I will not be adding the camping trip in the actual Crimson Dragon II story, but instead will create this little short story filler.
The Camping Trip
The sun was high in the sky by the time they climbed to the summit. Sam wanted to make sure that they were in a remote location so that his friend would feel comfortable about being himself. They spied this place from the air earlier and they agreed it was a perfect place to camp. Sam glanced behind him when felt a shadow grow over his shoulder. The ground trembled as four massive footfalls came up behind him. Sam smiled as he tilted his head up, tracing upward from the massive fore-claws, up the long red neck and to the enormous wedge-like head crowned with horns and spikes. Wings opened partially and then snapped back into place.
"This place looks even better than we saw from above, Jon," Sam said.
Pyrothraxus gave a shake to his frills, sending the vibration racing from his neck, to his back, and then to his muscular tail. He made his way to a much more open space and he settled himself down onto the ground. Sam felt the Earth shift beneath his feet as the massive Red Dragon lowered himself. He leaned his head over and scratched under his chin with his hind foot much like a cat would.
"I'll start unpacking my stuff," said Sam.
"Should I go get firewood?" Pyrothraxus asked.
"Yeah, sure that would be…" Sam began just as the Dragon lifted up off the ground. Suddenly, he retracted that statement, realizing the consequences of the helpful gesture. "Uh, on second thought, Jon, I'll go get it."
"No, I insist," he said. "You unpack, I'll get the wood."
Sam leaned back, worrying about the size of the wood his old friend might bring back. He got up to gather up stones to make a fire pit with
He just might bring back a whole tree…Sam thought.
Indeed, that was what happened a few minutes later. Pyrothraxus had in his mouth a whole tree.
"Man, Jon…" Sam sighed. "You know better than this! You're were a Cougar Scout once."
Pyrothraxus let loose a deep growl and flipped his head back, letting go of the trunk. Then, with one snap of his jaws, he bit the tree in half. Pyrothraxus continued to chomp the wood down into smaller pieces, tearing into the bark with his powerful jaws. He dumped a small pile of wood into the fire pit and left the rest on the side.
"Stand back," the Red Dragon rumbled. Sam backed away from the fire pit as Pyrothraxus took in a breath. He coughed out a fireball from his mouth, igniting the pile. The blast was enough to send Sam stumbling backwards to the ground. Satisfied, Pyrothraxus chuckled. "Now you know how I got that badge so easy."
"No friggin' kiddin'," Sam breathed.
"You alright, Sam?" Pyrothraxus asked as he watched the human get up off the ground and dust the dirt from his jeans.
"I think I bruised my coccyx," he said. "Don't do that again, man."
Pyrothraxus rolled over and laughed. He wallowed on the ground, giving his back a good scratch on several exposed roots. His tail knocked down a tree a little ways from the campsite.
"Careful, Jon," said Sam.
Much of the day was spent setting up the tent and other supplies. Finally, Sam began cooking his meal just as the sun began to wane across the sky.
"You want some of this?" he asked. Sam had a feeling Pyrothraxus would decline, but it was a friendly gesture to say the least.
"No thanks," said the Dragon. "I don't need to eat anymore, remember."
"I just thought I'd offer," he said. "So, where should we start?"
"What do you mean?" Pyrothraxus asked.
"Getting reacquainted," said Sam. "This is what this trip is about, remember? I want to learn about what you were like back then—those some 5 thousand-plus years I never knew you…or weren't even born to…"
"I don't know where to start," he said.
"Start at the beginning…"
"Okay," Pyrothraxus said. "Well, when my mother and father loved each other very much…"
"Not that beginning!" Sam laughed. Pyrothraxus joined him with a snicker.
"I had to say it," he said. "Alright, in all seriousness, where do you want me to begin? I'm 5893 years old, there's a lot of history to tell. I don't think this trip will be enough to cover everything."
"Tell me the important stuff, then," he said.
Pyrothraxus lifted a claw up to his thorny chin and rumbled in thought. A wisp of smoke escaped his nostrils as he pulled together the important details of his life in his mind.
"Well, mostly," he began. "Dragons sleep a lot during their lives. It has to do with our size versus the amount of food available to us. We are predators by nature, carnivores by choice. That means I can eat anything—even rock if I have to."
