Other Stories

The Overlord was unspeakably happy. The next day they went with Dai-Kun to the valley. Taking some of his dragon's blood, the man was able to create many forms and types of new creatures, fantasies of which had visited him for the past hundreds of years.

Gradually the valley was filled with beautiful and frightening animals. There were four groups in all, according to the number of elements: fire, water, air, and earth.

The water dragons liked Dai-Kun the most. They had silver and blue bodies. They could live in water and on land, and their fighting power was a freezing breath. Stepping on the surface of the water, they could turn it to ice in an instant.

Earth dragons could control rocks, volcanoes, and metal. If there was iron ore in the ground, they turned it into sharp spears and arrows, mercilessly striking the enemy.

Less dangerous to Dai-Kun were the dragons of the air. They swiftly pierced the clouds and could conjure up whirlwinds and fog.

The most fearsome of the fire dragons were very much like Dai-Kun.

They could suddenly burst into flames and spew sizzling fire at their enemies. When the fire dragons fought, their skin showed flaming streaks, as if they could barely contain the fire elemental forces raging within.

The dragons were pacified by the Overlord. They all swore an oath of allegiance to him and peacefully awaited their fate, temporarily inhabiting the vast valley. For weeks thereafter, the Overlord and Dai-Kun gave them names.

Ever since the dragons had settled nearby, the human house had become very noisy. In the evenings a roar and howl were coming from the valley, and Dai-Kun would toss himself in bed unhappily. The Overlord realized it was time to let his creatures out into the open.

Over the next few years, the Overlord brought people in long robes to the valley. They passed a simple test, and when they received a dragon, they went into service. Gradually there were fewer and fewer dragons.

A bored Dai-Kun sat on the cliff and watched indifferently as man and dragon chose each other. Suddenly he thought of what would have happened if he had never met the Overlord and belonged to another man...

Now that he had come a long way from a voiceless monster to an educated man and friend of the Overseer, he was horrified to imagine another life. As he descended into the valley, he took his place beside his man and shadowed him for the rest of the day.

The tired man could barely walk home. In front of the admiring and awe-inspiring gazes of the people, the Overlord tried to keep his face from morning till night.

It would never have occurred to anyone that he might have a backache or tinnitus.

"These naive people are given the perfect god: one who has no doubts, who feels no pain, who knows the answers to all questions," grumbled the dragon, treading trail after trail after trail of the Overlord.

But his man was not like that. And now, barely able to move his legs from fatigue, he staggered home. Dai-Kun couldn't bear to look at it, so he sat the man on his back and carried him home.

He didn't resist, instead, crossing his arms over the dragon's chest, he pressed his cheek and whispered: "Thank you."

Warmth spread over Dai-Kun's body. He carried his precious burden, barely touching the ground with his feet. Once inside, he seated his master on the bench and quickly turned around and brought a basin of warm water.

Plunging the man's weary feet inside, he carefully washed them. Then he blotted them with a towel and massaged them. To his surprise, the man groaned.

"Did I hurt him?" Dai-Kun looked anxiously into his master's eyes, but the man suddenly rubbed his hair and the dragon faltered.

That night he could not sleep. The dragon liked many things in his new world: sunrises and sunsets, food, swimming in the lake, catching fish, lying in the shade of trees, and looking at floating clouds.

But all these good things were just pleasant to him and did not make his heart beat faster. Nothing in the universe made his heart drum in his chest like his master...

His voice, the smell of his body after a long day, his touch, even the occasional touch, hit the mark: the dragon began to gasp with the excitement that gripped him. He remembered once more how the man had pressed warmly against his cheek on the way home, and his husky whisper...

The dragon opened his eyes but saw nothing but darkness. He looked over himself for a long time and didn't know what was wrong with him, so he rolled over onto his stomach and made the only wise decision and fell asleep.

The next day he and the man went fishing. Now the dragon could compete with the Overlord in the art of fishing. Filling his basket with weighty fish, Dai-Kun secretly tossed the catch to his master.

Seeing that the man was immersed in the process, he asked quietly:

"Master, why can another man's proximity make his heart beat harder?"

The hand holding the rod trembled, and the master turned to look at him. Studying his impenetrable face, the man wished he had put more emotion into the dragon at creation. It was too late to change anything now, and so it was hard to guess how he felt about asking such a question.

