The Dragon's Back Trilogy

by Robert Dennis Wilson

  With tears in her eyes, she smiled at him and nodded her blood-marked face.

  Quietly Jason approached, Shanna, the woman that he loved, and purposely but gently bound the now twisted belt around her middle.

  Instantly she turned toward the man. “But…!” was the only word she uttered, then hung her head once again in silence.

  Gently, as she had once done to him, he raised her chin until her tear-filled eyes met his.

  “We both agreed,” he told her softly, “that we would wait for the Gryphon’s timing…

  “That time has come! Because you now wear my sash, all of Dragonsback and all the citizens of the Gryphon's Land know that I have claimed you this day as my bride. And though all of the dragons of this evil land or all of the men who follow them should try to say otherwise, that fact will stand. It will stand till the day the Gryphon’s sweet tears fall and cleanse this world of its poisoned thorns, of its evil men, and of its hateful, deceptive dragons. And if He wills, it will still stand on that distant shore. Shanna, now and forever I love you! No matter what evil has befallen you, it does not matter to me at all!”

  Then using both hands he lightly framed her bruised and tear-stained face. Jason the bard purposely locked eyes with the woman he loved. Then using his powerful words as wedges to separate her from her grief and drive her toward him, his heart spoke directly to hers, “The only thing that matters… Do you hear this Shanna, my beloved? The only thing that matters is that the Gryphon has made you mine!”

  As though waking from an evil dream, Shoshanna Bar-Lot tumbled into the shelter of his willing arms. The mutual tears flowing from two broken hearts became a cleansing ocean that swept together those splintered shards and shattered pieces, forming in their place one united heart shared by both.

  GRANDSIRE'S SONG

  When the shadows of Darkness rise,

  Unto salvation 'twill make you wise,

  'Twill bring new Light to darkened eyes.

  The Water and the Sword.

  'Twill waken those who fall asleep,

  'Twill comfort those who can but weep,

  Protecting those you cannot keep:

  The Water and the Sword.

  In pathless ways 'twill be your guide,

  'Twill show you where the dragons hide,

  And cleanse from poison deep inside:

  The Water and the Sword.

  The Water and the Sword, are one,

  'Twill finish that which they've begun,

  To make you like the Gryphon's Son:

  The Water and the Sword. 18

  "We know that we are of God and

  the whole world lies in the evil one."

  (1 John 5:19, The BIBLE)

  EPILOGUE: JENNY

  As I finished reading, Jenny sat with her head bowed, weeping into her hands.

  After a couple of minutes Justin, obviously troubled by his young classmate’s discomfiture, asked quietly, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “Yes,” I quietly responded, “can you please go tell Mom-Mom that I need her, and then go to your Mother and together pray for your friend.”

  To his credit, he rose instantly, letting neither his concern nor curiosity hinder his swift obedience.

  A few moments later my wife arrived. With the sensitivity of one Spirit-touched with the gift of mercy, she quickly sat down next to Jenny on the couch and slipped a comforting arm around the young girl.

  Jenny jumped at the touch, but quickly looking up and discovering that a woman held her, turned toward her, burying her face on my wife’s shoulder and began to cry in earnest.

  “This is Justin’s ‘Mom-Mom Joyce’, I calmly said, “and my best friend in the whole world.”

  “Hello, Jenny,” said Joyce with compassion pouring from her heart and her words. “What’s wrong, dear?”

  Eventually, like William in the story, she found the courage to lift her head and respond through her sobs, “It’s just… that the story… reminded me… Is what happened to… to Shanna… is that like what… happened to me?”

  “Yes, dear, I am so sad to tell you that it was. Though Shoshanna is just a character in a made-up story, you must feel that you share so much sorrow and pain with her!”

  The crying girl then turned her head toward me, and with accusation wringing tears from her words, she demanded, “Why? Why would you put Shanna through something like? Your story was going along fine! She didn’t deserve that! Neither did her mother or any of the others! That’s just plain wrong!”

