dragon hatchery

[still]

I am a caretaker in training at a dragon farm. there are tents. canvas type with no floor. set up in a circle. inside the tents there are large dog kennels, the plastic type that are stacked up 3 high on top of each other. a man is introducing me to the dragon I will take care of. he shows me how to pick her up. be careful of her face. she can hurt you quickly. he explains to me something about her crown of horns around her head being dangerous. im thinking "yeah and the whole fire breathing thing".

she is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen though and I am immediately in love with her. strange that I feel so strongly. I cant shake it. her face and head are white as is her upper neck, but as you move down her body the white blends into pink, then red and finally an amazingly beautiful purple magenta on hear rear quarter and tail. I cant leave her alone. I must be with her.

the trainer leaves. her kennel is the top on the stack and there is another beautiful dragon she is sharing her kennel with. the floor of their kennel is covered in white crystal like sand. the other dragon is white fading to green. but he is not MY dragon. I pick my dragon up gently, avoiding her face. she likes me but I sense something - be careful with me she is thinking.

I put her down and step back. I see the dragons under my kennel all have stacks of hay. they have it for bedding. they are snuggled up in their hay. I want to give my dragon hay, but there is none with her kennel. I start to get some from one of the lower kennels and give to her. but then I am stopped by a thought? or someone is behind me? don't give her hay!!!

---

http://amxgraphics.com/Dragons/Images/WhiteDragon.jpg

[esholars]

Sounds like a Ann McCaffrey's Pern series story. She wrote great dragon stories about the mental bond between humans and dragons.
http://pernhome.com/pern/

[still]

i know nothing about them. maybe that's why i am "in training"

thanks for the link E. going to check it out now!

[ThePaladin]

Dragons have different levels of bonds, ranging from friendship to blood bonds. McCaffrey was correct in a lot of her descriptions of bonds between humans and dragons but she didn't go far enough in explaining that there are different bonds. Probably she didn't know or decided not to share that information.

One thing is dragons choose whether or not they create a bond with another. It is a serious choice, one not entered lightly because once a bond is made, the only way for it to be broken is through death (And if it's a blood bond, even death isn't the end).

If a dragon chooses to bond with a human it is because that dragon completely and utterly trusts the human. If the dragon chooses a heart bonding, that means there is also strong affection between the two. You can call it "love" but understand that dragons don't grok the human concept of love.

The youngling who chose you probably did so centuries ago. And given that the females train the males in how to fight, it will be interesting to learn why this little one chose you.

[still]

so interesting DLP!! i hope to dream of her more. ive never seen a picture of a dragon colored like her. is that a baby thing? or is it just a dream thing? females don't choose female humans?

[ThePaladin]

so interesting DLP!!  i hope to dream of her more.  ive never seen a picture of a dragon colored like her.  is that a baby thing?  or is it just a dream thing?  females don't choose female humans?

Sure they do. They choose whom they choose, regardless of human gender. Gender isn't a big issue with them.

This was your introduction. She'll come to you again, when it's time. If you meditate, she may come to speak with you then. If you don't meditate, start. Seriously. Dragons communicate telepathically and humans, for the most part, have so much noise in their heads that they can barely hear themselves think, let alone listen to another's mental voice.

She may change color as she matures. If she remains the ombre shading she is now, that is an unusual coloring. Not rare, just unusual. They tend to stand out, which is not desirable on a battlefield.

And when she's ready, she'll tell you her true name. Dragons guard their true names quite zealously because names have power and can be used as a means to attempt to control a dragon(Operative word is "attempt". Controlling a dragon is difficult. Think trying to control a roomful of sugar -amped toddlers ). If she tells you to choose a name, she's not ready to take that step yet. Give her time. Most dragons are very cautious when dealing with humans. We haven't treated them very well, so no surprise there.

[still]

whoa! she told me her name but i didn't mention it because i have no idea how i would spell it.

do you think she was supposed to have been the partner of the green dragon that was her kennelmate? how fast do they grow? she was about 2 feet long head to tail and maybe 25 pounds. her wings were like waxpaper and she seemed so delicate.

i have so many questions...

[twiceblessed9]

Will a dragon ever had to different colored wings, say one wing with cool colors, the other with warm colors?

