Dragons of Asgard

by Logan Jacobs

necklaces, rings, bracelets, and helmets that looked to be more expensive than anything I’d ever held in my own hands. They had emeralds and rubies,

  and they were set in either silver or gold. I thought they must be fit for a

  queen, and compared to the dusty old books, they seemed completely out of

  place in the store. Still, they weren’t the oddest thing on the shelves, because

  the further back I followed the man into the store, the stranger things became.

  One shelf was lined with various parts of creatures preserved in jars of

  eerily green colored liquid. There was the paw of a leopard, a horse’s tail,

  wings from some kind of large bird, and what looked to be an entire snake

  coiled into its own jar.

  The next shelf displayed a collection of small dragon scales sorted by

  size and varying colors, and I was so taken with the items I hadn’t realized

  the man had stopped in front of me until I came crashing into him.

  “I’m so sorry,” I said as I reached out to steady him.

  “No matter,” he chuckled. “You aren’t the first to become captured by

  the trinkets on the walls. Now, let’s see here.”

  Ramir had taken us to another desk at the back of the shop, nestled

  behind several shelves that blocked the view to and from the front entrance.

  He made his way around to the back of the desk and took a seat in a large red

  cushioned chair twice his size.

  “Ah, that’s better,” he sighed. “Now, you may ask your questions.”

  I eyed the man curiously. He’d led me back to this strange section of

  the shop without even knowing what the question was. Had it all been so he

  could sit and be more comfortable? Did he anticipate this would take so very

  long he would need to sit down? The man was obviously eccentric, and his

  odd behavior had me questioning why Eira sent me there to begin with,

  though I supposed my behavior could be seen as just as odd.

  “I was wondering if you had any knowledge of dragons,” I said in a

  quiet voice. “I asked Eira and the elders, but they couldn’t tell me much. Like

  I said, Eira suggested I visit you.”

  “Dragons, eh?” Ramir questioned, and he closed his eyes, nodded his

  head, and pulled on his beard. Then he opened his cloudy blue eyes, smiled at

  me, and leaned forward. “I’d say you’ve come to the right place. What is it

  you’d like to know, lad?”

  “Anything you can tell me,” I said, and my voice was now rushed as

  excitement took over. Could this strange little man actually know something

  about dragons? He looked old enough to have lived with them.

  “Well,” the old man said, and his eyes narrowed in concentration, “I

  suppose the first thing one should know about dragons is they live in other

  worlds. I’m sure you knew that already, though.”

  “Yes,” I agreed. “I know they were banished from Asgard. One of the

  elders said Odin did this in order to protect them from extinction.”

  “That elder may be onto something,” Ramir chuckled. “There were

  many kinds of dragons here long ago, and even more kinds that live in other

  worlds. Which dragons do you wish to know about?”

  I couldn’t exactly say ‘tell me about small blue dragons that hatch from

  speckled eggs’, though that’s exactly what I wanted to say.

  “I’m not sure,” I said instead. “I’d like to know about any of them. I’m

  interested to know where they can be found.”

  “They still occupy the other worlds,” Ramir sighed. “But I’m afraid

  there are less of them now than there were. Or perhaps they’ve grown more

  secretive since they were banished from Asgard. Still, it’s been over a century

  since one of our men saw one in their travels.”

  “Do you mean to say there’s no hope of finding one?” I whispered as

  disappointment set in. I had no idea how old the egg was that had hatched

  Blar. Perhaps it was centuries old and preserved itself. Would it be

  impossible to find more?

  “I didn’t say that,” Ramir said, and his eyes crinkled as he smiled at

  me.

  I smiled back, but then I suddenly felt as though I was being watched,

  and I whipped my head around to see the daughter, Kaspyr, standing near the bookshelf that shielded us from the front door. She continued to stare at me

  with icy violet eyes, and my heart rate sped up as she locked gazes with me.

  Was I being too suspicious? Why had she followed us?

  “If you want to go hunting for dragons,” Ramir said, and he hopped

  down from the large red chair and walked to a nearby bookcase where he

  climbed upon a small stool and reached up to grab a huge book that looked

  far too heavy for him to carry. “You’ll need to go here.”

  He dropped the book onto the table, and a plume of dust escaped from

  its ancient pages before he began to thumb through them with his bony

  fingers, stopping occasionally to lick his index finger.

  “Why not use the Bifrost?” Kaspyr asked from behind me, and I

  glanced back at her. Her voice was angelic, high, and sweet like a note from a

  lute.

  “Oh, pish, posh,” the old man said as he continued to mumble and

  search through the pages. “The Bifrost is for elders and travelers with orders,

  not for those looking for adventure. Isn’t that right, m’boy?”

  Ramir winked at me, then, and I couldn’t help but smile at the old man.