"So, basically you're omnivorous," said Sam. "Like humans. But eating rocks?"
"I can do that," he said. "I don't want to, but I can."
"So, you've spend a considerable amount of your life sleeping," said Sam. "That cuts out a lot of your activity."
"Well, during my waking years," began Pyrothraxus. "As an evil dragon, I caused terror, pain, destruction where ever I went. And I enjoyed it."
"So, what made you change heart?"
"I lost my mate," said Pyrothraxus.
"Your mate?" Sam asked, confused.
"Sam, there was another before Susan," he said. "Her name was Tamerax. Even evil dragons know love, Sam. And she was beautiful—in a Red Dragon's eyes. We had children. But you must know that upon birth, Red Dragons are expected to fend for themselves. When they get to a certain age, they are basically kicked out of the parent's lair to go off on their own. A lot of times we don't even see our children ever again after they have left the nest. There have to be special circumstances that would make a parent bond with their child. I managed to bond with my mother because I proved to her that I was worthy."
Sam scooped up a spoonful of baked beans into his mouth and swallowed, listening intently to Pyrothraxus' story.
"Rearing young for Red Dragons are certainly different than normal raising for humans," he said. "But I do know some moron parents with similar raising techniques."
Pyrothraxus chuckled: "Those parenting technique I did not repeat when I helped raised Jake and Haley with Susan. When I grew up with my adoptive mother and father—Howard and Willine Long—I learned about human parental skills in which I used later with Jake and Haley." He stretched out and yawned, shaking his frills.
"So, what happened with Tamerax?" asked Sam.
"She and I got together and decided to live in a chain of mountains in the French countryside," he said. "We lived there for several hundreds of years in peace. Believe it or not, despite our fiery and very nasty nature, if Red Dragons are not bothered, we do not attack deliberately without justification. We just go about our lives uneventfully. However, if some dark force calls upon us to fight for it, then because we're arrogant morons wanting a good thrill ride, we'll do it."
Sam laughed.
"Well," Pyrothraxus continued. "Things went about uneventful. We had a clutch of eggs already hatching. Though the young are expected to fend for themselves, we still hunted for them until they were old enough hunt down larger prey. By that time a community of humans appeared in our hunting grounds. They even set up a duchy located in what is now known as Bar-le-Duc. Sam, most dragons count all things as prey, that includes humans. And since humans were becoming more in abundance than any other prey, it was only natural for us to start hunting them. We would attack farmers moving goods from their farms to the main town and make off with everything they had including the farmers and their horses."
"Wow," breathed Sam. "Hungry dragons."
"We were feeding a family. We would make off with flocks of sheep and the Sheppard and his dog. Of course the Count of Bar didn't like that. However, all attempts at slaying us failed. That is until one day a powerful sorcerer lich named Alarius attacked the duchy with an army of undead. Apparently the count had something of his that he wanted back. This massive move of forces of course disturbed my mate and I and we feared that our own lands would be threatened. So, the Count of Bar, Tamerax, and I formed an alliance to face off against Alarius. We succeeded in defeating him and pushed him back west.
"Count Luis met with the two of us and we decided in our best interests to continue the alliance lest Alarius strikes back," he continued. "However, we Red Dragons are not without our dealings. We wanted compensation for the protection we were willing to give the duchy. At first, a wealthy contribution was given from the count. Gold, jewels, and various other precious artifacts were brought to our cave. But I wanted something else. At that time, I had a taste for the flesh of young women…"
"Now, when you mean 'flesh'," Sam interrupted.
"I mean, I like to devour them," said Pyrothraxus.
"Oh. I thought you meant something dirty."
"No, I didn't do any of that," he said. "Young human females and elf females are a delicacy to Red Dragons. We like the taste of them. It's like eating the finest veal." He paused for a moment and remembered the taste fondly. His mouth drooled just a little from the memories. Pyrothraxus caught himself and swallowed, trying to push those thoughts back into the deep corner of his mind. "The count did not want to sacrifice the women of his duchy to us. He had no choice. I reasoned with him, the only way a Red Dragon knew how—by force. I told him that if he did not comply, we will raise Bar-le-Duc to the ground. He agreed. I gave him some slack though. I proposed a yearly lottery that would be held during the winter solstice festival. This lottery would choose a young girl above the age of 13, unmarried and untouched by Man to be brought to me for devouring. And he did so. However, only peasant daughters were chosen. The lottery stated that all names were put into the barrel so that each name regardless of social class would be chosen on that date—but that never happened."
