PART OF EACH OTHER!”
In his mind, a dragon roar answered. “CORRECT, MY CHOSEN ONE!” said Freedom. “DREAM AND LEARN STILL MORE!”
George found himself flying high above a strange planet, a world with several large seas but mostly smoldering volcanic mountains that towered among rich green life. He was immediately aware of his dragon-self, of a great green body with wings and tail, talons for feet and fanged jaws, and eyes that could see distant objects clearly. He was still high above an atmosphere filed with scattered white, billowing clouds, but was spiraling down rapidly towards an unusually large mountain.
This was a vision, George realized on some level, much as he had experienced with the elves, but even more vivid.
He was aware of several dozens of his kind, flying in parallel with him. The dragons were of every conceivable color, but most were very much smaller than him. “FEMALES,” said the now familiar voice of Freedom.
“What is this place?” George asked.
“THE LAST GREAT DRAGON GATHERING IN OUR ANCESTRAL MEMORY. WATCH AND LISTEN.”
A golden male dragon abruptly popped into existence a short distance off their right wing. The dragons could teleport themselves without a portal, George noted. More dragons popped into view: dozens of them.
“YES,” said Freedom, “WE CAN TELEPORT BOTH WITHIN AND BETWEEN WORLDS. BUT IT REQUIRES MORE EFFORT THAN SIMPLY FLYING.”
The green dragon roared a telepathic greeting that the golden dragon answered with a telepathic roar of its own, all in the silence of space. Thoughts were also being exchanged, with the one persistent question being echoed again and again being the issue of why they were meeting. Nobody seemed to know why thousands of dragons from throughout hundreds of galaxies and several dozen parallel dimensions were being called here. Gatherings were supposed to be called only because of dire emergencies, and none were known to exist. Most dragons led contented and solitary lives.
At last the great green dragon landed to stand among its peers on a rocky crag of a great volcano that sputtered smoke skyward. Now that they were closer, the size difference between males and females was even more evident: females varied in size but were no more than a fifth as big as each male. The males were in turn fairly uniform in size, though the color of each was unique. However, there were easily ten females for every male.
For what seemed like hours the dragons stood strutting, roaring, and complaining, while more and more of them arrived, until the entire mountain was covered with thousands of the great noisy beasts of various colors.
“Order, order,” became the cry, and soon there was silence.
“MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,” announced a black male dragon from atop the mountain, “THANK YOU FOR COMING.”
“WHY?” echoed a thousand replies, many not friendly.
“I called for this gathering because our way of life is threatened,” said the black dragon. “Lower life forms are infesting our worlds. This very planet, once a glowing red sphere, is overrun with stationary green light-eaters and mobile creatures that eat them. Some of the vermin are even sentient and learn the control of powers that could become dangerous to us.”
Many of the dragons laughed, while others responded in anger, some spouting fire. The green dragon waited for them to vent their thoughts before calling for order and responding himself. “They are at times an annoyance but more often they amuse. We ourselves have patterned our appearance after a particularly ancient example of such life forms. Not one planet in ten is infested at all, while of those with life not one in ten has sentient life. Of these, I have seen none that threaten dragons. Indeed, several of us have adapted to companionship with several life forms to aid in the development of young dragons. Because of the stimulation provided by them soon our numbers will be optimal. Far from being a harm to us, they have provided us salvation from stagnation and decline.” Many dragons snorted in agreement.
“There are already enough dragons in number,” said the black dragon, “BUT LIMITED AS EACH OF US ARE BY THE PACT, WE WILL BECOME EVER LESSER CREATURES AS COMPARED WITH THE VERMIN THAT CONTINUE TO GROW. WE MUST NULLIFY THE PACT THAT LIMITS US AND GROW AS GREAT AS WE CAN, AND WE MUST OBLITERATE THE VERMIN.”
