Kerry Schafer | What Kind of Dragon Are You?

Poof! Somebody waves a magic wand and you become a dragon – what kind of dragon are you?

Let's go over the possibilities.

First up, there's the Smaug-type dragon, immortalized by Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. (Incidentally, these two writers were friends. I wonder if they ever sat in front of the fire with a drink in one hand and a pipe in the other and discussed dragon lore?) The Smaug-type is an evil, gold-lusting, vengeful creature of very little brain. Totally not the brightest dragon in the sky, but great in stories because it loves to burn towns and will eat any princess that strays into its path. Smaug-types are forever and always being slain by brave warriors who resent their towns getting flamed and who want the princesses for themselves.

We also have the McCaffery type dragon (also think Dragon Heart). This dragon is a lethal flying machine if you're on the wrong side of its claws and teeth, but if you happen to be a Rider, then it's a different story. These dragons are pretty smart, as dragons go. They can communicate with their human, experience deep emotions, and are capable of acts of self sacrifice. They do seem to need a lot of human guidance as far as basic life skills go – little things like knowing they need to stop eating before they explode. What they lack in common sense they make up for in loyalty and strength and that really awesome flight thing.

The other main classification of dragon is the wise, magical, far-beyond-human intelligence variety found in Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea, as well as mythologies around the world. These creatures can twist your mind in knots, perform magical spells, and yes, they can shapeshift at will. Never look one of these dragons in the eye, or you may not live to regret it. There are several oriental tales of dragon ladies who can take on human form.

I love the idea of wise, magical, but still very dangerous dragons, and it has been great fun to write them into the Books of the Between. Vivian, the lead character in these books, is a little less happy about the dragons. Partly because she is hunted by some of the dragons, and partly because she discovers she has dragon blood in her veins and it's a little tricky keeping that blood-thirsty nature under control. Also, her lover, Zee, is a dragon slayer and this does tend to get awkward at times.

While I understand Vivian's reluctance, personally I think being a dragon shifter would be pretty cool. I think I might skip work and go off flying on beautiful spring days. No boss is going to fire somebody who can roast them with a breath.

Which brings us back to the question we started with. What about you? What sort of dragon would you turn out to be?