How do you look into the eyes of your demons, your dragons?
Traveling from world to world, I have seen many who have tried to find the very path that would lead to the den of their personal monster. How many hardships fell on such a difficult path, how many times the path changed direction, lost in the woods, fell off among the rocks! It was not easy to find it again, to get over the crevices, to overcome the turbulent mountain rivers, and sometimes the whole seas, and only to find out that the lair was still behind that hill, behind another forest, behind the next corner.
The pilgrims stubbornly strove forward, shaking their weapons, shouting slogans to cheer them up. Others would sit by the side of the road, have a snack, meditate, not wanting to go, and others would turn back, desperate. Still, there were no fewer such travelers. The eternal theme is the search for a personal dragon, an individual demon, the desire to kill him and to put an ugly head over the fireplace as an edification for the descendants.
Someone is rumored to have a whole litter of dragons in general. This is even harder, they tend to knock down at least one, but how can you knock down here, when no meeting place is appointed? Only occasionally the dragon waves its wings, snarls up in the air, terrifying it, and hides behind the mountain, leaving the traveler a little hopeless from the realization - that's it, happiness, close, only a couple of hours away...
The only thing I haven't met is a knight who could knock down his own dragon. The one who made me go on the road for the night. Aliens - it's please, someone else's just to take a turn, he's not hiding from you. Wild? As much as you want. There are countless demons of all kinds, some worlds are packed with them, but you can't find your own among them.
Yes, it is not easy to understand.
And yet they say that you always recognize your own dragon. When you find one, of course.
They are not even chasing a military trophy. Dragons or demons guard something mysterious, and that's what knights, travelers, pilgrims are looking for... But in the endless journey sometimes lose their last mind.
You look after them, you are sad a little bit about ruined destinies, but you can't help them.
Rarely do travelers of another kind meet on the road. These as if nothing touches them, and they give advice that is unusually wise. But it is necessary to ask directly: "Have you found your own dragon, have you defeated the demon cursed?" In return, you get only a smile and silence.
Strangers, why do they need such affection?
It's all suspicious, but, of course, everybody is jumping, trumpeting horns, guns ringing, fighting horses hitting the ground with their hooves. Where do you think about it, why are these wise people in no hurry anymore?
Wanderers wave away, continue their wanderings, do not feel sad glances that caress their backs until the road is whimsical.
But somebody is standing by, watching. He does not call himself a knight or a traveler. A wanderer maybe, but he doesn't hold a sword at his waist, and often doesn't wear a bad dagger. Why would he, he says. Who is it? Is he also looking for his own dragon?
Of course, there are rumors that such strange types of dragons and personal demons themselves go out. Lurking in the forest or swamp mud more often, and then suddenly stand up like a leaf in front of the grass, look into the eyes, curious.
...And again, the stomping of hooves, ringlets, hoarse horns pull the call, and the latter is glad to roll over the mountains and woods ... Hustle and bustle. Almost chaos.
***
I'm making a fire. I haven't been interested in this for a long time. There are so many worlds, and I want to go to the far away from the torus roads, listen to the winds, touch the free oak trees, look into the water clean, and count the stars. There are a lot of things to do, if we move away from the eternal race, there are many ways, which is much more interesting. And that there is a mysterious thing that a dragon or demon keeps...
The fire is crackling with firewood, sparks sparkling as if dancing, and the twilight is already crawling from under the crown of the line that stretches a little further. And among the shadows, I see familiar features, and soon the entire appearance is formed, grows, finds flesh.
- Well, hello, - I say first, and in return the darkness nods, her eyes sparkle with green and gold.
- Hello, - soon the whole dragon appears, stacked by the fire, wrapped around the fire with a dark body ring. You can sit down to the warm side, stroke the scales, and then the conversation will start by itself.
- Left?
- Yeah.
- There's nothing there," sighs the dragon, laying his big horned head on his feet.
- No, it's not hard to agree with him, especially because his words are true.
- I thought whoever stayed," he never ran out of hope.
- They'll come back, don't worry," I scratched him behind my ear.
***
How do you look into the eyes of your dragons, your demons? Where to look for their lair, dark hole? A grotto, a cave, a shelter?
The dragon looks at me, and I look into the narrow pupils, which is getting wider and wider with the arrival of the night.
We both know that the lair is not in front of us, not behind us. In the heart it is. There we should look for our dragon. And a personal demon... This one is always on his shoulder.