The Fear Dragon

I saw the Fear Dragon.

At least, that's what I told the Elders. I had seen it in the sky, its rumored single, bulbous eye flapping in the wind behind it, the boulder-sized sphere hanging on only by a single, fleshy cord. I had seen it in the forest, its razor-sharp claws and hundreds upon hundreds of teeth tearing into a poor animal's corpse. I had seen it in the grassy hills, in the dark alleys, in the forests, and in the farmland; I had seen the Fear Dragon everywhere. It never truly left.

When I told the Elders, they sent for an inspection. The Steel City was only a few kilometers away, and so they sent a squadron of fifteen Dancers to inspect the small town to try and find any sign at all of the Dragon's presence. They spent a month scouring the dark woods, camped just beyond its thick borders. Every so often you could see one of their flickering feathers past the trees, bobbing up and down as they sought out their prey. It was said that a Dancer's sense of smell rivaled that of a bloodhound's, that their eyes were specifically trained to seek out and hunt dragons, but this squadron found nothing. After thirty days with no results, they rolled up their tents, put out their fires, and left.

My fellow townsfolk no longer believed me. 'I saw the Dragon!' I yelled, screaming so the Elders would hear me, so they would understand me. 'In the sky! I saw the Fear Dragon!'

They sat in their pristine white robes and listened to my screaming, then dismissed me with a wave of their hand. If a Dancer couldn't find a dragon in these parts, then there wasn't a dragon there at all. I begged for them to believe me, for them to call the squadron back, for anything at all. I knew I saw the Fear Dragon. I knew I was correct. But no one else knew.

So, I began looking. I didn't have the skills or the intelligence of a Dancer, but I knew I had to either seek it out or forever be labeled a liar. A troublemaker. Armed with a small whittling knife, the only weapon I had, I marched into the woods, determined to find a sign of the creature so I could prove that I was telling the truth. 

The woods that day were dark and humid. Thick, roiling storm clouds hung heavy in the sky overhead, and cold droplets of water had begun to seep through the trees. At that point I started to get worried that the rain and the wind would wash away the obvious signs of a dragon. I searched frantically, lifting rocks and climbing trees, crawling along the dirt and mud to see if there was anything there that could help. My eyes wandered the forest ahead of me, and before long the sun had dropped behind the farthest mountain, leaving me in complete darkness. There was nothing left out there for me, if there was ever anything out there at all. Defeated, I marched back home to that empty house and slept. I would search again in the morning. I would search forever if I had to.

Months passed, and every day I walked into the woods to search for the Fear Dragon. And, every day, I would walk back out empty-handed. My neighbors looked at me funny now, hardly ever approaching or saying hello like they used to. Some of the braver folk would greet me, but it was obvious that they were wary as well. They just didn’t understand.

‘Are you alright?’ One asked.

‘How long has it been since you’ve eaten?’ Another said, looking down worriedly at my emaciated form. 

‘Or showered?’ Another, less kind neighbor asked. 

I ignored them. There was a dragon hiding in the woods; I knew it. These people were just too ignorant to see what I had seen. There was a dragon there. I just had to find it and show it to them, and everything would be alright. 

‘Keep seeking dragons,’ an Elder started, ‘and one will start seeking you.’

I continued looking. The forest was like a second home to me now, I knew it almost as intimately as I knew my own house. I knew the name of every rock, every tree, and every animal. They had grown to be friends of mine, though they made for rather boring conversation. Their friendship proved to be rather useless, though, as none seemed to know the whereabouts of the Dragon. It was fine. The dragon would show itself eventually, and then I would show it to the village. They had to believe me then.

It was a joyous night when the Dragon finally did arrive, though I did not see it up close. I heard the screams from the deep parts of the forest and knew that I had finally been proven right. I sprinted back as fast as I could, gnashing my teeth in excitement, leaping over every rock and root. It was here. The Dragon was finally here! 



I had to see it for myself. To know what had been causing me such anguish in the woods. Would it have thick, scaly wings? Was it made of flesh and bone, or something much harder? Did it have claws, teeth, a singular eye? I needed to know.

I reached the edge of the woods and slowed down, my feet digging into the dirt as I tried to stop myself from rocketing forward. I crouched down behind a tree and watched from afar, staring out wide-eyed at what was once my home. 