  “Father, you’re too lax with the rules,” Kaspyr sighed. “If Odin hears

  of--”

  “I didn’t get to be this old by following the rules,” he chuckled and

  finally stopped on a page to inspect it. “Same as the Allfather we so love. Ah,

  yes. Here we are. This is where you’ll need to go.”

  He turned the book around so I could see the pages, and I saw out of

  the corner of my eye as Kaspyr took several steps forward to peer over my

  shoulder at the book as well.

  On the pages before me was a map that was ancient and foreign, yet

  somehow familiar. It was definitely Asgard, but not the Asgard I’d known

  throughout my life. The castle still sat in the middle, the Bifrost resided

  where it always had, and several small markings indicated villages nearby,

  but there were no streets shown, and many of the villages I knew simply

  weren’t there.

  “I’m afraid I don’t understand,” I said with a frown.

  “Let me see if I can help,” Ramir replied, and he waved his hand over

  the pages with a strange flourish. When he moved his hand again, the map

  showed all of the new villages and streets I knew.

  I stared up at him with wide eyes of amazement. I’d seen magic done,

  but never so close.

  The old man simply gave me an amused smile as I caught my breath.

  “You’re magic,” I said, as if I hadn’t already known from the smoking

  desk when I walked in.

  “I figured you knew that by now,” he chuckled.

  “That’s amazing,” I breathed as I looked down at the new map in front

  of me.

  “Here,” he said, and he pointed to the western countryside with a dull,

  yellow fingernail that sat at the end of a long, spectre like finger.

  “The countryside?” I asked. There were now several small villages that

  surrounded it, but the cou
ntryside had been preserved. It was used for

  hunting, relaxing, and it was a place where lovers were often seen having

  picnics or watching the stars in the evening time. There was nothing there but

  grass and trees and some wildlife.

  “Aye,” Ramir agreed with a crinkly smile, and he tugged on his beard.

  “Along the countryside you’ll find portals.”

  “Portals?” I asked, and I stared at the map in front of me. I didn’t see

  any indication of portals.

  “You won’t be able to see them on paper,” the old man laughed.

  “You’ll need to find them yourself. They appear at random, and they only

  stay in one place for twelve hours at most, so travel at your own risk.”

  “How will I know what to look for?” I asked, still confused by what

  the old man was saying.

  “You’ll know them when you see them,” he said, and he sat back down

  in his large red chair.

  I should have expected nothing less than some sort of a riddle from

  such a strange little man, but more than anything I was happy to have the

  information he’d given me. It was a start, at least, and where his daughter was

  obviously suspicious of me, he seemed to understand exactly what I wanted

  to do, without my having to say it outright.

  Had Eira suspected I wanted to travel to the other worlds? Is that why

  she’d sent me to Ramir? Had she traveled to the other worlds?

  I still had so many questions, but I had a lot more to go on now than

  before, and Blar was still in my satchel.

  “Thank you so much,” I said as I reached for the few silver pieces in

  my pocket. “What do I owe you? I’m afraid I don’t have much coin, but I

  have plenty of things to barter with.”

  “That won’t be necessary,” the old man told me with a gentle smile.

  “Consider it some advice. From one traveler to another.”

  He winked at me again, and my mouth split into a grin.

  “Thank you again,” I said as I stood up. “I appreciate your time.”

  Kaspyr still stared at me, but her eyes had narrowed to slits, so it had

  become more of a glare than anything. Still, nothing could bring me down

  right then.

  I turned to walk out of the building, but Ramir’s voice called me back.

  “Oh, lad,” he said, and I spun around to face him once more. “There is

  one thing you can do for me, if you so choose.”

  “Anything,” I said with a small bow of my head.

  “Tell me if you find one,” he said, and we exchanged another smile

  before I nodded and hurried out the door.

  Once I was outside, my heart accelerated with adrenaline, but as I

  started back down the road, I felt Blar move against my hip.

  “Right,” I muttered, and I grabbed a couple pieces of pumpkin and

  slipped them inside before I lightly patted the satchel. “You did great, Blar.

  Thank you. We’re going to the countryside now. As soon as we’re out of

  sight, I’ll let you out, okay?”

  The smile on my face couldn’t be broken as I nearly skipped down the

  road toward the western side of town. Ramir’s daughter didn’t like me, but I

  didn’t care, I loved that old man. He was strange and funny, and he had a sort

  of mischievous spirit about him that made me feel as if I’d known him a long

  time. I thought about what he’d said about his advice being from one traveler

  to another. That must be how he knew about the portals. He was clearly

  magical, and part of me was curious as to whether or not it could have been

  him who set up the portals to begin with. Had he been the one to put them into place long ago? And how had nobody else seen these portals since then?

  It didn’t matter, I’d find them, and I’d use them to find more dragon

  eggs. Once I had more dragons to hatch, I’d be able to show the elders how

  they listened to me, and maybe I could bring dragons back to Asgard for

  good.