"How did you know?" Sam asked.
Pyrothraxus leaned over onto his side: "Luis had a daughter named Christine. She was his only heir and he would marry her off to the Duke of Lorraine, who ruled over Bar-le-Duc. One of the key threats I made to Luis that if he went to the Duke for help in slaying my mate and I, while he was away, we would take advantage of his absence and then leave—finding a new lair. So, there was nothing he could do. I heard from the blacksmith who brought the girls up for sacrifice on that day—and who also maintained the shackles—that the count wanted to hurry up and marry Christine so that he could get the army he needed from the Duke of Lorraine to handle us."
"Why would he tell you this?" Sam asked.
"It kept him alive each time he neared my lair," Pyrothraxus rumbled, his eyes narrowed with intention. "So, I began to deduce that the count did not add his daughter's name to the lottery. But this information went unnoticed by the surfs and his daughter, until she reached 16. The country folk began to suspect something. The blacksmith approached my lair one day to replace the old shackles with new ones in preparation of the festival and I once more immerged to plug him for news. He told me that soon no more virgins will be brought to us. I was angry, stating that the count dared to break our pact, but the blacksmith said that it was not that at all. He stated that it has been discovered that Christine's name was not in the lottery and the peasantry will revolt against Luis if she is not chosen for this year's festival. Christine also discovered that her name was not in the lottery. Finally, at the night of the festival, a virgin was brought to me. It was the Lady Christine."
"Her name was put into the lottery?"
"Not by Luis' decision," Pyrothraxus said. "This is when I began to have a change of heart. As I was about to devour her, Christine called out and begged to give me a story. She said that she still wanted me to eat her, but not before I knew why she was there.
"I decided to listen, hoping to have some entertainment before my dinner. She told me that she loved her father very much and though some of his actions are wrong, she knew that he only wanted to protect her. However, she also knew that her duty as a noblewoman was also to the people who she ruled over and if her sacrifice would keep them safe, then she would gladly give herself to do that."
"That is noble," said Sam.
Pyrothraxus' eyes became downcast. Sam could see that there was still some sadness in his heart over this.
"She said she rigged the lottery so that it only would draw her name and no other," he continued. "For the first time, I felt ashamed that I demanded such a horrible act from what I deemed lesser creatures. Here was a human who stood before me knowing that I was about to kill her, but showing me no fear. And that told me I was not speaking to a lesser being at all. I couldn't kill her. I told Christine that she was excused from my lair and she could return to Bar-le-Duc. But she did not want to go. She said that if she returned from the mountain, then her father's life would be forfeit. She demanded me to eat her and even insulted me. Well, we Reds hate being insulted by humans. So, I snatched her up and swallowed her whole. After that last bit of anger, I realized what I had done and was ashamed again. However, my mate did not share this new feeling. She could not understand what shame was." Pyrothraxus' eyes began to focus again and his brow furled. "The following day, I was hunting for my mate. I had gathered some deer and was bringing them back to her. That was when I discovered Tamerax and my wyrmlings dead in the cave. They were killed by dragonslayers who used Dragon's Bane in order to weaken them. I found a note from Luis saying that this was his revenge for my eating of his daughter. I was furious. She only did what the Lottery was established for and she did it for him. I was furious for my mate, my children, and for Christine who sacrificed her life for a bullheaded human like Count Luis.
"So, I took off for Bar-le-Duc. The pact was broken at the death of my mate and children. I was going to burn the town and his castle to ashes. I set the countryside ablaze, burning the farmland and the farmers before coming to the town itself. Then, I unleashed my full fury upon it, both my magic and my might until the town itself vanished in the fire. Count Luis had flown to safety, but vowed that he would get his revenge."
"So glad he didn't," said Sam. "I wouldn't have met you if he did. How long ago was this?"
"489 AD," he replied. Pyrothraxus made a mental decision not to tell Sam the rest of the story of Count Luis of Bar and the formation of the Huntsclan.
"Over 1500 years ago," Sam said. "That's a long time. But you started to become good after that?"
