Benevolent Dragons - Haiku and 5 Minute Freewrite - and Alliance Block Party Wonderfulness!!!

I'm still awaiting
my benevolent dragon;
pure magnificence.

First, a big thank you to @mariannewest for making this the prompt for today's freewrite, not to mention for being kind enough to give me a ride to my hotel, after this weekend's Alliance Block Party came to a close.

One of my favorite parts of the meetup was on the last night, when @snook gathered us around the dining table and asked us each a "Pants are Optional" question, while first assuring us that this was not being recorded, so we could speak our minds freely.

Which in my case, I would certainly have done anyway, and I'm guessing, so would most if not all of those still present. And yes, we were all fully dressed. ;-)

In any case, it was wonderful, with fabulous questions and really interesting responses, many of which were outright hilarious. I haven't laughed this much in a long time.

My favorite question of all was the one she asked me, and having had a sister for whom mythology and fairy tales were a serious avocation, I felt particularly blessed to have been asked.

The question (necessarily paraphrased): Which, of all mythical creatures, do you think would most benefit humanity and the world if it turned out to be real?

And, for me, the answer was as obvious as could be: benevolent dragons.

For imagine, if you will, the reality of dragons for whom humanity are not just friends, but family; partners in life against all odds, as true allies, who help one another unhesitatingly through everything that life can and will throw our way.

Of course, for me, the dragons I immediately think of are those from Anne McCaffrey's "Dragonriders of Pern" series, one of the finest science fiction/fantasy series it has ever been my pleasure to read.

McCaffrey, for those unfamiliar with her, was one of the finest science fiction authors in the U.S., as well as the first female author to win both a Hugo and a Nebula award.

Her initial novella, which ultimately became the beginning of the book "Dragonflight," the first in her "Dragonriders of Pern" series, followed the story of Lessa, a young woman recruited to establish a bond with a queen dragon (Ramoth) at hatching, the dragon "impressing" upon Lessa, as a baby bird imprints upon the first animal it sees.

Subsequent stories followed Lessa's training as a dragon rider, Ramoth's growth and training, and the nature of their bond, which was not merely telepathic, as it is usually described, but truly a soul level connection: what one sees and experiences, the other does as well, leading to incredible closeness and connection, but also at times to unintended consequences.

And, as the rider of the queen dragon, Lessa becomes the leader of the Weyr, and among its greatest warriors.

The reason behind their training is their shared enemy, the alien menace known as "Thread," which comes in cycles and will come again, ravaging all in its path.

The humans on their own are at its mercy, but having discovered indigenous dragons on their planet with unique and amazing abilities, such as being able to travel instantly between time and space, albeit with limitations, they have befriended the dragons, and bred them over many generations to far greater size, intelligence, telepathy and strength.

And yes. They can breathe fire.

McCaffrey's worlds are lush and detailed, her characters intelligent and believable, and her books, along with Ursula K. Le Guin's, among the best science fiction I have ever read, which is to say far better than a number of better-known authors.

For another perspective on benevolent dragons, Ursula K. Le Guin's first novel, "A Wizard of Earthsea," has a story line which may be familiar to many:

"The story is set in the fictional archipelago of Earthsea and centers around a young mage named Ged, born in a village on the island of Gont.

"He displays great power while still a boy and joins the school of wizardry, where his prickly nature drives him into conflict with one of his fellows. During a magical duel, Ged's spell goes awry and releases a shadow creature that attacks him. The novel follows his journey as he seeks to be free of the creature.

"The book has often been described as a Bildungsroman, or coming-of-age story, as it explores Ged's process of learning to cope with power and come to terms with death."

Sound familiar? Yeah. I thought so. And, of course, Earthsea is also home to dragons, which are wise and revered.

"A Wizard of Earthsea" was published in 1968, when JK Rowling was three years old. It was among my favorite books as a child.

As one of the most popular, beloved and influential children's books (and series) of all time, and having read the entire "Harry Potter" series (which I also love), I have zero doubt that she knew the book (and series) quite well.

I do find it a bit sad, as did Le Guin, that Rowling has never seen fit to acknowledge at least the influence of the books, if not the obvious parallels between the stories.

For her own part, Le Guin, with her second novel "The Left Hand of Darkness," became the first female author to win both a Hugo and a Nebula award for the same book. I recommend the book highly.

My favorite quote by Ursula K. Le Guin?:

“People who deny the existence of dragons are often eaten by dragons. From within.”

― Ursula K. Le Guin, The Wave in the Mind: Talks and Essays on the Writer, the Reader and the Imagination

And now, with no further ado, here is my freewrite, which I've written from my own imagined perspective of the young Lessa, entering the room where Ramoth will impress upon her, bearing in mind that it's been roughly forty years since I've read any of the relevant books.

The Impression

I enter the room with trepidation, though this is the moment we have all been awaiting.

Alone, I approach the table with its precious cargo; the luminous dragon's egg, warm and slowly pulsating, with the slightest of cracks beginning to appear in its surface.

Time stops, as does my breath and heart. For an instant, nothing moves, there is no sound.

Then her tiny egg tooth appears, the crack widens, and a piece of shell begins to lift, exposing her tiny jewel-toned head, which, eyes still closed, she turns toward me. My benevolent dragon queen.

Slowly she opens her eyes. I find myself gazing deeply into her, then my own soul, as she finds hers within me. We are One, in a way I had never dreamed possible, never heard mentioned or surmised, not even in tales of myth and legend.

She is the self I never knew was missing.

I will live and die for Ramoth, and she will do the same for me. We live and breathe and think and fight together as One. Our hearts keep time, our souls entwined, and nothing I have ever known could have prepared me for this . . . or will ever be the same.

I am found.

I stuck to the five minutes allotted, and after the timer, only cleaned up some typos and added a couple of descriptive terms. About eight to ten minutes total.

I think you can easily see how great an impact Lessa and Ramoth had on me, even after four decades or more.

In the dragonworlds I inhabited growing up, the dragons were far less often fire-breathing menaces bent upon destruction, and more often wise, kind, regal, fair, and unwilling to use their power for evil. Benevolent dragons indeed.

We could use a few of them right about now.

Woo hoo!!! I have a working laptop again!!! Life is wonderful, and getting better, better and better.

I'll try to make up for lost time writing in the days and weeks to come.

The photo above was taken by me about a week and a half ago, of one of our lovely heirloom hydrangeas, which flank our front porch, in luxurious full bloom. Absolutely breathtaking. Taken with my Samsung Galaxy Note 8.

Sorry. Fresh out of dragon photos.

Finally, I'd like to give my heartfelt thanks to everyone at The Alliance Block Party, as rarely have I been with such an uplifting, kind, generous, considerate, talented and outright hilarious group of souls. What a blast!!!

So many, many thanks to @bethvalverde, @davedickeyyall, @dreemsteem, @ecoinstant, @ecoinstante, @enginewitty, @jayna, @mariannewest, @michaeldavid and his awesome son Eldon, aka Mini Chef, @prettynicevideo, Liz, @rakkasan84, @scarletreaper, our inimitable @snook, and of course the ever-awesome @enginewitty, who worked so hard to bring us all together in one place, and did everything in his power to be the ultimate host, and make certain that everyone was having a great time. I love you all.

And I'm pretty sure I've left someone out, so if you know who it is, please bring it to my attention so that I can correct it ASAP. Thanks!

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