  More than that, though, I thirsted for knowledge. I had a small dragon

  in my satchel I still knew practically nothing about, aside from the fact he

  was a boy and he seemed to follow my commands. I wanted to know more, I

  wanted to understand them and see more different kinds. I couldn’t imagine

  just how many different species of dragons there were, but I wanted to find

  them all.

  I slipped Blar another piece of pumpkin, and this time when I came

  upon the market, I walked confidently through instead of sneaking by. Blar

  had done so well in Ramir’s shop I knew I could trust him to stay out of

  sight. I didn’t know if he understood what the consequences could be if we

  were found out, but I knew he’d listen to me, and that was enough. Hell, I

  wasn’t sure I fully understood what the consequences would be if we were

  found out, but I decided not to dwell on the thought. Instead, I moved through

  the marketplace with a bright smile on my face.

  The market bustled as usual with Aesir walking the aisles and stopping

  at various booths to look at hand made tunics or jewelry. Some of the booths sold fruit or vegetables and some sold meat while others specialized in

  repairing and making weapons, or herbs used for medicinal or relaxation

  purposes.

  As I walked by the booths that cooked and sold food, my mouth began

  to water. The smell of freshly smoked turkey legs and buttered corn on the

  cob was too much to bear, so I picked up the pace until I came to the split in

  the road that led to the western villages and left the marketplace behind.

  The sun was still high in the afternoon sky, and the day was clear as I

  walked along the cobbled street toward the western villages. There were only

  three of them, and the countryside sat just down the hill from all three, so all I

  had to do was make it to the first one then head down toward the grass. I’d

  been to the countryside plenty of times, so I knew my way around well

  enough, and once I was down in the grass, there was a nice clearing past

  some trees that would be a great place to let Blar out to stretch his legs.

  Nobody else knew about the clearing, at least I’d never seen anyone else

  down there, so I figured it was the safest place around.

  After I let him out, I’d search around for some of the portals Ramir

  told me about. He said I’d know them when I saw them, but what could that

  mean? How obvious could they be if nobody else knew about them? Or had

  he put a spell on me so I’d be able to see them?

  I’d have to go back soon and see that old man, I quite liked him.

  I passed by a few Aesir on their way to the market as I walked, and we

  nodded and smiled at each other. Soon enough, though, I arrived at the

  entrance of the first western village, but instead of continuing on into the

  village, I followed the footpath to the right that led down into the valley of

  the countryside.

  The grass was beautiful as I looked out at the expanse of countryside

  around me. There was a huge open field that stretched out for miles, but if I

  continued into the valley, there were clusters of different kinds of trees and

  flowers. I saw a couple laying on the grass kissing a ways away, and further

  than that there was a mother with her children. The mom sat on a blanket and

  prepared food
while the kids frolicked nearby.

  I’d always found the countryside to be such a peaceful place. No

  battles were fought here, and nobody dared to disturb the sacredness of the

  place.

  I felt Blar move against my hip, and I could tell he was getting antsy,

  which he had every right to be. He’d been in the satchel most of the day at

  this point, and I knew it couldn’t be extremely comfortable. He’d been quiet

  and still, and I was happy with his following my commands, but I also knew

  he longed to get out and stretch his little legs. There was a stream near the

  alcove I knew of, too, so we could get a drink of water before we began to

  look for portals.

  The air smelled floral and fresh as I neared the trees by the clearing,

  and I could feel the wind was slightly cooler as it drifted from the stream

  nearby.

  I glanced around quickly but saw nobody aside from the people I’d

  seen earlier, so I slipped through the trees into the clearing. There was

  nobody in there, either, just like I had suspected, so I opened the top of the

  satchel.

  Blar popped his little head out of the top and looked at me with crystal

  blue eyes.

  “You ready to get out?” I asked with a smile, and he crawled up my

  side and to my shoulder. I swore he’d grown since this morning. He was now

  nearly as long as my entire arm, and his body was bigger around, too.

  He let out a little bark as he looked around from my shoulder, and his

  eyes darted from side to side.

  “Whoa, okay,” I laughed as I reached up to stroke under his chin. He

  leaned his face into my palm, and a little twinge spread through my chest at

  his tenderness. “Don’t go outside of the trees, okay, but you can stretch your

  legs here, and in a second, we’ll go get some water.”

  Blar didn’t wait for any further commands, he scurried down my body

  and ran over to sniff some flowers that were just on edge of the clearing. I sat down and watched him as he ran around for a few minutes like a curious

  puppy. He was as excited as a child the first time they saw springtime, and he

  somehow understood what a flower was and how sweet it smelled.

  I smiled as I put my legs out and leaned back so I could look up at the

  blue sky. I didn’t think I’d ever been so at peace as I felt right then.

  Something about being with Blar was incredibly relaxing to me. We