  Tears flowed freely and openly from my eyes as I responded in an emotion-choked voice, barely above a whisper, “You are so right, child. It was wrong for evil like that to happen to those so innocent. Bad things happened to those women and children and to their husbands and fathers, things that they simply did not deserve! And by writing those words of pain into their lives, I showed that the mighty Gryphon, the Caretaker of all that is good and true on Dragonsback was the One who allowed what happened to take place. I did that because, in this world, although He is never the Cause of evil, Jesus, our loving Creator, and God our heavenly Father, certainly allow bad things to happen to innocent people.”

  “But…” she protested. “But that’s not fair! Why does He allow it? Isn’t He big enough and good enough to stop it from happening? Why didn’t He stop my Dad?!?”

  “Yes, you are again correct in saying that what happened to you is not fair. Why didn’t God stop your father from hurting you? Men and women, boys and girls have struggled with that same sort of question, well, since there have been men and women, boys and girls.

  “ I could give a highfalutin, ‘spiritual’ answer and say that we are a world deliberately set in rebellion against our Creator, that we willingly gave ourselves into the hands of a different king, His enemy, and that it’s not God’s fault if this wicked king, whom we call ‘the old Dragon’ or ‘Satan’, treats his subjects shamefully and painfully. But that’s not the answer you either want or need to hear.

  “To help you find an answer to your questions, Jenny, can I ask you one or two of my own about the stories that you’ve just heard?”

  “Uh, sure, I guess so.”

  “Little one, can you tell me in one word what Dragonsback is about?”

  “I’m not sure… One word would be hard… Wait! The story is about thorns!”

  “Very good! You are absolutely correct. But what if I wanted to translate the lesson you learned about Dragonsback’s thorns into one word in our world. What would that word be?”

  “I guess that would have to be forgiveness.”

  I proudly nodded and beamed a smile of acceptance toward her upturned face. Our eyes locked. Then with intense feeling filling my quiet words, I strove to help her see the Truth that could set her free; “Jenny, that word, ‘forgiveness’, is the answer to your all-important question. You want to know, why would God allow evil actions from wicked men to touch innocent people? Why would a loving God allow your father to hurt you? It is not an easy answer, but I think it is a good one. Because of forgiveness. If God stopped pain and allowed us to live in a world without sin, we would never realize that we needed His forgiveness and that we needed to learn to forgive.”

  In response to the questioning look that formed on the young girl’s face, Joyce tenderly said to her, “Jenny, why do people need forgiveness?”

  The young girl’s answer was immediate, “because we hurt each other!”

  “And it’s wrong to hurt someone, isn’t it?” queried my wife.

  “Of course it is! Everybody knows that!”

  “Did people decide this on their own or did they have some help finding out what makes right, right and wrong, wrong?”

  “I guess you mean,” she responded with a shrug, “that God gave us His rules, so we would know the difference.”

  “Right again! But, if God has given us His rules, His Ten Commandments, why do people still need forgiveness?”

  “Because people don’t follow His
rules!”

  “How many people don’t follow the rules God has given us? Is it just really bad people? The Hitlers? Those terrorists who attacked New York? The bank robbers and murders and men who hurt little children? How many of us need forgiveness?”

  “We all need forgiveness,” whispered Jenny and tears again moistened her youthful cheeks.

  “Yes, dear, of course, you are right, we all need forgiveness. So where can we find it?

  “The One who made the rules has to be the one to forgive! No other forgiveness matters without that!”

  “Young lady,” I interjected, “for well over forty years I have been privileged to point seekers to the one who is the Answer, but yours is probably one of the wisest responses I have ever heard to that question! You are very close to becoming a Swimmer, a follower of Jesus Christ!”

  Jenny rewarded my praise with a brief smile, but then quickly turned her gaze downward as if she felt rejection or great sadness.

  I saw Joyce give Jenny a gentle squeeze and saw the girl respond by nuzzling against her once again.

  “Jenny,” said my wife, “you know that Jesus, like the Gryphon’s Son in the story, was punished in our place. He took our beating. He took the thorns that rightly belonged to us. He took the poison of our sin into Himself, just so we could be forgiven.”