[ThePaladin]

do you think she was supposed to have been the partner of the green dragon that was her kennelmate? how fast do they grow? she was about 2 feet long head to tail and maybe 25 pounds. her wings were like waxpaper and she seemed so delicate.

They may have been nest mates. Think of it like being adopted siblings. They have different mothers but they're raised in the same household. Rearing the younglings is the mothers' duty. Fathers range from total hand's off and possibly not even knowing their younglings' names until their naming ceremony to very hand's on and taking an equal part in the raising.

I'll admit that I've not seen dragons stuffed into kennels before. Usually younglings are kept in a nursery of sorts, where they're cared for and looked after by human servants. Dragons treat their young with great reverence and affection, mainly because they have so few of them so each one is special. Doesn't mean the younglings get coddled, however, they're expected to behave and to be about their business.

Based on size, I'd say your little one is still quite young, although considering dragon longevity, she could already be a couple hundred years old. But just because she's young doesn't mean she isn't capable. Dragons start training as soon as they're able to fly. As for education, they have access to all the combined knowledge of all the dragons who are living and have lived. They're born knowing, so to speak. They still have classes on various subjects but if I had to compare their formal schooling to human schooling, they start out at college level and move on from there.

She may also be smaller, sleeker, than other dragons. It happens quite a bit. They're the fighter jets of the dragons, able to slice through air at amazing speeds and with great maneuverability. I'm not getting a feel for her being a fighter, however. While all dragons are expected to learn to fight, it's also understood there are those who have a natural affinity for something else, like being a healer or a diplomat. Still, she's learning how to fight, if for no other reason than to be able to protect herself should it be necessary to do so. I get a feel that she's going to be a healer, if she hasn't already started her apprenticeship.

Dragon society is structured quite differently from human society. Still, bottom line, they're just people(First time I made that observation to a dragon, he growled at me. He thought I was being insulting. ). They have their individual personalities, their quirks and idiosyncrasies, and a droll sense of humor. You think they're so serious, and then out of the blue, one will make a comment that is so totally unexpected that it takes a second to realize s/he just made a joke. And sometimes, you'll say or do something that strikes them as so utterly insane that it practically puts them on the floor, howling with laughter.

Personally, I liken them to Star Trek: DS9's Klingons. Honor and duty are their lifeblood but that doesn't mean they don't know how to party when the mood strikes. You haven't seen anything until you witness a bunch of dragons, drunk on mead or whatever it is they slop into their tankards, singing victory songs.

Gads. I've probably overwhelmed you with information but I've become familiar with the dragons since they showed up in my life a few years ago(LOL-as I typed that, I heard one mutter something about making it sound as if they descended upon me like unwelcome house guests).

---

Will a dragon ever had to different colored wings, say one wing with cool colors, the other with warm colors?

I had no clue so I asked. The answer? A shrug with a comment of "Anything is possible. But it would not be very practical."

[still]

im so curious about everything dragon now! thank you for taking the time to share all this info. i think the more i can understand the better prepared i'll be if i get to see her again. you could tell me everything you know and i would listen intently. if she is already aged why, which i will try to remember to ask her if i see her again, why would she still be so small? are they not all massive, flying giants? in the movies they are depicted as carrying their humans in flight, is this true? do moviemakers and storytellers, like Mccaffrey, have actual dragon contact do you think?

are they all able to shift to a "human" form? are they born knowing how and being able to do this? do they ever actually open their mouths and speak to humans or is it all telepathic? are there "good" and "bad" dragons? or "naughty" and " nice"?

im sorry for flooding you with questions, but i don't know of anyone else who i could ask.

[ThePaladin]

im so curious about everything dragon now!  thank you for taking the time to share all this info.  i think the more i can understand the better prepared i'll be if i get to see her again.  you could tell me everything you know and i would listen intently.  if she is already aged why, which i will try to remember to ask her if i see her again, why would she still be so small?  are they not all massive, flying giants?  in the movies they are depicted as carrying their humans in flight, is this true?  do moviemakers and storytellers, like Mccaffrey, have actual dragon contact do you think?  

are they all able to shift to a "human" form?  are they born knowing how and being able to do this?  do they ever actually open their mouths and speak to humans or is it all telepathic?  are there "good" and "bad" dragons?  or "naughty" and " nice"?  

im  sorry for flooding you with questions, but i don't know of anyone else who i could ask.

