Chine was sitting in the corner of the field, away from the other dragons. Alex waved as she approached him. Hey!
He raised his head and puffed out a little smoke. Something on your mind, Dustling?
You already know what’s on my mind, don’t you?
Chine’s wings stretched out as he sat up. True, but it’s always better to hear it from you.
Alex sat down across from Chine and folded her arms. She felt like a pouting child, but she didn’t care. I think the commander is full of crap. He knows he needs help, but he’s too proud to admit it. And we could help. I know we could.
Have you thought maybe he’s looking out for your safety?
The thought hadn’t crossed Alex’s mind. She had assumed his decision was based on a lack of faith in her abilities. No, not really.
Nevertheless, he was extremely dismissive. So, what are you going to do about it?
Alex leaned back and looked up at Chine’s intense black eyes. What do you mean?
I believe this is a question of wills, Dustling. There is the commander’s will, and there is your will. Which do you believe is stronger?
Alex stormed into the dining hall. The members of Team Boundless jumped when they heard the hall’s door slam. “All right. We’re grounded. Literally. The commander doesn’t want us going anywhere.”
Brath looked up from his food. It was his third plate. “Is there somewhere to go?”
Alex sat down and nodded. “There’s a battle going on. Roy and Toppinir are all alone and outnumbered. No one has heard from them in three hours. I volunteered our team to help, but the commander said we needed to stay put.”
Jim watched Alex closely as he spoke. “You don’t think we should?”
Alex played with one of the spoons on the table. “He doesn’t think we’re qualified, or he’s afraid we could get hurt. I’m not going to ask you guys to disobey a direct order or put yourself in danger because of what I think.”
Gill, who was sitting on the table, his legs crossed, opened one of his eyes. “And what exactly do you think?” he asked.
“I think we should help Roy and Toppinir. I think we can handle it. I don’t think we should be treated like children if we’re going to fight in this war.”
Jollies landed on Alex’s shoulder and walked to Alex’s ear. “We’re going to get in a lot of trouble for this, aren’t we?”
Alex smiled mischievously—the same smile that always graced her face when she was thinking about doing something reckless. “The way I figure it, we can’t get in trouble if we save Roy and Toppinir, and we can’t get in trouble if we’re dead.”
Team Boundless sat in silence for a few moments, weighing the gravity of Alex’s words. Finally, Brath asked, “When are we leaving?”
Alex brought up her HUD one last time to see if they had received any updates. There were none. “Now. Let’s go save Roy and Toppinir.”
Alex Bound won’t let the Heroes of Middang3ard die. But what can a brand-new recruit really do to save them? When it comes to Alex Bound … a lot! Find out what in Sacrifice!
Author Notes Ramy Vance
February 13, 2020
Dragons. Massive reptilian creatures with interlocking scales whose breath can burn a person to cinders within seconds. The beating of their wings bends trees at the trunk, and at full spread, they stretch a field’s length. Then there are the claws—curved knives at the end of each toe that can tear flesh from the bone in one quick, leisurely swipe.
But this is just the European dragon.
There are many dragons out there in the mythos, and they’re all different from one another. You’ve likely heard of the Chinese dragon, too—a snake-like, four-legged creature with a large head similar to a boar’s. These are often paraded during festivals, but there are many other kinds of dragon in Chinese lore. Lake dragons, winged dragons, dragons that guard the underworld from thieves, two-headed dragons, shapeshifting dragons and some are even legless (not drunk, but lacking legs - although, maybe they are drunk too - who knows?)
The there are Indian dragons, Japanese dragons, Korean dragons, Slavic and Turkish and Albanian dragons… and they’re not all the same thing. They have similarities, for sure, but there are enough differences there to keep things interesting. So I give you: The Diverse World of Dragons *fanfare*.
Nāga
A Nāga is an Indian dragon that often appears as a huge king cobra. They are violent and aggressive creatures that possess great muscular strength, and like the king cobra, their fangs are capable of delivering fatal venom into the bloodstream of anything that gets in their path.
Despite these characteristics, Nāgas are not all bad. Some act on the side of good, and a fair number are pretty neutral. In Hinduism, Nāgas are in fact nature spirits that guard bodies of water and can even bless the lands surrounding them. Of course, if you get on a Nāga’s bad side, you can expect drought or floods - but keep it happy, and you’ll get a damn fine harvest.
Unlike most European dragons, the Nāga can take a human form, and they make curious individuals. In this state they are not aggressive, but can quickly become so if angered or mistreated. In the Buddhist faith, Nāgas often have more than one head, which makes the dragon significantly more dangerous.
Japanese Dragon - Ryū
These tend to be good guys - Japanese dragons are heavily influenced by the Chinese and Indian dragons. So it’s unsurprising to hear that the Japanese dragon - much like the Buddhist reading of Nāga - is associated with rain, bodies freshwater, and the sea. There are further similarities between the two, and the Japanese borrow heavily from Indian folklore - such as the history of the underwater kingdom in which the Nāga kings live.
Ryū are snake-like in
