The Will and the Wish of a Dragon

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Darseth was a dragon. Physically, he was a typical dragon of that era, perhaps a bit larger than most, with a thick coat of red armour scales covering his broad breast. Darseth had terrible claws, terrifying jaws, and a tail more powerful than an avalanche of pythons. He had always been well-respected by other dragons in the country and was very honourable. However, Darseth was different than most other dragons. He was quite kind and humble, never disputing and fighting like many of his companions, but what was most peculiar was Darseth’s diet. In the first two hundred years of his life, he likely ate less than half of the amount his friends did. In fact, Darseth did not like to eat meat at all! He did not enjoy killing and only did so because it was necessary for his survival. Though they found this extremely odd, the other dragons did not think differently of him for it, for he was still larger than many of them. Life was well for Darseth for hundreds of years, until he suffered a life-changing injury.

Darseth had been flying over a large wood one day, merely enjoying the clear blue sky and the blurred sights below. He was happily gliding above the land, letting the gentle breeze carry him through the sky. Then he suddenly felt a fierce pain pierce through his great wings, and he immediately toppled in the air. He was hardly able to regain the control in his flight before he felt another jolt of agony vibrate across his wings. Darseth could not bear the torment of his injury and tumbled uncontrollably toward the ground. He smote the wooded land with horrific momentum, crashing through the trees and pummelling the undergrowth. He lied on the ground for a terrible while, noticing two long spears protruding through his left wing. Darseth could feel that both his wings were now torn and broken, a result of his crash landing. Several of his scales were chipped and cracked, and his right rear ankle was badly sprained. Therefore, Darseth just lied there, thinking and resting, attempting to ignore the pain.

For the next few years, Darseth stayed in the forest in which he had landed. He had recovered greatly from his sudden attack, but his wings had suffered nearly irreversible damage. Darseth was still incapable of flight and so did not wish to travel far distances. As well, he did not want to face his dragon colleagues, feeling too humiliated to reveal his defeat. So in the forest he stayed. He did not terribly mind this situation though, for he thought the woods were quite beautiful. They were shadowed by several high mountains and encompassed by a gently rolling landscape. The forest was fresh and green, filled with many wonderful creatures. Darseth was content to wait out his healing in the peaceful wood.

Though Darseth did not favour killing and consuming meat, it still took quite a lot to feed such a massive beast. It soon came to pass that almost all the animals had left the woods that Darseth abided in. They were either fully diminished by Darseth, or they decided to flee to other lands in fear of his carnivorous prowess. This left Darseth in an awful state of hunger very quickly. The desertion of animals also took a toll on the beautiful forest. It was gradually deteriorating, with no new plants springing up from the once moist soil. Darseth was saddened by this and had to consider the alternative of travelling to other lands, yet he remained for a while longer, hoping something edible would enter the forest soon. The pit in his stomach was progressively growing, while the woodland around him slowly faded.

Then, one day, Darseth was struck by a blow of luck, or so it seemed. He had been carrying out his daily scouring of the forest for any sign of non-plant life, when he stumbled upon it. He had suddenly spotted a man walking briskly through a clearing of thickets. The man looked to be in a real hurry, mindless of what was occurring around him. He wore a dazzling blue robe with eloquent white stars and other symbols emblazoned upon it. He seemed rather young, fresh and ripe, and yet wrapped in an aura of agelessness. His wind-whipped blond hair and long wild beard were blown back by his vigorous stride. He appeared confident and frightened, bold and unprepared. Darseth readied himself for the attack on this fair game, preparing to lunge from out of the trees. At the right moment, he burst from the concealing canopy and charged the human.

However, just as Darseth was about to sink his mighty claws into his prey, the man shouted out, “No! Please, do not eat me!”

Darseth quickly responded, “But I must.”

Darseth was still terribly famished and really did not feel like conversing with his food.

“No!” the man continued, “You do not have to. My name is Honwold. I-I am a magician. If you do not eat me, I can grant you three wishes. I can make it so that you have any amount of food you desire!”

Honwold spoke quickly and energetically. Despite this, Darseth could tell that there was something false about Honwold’s speech; there was an air of performance evident in it. At the same time, there was a sliver of truth present in what he actually said. Darseth definitely did not trust Honwold, but he decided to accept the apparent gift of three wishes.

“Alright. Deal.” Darseth replied skeptically.

Honwold smiled, “Great! Well, wish away!”

Darseth thought carefully for a minute about his first wish. He instinctively thought to wish for his precious wings to be returned, but he decided to save it for his next wish. So, his more peaceful side took over, and he stated his first wish.

“I wish to be able to survive by eating nothing but vegetation,” Darseth commanded.

“Interesting,” Honwold remarked, as he appeased Darseth’s wish.

Darseth immediately felt physical changes take over his body, the most obvious one shown in his teeth. The dangerous daggers that were once his fierce fangs were now reduced to rounded mounds of molars. Darseth swiftly strode over to a nearby shrub to see if his wish had indeed been granted. He chomped down on the green plant with his new teeth and cautiously swallowed it. To his astonishment, his body welcomed the foliage and digested it well, his hunger slightly decreased.

“And your second wish?” the magician, Honwold, asked beaming enigmatically.

Darseth felt more confident in Honwold’s magic now and felt safer to wish, “I wish for my wings to be restored to their former glory, fully healed and operational.”

“As you wish,” Honwold obliged.

