The Truest of Dinosaurs
by Javier Pérez Rizo
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Table of Contents parts 1, 2, 3 |
conclusion
“You see, after our last meeting, I decided to leave this plane of reality. So, I stepped through the Mist Gates, which happened to lead me to the world of the humans. At first, I admit it wasn't very impressive. It was just another world where everyday life had amputated all desire and spirit of adventure. Or so it seemed...”
As Aydan spoke, he drifted in and out of the candlelit globe. Robi saw the impressive red scales that had been grafted onto his skin. “Then I found other humans who, like me, longed for the times of the epic and the emotions that only a difficult mission in inhospitable lands can offer. Remember, that was our desire as well?”
You haven't changed at all, Aydan. “Yes, I remember, but that was just a fantasy. The world isn't like that. There are responsibilities and work to be done, family.”
The emerald gems of the eyes sparkled beneath the frown. “That's right, you're absolutely right, my friend. The epic has no place in this world or any other, but what would happen if we left the worlds?” The mysterious Aydan suppressed a smile. “Robi, don't you understand? The adventures we dream of have never existed in any world. That is why I have created this place. WELCOME TO DRAGON HEART,” Aydan shouted, rising to his precariously perched hind legs.
Nadia walked slowly to the far wall. With a weary expression on her face, she gave a small push to the striking lever that protruded from the floor tiles. The screeching of chains and the crashing of cogwheels falling in her place shook the room. A glowing channel opened along the edges of the library, like a thin conduit through which a bubbling mass of orange lava smoked.
The glow illuminated the entire room and Robi could finally see beyond the tiny flame. I must be dreaming. This is impossible. Can't be real. What the hell have you done?
The pale, thin Aydan he knew was gone. He was now facing one of those creatures they used to draw from books in the mansion's library. How is that possible? Of all the demons! The milky skin, so easily bruised, was now covered with the most perfect red scales. They must have been made of a metal as thin and flexible as paper. The snout was covered with gold plates that reached to the point between the eyebrows. Aydan flexed his bulging muscles under the scaly skin to impress his old friend. Robi was speechless at the gold of the twisted, spiraling horns on his head. By all the gods, they are beautiful!
“What did I tell you? I knew he'd like them. You can see it on his face. The truest of friends!” exclaimed the owner of the castle, falling back on the carpet.
“But how? I don't understand, you...” Robi stammered and approached in disbelief.
“Aydan really has nothing to do with all this, and don't you dare open your mouth,” Nadia warned the dragon, coming back to them. “When I met Aydan, he was a mess on all fours. I realized that the solution to his longings was hidden in the power of our technology. It was simply a matter of studying dinosaur anatomy for a while and, through plastic surgery and transplants, we were able to bring to life a true creature from our myths: the dragon, which is actually very similar to you in many ways.”
Nadia and Aydan looked at each other intently: “The most chimerical dream of some is nothing more than the boring reality of others, it's just a matter of mixing them,” they both recited in unison and remained silent.
Damn, I think they're in love.
“I have to admit, she has a point,” Aydan scoffed, but he quickly returned to his smug tone. “So, we realized we already had the monster, me! But what could we do with it? And that's when a star hit me. Why not gain passage to the Mist Gates, learn the legends behind each one, and then find a way to make them come true? With the wisdom of the combined planes, nothing is truly impossible. Just look at this library! Look at all the ingenuity we have gathered in such a short time!
“And it does not end there. The profits were used to build this fortress and awaken the ancient volcano. Now we have a source of energy that will keep open all the doors we want. Our doctors, engineers, and wizards are working right now to create more creatures, and soon the factories will be able to produce enough legendarium to repopulate the fog worlds with their respective folkloric creatures. We are the heart that will restore wonder to the universe. That's why I want you to join us. This is our moment! I have much to teach you. You will not believe what I have...”
He has gone mad. Robi gestured to stop him. “Aydan, wait. Let me see if I understand what you're saying.” The red dragon and his dark lady looked at him, barely able to contain themselves. “Let's see, first you underwent irreversible medical procedures to change your entire body! Then you hired I don't know how many people to reactivate an extinct volcano, ruining the region just to use its energy and to open portals to other worlds, from which you dedicated yourself to stealing books—”
“Most aren't stolen,” Aydan corrected him. “But go on.”
“As you wish. With these papers in your hands, you began to raise or, what do I know, the mythological beings of each culture using the inhabitants of other doors with the purpose of later invading with an army of monsters products of their own nightmares. Is that what you explained to me, or did I misunderstand?” I admit it is brilliant, yes.
“You said it better than I have, now I must hire you, no matter what.”
“Wait, before we come to that, I have a few questions,” Robi continued.
“Uh-huh, yes, of course. Keep it coming until you're dry,” Aydan replied, and Nadia left her friends to pick up the scattered piles of books.