Why is she so small? She's still young. As she ages she'll grow. However, she may never be very big(size being relative. She'll still be bigger than us). Dragons continue to grow throughout their lives. The older the dragon, the bigger the dragon. They don't grow quickly once they reach adulthood but they do grow. I've seen some unbelievably massive dragons, ones who are also unbelievably old(Think millions of years old).

They are shapeshifters. They have a particular human form they tend to take, sort of like putting on comfy clothes, but they can take any human form. I asked once if they could shapeshift into any other form and was told yes, they could, but some forms were more difficult to assume than others and non-human forms tended to be very limiting. Yes, they are born knowing how to do this BUT they can't do it right away. Just like every other skill, it takes practice, so the youngling has to be able to concentrate for an extended period to be able to hold the foreign form. Then comes the practice of actually learning how to function while wearing the other form. It takes time for them to learn how to actually seem human so they can move amongst humans without being detected and to do so effortlessly. Some are better at it than others. Some detest wearing human forms and others enjoy it(our hands are far more dextrous than theirs). Some prefer the human form and wear it all the time. Some won't wear the form unless it's absolutely necessary. It's personal preference.

Yes, there are "good" dragons and "bad" dragons. To explain how this is, I have to toss out a bit of history.

Dragons have been on this planet since it was just a barely formed mudball. They were created out of the essence of the world, the smoke and the fire from deep within the planet, for the sole purpose of protecting the planet and all which live on it. This is their reason for living, so to speak, and they do it very, very well. They fight for this planet and they die for this planet. In fact, dying on behalf of fulfilling the oath to serve and protect this world and all who reside here is considered the most honorable death for a dragon. They don't go looking to die, however, because living to serve and protect is the highest honor.

Over the course of time on this world, dragons have been present at every change/shift. They have stood against those who would use this planet for their own purposes. They have upheld their oath, no matter what it cost them. In the times between the shifts, most of the dragons sleep, waking only when they're needed again. There are dragons who remain awake, sort of a skeleton crew to keep an eye on things.

Now jump to when humans came on the scene. During the last shift, at/around the time of Atlantis, there were humans who betrayed the dragons. They don't like to talk about what happened beyond saying humans felt the dragons were a lesser species and undeserving of consideration. Basically, humans thought dragons were nothing more than animals. And when the battle lines were drawn once again between those who want the grand experiment that is this planet to continue unimpeded and those who see this planet as something to be used for personal purposes, the dragons once again answered the call as they had before. This time, however, they were set up. Betrayed by humans who desired the power promised to them by those who desire to feed on what this planet has to offer. Many, many dragons died because of this betrayal. The rest escaped by jumping from this plane of reality to another so they could sleep, heal, and recover.

The betrayal has caused a schism between the dragons. There are those dragons who believe that their oaths to protect the planet no longer includes the humans because the humans sided with the adversaries. They also believe that this is their planet, not the humans', and bluntly, they want it back. Some have allied with the adversaries-and there are more adversaries than people realize, each with their own agenda-with the goal of ridding the world of humans except the few needed to act as servants(read: slaves). Others can't bring themselves to ally with adversaries so they operate on their own but with the same goal of ridding the planet of what they see as the human infestation. I guess you could call these dragons "bad" based on what they want to achieve.

The other side, those who might be called "good" dragons, continue to do what they've always done, which is protect and serve the planet. Yes, humans betrayed them, causing great losses amongst their people, but that doesn't negate their oath. So they stand with and for the planet and all who reside here, even knowing that it's likely that once again, humans will betray them and cause great losses amongst their people. They will stand and fight until there are no more dragons left, if that's what must be done("We would prefer that situation not occur," the Elder just commented. "It is non-optimal and who would sing our songs if we were all gone?" ).

This is why dragons hesitate to trust humans. We have proved over and over and over again that we will abuse their trust if it suits our purposes to do so( "The more humans have grown, the more creative they have become in their ways to further their own goals, without regard to the consequences." ). They will work with us but trust? We have to earn that.

