Write a story about a warrior who doesn’t want to kill the dragon.

Posted in Fantasy on Sep 22, 2023

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✍️ 91 stories

“At An Impasse” by Michał Przywara

Submitted to Contest #217

All thoughts – of treasure and fame and glory, of heroics, of wenches lining up as far as the eye could see, of bards and minstrels fighting to sing the better song, of a princess and maybe one day a kingdom, and maybe even one day a couple of wee lads and lasses of his own – vanished from Marcus’s mind, because the damned dragon took flight. The sudden rush of air stole his breath and his scream, and even the roar of the vile beast was drowned in the noise. All thoughts were gone, and his hands acted instinctively. One held onto his dagger,...

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“Beowulf: A Guard Dog's Tale” by AnneMarie Miles

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #217

Dedicated to my furstborn, who thinks he is much braver than he is, but really just has the sweetest and most tender heart, and often gets the short end of the stick now that he has a human sister. The day I slayed my first dragon started off like any other. The sun greeted me with a gentle touch, and though my nose welcomed its warmth, I felt my body tight and tense: my toes still squeezed together, my hair still up, my jaw still clenched. Last night had been an all-too-real slaughter of tree-dwellers, and I was convinced I’d find myself am...

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“Deceiver to All” by Corey Melin

Submitted to Contest #217

Gunmar Lextonic looks up at the blue sky, puffy clouds here and there where one can imagine shapes of wonder. A current view which took him back moons ago as an innocent child lying on the grassy field, looking up at the sky. “So much has changed,” he mutters as he looks back down at the dirt path, quickly becoming overgrown with grass and weeds. By this point on the path most races will start feeling the fear coming forth from the lair. Each step becomes more difficult until most cry out in fear and run f...

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“Where the Wild Things Aren't” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #217

Where the Wild Things Aren'tI approached the door with trepidation. I had been here numerous times before. I had every right to be here. I held the key in my hand. Thankfully, the lock slid open flawlessly. But when I tried the door it stuck—again. As it had every other time whenever I arrived. Even with a glove on for a more secure grip, the door wouldn't budge to give up the treasures within.From previous visits I knew what awaited inside was like a museum. A tangible testimony to the lifetime talents and holdings of the formidable Dragon ...

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“Waking up Poor” by Jonathan Page

Submitted to Contest #217

All the treasures this land offers lie below the burning sands, hoarded by yellow dragons. In Sakasanda, it is the enormity of the bareness that is awesome—that poverty can be so abundant. It is not even sunup and Scor comes running into my room.“Momma, momma, are you going to market?” Scor asks.“What do you want?” I say, turning back over and pulling the sheets over my head.“Fig jam, dragon’s blood pudding, and sweet sausage. And funnel cakes,” she says, pulling up a corner and whispering her list under the top sheet. He...

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“The Boy Knight” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #217

“Life is precious. All life is important. I cannot and will not kill an animal.” Hugo Allard repeatedly muttered his pledge, as a vibration of trembling capacity shook the very core of his body, followed by a blast of hot air gently caressing his face. “Life is precious. All life is important. I cannot and will not kill an animal.” Squeezing his eyes tightly shut, a sense of impending finality shook the heavy sword from his hand, dropping it to the floor of the catacombs he had arrived at in search of his prey, the Dragon of Voltaire. “Wh...

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“A Knight Full of Grievances ” by Livana Teagan

Submitted to Contest #217

“Aren’t you getting a little sick of this, man?” “Sick of what?” I shoot back to Barren, confused by what he means. “Wandering through miles of wilderness? It keeps us in shape.” “Sick of this,” he repeats, motioning with wide arms at everything around us. “At all of this. Is it worth it? It gets old after a while. Don’t you ever want to do something else with your life?” We leave our horses behind us, heading to terrain they can’t enter. A shallow river lay before us like a writhing snake. We wade through the creek bed. Our b...

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“The Dragon's Knight” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #217

Personally, I like the big guy, but that’s just me, you understand? I feel as though if the king wanted me to go slay a dragon, he should have picked a nastier one. This fellow ain’t bad at all is the problem. I showed up and he was just sitting there lighting the occasional tree on fire. Well, I suppose if you like trees, that sort of thing might upset you, but a tree never did me any favors, so what issue should I take with it?Every other knight was given a notoriously terrifying dragon to vanquish, and by the time the king got to me, I co...

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“Three” by Isabel Kizer

Submitted to Contest #217

Kit Alnwick had never seen a dragon. Asher Jasken from two towns over claimed that he’d seen three. “They’re big,” he’d told her, shoving his face toward hers. “Bigger than mountains. And their eyes– Alnwick, if you could see their eyes, you’d start screaming.” At the time, she’d scoffed and told him that he was full of shit. But then Emerson had come home from the fields. “Torched the whole season’s crop.” Emerson had her hands on the edge of the table, pressed firmly against the wood. “Couldn’t even salvage an ear.” Ki...