"I was confused," he said. "I didn't understand the emotions I was feeling then. I felt shame, sadness, grief, anger…well, anger is something Red Dragons know very well…the others not so much. I swallowed my hoard to prepare for my return back to my lair in Monte Cervino—the Matterhorn."
"Your old lair was the Matterhorn?" Sam asked.
"Still is," said Pyrothraxus. "Dragons tend to keep multiple lairs. The hoard I gathered up was the combined hoard of my mate and I that we took from Bar-le-Duc."
"How could someone not miss a cave in the Matterhorn filled with dragon treasure?" asked Sam. "People climb that thing all the time. It's a tourist attraction now."
"I keep the entrance hidden from mortal eyes," he replied.
"Of course," Sam shrugged. "You have to take me there some time."
Pyrothraxus chuckled and rolled onto his back again. Sam grabbed his canteen and took a sip, washing down the beans.
"Well, after I stopped by the Alps," he continued. "I began to wander Europe in my confused and distraught state. I still mourned over the loss of my mate and was confused by the emotions Christine gave me through her sacrifice. It was then I ended my travels up north in the Isle of Wales. There, I gave into my confusion and sorrow and just wanted to end my life. I did not want to deal with the new emotions anymore and I perceived them as a weakness. I believed that I did not deserve to live and that I was getting too old now. Unfortunately unlike Metallic Dragons, Chromatic Dragons cannot will themselves to death—so, I decided to go drown myself in a lake."
"Jon gone emo," Sam laughed.
"That's not funny. I was trying to kill myself."
"Sorry," he said, clearing his throat.
"In my attempt to commit suicide," Pyrothraxus continued. "That was when I met Sayan'i. She was a Venerable Silver Dragon who lived in a colony in Wales. They protected the people of Wales for many centuries. And of course, seeing a large, elderly Chromatic Dragon, she knew what she had to do—she had to kill me. Metallic Dragons and Chromatic Dragons hate each other with a passion, but this hatred runs hotter with the Metallics than it does with the Chromatics. When I saw her coming, I stood ready, lowering my guard and awaiting for her ice breath to end my misery. It never came. She was curious as to why I did not want to defend myself or try and attack her. I told her to stop playing around and hurry up and end my life. When she made no move to kill me, I returned to my attempt at drowning. Sayan'i dove in after me and pulled me from the water. Then she froze the lake to keep me from drowning in it again.
"After a long discussion she and I both discovered that I had no longer a feel for evil. I learned what true virtue was from Christine—a gift she gave me when she sacrificed herself. I was changing inside and I was scared of what I was becoming. Sayan'i on the other hand found that this was the perfect thing for her to cultivate. She told me she often wondered if Chromatic Dragons could change their evil ways and once more follow the old ways of Bahamut—the real reason why Dragons were created on this world…so the Metallics believe. So, she took me to the Silver Dragon colony of Wales and presented me to the Elders—Ascended Great Wyrm Silver Dragons who have lived twice the lifetimes I have lived. One of them was over 12 thousand years old."
"12 thousand?" Sam asked. "Now that is old."
"There are dragons who are even older, but by that time they've moved onto a higher plane of existence," said Pyrothraxus.
"Meaning they've gone to where Bahamut was sentenced to," said Sam.
"A little island in the Astral Plane," said Pyrothraxus. "That neither suffers from the harsh cold of winter, nor the blazing heat of summer. It is constantly spring or fall on that island depending on the mood of Bahamut at the time. Trees spring to life new foliage when he is happy and wither and die—turning brown when he is sad."
"Sounds like you've been there."
"No," he shook his head. "That is what Galen and Sayan'i described to me when they went."
"So, did these Elders accept you?"
"No," Pyrothraxus replied. "They wanted to cast me out, kill me, string my guts up on trees as a reminder to other Chromatic Dragons never to venture to Wales—you know…"
"Okay, they hate you."
"Sayan'i pleaded with them and finally they conceded to allow me to stay in Wales so long as I promised that I would not harm any humanoid or their Silver Dragon protectors," he said. "I promised. Sayan'i and I over the decades, grew rather close to each other. In fact, we fell in love and the hole in my heart left by the death of Tamerax was slowly becoming smaller. Sayan'i then presented me to O'erterus, also known as Galen Garath—the Ascended Great Wyrm Gold Dragon and Chancellor of the Council of Wyrms. The Metallic Dragons had a council, something we Chromatics did not. For some strange reason, despite the disapproval of the other councilors, Galen did not show any hostility towards me. In fact, he was rather welcoming. I always wanted to know why.
