’s clan lived in a huge complex of caves, and the entrance was carefully hidden. I remember flying towards the mountain and it was only when we right at the cave mouth that I was able to see it.

“Mount Tian is a sacred place for humans, and they have built many temples on the sides of the mountain. The city of Tai’an lies at the base of mountain, and I saw it briefly. I had never seen a human settlement before and was very excited to see so many humans walking around, and to see their homes, temples, and shops. There were stairs with many thousands of steps that curled their way up the side of the mountain to temples that were built into the rocky slopes.

“We were given a grand welcome by my aunt’s clan, and I quickly made friends with Aunt Ah-lam’s younglings, my cousins.” Lady Lian sighed. “Two of them died of the sickness that killed my hatchlings soon after our visit. Back then, before your Lady Branwen’s visit, we did not understand the source of the illness and we therefore did not know how to cure it.

Lady Lian sighed again and then continued with her story. “Soon after we arrived, after we had rested, Aunt Ah-lam held a wonderful party in our honor, which was held in the Clan Hall.”

“Was it like the party we had last night?” I asked.

Lady Lian smiled at me and crossed her paws. “The atmosphere was similar, but the music, food and dancing was different. The Mount Tai dragons had a unique way of dancing. They took flying leaps in the air and some even did a loop. They were very acrobatic!”

“What do you mean?” I asked. How could a dragon do a loop?

Lady Lian got to her feet. “Follow me and I will show you,” she said, leading me out of the cave into the sunshine. As we all watched, she launched herself off the landing area in front of the cave and into the air. Since she had no wings I expected her to fall like a stone, but instead she flowed through the air with grace and ease.

“I still get amazed every time I see Chinese dragons fly,” Grandfather said as we watched Lady Lian’s body curl like smoke above the trees.

“How do they do it, Grandfather?” I asked. “How do they stay up? They have no wings.”

“I have no idea, Gryf. It is a mystery,” my grandfather replied, shaking his head and smiling.

As we all watched, Lady Lian curved her back and then she was upside down! Then she curved more and she was almost touching her own tail, creating a large golden O in the sky. Now I knew what she meant by a loop! As we clapped and cheered, she came out of the loop, twirled a few times, and then landed in front of the cave.

“Oh, that was wonderful,” I said, barely able to contain my excitement. “I wish Welsh dragons could do that.”

“Technically speaking we can fly upside down, but I am afraid the effect will not be very graceful,” Father said, laughing.

We all trooped back into the main hall in our family cave and took our seats once more. “So the Mount Tian dragons put loops into their dances?” Grandfather asked.

“Yes they did. Their Clan Hall was the biggest Clan Hall I have ever seen. The ceiling was high enough to allow for such displays. Mind you, the dragons themselves were a lot smaller than I am now. They are small green dragons that can fly at great speeds. China is such a big place that there are several dragon species living there. The Tian dragons are the smallest ones.

“In the days after the party, I went exploring with my cousins. We flew up to touch the tops of the mountain and then we spilled down the sides at great speed, flying just above the trees. We played in mountain streams and sat in waterfalls of freezing water. Though I enjoyed these activities, I wanted to go and see the humans, but my cousins told me that it was forbidden. As I am sure you can imagine, being told that I was not allowed to see humans made me all the more curious to do so, and one afternoon I managed to sneak off on my own.

“I flew just above the trees to where a little temple stood. It was built in an open space all my itself and I saw several humans walking up some stairs to the little building, their backs bowed with weariness. I crept around to the back of the building, peered in a little window, and found myself practically nose to nose with a human. We both cried out and fell backwards.”

March 7, 2012

Dear Master Jack:

Lady M tells me that you are doing extremely well. I am so very glad to hear this.

Let me continue to tell you about the celebration that was given for my siblings and I. After all my family members had greeted Lady Lian and thanked her for coming (all the way from China no less!), the rest of the dragons who were at the celebration came up and introduced themselves. There was much bowing, and many of the older dragons greeted the golden dragon with flowery language that made us younglings giggle. I thought it was rather silly until Grandfather Frenthfar explained that Chinese dragons are used to talking in such a way, and our guests were doing their best to show respect for Lady Lian.

When all the greeting and bowing finally ended, the musicians returned to their instruments and the dancing resumed. Lady Lian stood on the sidelines and watched the guests circle and dip, step and sway. She seemed to be enjoying herself and her head nodded slightly with the beat of the music. Grandfather Frenthfar danced with Mother and with Aunt Branwen and then I saw him go over to the musicians and whisper in Grandmother’s ear. 

When the piece of music ended, instead of beginning another one Grandmother talked to the other musicians for a moment or two and then she began to play an exotic sounding melody on a six-stringed instrument. I watched as she drew a bow across the strings to make a silvery sound that was quite lovely. The other musicians joined in and soon the Hall was full of the sound of tootling pipes, whispering flutes, soft little bells, gentle drumming, and Grandmother’s melody. To everyone’s amazement, Lady Lian began to sway and rock. Slowly she danced into the center of the room and her beautiful golden body rippled and curved. I now understood that Grandfather Frenthfar had asked Grandmother to play a piece of music that Lady Lian would like, a piece that was like the music she heard at home in China.

The music was so magical that I felt drawn by it. Though I felt shy and unsure of myself, I joined Lady Lian and tried to copy her movements. Since I was a small Welsh dragon with short legs, a little body and stubby wings, I found it hard to do what she did. Tesni soon joined me and we had a grand time trying to be graceful like our guest. I am afraid that the best we could manage were some rather clumsy wiggles, but Lady Lian smiled and encouraged us. Soon the room was full of dragons dancing the dance of the golden dragon.

When the Chinese melody ended Grandmother Frenthfar played in Irish dance and soon we were hopping around and clapping, having a wonderful time. Lady Lian joined in and seeing her shimmy and skip around with the rest of us made me feel warm all the way through.

Eventually I grew tired. Father made a big soft bed of blankets for me and I lay down. Tesni and the others soon joined me and I remembered falling asleep to the sound of feet stamping, claps, and ripples of harp music.

When I woke up I was back in my bed at our family cave. Someone had carried me and my siblings home in the night. I heard Father’s voice, and then Lady Lian’s voice. Delighted to find out that the Chinese dragon was visiting us, I quickly got up and went out into the main cave. My parents and Lady Lian were sitting in front of the fireplace, sipping from mugs of steaming cider.

“A good morning to you, Gryf,” Father said. “I hope you slept well.”

“Yes thank you, Father, though my legs feel a little sore.”

“You are not accustomed to dancing, Gryf,” Lady Lian said, her golden eyes smiling down at me.

“No, I have never danced before, but I thought it was wonderful fun,” I said, feeling a little shy.

“That it was, and your parents have kindly invited me to stay with you for a week or so. I have never traveled to Wales before and it will be interesting to see how my dragon kin live in this part of the world.”

“Have you been to many other places and seen many kinds of dragons?” I asked.

“Yes indeed, I have been lucky enough to travel all over Asia, to Africa, and to the forested lands in the north where very few humans live.

“Ooh, do tell me about the dragons you have met and the places you have seen,” I begged.