Random Dragon Story: Gwydion

I continue to enjoy Flight Rising as almost my only computer game right now, because it is just the right combination of "doesn't need attention" and "is low-key fun when you have time." Mostly I use it to dress up dragons, but I also find that it's entertaining to use the game mechanics as writing prompts. (As the artists in the audience know, sometimes doing something for fun keeps you from stiffening up.)

Here, then, is the short--and hopefully amusing--story of how Gwydion joined the Lair by the Sea.

***

Gwydion wanted people to believe he was a traveling trickster magician, because he has always admired the Shadow dragons with their aura of mystery and mischief, the hint of danger that hung over them like an exotic perfume.

He was not, however, a trickster or mysterious or at all dangerous. The sad truth was that he was good at numbers.

Not to say he didn't put on a good show. His mathematical aptitude lent him some talent with cards, so he quickly bought a pack and learned to manipulate them with magic, awing his audiences. He was in the process of doing this at the recent Trickmurk Circus, in fact, when he discovered one of his viewers wasn't oohing and ahing, but rather looking at him with a quirked brow. When this imperial remained after the show, he began to feel a touch nervous. "I trust you enjoyed my performance...?"

"Hephaestus," the imperial said. "From the Lair by the Sea."

"Ah! And what can the Mysterious Gwydion do for you, Hephaestus? Read your fortune? Dazzle you with juggling? Tickle your fancy with games of chance?"

"I need an accountant."

Gwydion stopped short, crest flattening. "I am a mage," he said. "Not a... a bean counter."

"You're very good with the spellwork," Hephaestus said agreeably. "But we both know you were counting the cards, not divining the future."

Gwydion sat up, offended. "Counting cards!? I was doing nothing of the sort! I am a great and powerful wizard!"

"Well, great and powerful wizard," Hephaestus said, rising and stretching. "If you ever get hungry... or tired of sleeping wherever you can find a safe place for the night... look me up. The Lair by the Sea. Hephaestus."

"I never want for food or shelter," Gwydion scoffed, lifting his chin.

"Mmm-hmm. Lair by the Sea. Keep us in mind."

***

Trickmurk came and went, and Gwydion resumed his travels through the Shadowbinder's realm. Grousing. That the imperial had seen through his act was deeply distressing. He didn't want to be known for his ability with numbers. He wanted to be...

...he paused and looked around him at the shadow-drenched forest, decorated with its glowing veil of moss and mushrooms, and sat abruptly, tail flopping. He wanted to be a Shadow dragon. But he would never be one, would he? Despondent, he fished his deck of cards from his pack and shuffled them, watching his clever fingers at work.

A droplet of cold rain smacked onto his nose. And then another. He fled for the shelter of the nearest tree and huddled against its trunk. Even tucked close to it, he got drenched.

And then he started sneezing.

***

It took several months, but Gwydion eventually found himself trudging into the Lair by the Sea, where he was escorted to the entrance to the hoard where Hephaestus was checking crates. The imperial lifted his head and adjusted his thick glasses, raised his brows.

"Can I still do magic tricks for the hatchlings?" Gwydion asked, drooping.

"You can do magic tricks for the whole clan, adult and infant," Hephaestus said. "You're an excellent showman, Gwydion. You just have an extra talent that my clan could use. And for which we will pay you handsomely."

Gwydion straightened. "You mean that?"

Hephaestus chuckled. "Ask Reina. I never bother with things that bore me. It was a good show. It's just that I'm good with numbers too, so I couldn't avoid seeing what you were doing."

"It's hard for me not to do math in my head," Gwydion confessed, a little sheepish. He scuffed the ground with a hand. "It just... didn't seem very exciting."

Hephaestus leaned forward, showing all his teeth in a grin. "That's because you've never worked with very large numbers before."

Gwydion hesitated. "Large numbers," he repeated.

Hephaestus drew abreast of him and arched a large wing over the skydancer. "Counting gets very exciting when there's a lot of money to be counted. Let me show you around, eh?"

The skydancer said, "And maybe later... I could do my show?"

"After the evening meal."

"A meal sounds nice," Gwydion said wistfully.

Hephaestus chuckled. "And we have one every day, three times a day."

"I think I could get to like it here!"

"I bet you will."