"Well, after much talk, I agreed to side with the Metallic Dragons. There was a war brewing in the east being cultivated by evil humans and magical creatures. This war was being fostered by Asemodeus, who assigned my brother Zestos as a general in his army. Galen and I called upon the free lands of Europe, I especially called upon the Roman Empire—help fight against Asemodeus. During the decades after becoming good, I became an activist in Rome, which led them to name me Rutilus.
"Crimson," said Sam. "The Latin word for it."
"It was two centuries after the death of my mate when the Great War happened. During that time, Galen forged this ring." He held up his claw so that Sam could see the gold wedding band. "He and the other Metallic Dragons put all their magical energy into the ring in order to open the gate to Baator and rid the world of Asemodeus' influence and the last of the evil Chromatic Dragons and their followers. However, he did not have enough magic to cast the spell and so he gave it to me. I climbed to the highest hill and activated the ring's magic, sending the evil armies spiraling towards Avernus and banishing Asemodeus to his home in Nessus. The last thing I heard was my brother calling out his vengeance upon me as he fell into Hell. And that was the end of that war."
"But there was another war," said Sam. "I keep hearing the Dark Times War—the one that seemed to spell out doom for the relationship between humans and magical creatures. What was it all about? Who started it?"
"No single being started that war," said Pyrothraxus. "We all did. I've been hearing magical theorists state that the Dark Times War was started because of the spread of Christianity and the death of the Old Ways and Old Religions—as well as the Old Gods. What I mean by death is when people were converted, they stopped worshipping the 'heathen' gods of old."
"Paganism," said Sam.
"I will admit that the spread of Islam and Christianity did not help in our continued relationship with mortal humans," said Pyrothraxus. "However before their birth, there was prejudice between our two cultures. There were dragonslayers even in the time of the Egyptians and Babylonians. Humans who felt powerless against a very powerful and near immortal wizard, feared and even hated him and wanted him dead. Also, it had to do with magic users tended to be more educated than non-magic users. It had to do with the fact that they had learn to read and understand the roots of magic—various histories of magic and such. And back then it was usually people born with silver spoons in their mouths who even got a chance at studying magic. The Elven Kingdoms were all well versed in magic and well educated as well as rich. Almost every elf was related to nobility in some ways. Dwarves had access to their own tomes. We Dragons carried a rich history—being the first sentient creatures to form spoken and then written language." Then he sighed. "Sam, this is not a racist remark, but humans were essentially the bottom rung of the magical pyramid. Not many humans had the touch of magic—the gift from Bahamut. Those who did were very lucky and could go off to wizard academies and learn. Often times, human wizards formed families lines like the nobility to keep the magic pure within them. And because of their powerful influence, they became wealthy as well. This is what sparked the first bits of resentment towards magic users and magical creatures. They were the ones with the power. And because they had the power, they believed that they could control the ones who did not."
"Go figure," said Sam.
"As time passed, that gap grew larger and larger," he continued. "Finally in the latter half of the 9th Century, the Pope in Rome proclaimed all magical creatures to be an affront on God. The Roman Empire, who once helped us fight against a great evil in the past, was now our enemy and many of its city-states followed its orders. It was a bloody war. Before the war even started, because of the hatred the non-magical humans felt towards magical creatures, the magical creatures started separating themselves—traveling to other planes of existence to get away. So, there were few remaining. By the time of the war, there were only six dragons remaining, including myself, Galen, and Sayan'i. The others were the other Metallic Dragon councilors. Sayan'i had ascended, but I had yet to do so.
"It was a bloody battle. Both sides were loosing. We had the advantage of magic, but the humans the advantage of sheer numbers. That was when Galen pleaded for a cease-fire and appeared in Rome along with myself. We told both the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor that we would leave and give Earth to the humans completely—for we believed the time of magic was finally over. Galen and Sayan'i as well as the other three Metallic Dragons prepared for their departure to the Astral Plane to join with their brethren and Bahamut. Galen and I created the Underdark, a place for magical creatures, who chose to remain on Earth, to live and hide from mortal humans. Then, we created the Dahakoan, which means Dragonkin in Draconic. They were created from 1,000 non-magical humans who remained faithful to the Dragons. We gave them these powers as gifts for their service and charged them with the protection of the newly formed Magical World. The new law was also put into place, knowing that humans will eventually forget about us—that no magical creature should ever make himself or herself known to humans.
