2010 Catalog Essay Contest

HONORABLE MENTION
Travis Childers

The Singing Dragon of Weersley

Woodchips flew, and the sound of axes hitting their marks filled the air as Eric stopped for a moment to catch his breath and wipe the sweat from his face. All around him men from ages twelve to sixty were working feverishly making repairs to the ancient wall of pikes that gave protection to the tiny kingdom of Weersley Forest. Just days before, tracks had been discovered nearby that were unmistakably those of the ancient Edaneres Lizard, more commonly known as the singing dragon. This beast was so called because of the entrancing gurgling sounds it produced that caused its intended prey to fall into a deep sleep, at which point the Edaneres would descend upon his helpless victim and satisfy his beastly cravings. Few had ever been able to get close enough to the dragon to attempt to defeat him. The king had offered the inheritance of his throne to the man who could finally slay the great dragon.

The monarch of Weersley Forest, King Eustace the Sober, was a kind, but troubled, ruler. His only child had been a sickly girl who never left the boundary of the castle walls, and whose death was announced just short of her first birthday. The child’s mother, the queen, had developed a sort of brain fever shortly after the demise of her daughter, and died two months later. More than a decade had passed, but from these tragic deprivations the king had never fully recovered.

Eric and his younger sister, Kate, were new to Weersley Forest, and lived in a one-room cottage outside the walls of the city. His sister was eight years his junior, a precocious girl of twelve. Worn clothing and humble means could not disguise the beauty and graceful bearing of the young lady that welcomed Eric home each day. Since the loss of their parents three years before, Eric had become the sole provider for the small family. The bond of filial love was great, and Eric prayed daily to always know how best to care for his precious sister.

Eric had just helped four other men hoist a twelve-foot section of repaired wall into place when a beastly cry bellowed out from the shadowy weald, and the men of Weersley Forest knew that the singing dragon was no more than a mile away.

Dropping his axe and picking up his broadsword, Eric instinctively raced towards home. The scene that greeted him as he approached the house caused his heart to leap into his throat. There, only yards from his front door, sat the singing dragon, impatiently making his death song, watching the back of a crouching figure that was busy pulling weeds from the garden. Eric immediately pulled some loose cotton from his pockets and began stuffing it into his ears. He made his way stealthily towards the two, his mind trying to decide on the best strategy. With careless preoccupation, Kate slowly stood, surveyed her work with a critical wrinkling of the nose, and turned directly into the fearsome gaze of the Edaneres. A shriek of surprising forcefulness rose from the young girl’s throat, and she fell away in a dead faint. The loathsome lizard reared back on his haunches and prepared to claim his prize. Eric rushed forward, lunging with all his strength towards the center of the beast’s chest. With a roar of horror and vile contempt, the dragon reeled backwards and fell dead on the garden path.

The death shriek of the singing dragon had brought horsemen from the village, including King Eustace himself. As Eric bent over his sister, wiping her brow with a damp cloth, a masterful voice from behind rang out.

“Who is this who has so skillfully slain the Edaneres and made himself heir to my throne?”

Kate slowly regained her senses, and Eric helped her to her feet. She hugged her brother’s neck tightly until Eric gently pushed her back and looked in her face. “Are you okay?” She nodded silently, and hugged her brother close again. Behind them, the king cleared his throat.

“Your majesty,” said Eric as he and Kate turned and faced the king, “my name is Eric Greyson, and this is my sister, Katharine.” Kate stepped forward and bowed to the king.

The king’s gaze remained on Kate as he said, “Eric Greyson, I and all of Weersley Forest are in your debt. I am only glad, for this young beauty’s sake, that she has managed to avoid the spell of the Edaneres. Tell me young lady, what secret charm has allowed you to escape the powers of the singing dragon?”

Kate did not answer, but looked questioningly at her brother.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but my sister cannot hear your words. She was born completely deaf, I believe. At least, she was so when my dear parents took her in as an abandoned child eleven years ago and raised her as their own. She was barely walking at the time.”

The blood drained from the king’s face, and he stood silent for a few moments. He approached Kate and, carefully cupping her chin in his hand, turned her head slightly to the right until he could make out a mark resembling a crescent moon just behind her ear. Upon seeing the birthmark that he had known would be there, King Eustace lost all composure and tears began to stream down his face. Eric and Kate stood bewildered as the king spoke.

“When the queen and I were first married, we longed for children, and after a short time we had a child — a beautiful daughter, who we hoped would be the first of many young ones filling the halls of Weersley Castle. Our joy soon ended, however, when our daughter became gravely ill with fever. The fever soon passed; however, we discovered to our horror that our precious daughter had been left unable to hear any sound we could make. Despite my wife’s protests, I quietly sent the child far away to a renowned healer who claimed he could restore the child’s hearing to normal. A letter from the man arrived less than a month later, claiming our precious daughter had regained her fever, and shortly thereafter died. I travelled to him, unwilling to believe the horrible news, and he showed me a fresh grave he claimed was the child’s. We were overcome with sorrow, and soon my grief was compounded by the loss of my beloved queen, who pined away after our little girl to the end.”

“And here,” said the king, turning to Kate, and placing his royal hands upon her dirt-stained cheeks, “here, through the mercy of a great Providence, is my precious daughter, returned to me as if from the dead!”

Time will not permit us to relate all the fullness of emotions that occupied the hearts and minds of Eric, Kate and King Eustace during the time that followed. Let it suffice to say that the humble ruler of Weersley Forest now goes by the name of Eustace the Joyful, and that the tiny kingdom now enjoys the kind condescension of the comely Prince Eric and the beautiful Princess Katharine.

The End.

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