  “I know this!” Jenny called out forcefully and pushed herself away from my wife, “but it hasn’t done me any good! I want to believe, but I can’t!”

  “I know,” I responded in a whisper that conquered her desperate cry. “And I also know why.”

  “You do?” came the incredulous response. “But, how can you know?”

  “I wrote about it in the first book. If someone gathers thorns and keeps them in his or her pack, this becomes a nest for the invisible dragons. Jason had to open his pack and expose or acknowledge his thorns before the Gryphon’s Son could free him.”

  “Yes, I remember,” her soft response gathered strength as it found the freedom of words, “and I tried to do just that with Justin! But, I couldn’t come to Jesus! The way was blocked! I wanted to but I couldn’t!”

  “The unseen dragons of this world don’t want you to take that step! They are clinging to you! They don’t want to give you up, so they cover your spiritual eyes with their wings and wrap you in darkness. But don’t be afraid, little one! Jesus died and rose again to break their power! His shed blood is stronger than any dragon!”

  I had been in this type of battle before: spiritual warfare where an abused seeker had been taken captive by the enemy and they floundered on the threshold of salvation, unable to move forward, unwilling to go back. But I had learned that we had a great weapon, a powerful battering ram that would open any stronghold. Not only were Joyce and I about to bring it to bear, but so were Justin and his mother, as well as a score of others I had recruited for this very moment.

  “Jenny, Joyce and I want to pray for you right here and right now. We want your permission to ask Jesus to take away these shades of darkness and cast down the strong fortresses they have built around your heart! I want to pray the blood of Jesus Christ will cover you, cleanse, and conquer the evil you bound! Jenny, will you please allow us to do that?”

  “You would do that for me? Yes! Please! Please, pray for me so I can come to Jesus!”

  - the end -

  The final part of “The Dragon’s Back” Trilogy

  will be called, “Shoshanna’s Song.”

  GLOSSARY: THE WORLD OF DRAGONSBACK

   Apprentice: a beginning student who lived with a single master (teacher) to learn a particular skill or craft. An apprentice was marked by a single band of color on his right sleeve. See "Guild".

   Bag of Adoption: see "'Skin of Adoption"

   Bard: an itinerate musician who brings news and music wherever he wanders.

   Bard's Truth: an axiom, fact that is self-evident, accepted proverb, or startling new revelation. By extension, someone referring to a statement as "Bard's Truth" is confirming his or her belief that it is irrefutably accurate.

   Bay, the: the body of water to the immediate East of the Mainland of Dragonsback, bordered on the West by the Great Archipelago of the Islands of the Dragon's Tail.

   Blackrobes: an armed agent of the Society of Dragonmen, named Blackrobes because of the shimmering lightweight black garments they wear.

   Bridge, the: (1) the Hopewell Bridge, located at Mann's Pointe. This one-sided bridge is supported by a huge Tower anchored into the eastern side of Dragonsback. It is hoped to be pointing toward the Gryphonsland, which lies hidden beyond the grey cloud wall that encircles all the land, in an effort to carry any dead as close to that other land as is humanly possible. (2) Another name for the Gryphon's Swimmer-Son. (3) Any assembly place used by Swimmers.

   Bridge of Air, the: The path of death for the followers of the Swimmer-Son of the Gryphon. An invisible bridge said to connect Dragonsback and the Gryphonsland, built by the Gryphon's Son.

   Central Isle Orphanage: Built of orange-colored coral blocks, this state-sponsored facility is administered by a Director named Marvin.

   Central Isle: The largest of the Island Independent city-states, located roughly in the middle of the Great Archipelago. Location of the Orphanage that held Jason and Kaleb prisoner for ten years.

   Ceremonial blade: another name for the scaline shortsword that is used on Dragonsback to make swordsign.

   Chain-bound: any individual who carries enough polished scaline chains that they affect his or her life. With long-term use, these chains may merge with the wearer and be impossible to remove even by surgery.