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“Alfonso and the Duke” by Tamarin Butcher

Submitted to Contest #217

The duke surveyed the dragon atop its perch, staring unblinkingly as it always did at some unknowable goal on the distant horizon. "Something must be done about it," Alfonso hissed into the duke's ear. The duke considered the sly spirit's words. It was true that he had not hitherto considered the dragon to be a threat to his little corner of the world, protect it as he did with all his might. After all, the dragon had merely sat upon its mountaintop, unreachable, concerned only with its own thoughts and never once impinging on the well...

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“My Dragon” by Ari Loden

Submitted to Contest #217

A lightness in my step despite my disobedience, chores ignored. My mouth opened wide in a smile as I ran, the wind feeding me, allowing me to push on. At the tender age of eight, I thought I was on top of the world, like I could fool anyone.I met a dragon!I didn’t give her a name, it didn’t feel right. I just called her my dragon… to myself, of course. If anyone else knew, they’d kill her. That’s how it worked here, everyone so damn afraid, so damn ignorant, and so damn… stupid.It was pretty plain to me that dragons weren’t dangerous. There ...

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“Dragonhearted” by Glen Loveland

Submitted to Contest #217

Blimey, 'ere we go again. Another day, another dragon to slay. Well not on my watch! Name's Maggie—Sir Maggie to you lot—and I ain't your typical knight in shining armor. More like a knight in slightly dingy iron armor with questionable stains of mysterious origin. But I get the job done, even if me methods are a bit unorthodox. You see, I never much cared for all this hacking and slashing business. Seems a might unfair to the dragons, don't ya think? Sure, some of the blighters get a bit cheeky, hoarding treasures and terrorizing villager...

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“All That Glitters” by Sophia John

Submitted to Contest #217

Alexander St. Clare was a normal boy by all accounts. Although orphaned at a young age, he had grown up in the care of many of the local townspeople. He was a model apprentice for the blacksmith and dreamed of one day owning his own tavern on the outskirts of town. Alexander may not have been the most popular amongst the town kids, and preferred the company of a good book to most, but in the town of Marais he was content. Until news of the dragon came. No one knew where it had come from, or even what it looked like. The rumors spread thr...

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“Branching Out” by Gareth Walcroft

Submitted to Contest #217

‘Do you want to be doing the same old thing day in day out?’ Jessica said. She sat across from Mark at a table in the Holo-arcade. It was the only thing that was real in this place, probably. He insisted places like this were for kids, but Jessica could never imagine something like this in her old land, she loved it. The arcade floor was a bustling expanse of activity, divided into different sections, each dedicated to a specific genre. Hidden project...

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“George and the Dragon” by Marina Pacheco

Submitted to Contest #217

‘I don’t want to do it!’ George said as he flicked aside the tent flap to take in the camp, huddled in a valley, all mist and pine trees. ‘Why not?’ Layla asked as she rolled over on the bed and flicked back her long, glossy black hair. ‘It’s what you do, after all.’ It was all very well for her to say that. She’d get to stay in the camp, wrapped up in furs. She probably wouldn’t even get out of bed. ‘It’s the last one, Layla. When I kill this one, there will be none left. That’s it. No more dragon. Doesn’t that make you sad?’ George aske...

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Write a story about a warrior who doesn’t want to kill the dragon.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 91 stories

“At An Impasse” by Michał Przywara

“Beowulf: A Guard Dog's Tale” by AnneMarie Miles

“Deceiver to All” by Corey Melin

“Where the Wild Things Aren't” by Mary Bendickson

“Waking up Poor” by Jonathan Page

“The Boy Knight” by Chris Campbell

“A Knight Full of Grievances ” by Livana Teagan

“The Dragon's Knight” by Story Time

“Three” by Isabel Kizer

“Alfonso and the Duke” by Tamarin Butcher

“My Dragon” by Ari Loden

“Dragonhearted” by Glen Loveland

“All That Glitters” by Sophia John

“Branching Out” by Gareth Walcroft

“George and the Dragon” by Marina Pacheco

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about two characters who like each other but don’t get a happily-ever-after.

Set your story in a creepy mansion — except nothing horrifying takes place in it.

Write about a person who's been called to mentor someone in a special skill, but doesn't really want to.

Write about a sleuth who’s a little too keen, but not because they have a traumatic past they won’t talk about.

Contest #217

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

283

Contest entries

130

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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