“Those terrible screams I heard when I arrived. Were they perhaps from people going through that process of transformation, you say?” Please tell me no, tell me no.
“Oh, no, no, no. You must have heard of one of the training courses that we offer to new operators. The candidates who go through the surgeries are usually not used to the work their characters require. Here we give them the opportunity to prepare, you know, through controlled situations with actors and scripts. All to prove if they really have the necessary skills to do the job.”
Damn, he really thought this one through, the bastard. “Okay, my last question is: How are you paying for all this? Is it your family that finances the project or...?”
“I wouldn't dream of it, my old friend,” Aydan roared in shock. “You see, every candidate we convert here at the Heart signs a lifetime contract with us. We never really abandon them, it's just in case something happens, and they don't forget us either. Periodically they have to send small amounts of money from their own businesses. Fortunately, most mythologies are full of gold-loving creatures. So, no one gets upset when a leprechaun or dragon takes a little wealth from here and there; it's very common. In fact, it helps to fuel the legends even more and keep the business thriving, you know?”
“So, you're like pirates,” Robi thought aloud.
“Uh-oh,” Nadia crooned ruefully. She hastily left the books she was stacking and ran, amused, to hide behind one of the farthest columns.
“No, we're not pirates,” Aydan muttered, without showing his teeth out of his armored snout. “A pirate is a criminal who robs and murders innocent people for his own gain.” A pair of wings like a ship's sails, bony and membranous, unfurled from his back. Volcanic gases swirled in the sudden wind. The tomes flipped violently through their pages.
“And piracy is not tolerated here. We are paid a fair wage in exchange for establishing a NEW ERA OF THE FANTASTIC, a task of a complexity few can understand, as the slightest error could have consequences of cosmological proportions.” Blue flames spurted from between Aydan's clenched fangs. Robi didn't know what to do.
“Breathe through your nose, dear. You're hyperventilating and producing methane. Nobody wants to smell that. And stop gritting your teeth,” Nadia ordered, “you're going to cause sparks.”
“Okay, I'm fine now.” Aydan folded his wings and closed his green eyes to calm his breathing. “It's okay, my friend. I wanted to roast you for a second. Now I can. Did you piss a little? I saw it. No, no, just kidding. Come on now! I understand your concern. That is why I need you here. My Robi knows no fear. What do you say?” Aydan put his arm and wing around Robi and shook him.
Damn, I don't remember him being that strong. He could take me with him on the flight. Unbelievable, but it's crazy.
“And if I come to work here, will I also have to be operated on?”
“It’s not necessary but very useful,” Aydan told him, showing the retractable claws on his hands. “But when you get fit, I don't think you'll need the upgrades. We will be the two generals. You will go through the doors as an inspector of the worlds, to make sure the creatures are behaving well. You know that there will always be strays, and you will be the sheriff who brings them back to the herd. How about that?”
“What is a sheriff?” Robi asked, noticing for the first time the windows carved into the walls behind the smoke of the lava trench, symbols carved into the stone.
“A sheriff, he's like a bounty hunter. You will help me catch the villains, and the people of the cosmos will shout our names. Maybe they will write stories and songs.”
“Ough, men,” Nadia snorted and stepped through the mist, entering one of those etched arches. Robi stared at the spot where the girl had jumped and disappeared. A Mist Gate.
“What do you say? Come on, say yes, you want to say yes, I know it,” Aydan pleaded.
“I couldn't, my family, the girls, the shop,” Robi refused. Although gold wouldn't be bad, and I'm putting on a bit of weight, to be honest. I don't know, Alicia would kill me.
“No problem, here they will have enough space. Tell your wife she will have her own chambers in the fortress, beautiful, private, with a view of the forest and the best schools in the universe for the little ones,” Aydan pointed at the fog doors that ran the length of the walls.
Robi's heart was pounding. Oh, what the hell! “I'll think about it, but on one condition, you bastard,” he clarified.
“What will it be, my despicable Robimán?” asked the friendly beast.
“I don't like the mountain scenery.”
“Why do you say that? I put a lot of effort into it, I thought you liked the decadence.”
“A little, yes, but rotten eggs and bones on the rocks, it's...”
“Too much?”
“Yes, you went a little too far. The human vigilantes nearly gave me a heart attack.”
“They are the inhabitants of the Rifts. Below them is a complex of dormitories.”
“If I'm going to bring Alicia and the girls, I'll have to prepare something more cheerful and with fewer sulfur fumes, please.”
“Of course, noted. I will give you a green meadow on the eastern slope so you can see the sunrise. How about that?”
“I like that,” Robi said and held out his hand to Aydan. He looked at his old friend with proud eyes, feeling sorry for doubting. They shook hands. Both squeezed as hard as they could and soon the thing turned into a wrestling match. They rolled across the carpeted floor of the library until they were buried by a fabulous mound of legends and the uproarious laughter of two good old friends.
Copyright © 2023 by Javier Pérez Rizo