I didn’t see much. A strange, flameless smoke rose into the air, the nighttime sky hazy behind its thick, dark mass. There were usually lights in the village, lanterns and oil street lamps that allowed the townsfolk to see in what was now complete darkness. I was used to the dark, of course, spending so much time out in the woods, but even I had trouble seeing things. 

I heard the crunching of bone, the shrill screams of women, and the begging of men as they tried to reason with the unreasonable. I heard the growling of a creature far larger than myself, the wet squelching of what I assumed to be flesh on stone, and the final ear-splitting high-pitched ringing that emanated from somewhere far, far above the small village.

At some point, the Fear Dragon left. I had fallen asleep there in the forest, content with the knowledge that I was correct. The townsfolk would know it now too. Morning was as swift as the Dragon’s exit, and I stepped out into the open fields, starting the short journey back towards the village. I had been proven right, after all, so there was no more need for the woods. 

What shocked me the most about the village was the complete silence. I was expecting some sort of apology, maybe a declaration of wrongdoing, some type of repentance for their brushing off of my knowledge all those years ago. But there was nothing. Some windows were broken, and a few small items and personal belongings were strewn about in the streets. It was funny; I had expected a little bit more destruction, but the town largely looked the same.

I walked the streets of my empty home for hours, searching for someone to talk to. I wanted to gloat. I wanted to brag. I had been right, but there was nobody to say ‘I told you so’ to. That was, until I heard the talking coming from the house to my left.

The door opened easily. The inside of the small house was in disarray. Paintings were either torn or completely ripped off the walls, leather furniture was slashed and broken, and a large desk had been toppled over, its contents missing. Perhaps the Fear Dragon had missed this place, passed it up in the hopes that the other houses contained better-tasting victims. 

‘Thank the heavens!’ A voice cried out from in front of me. ‘Another survivor!’

A young woman with dark hair and eyes stood in the entrance to the kitchen looking at me. She wore a long white and green dress that stretched down to her ankles. She seemed healthy, despite everything.

‘Where did you hide?’ She asked.

‘I… I wasn’t in town.’ I said. My voice was hoarse and cracked. Of course it was. I hadn’t spoken to anyone in years. 

‘Oh! You’re the wild man!’ The woman said. She backed up a few steps, still staring at me warily. ‘You just missed it. The townsfolk left for The Steel City half an hour ago.’

‘The townsfolk?’ I said. This wasn’t right. They should be dead. The Dragon had killed them last night, I was sure of it.

‘Yeah. We were raided again yesterday.’

‘Raided?’ 

‘Mhmm. Swaine and his gang, like always.’

This couldn’t be right. I had seen the Fear Dragon myself. I had heard it with my own ears, I had watched it in the woods for years. Why was she lying to me?

‘But… What about the Dragon?’

The woman looked me dead in the eyes, her expression blank.

‘Dragon?’

I reached my hand into my now tattered pocket, feeling the handle of the small whittling knife I had taken with me into the woods all those years ago. Even now they hated me. Even now they refused to believe me. Was I so untrustworthy?

The woman gave a good chase, but my time in the forest was well spent. She eventually ran into the woods, where catching her was that much easier. The knife was still sharp after all these years, believe it or not. Though, I suppose I didn’t use it much in my isolation. Whatever the case, I had proven that I saw the Fear Dragon, and so I went back to the village with contentment in my heart. 

There was nothing left of the village. The Fear Dragon’s attack had left me alone there, so I decided my best course of action would be to move southward, down to the coastline of my country, to a town called Carpsrun. Years ago I had heard the fishing there was particularly good, so I was looking forward to buying a rod and testing it out. I packed what little belongings I had and began the journey. It would take weeks on foot, but I had nothing else to do.

Carpsrun itself was beautiful. The glittering ocean, the busy docks, the white sails—everything about the town was perfect, far better than the last one I had been in. There was even a shopping district in the town, though I had little to no money to my name.

Everything was perfect. But perfection could never last.

I watched the beast fly through the sky, its rumored single, bulbous eye flapping in the wind behind it, the boulder-sized sphere hanging on only by a single, fleshy cord. I saw it in the water, hidden behind large, white sails, its razor-sharp claws and hundreds upon hundreds of teeth tearing into a poor sailor’s corpse. I saw it in the alleys, and in the sand on the beach, and in every blade of grass that swayed in the wind. I saw the Fear Dragon here, in this perfect little fishing town. 

I saw the Fear Dragon. And I knew I had to tell somebody.