Ambling through one of the snow capped mountain ranges that border Skyrim, I was feeling the cold seeping through my fur lined armor. I was looking for a shelter, like hollow or rock crevice, where I could just hunker down for awhile to warm up. I finally found a reasonable shelter from at least the biting wind among several, tightly grouped, pine trees.
I was sitting there gazing out over the beautiful land sloping down and away from me; the snow eventually blending into the golden hues of the winter's dying growth of grasses, then farther down-slope the greens, reds and purples where the grass and flowers still felt the warmth of the sun. My eyes were following the mincing steps of a buck as he grazed, lifting his head once in awhile to sniff the air and listen for any sounds of danger nearby. He bore a magnificent, heavy rack of antlers. Beautiful creature.
Suddenly his head snapped up at the same time that I heard a mighty roaring coming with the wind from up-mountain! A bear? No, totally different sound. I jumped up, moving out of the shelter of the pines and saw a huge, flying creature as it soared through the air down the mountain slope. It was a dragon, of course. I watched as it fixed it's attention on the buck. No, I breathed out quietly, don't kill it. I had my bow, and a few arrows with me, and a sword. If I had to I would intervene, maybe I could distract it. I piked up some large rocks, and started throwing them as the dragon cruised by me only a few yards away. The buck was startled enough to go bounding away down into the meadow, just as the dragon let go with a fiery blast from it's open mouth!
I was thankful that the buck got away but now the dragon's attention was focused on me!! It could be angry or hungry! It wheeled majestically and came my way; I ran for the trees. I neither wanted to feel the brunt of it's anger, or be its lunch! I watched from the shelter of the pines. To me dragons's are a thing of beauty, same as the buck, or any other wild animal. Some could be dangerous no doubt and sometimes you would have to kill them, in self defense or to protect others, but I'd never kill such beauty for sport! I realized I was whispering...'please, please just go on your way.'
This particular dragon was a dusty gray with a slight golden cast to it's scales, blending to a red around it's eyes and down the front of it's throat. It's tail was tipped as with three spears. A deadly weapon if it swung and connected with you! The sun was shining on it just right, in a way that made it gleam even more golden. I gloried in it's beauty but worried about it's intent!!
It swept past the pines, knowing where I was hiding, and blew out another fiery blast directed at the very spot in which I was hiding. Ouch! It caught me a good one, and I felt the burning fire! I dropped to the ground and rolled, slapping at any exposed flesh. Hot! Hot! I watched as he circled around, ready for another run at me. I ran for some rocks and scrambled deep among them.
He knew where I was. His next pass was as accurate as the previous one, and the fiery blast caught me again. I wasn't going to last long at this rate, and he wasn't going away. I didn't want to kill it, but I didn't want to be cooked, either!! Hating what I was having to do, I nevertheless drew my bow and nocked an arrow, aiming at it's throat. The arrow zinged on it's way and hit it's mark. The dragon wheeled away, probably more stunned by my nerve, than hurt. He came in for the kill again. I had changed position and he hadn't corrected for that, and my arrow caught him in the chest, directly in the heart.
When a dragon is mortally wounded they raise their necks high, as if gasping for the last bit of air they can catch, and then collapsing onto the ground with a resounding crash, dirt spraying up around them...then the silence....the quiet...even the birds have stilled. I slowly walked toward him, making sure that he wasn't moving.
As I drew close to him, I did not feel a triumph of conquering; I did not feel pride. I felt sorrow and sadness. I reached out an touched him, trying to feel a connection with his departing spirit. I dropped my head and grieved; a tear falling free.
Did he have a mate back at his cairn, watching for his return? Did he have young, waiting...waiting...
I grieved....would you?
