Let's Talk About Dragons

LET’S TALK ABOUT DRAGONS

It’s unmistakable. In the fantasy genre, dragons stand at the apex of coolness when it comes to mythical creatures. When we delve into he annals of the stories of legends and heroes that inspire our stories today, they are thronged with mentions of magic-wielding, potentially fire-breathing, reptiles that are larger than any other animal in the world and can fly. Every culture in the world has their own interpretation of a dragon in their myths, legends, and bedtime stories. Dragons have held such control over our minds for so long, that they have continued deep into modern day pop culture. Just look around you! From Game of Thrones, to Skyrim, Dragonage, Guild Wars 2, Godzilla, and films like How to Train Your Dragon, Dragons continue to percolate in our dreams and fly into the pages of the stories that mean the most to us.

But why is that?

Why have we as world-builders, story-goers, and D&D players constantly keep returning to these creatures?

Certainly, there are many other mythological beasts that we can latch onto and have such awe-inspiring respect for. Chimera, Ligers, Centaurs, Minotaurs, just to name a few, have also titillated our imaginations in similar ways as dragons have. But none of them have the power and authority that dragons do. Perhaps it’s because of the spiritual meeting the practical. Maybe it’s the exploration of how we as humans interact with a force so powerful, such as unchecked nature, or massive animals that demand respect from us. Or perhaps it’s something simpler than that.

While the legends dating back beyond even the days of Homer have given us many monsters, creatures, and larger than life forces, none come close to topping the dragon as the pinnacle of monstrous natural force. The simplest explanation for this is that, of all the monsters that in myth and legend, the dragon is the only one that carefully straddles the lines between the natural and the supernatural.

We are well aware of the mythical monsters that actually do exist in reality, such as the Liger and giant snakes, but in their real-world forms, they are certainly less prolific than their legendary counterparts. Dragons, on the other hand, walk the line between fantasy and reality. Though paleontology has existed for a few centuries, humans have existed in the world for hundreds of thousands of years. Could it be possible that dinosaur fossils being discovered in ancient times fed the myth that dragons could have existed at one time?

In many different forms of media, dragons often share a connection with a supernatural or divine force. Think of Shenron from Dragon Ball Z as a modern example of this, being a force that can be summoned by the dragon balls in order to grant their finder a wish. Another more ancient example of this is Bakunawa, from Filipino mythology, the dragon who would fly from the Philippine Sea to take bites out of the moon—explaining the phases of the moon. The supernatural nature of dragons feeds into their legend, making them an essential conversation piece when talking about powerful mythological creatures.

In Guild Wars 2, the Elder Dragons promote a cycle of destruction and rebirth that is often the center of many stories that discuss the grand plan. After the Gods of Tyria effectively abandon the races of the world to their fates, magical wars and the rise of power in the world awakens the Elder Dragons who proceed to infest and destroy everything around them. The main plot of the player character’s personal story centers around facing these enormous forces of nature to save the world.

Perhaps that’s another part of the draw of dragons—the lone night and his band of misfits that have to face and defeat it. When we think about the stories that really mean something to us, they are always about an insignificant character that overcomes insurmountable odds in order to succeed in their mission and return to their normal lives, changed by their experiences. It’s the classic Heroes Journey. The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Avatar: The Last Airbender all have elements of a character of humble origins rising up to face odds and terrors that far exceed their own capabilities, promoting growth and change in the world and the characters themselves.

No doubt stemming from the legends of old where the lone knight faces down the fire-breathing dragon is a testament to the kind of stories that fill our minds and captivate our hearts. The thought of a single person or a small group of people rising up to conquer and/or respect nature is a staple of the human experience.

Even in stories such as those produced by Studio Ghibli that pull us in with wonderful characters facing extraordinary odds, face huge challenges against a world—supernatural or otherwise—spinning out of control, harken back to the lone knight standing on that rock, sword in hand ready to face the extraordinary force of a dragon.

Such a story model was modernized in the movie Reign of Fire starring Christian Bale. When dragons awaken from an ages-long slumber to wreak havoc on the world, burning it down to a dystopian landscape, Quinn, played by Bale, eventually realizes that there is only one male dragon that populates the earth through his dominance over the other females. Him and two other supporting characters resolve to head to London, the home of the dragon’s nest, to destroy the male in order to ensure the natural extinction of the dragons.

But perhaps its less complicated than that. Dragons, in their most primitive form, were just another way to explain things in our world that were naturally occurring, but that our ancestors did not understand at the time. Whether it was the long red tail of a comet streaking across the sky or the waxing and waning of the moon, what better way to explain such incredible phenomena than a mystical force that the bones that the fossilized bones of ancient creatures that were recently discovered could possibly explain existed.

Isn’t it just part of the human experience, after all, to try our best to explain nature and the world we live in? For ages we’ve done so through stories, dating back even to the days of our cave dwelling forebears painted on stone. Of course, the most powerful creatures ever conceived by the mind of humans would still keep us captivated into the modern era, forcing us to wonder how we imagined them, why they still keep hold on our curiosity, and could they have possibly existed in the annals of the long lost ancient past.

Suffice to say, dragons are going to continue to capture our imaginations for many centuries to come. And we will continue to create stories about them so long as we continue to wonder.

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