"Why do you ask?"

"Could it be some kind of sickness?" Dai-Kun asked thoughtfully.

"No," the man answered quietly," it is a normal reaction to...

"To danger or threat?" The dragon interrupted him.

"Not necessarily," the man realized that fishing would be best postponed. He pulled the hook out of the water and wound the line onto the reel.

"Let's continue at home, I wish I understood your question correctly," he said.

After thinking over his question and answer, the Overlord was preparing a fish for supper. People had recently presented him with some delicious wine, and he was just looking for an excuse to try it.

Having seated themselves near the fire, they warmed themselves with its warmth and ate with appetite. Finally, they filled their bowls with wine and, half"lounging by the smoldering embers, they looked at the stars and inhaled the faint smell of smoke.

"What you asked today," the man began, "the answer depends on whether you like the man or not. If your excitement is caused by an unpleasant person, it's probably about a threat to your life. Perhaps this person has bad feelings for you and is looking for a reason to have a conflict.

The Overlord took a sip of wine and continued:

"In case of danger, our hearts speed up on their own, helping us to react faster and stay alive. So it is worth paying attention to these signs. I hope I have answered your question."

"What if you like it? What if one likes the person?" Dai-Kun looked at the man nonchalantly.

The Overlord choked on his wine. While the dragon was tapping him on the back, the man was experiencing a severe panic attack. The hand that had been knocking the breath out of him a moment ago suddenly stopped and stroked his back instead.

"What does that mean?" the man asked himself. He withdrew his hand and sat up straight.

"Have I upset the master?" Dai-Kun asked guiltily.

"No, I choked by accident," the man lied.

"Then tell me, what does it mean if one likes the man?"

The Overlord sighed.

"It could mean that... you don't just like somebody..." he answered evasively.

"Dai-Kun did not understand."

The Overlord looked at the dragon with despair, not wanting to go into detail. Since when was his dragon interested in such things? Had he met a pretty Elder? Well, maybe, since there's a lot of people hanging around here all day. In that case... in that case...

"I think some books written by people will help you figure it out. They explain these questions well, I'll find a book for you," the man got to his feet and went into the house.

"These questions," Dai-Kun echoed and looked after the man. Why does he care so much, he always knows how to answer my questions, what has changed?

Before going to bed, the Overlord pulled out a book of fairy tales from his huge library. He thought that the naïve hypertrophied feelings described in these stories would shed light on the nature of love.

He left the book on Dai-Kun's pillow and went to wash up. When he returned almost an hour later, Dai-Kun passionately turned the pages, sitting beside a burning candle.

The Overlord took out a new candle and replaced the old one. The dragon did not move, immersed in his reading. All the man had to do was drink water and go to bed. He flinched as soon as he opened his eyes in the morning, his nose almost touching Dai-Kun's.

"What... what is it?" The sleepy Overlord was frightened.

"I want another book," he said, waking his Master from his sleep.

The Overlord stood up and washed his face.

"You mean you have read all the stories?" He asked incredulously and then noticed three candle burns on the table, "Did you even sleep?"

"No," Dai-Kun answered, putting away the remains of the candles.

"Then let's discuss what you read first."

"Not enough," the dragon snapped back.

"What do you mean?" The man looked at him, wiping his face.

"In the stories, the men marry women, where are the other stories?"

The man's eyebrows went up, "What?"

He had to sit down at the table and rub his temples. If only he knew the whole situation and why the dragon was so interested in the subject, but the Overlord was left to proceed from what Dai-Kun had said. Then he decided to enlighten him on the fundamentals of the world.

"Have a seat," he pointed to the dragon's vacant chair, "I'm not comfortable looking up."

When Dai-Kun obediently took his seat, the Overlord continued.

"I created you. You came into existence because I needed you. But I was born."

"Born? What do you mean?"

"Created, too, but not by one man, but by two."

...

The man sighed.

"A man and a woman became my creators. They fell in love, to begin with, didn't you read in the book?"

Dai-Kun nodded.

"They became a couple of each other, married, just like in the book, and then I appeared."

"How did you show up?"

"Dai-Kun, I'm not comfortable talking about it, you know, I'm a man."

It was obvious that such evasive answers would not satisfy Dai-Kun.