Darseth felt the physical change beyond clear this time. His wings were wrenched back by an invisible force and began reforming into their original shape. It was horridly painful, reversing the initial injury. Fortunately, it did not take long before they were fully healed and Darseth felt perfectly normal, pleased with this magical result.

“And your third wish?” asked Honwold, once again smiling paradoxically.

Now, Darseth sat for a good while in concentration. He wanted to be sure to make his last wish very carefully. He still did not truly trust Honwold and did not want this magician to get the best of him. Darseth needed to wish his third wish with as much logic and cleverness as he possessed.

Finally, Darseth stated his last wish, a slight smirk of mischief appearing on his reptilian face, “My third wish is to be granted a wish anytime I call your name, for as long as I live.”

Honwold’s smile vanished, and he stared at Darseth with a newly revealed menace and malice.

“So be it,” Honwold retorted shortly.

“You may leave now,” Darseth responded, the implication clear in his voice.

“Yes, I think I shall,” Honwold replied sinisterly.

Honwold then took off through the forest with his previous brisk pace and ignorant manner. He was quickly gone, and Darseth was left to solitude in the peace of the woods. For many joyful years after, Darseth indulged in the beauty of the woodland, merrily consuming the natural growth. He felt refreshed and quite content with himself. Not having to kill was an excellent alteration in his lifestyle, and it gave him renewed energy. It was not long before other creatures began to move back into the forest, with the threat of a deadly dragon now gone. Rabbits, bears, deer, and, eventually, humans, all came to abide in the woods. Humans began to build forts from the great trees and established a small community. Darseth and the other beasts all lived peacefully together amid the bountiful woodland, and Darseth nearly forgot about his encounter with Honwold and the promise of infinite wishes.

Unfortunately, it did not last. An animal as large as a dragon needs a lot of food no matter what. Darseth enjoyed eating plants, but he ate vast amounts of them. With the other creatures eating them too, it was difficult for the forest to replenish itself quickly enough. As well, the human population was steadily growing, and so they needed to cut down more trees to shelter themselves. The woods were once again waning, and desperation soon filled the air. Humans consumed both plants and animals alike. In time, both of these supplies began to run low. Years continued to fly by, and it came to pass that the once beautiful forest had deteriorated into a desolate wasteland. Darseth persisted to stay there, not wanting to leave the place he had taken to calling home. He also wanted to help the humans, the only population that was yet substantial in the area. Still, the idea of flying elsewhere, to a fresh land, was desirable.

Darseth sat at the foot of a small hill. He had an easy plan to save the land, which was much more admirable than simply flying away from it. It had finally occurred to him to just summon Honwold and wish for a renewed forest. Their resources and homes would then be restored, and they could continue living their plentiful lives. All Darseth had to do was call Honwold’s name.

“Hon…” Darseth stopped midway through the name.

He felt a familiar searing pain in his body that nearly caused him to wail in misery. Darseth slowly looked down at his left side and found a long, wicked spear projecting out of it. He turned around and saw men swarming around him, marching out from around the hill. There were at least a hundred of them, swiftly surrounding Darseth in their ambush. Darseth did not understand and was bewildered with disillusionment. Before he had a chance to explain his plan or say anything to the men, Darseth found about fifty spears being launched at him. He was brutally impaled with at least twenty of them and instantly sunk to the ground. Darseth found that he had no roar, no spark of fire in his throat, and no hope of victory.

But he tried to keep his wits and desperately yelled, “HONWOLD!”

Honwold instantly appeared out of thin air beside Darseth. He wore the same spectacular blue robe and looked no different than when they had first met. He looked indifferently at the hungry, hesitant men that approached them. Then Honwold looked down at the bleeding dragon.

“Well, it sure does look like you could use a wish,” Honwold said conversationally.

Darseth was about to quickly make his wish, but for some reason he stopped himself. He stared at the bloodthirsty humans attacking him, and suddenly felt furious. It was humans that had damaged his wings in the first place; the same spears had destroyed his graceful flight. He had allowed them to share his forest and even watched as they tore it all down. They had demolished the beauty of the land and killed everything that had walked on it. Now, as Darseth had been about to bring the wonderful woods back to them and save the humans’ lives, they attacked him relentlessly and mercilessly. They mutilated his body with many shafts of death, and would soon ignorantly consume him like everything else. Darseth would become their meal for several days and his skeleton would be laid a ruin on the rocky countryside, unless he did something about it.

In his blind rage and frantic fury, Darseth thoughtlessly called out, “I wish humans did not exist!”

Honwold looked horribly stunned and utterly appalled, clenching at his heart with mortal anguish, and yet said, “As you wish.”

Darseth gazed up and saw that the spear-wielding men had vanished. The town in the distance also appeared empty, though it was hard to tell as Darseth’s vision began to blur. He peered down once again, inspecting the many spears that poked out of his body like a porcupine’s quills. The pain had begun to subside, but so did Darseth’s grasp on the living world.

Anxiously, he exclaimed, “Honwold!”

Honwold did not instantaneously appear like he had before. There was silence all around.

“Honwold! I wish to be healed!” Darseth cried.

Yet no answer came. No mysterious bearded grin emerged into his view to save him. How foolish he had been. Despite his magical abilities, Honwold had been a human all the same, and Darseth had just wished for his inexistence, the only one who could have saved him. Why would Honwold grant a wish that would end his own life? Well, it did not matter now. Eloquent white stars filled Darseth’s vision as the gently rolling landscape rolled away, the scent of a beautiful wood fading in the fading breeze. Darseth lightly closed his eyes, and took flight.