That's the TL;DR version of dragon and human history, in my words. LOL

[still]

wow DLP! thank you!
how did you get to be so close to them?
"the elder" as in "THE" elder? just commented...

[ThePaladin]

wow DLP!  thank you!  
how did you get to be so close to them?
"the elder" as in "THE" elder? just commented...

How did I get close to them? The TL;DR version is it's part of my job and my calling. The dragons have always had a human messenger, a paladin to use the term as it was originally used, to relay messages to and from the dragons. I discovered this calling a few years ago, when the dragons began to wake(That's a story in itself).

Since then, I've been learning about dragons and they've been learning about how the world has changed while they slept. I work mostly with the Elder but any dragon who wants to ask a question will contact me. I know only a few true names, but mostly they tell me to give them a name, which is why there are dragons who answer to names like Bob, Ted, Sally, Bogie and Bacall(twins), Bubba, The Lady, The Historian, and so on. I've met dragons from what I term the Black Hat contingent but they tend to keep to themselves since they really have no use for humans and even less for me. I've even met the First Dragons, the original dragons. I call them The Mothers and The Fathers. They are unbelievably old and unbelievably massive. They were asleep for millions of years, waking only in the last year or so.

Yes, it's THE Elder. There are other elders, each one leading their clans, but this one is the big kahuna elder who leads the leaders. He's also their general, the one who leads the dragons into battle and oversees the training of the warriors, both male and female. He keeps tabs on me and listens in all the time.

I'm still learning what my role is, beyond providing entertainment for the dragons with my everyday life, especially since most of them aren't even in this reality(that's also a long story).

[IslandHippyMama]

Interesting... Is it possible for dragons to not know they are dragons, because they have become stuck in human form?

You mentioned the dragons waking up from a long sleep that they do between shifts... Does that mean we are going through or about to go through a shift and what does that mean "shift"? Could you describe this further? Also, what are the dragons thinking after seeing what humans have done to the world?

[ThePaladin]

Interesting... Is it possible for dragons to not know they are dragons, because they have become stuck in human form?

You mentioned the dragons waking up from a long sleep that they do between shifts... Does that mean we are going through or about to go through a shift and what does that mean "shift"? Could you describe this further? Also, what are the dragons thinking after seeing what humans have done to the world?

In answer to your first question, yes. There are dragons in human form on this world right now who have no idea they're dragons. They probably dream about dragons or flying but that's about it. They've also forgotten how to change back to their true form. Will they remember? Possibly. It depends on why they forgot and if they really want to remember.

Second question is a little trickier to answer. The easy answer is yes, we're going through a shift. The more complex answer is we've been going through a shift. I don't know when it started but the dragons began waking in 2012. The pace may be picking up because events are occurring which are acting like boxes that are checked off on a to-do list. I have no idea how long the shift will occur but given what I've been told about past shifts, I'd guesstimate it could last decades, if not centuries.

A shift is when one era/time period/epoch/whatever you want to call it comes to an end and a new time begins. Shifts have occurred on this planet-and throughout the universe-since time began. The creation of our universe was part of a shift. An old universe ended and a new one began. It's all part of the infinite cycle of existence. Some shifts have been effortless, not causing much disruption. Others have been catastrophic(Think of the dinosaurs). How will this shift play out? That remains to be seen. I think the best case scenario is people start waking up and realizing we're not separate, that we're all part of this planet and this universe, and start working to achieve balance. Worst case scenario is we destroy ourselves and the slate is wiped clean and everything starts over again with some other species taking our place.

As for what the dragons think of what humans have done to the world, the Elder observed one time, humans are the only creatures who foul their nest for nothing more than tokens(what they call money). The Elder asked me once, "Do humans not realize that they are not the only beings on the Mother? Do they not realize their actions have repercussions not just for this world but for the entirety of creation? Do they not realize their tokens will be meaningless when there is no world left for them? For any of us?"

As it was said on Battlestar Galactica, all this has happened before and all this will happen again. It's all a cycle.

[IslandHippyMama]

Thanks DLP - your description of the shift is what I thought it meant, but wanted to be sure.

There was a time between '98-'99, when I would wake up, but be in the