“GROWTH, INCLUDING GROWTH OF OTHERS, IS THE NATURAL ORDER OF THINGS,” countered the Green. “AS WE GREW TO WHAT WE ARE, SO SHOULD OTHERS BE ALLOWED TO THUS GROW. BUT WE HAVE DECIDED AS A GROUP TO GROW NO FURTHER IN PERSONAL POWER THAN IS REPRESENTED BY THE DRAGON FORM AS LIMITED BY AN INDIVIDUAL COLOR. AS WE FAR EXCEED ALL OTHERS IN THE POWER THAT WE HAVE, THIS IS STILL FITTING. FURTHER GROWTH OF POWER IN OURSELVES WOULD BE AN ABOMINATION.” Thousands of dragons snorted in approval.
“YOU ARE FOOLS,” said the black dragon. “IF YOU HAVEN’T THE STOMACH FOR WHAT MUST BE DONE, A CHAMPION IS NEEDED TO SET THINGS RIGHT. SOMEONE WHO IS NOT AFRAID TO GROW IN POWER, AND NOT AFRAID TO DESTROY OUR ENEMIES. I AM THAT CHAMPION.”
“IF YOU BREAK THE PACT YOU WILL FEEL OUR WRATH,” said a golden male. “THIS GATHERING IS OVER.”
“SO SAY WE,” said a female.
“SO SAY WE ALL,” echoed a thousand other voices.
“AND WHO STANDS WITH ME?” demanded the black dragon angrily.
None answered. The other dragons were teleporting away from where they stood. When the green dragon at last disappeared the black dragon stood alone, belching green fire into the sky in anger. The scene faded away.
Next the green dragon spiraled down to a barren, lifeless planet. Only a dozen dragons gathered on a mountain that George with a shock recognized to be the same mountain as the previous Gathering. Some period of time must have passed. Now it was a place of death. The air smelled of smoke and the forests that had lined the fire-charred valley below were burned to ash. The entire planet reminded George of the battle zone in back of the Simple House, but millions of times worse.
The small gathering of dragons, only three of them males, watched each other nervously.
“WHAT HAS HAPPENED HERE?” asked the green. “I CALLED FOR A FULL GATHERING; WHERE ARE THE OTHERS?”
“WE ARE ALL THAT DARED COME,” said a male Gold dragon. “MOST OTHERS ARE DESTROYED. THE BLACK ONE BROKE THE PACT. HE CONSUMED FEMALES FIRST, GATHERING THEIR STRENGTH TO HIM. HE DESTROYS ALL LIFE, INCLUDING THAT OF THIS WORLD. HE KILLS NOT FOR SPORT OR OUT OF REASON, BUT BECAUSE IT NOURISHES THE EVIL THAT HE HAS TAKEN INTO HIMSELF.”
George could feel the green dragon quake in revulsion. "DRAGONS ARE TO DESTROY EVIL, NOT TAKE IT UNTO THEMSELVES. HE DESTROYS HIMSELF AS WELL AS THE REST OF US!"
“THAN HE STARTED DESTROYING MALES THAT HE FOUND SLEEPING, AND TAKING THE POWER OF THEIR COLORS TO HIMSELF,” said a black female. “HE ALSO DESTROYS ALL MALE EGGS.”
“BUT THERE ARE TOO MANY OF US WHO WOULD RISE AGAINST HIM!” snorted the green angrily.
“HE FORCED OTHERS TO HIS BIDDING, A HORDE CONSISTING OF A PACK OF FEMALE TRAITORS THAT DO HIS KILLING FOR HIM, AND NON-DRAGON ELEMENTALS OF POWER AS WELL,” said the gold. “HE BECAME TOO POWERFUL TO CHALLENGE. BY CONSUMING THEM HE NOW HAS THE STRENGTH OF ALL COLORS, BUT FOR GREEN.”
“MOST MALES WERE DESTROYED OR CONSUMED IN THEIR SLEEP,” said the black female. “SUCH WAS HIS HATE FOR YOU; HE AND THE HORDE CARELESSLY DESTROYED ALL GREEN BUT YOU. NOW THOUGH HE HATES YOU, HE MEANS TO CONSUME YOU, AND HAVE ALL POWERS. MY TWO SISTERS ARE