"Then, Galen and the other Metallic Dragons departed for the Astral Plane. Sayan'i pleaded that I should come with them, but I said that I would not fit in with them and someone had to keep an eye on the gate. I bid farewell to them and watched them fade away. We had left enough permeated magic in the soil to keep things going in the Magical World for several centuries to come. With me staying, the magical levels would remain a constant and steady stream across the globe. Of course, I suppose the main reason why I wanted to stay and not ascend was because it gave me a chance to finally die like I wanted to. Though I loved Sayan'i, I loved Tamerax even more. I wanted the Magical World to think I had went away with the other dragons, so I left and headed west across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World. I found a nice cave in the Adirondacks, settled down there and went into hibernation until the late 1960s."
"And then you woke up, discovered that the world had really changed since you last saw it, and you could do nothing but merge with it," Sam laughed.
"Not exactly," said Pyrothraxus. "I would have stayed asleep for a few more decades, maybe another century or two if it not weren't for Ithfaedeus escaping the gate. And because I was slowly turning into a dracolich, I had grown much weaker during my slumber, which made it easy for him to overcome me. The reason why I went out into the world to become Jonathan Long and hide my identity, was not only to keep both the Magical World and the Mortal World from knowing who I really was, but to allow me to hunt down Ithfaedeus."
"Undercover cop Jonathan Long?" Sam asked. "Now that's a new one."
"But that's the whole story, Sam," he said. "Those are the major parts you needed to know. My job is to either kill Ithfaedeus before he figures out how to free my brother, or capture him and toss him back into his cage. So, I had to make a fake identity, I had to lie, I had to do all those things so no one would know my true name—and tell Ithfaedeus where I was."
"I'd do the same thing," Sam said, drinking another sip. By the time the story was done, it had already grown dark.
"So…" Pyrothraxus began, playing with some dirt in his claw. "Tell me about you!"
Sam nearly choked on his water when he heard the Red Dragon cheerfully exclaim. His tone was so somber one minute and then, it became completely the opposite in the next.
"What?" Sam asked.
"Tell me, what was ROTC like?" Pyrothraxus asked. "Did the drill sergeant yell at you a lot?"
"Jon!" he laughed.
"Did you have to scrub the toilet with a toothbrush?" Pyrothraxus asked, leaning further closer to Sam. He titled his head down so that his eyes met with Sam's. His voice became falsely deep. "Did you peal potatoes?"
"They don't do that anymore," said Sam. He leaned up and pushed the dragon's snout away. "My God, Jon, you're an embarrassment sometimes."
Pyrothraxus pushed his snout against Sam, knocking him to the ground again. Sam began to realize that was a dragon's way of being playful. He pulled back from the human and shook his head apologetically.
"Sorry," he said.
"It's okay, man," Sam said. "Guess when you're a dragon you tend to act like one."
"Basically," said Pyrothraxus. He leaned his head all the way back until his horns touched his shoulder blades. The Red Dragon began to scrape across his back with his horns, cleaning some of the dust that got in between the cracks.
"Flexible," said Sam.
"That's what Susan tells me," he chuckled, leaning his head back up.
"Okay, I didn't need to hear that."
Sam shook his head and groaned.
"Thanks, Jon," he said. "Now I have an image in my head that I didn't need. I don't think I can look at you for the rest of the trip…"
Pyrothraxus let loose a powerful laugh, mixing it with a bellowing roar.
"Laugh all you want, geekadoofisdork," said Sam as he got back up. "But I'm going to bed. It's been a long day."
"Pleasant dreams," Pyrothraxus snickered.
"Oh, shut up!"
The Red Dragon tucked his head under his wing, still giggling. He flipped over onto his back, relaxed his wings, and let loose a sigh of relief. Pyrothraxus' eyes focused on the midnight blue-black sky above. A blanket of stars covered the dome of the sky. His eyes traced across the milky road that striped the center. It was no wonder it was called the Milky Way. It was a New Moon night so he could see the sky clearly.
