Out in the lands, the dragons finally hatched. One dragon was as red as blood. One dragon was as blue as the night sky. One was as green as the forest. And one was as white as the snow. They were very small dragons. But like all things, they would grow.
They raised the dragons hidden away from the royalty and nobles. They raised them among the people. Among the farmers and herders and woodcutters and carvers and blacksmiths and bakers and weavers and butchers and spinners and shoemakers and tailors and carpenters and sex workers and millers. Among the common people of all kinds. They brought the dragons to the towns and villages, to the homes of all the people and their children. And the common people of the kigdom watched the dragons grow up.
The common people of the kingdom infused the dragons with their love and their hate and their rage and their power, just as they had done before when the dragons were eggs. They took care of the dragons and fed the dragons and grew familiar with the dragons as if they were their own children.
The children played with the dragons in the edges of the woods and grew up alongside them as both parties grew freer and stronger.
And it was from the support of the common people that the dragons grew in their power. It was from their support that they became.
Eventually the dragons grew too large to be easily hidden. But by then they had the power of mirage, to shield themselves from highborn eyes, and still they lived among the people.
Soon they became bigger than the trees in the forest. And they had fire and ice in their breaths and death in their teeth and claws. They were ready.
The four dragons, with the four women, walked throughout the kingdom, gathering more and more common people to walk with them. They fed them with the magic powers of community and warmed them with the magic powers of hope. And in each new village and town and hamlet they gathered more and more people with them.
Until by the time they reached the palace, the whole of the kingdom was walking alongside the four dragons and their mothers.
The king had tried to stop them many times, sending many knights to slay the magnificent creatures. But each and every knight got dispatched with ice and fire and rage. And the peasants walked onwards.
The king could do nothing but cower in his palace as the last of his guards were incinerated and the palace door was pushed open by the mob of commoners and their fury.
Inside the place all the cooks and cleaners and other servants joined the mob. Arbor smiled and joined it himself. They cornered the king as he was trying to run to his tallest tower.
And they sent him to his death, Just as he had so callously sent so many before, through disease and hunger and overwork and more.
People would suffer no longer in this kingdom.
The people wondered what to do now that there was no-one on the throne. One of the ex-servants suggested that Arbor should be the new king. He had, after all, done so much for their cause.
There was much disagreement but finally Arbor was called on to give a speech. He got in front of the crowd, the crowd that spilled out of the palace and stretched as far as the eye could see.
He told them what they already knew. That all the people were fit to rule the kingdom. That they should give their power to a king no longer. That the people themselves should rule together.
Hearing this the people realized that in this new dawn they didn't need a king any longer. They could run the kingdom together, with each other.
All the people cheered. And there was a great celebration with fires and singing and stories and joy.
The dragons and the women were hailed as prophets. And they were given much cheering and celebration.
The women said that their work was done for now, and it was time for them to leave with their dragon children to go back to the place where they came from.
There were very many emotional farewells and then they disappeared back into the world of dreams.
Comments (0)
See all