   Chains: links of polished scaline of any length or weight, usually forged in the cities of Scalina or Dragonchain. The chief export of those cities.

   Champion: a chief political figure, winner of the Lesser or Greater Games held every four years near the Source of the River.

   Circling Clouds, Circle of Distant Clouds, Wall of Clouds, Cloud Wall: an impenetrable wall of smoke and fog that completely surrounds the entire land of Dragonsback at the edge of mortal sight, blocking man's view of the location of the Gryphonsland, through which one Man has ever returned.

   Claw Cove: a bustling port city located on the eastern edge of Dragonsback on the peninsula formed by the Dragon's rear leg. The capital of the Hinterlands.

   Column: Two "Horns", actually very large natural scaline rock spires, once stood on the top of Dragonshead. Only the western Column remains intact. All that is left of the eastern Column is a short stump and a line of boulders scattered down the face of the Dragon. It was shattered in ancient times when, three days after the body of the drowned Swimmer-Son was chained to it, He came alive again and pulled his chains through the base of the Horn. See also "Dilemma Plateau".

   Coracle of Reeds: a fragile small round boat. The Gryphon's Son, as a human baby, was carried to Dragonsback in such a craft.

   Coree Tree: a shade tree found at higher elevations on Dragonsback, whose broad three-fingered leaves are shiny dark green on the top and silvery on the bottom.

   Crest: a heraldic seal (or symbol) used to indicate by stylized animals, fish, birds, or creatures the heredity of its owner. In Dragonsback the crest is always affixed to the personal waterskin. See also: "Family Crest", "Crest of Adoption", "Golden Crest".

   Crest of Adoption: the family seal of an individual's adoptive family, worn on a secondary waterskin.

   Dagger: Someone paid to battle for another in a thornhouse challenge. His job is to defend the one who has paid him from the challenger's dagger while bypassing his opponent's defenses and injuring with thorns the one hiding behind him.

   Dew Carriers: a slang name used by the Swimmers when speaking of themselves.

   Dew, Dew of the Morning, Pure Water: In a land where it has never rained, a mist rises every morning to water all of the plants of Dragonsback. It collects in the Dewcatcher plants on the mountains an
d can be harvested each day by those who seek water other than the "Venom of the Dragon" found in the River. The Dew is not tainted with the River's poison and has special mystical properties: it can reflect images that no human eye can see and it is a life-giving restorative.

   Dewcatcher, Dewcatcher Flower or Plant: in the old tongue "Shoshanna", a pitcher-shaped wildflower that grows mostly on the mountains of Dragonsback, which, because of its unique funnel-like shape, captures and holds the Dew of the Morning.

   Dilemma Plateau: the flat and barren Upper Plateau of Dragonshead where two huge natural scaline Columns or Horns once stood. Currently, only the western Column (or Horn) remains standing. A place of Pilgrimage.

   Drachma: a scaline coin bearing the image of a dragon, worth a single day's wages for a common laborer.

   Dragonchain: A town, the twin of Scalina in all ways, located on the opposite side of the Dragon.

   Dragonkind: See “Society of Dragonmen”.

   Dragonmen: members of a secret underground sect of which the Blackrobes are one part. See "Society of Dragonmen".

   Dragon's Tooth, the: slang for “the real or genuine thing”.

   Dragon's Venom: A name the Swimmers give to the polluted and poisoned water of the River. So-called because the River's source is the Mouth of the Dragon.

   Dragons: invisible winged servants of the Dragon and his Queen, they are the eternal enemies of the eagles and the Swimmers, attempting to thwart their progress for their master's gain.

   Dragonsback, the Dragon's Back, the Dragon's Land: the place where mankind lives after their First Parents were exiled from the garden in the Gryphonsland.

   Dragonsbreath: (1) a warm-to-hot blast of air thought to come from the caldera of two volcanoes located on the southern tip of Dragonshead. (2) The back and forth pulsing of warm air in the intertwined cave systems that fill the Long Mountains on both sides of the River Valley.