"Iska Donoap," he said.
"Hmmm?" Sam asked, heading for the tent. He looked up and paused as well, taking in the beauty of the stars above. "Oh, wow, Jon. Look at that. Now that's a sky."
"Just think, you work for the guys who dream of touching them," he said.
"You too, pal," said Sam. He turned around to face the dragon. "Have magical creatures touched those stars?"
Pyrothraxus rumbled a chuckle: "Oh, we have. That and beyond them, into dimensions beyond your understanding. There are other worlds that exist who know of our existence as we know of theirs. And remember, the creatures on those worlds don't take kindly to Earthlings."
"Right," he said.
"We have traveled to planets like Oererth," said Pyrothraxus. "And Faerûn. And we have relationships with them. I've once visited a planet called Krynn and so did my mother. Caused a lot of trouble on that planet, but we were chased off of it by their gods."
"Their gods chased you off?" Sam asked. "Where were they when you came?"
"Apparently taking a vacation," Pyrothraxus chuckled.
"What was that you said?" Sam asked, approaching him. "Aka donap?"
"Iska Donoap," he replied. "It means the 'Starry Road' in my people's language."
"So, even your people have a name for the Milky Way Galaxy," said Sam. "Did you all know it was a galaxy before we figured it out?"
"Of course," he said. Pyrothraxus tilted his head slightly. "We've studied the stars far earlier than humans. That knowledge was already implanted in the minds of the first Gray Dragons by Bahamut himself. And we carry that knowledge down through the generations by genetic memory."
Sam settled himself down beside the Red Dragon's neck and leaned up against it. He felt a chill grip his shoulders as the temperature changed from cool to hot. Pyrothraxus radiated his heat constantly.
"If you're wondering though," began Pyrothraxus. "Each of those planets are relatively close to one another and are all connected on a gating grid within our own galaxy."
"How many planets are on this grid?"
"About 20 all spread around the whole of the galaxy and its close neighbors," he said. "Major and minor Megellonic Clouds and such. The gating system has yet to expand to other places."
"Who built this system? Gods? Aliens?"
Pyrothraxus shrugged: "You Know Who created it."
"You Know…" Sam began. "Oh, You Know Who…Tia…"
"Shhhh!" Pyrothraxus hissed, barring his fangs in warning. "Don't even say her name. Not even fools or children can say her name. But despite that it was created by her, the technique can be replicated by magical creatuers."
"So you can expand if you wanted to…"
"We can."
Sam sighed, looking up at the stars: "To be able to travel through the stars easily…I'd love to 'boldly go where no geologist has gone before'."
Pyrothraxus laughed. He shifted his head closer to Sam.
"Mr. Davidson…arm…photon torpedoes…prepare to…attack the…evil Klingon Empire."
"Aye-aye, Captain," Sam chuckled.
Both broke into laughter.
"Jon, you have to take me up there," said Sam. "Even if Earth has a bad reputation."
"Someday I will," said Pyrothraxus. "But first, you have to get to know the hidden world under this one."
Sam smiled.
"But right now," the dragon continued to the human. "You need your rest. There was a reason why I agreed to this trip and chose this spot. I'm about to show you some of that world tomorrow."
"Oh, don't tell me that," said Sam. "Now I won't be able to sleep."
"I think I can help with that…" Pyrothraxus chuckled. He whispered softly to Sam. "Vdri."
Suddenly, Sam's eyes felt heavy and his body slowly slumped down. He yawned and slowly leaned his head back against the hard red scales. His arms and legs became limp and soon he was fast asleep, snoring loudly.
"Great," Pyrothraxus grumbled, remembering some unpleasant times of sharing a tent with Sam when they were young Cougar Scouts. "I totally forgot how loudly he snores."
He snapped both of his claws and a pair of earplugs appeared in their palms. He leaned down and popped the plugs into his ear holes. This was something that he did back when he was in Cougar Scouts and forced to share the tent with Sam and the only time he used his magic when he masqueraded as a child in the mortal world. Pyrothraxus rested his head down on the ground and closed his eyes. For the first time, he seemed happy before he began his rest. It was obvious he needed this trip to get reacquainted with not only his old friend, but also himself.
Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day. Tomorrow, Pyrothraxus will show Sam the secrets of the Magical World.