“Dear pretty ladies, do you like dragons? Or should I ask the question from a different perspective. Do you like fiery winged demons, just the thought of which gives you goose bumps, and makes your flesh tremble? If the answer is yes, then you are like the brown-eyed lady Marbel, a descendant of the ancient O 'Lans dynasty.
The slender, dark-haired maiden literally dreamed about theses flying monsters from a very early age. She spent the majority of her time sitting alone, hour after hour, reading romantic novels, in which the rulers of the vast heavens were menacing reptiles, who abducted young girls, and incarcerated them in their gloomy castles.
Come nightfall, they turned into handsome men, and showered their charming captives with countless treasures, and gifted them with a fiery passion known as Dragon’s Love. It does not sound so bad, does it? After all, here before your very eyes, was an ocean of romantic behavior – a thunderstorm of colorful feelings and strong emotions in the midst of fabulous wealth.
Can such a thing be found in reality? Is any of this really possible? Clever minds have long pondered such a question. They don’t believe that this is mere fantasy, but is an uncontrolled, crazy flight of inspiration. Quite often dreams become reality. Especially when you're no more than fifteen years of age, and you have the luxury of a massive imagination, similar to that of the Lady Marbel.
During the day, the young girl spent her time in the garden reading books, and before going to bed in the evening, she would appear on the battlements of her tall castle, staring out, and raising her hands to heaven. She would enthusiastically sing songs of praise to dragons: “Take me with you, my winged hero! I'm here, I'm all yours. My soul and my flesh suffer unbearably, exhausted by the long wait for you to arrive.”
At that moment, she dreamed that out of heaven’s abyss, full of glittering stars, suddenly there in front of her a huge wyvern with fiery eyes would appear, and place her onto his broad back. He would carry off his divine queen straight to his mysterious castle. Once there he would turn into a handsome young man, and give her the present of his fiery amour, and lay the entire world at her feet. After such dreams, how could a normal mortal man make her happy?
Her parents became worried for the young lady. The elderly and highly respected O 'Lans couple wanted to give away their daughter in marriage as soon as possible, but she refused.
“Marbel, you are making us crazy and driving us to an early grave,” they warned her. “There have been no dragons around for more than a century. How did you come up with the idea of falling in love with such a cruel beast? Come to your senses. Come back to reality or you will remain a spinster for the rest of your days.”
It was an undeniable fact. The last dragon was killed by a brave warrior by the name of Graham, the undefeated “Knight of the Fire Blade”, from Uringard, and since then the winged creatures had passed into legend.
Yet, for some people such tales were still real. Such people craved to believe in their dreams. They could never be satisfied with an ordinary everyday life, bereft of a large dose of adrenalin. Their view of the world was different to everybody else’s. They were like magnets, attracting anything terrible and dangerous. Probably, our beautiful Marbel fell into this category.
This odd young lady definitely existed in a different dimension to those around her, and her parents blamed the recently popular fairy tales of the Post Dragon Era.
It was at this point that the rich and eminent Lord Aubin, from the ancient dynasty of Aldus, turned up at the castle. He was an eligible bachelor anyway that you looked at it. His vast possessions of land were located close to the northern border of Hyperborea, and were considered to be the most extensive lands in the western states. Her parents could not miss such a potentially profitable prospect and gave their daughter a strict ultimatum: “Either marry this Lord or we will send you to a nunnery.”
With no other choice, the Lady Marbel had to consent. After a short engagement, the young couple was allowed to walk alone in the garden to get to know each other. That's when their conversation began.
“What do you prefer to do with your day?” asked the Lord.
“Usually I like to read,” the lady replied reluctantly.
“What kind of books do you like?”
“Mostly works from ancient times, tales from the era of the dragons.”
“I have heard about them. They are nothing but silly stories aimed at dreamy young ladies. Nothing but fiction about strong young knights fighting dangerous dragons,” smiled the young man with a good-natured smile.
“For me, that is more important than reality,” said the offended maiden.
“Well, so be it. Each of us has the right to choose what to believe in. However, my question is, do you really admire such violence and cruelty?” asked the Lord, surprised.
“For me, wyverns are perfect: beautiful, incredibly rich, powerful and super strong. Most importantly, they are fantastic lovers.”
“Well, you can’t argue with that. Perhaps some of these giant superbeasts are good at everything. What would you be prepared to sacrifice to meet one of them?”
“I think that I would give everything that I own,” she replied confidently.
“Would you be prepared to risk your own life as well?”
“I am ready.”
“I think this is too much to ask, and only very few people would agree to it.”
“Of course, to each their own. Some dream of the stars in the sky, and some are content to stay on the earth. I have an extreme nature. What is your nature?” The maiden made her point arrogantly and looked at the high lord eye to eye.
“In my world, most expectations are much easier to deal with. Almost all of my time is spent on affairs of state. Only rarely do I manage to grab the time to do what I like to do.”
“And what is that?”
“I like to make jewelry. It's not just a hobby for me. Jewelry, created with my own hands is a special celebration for the senses. When my eyes see the fruit of my imagination, embodied in the precious metal, my heart rejoices. In my opinion every man should create something.”
So said Aubin, and the bright spark of pride shone in his dark eyes, but the young maiden didn’t recognize it, because she was too occupied with her fantasies. As far as she was concerned, he couldn’t compete against the noble heroes of her novels. What's more, he was not destined to light up any interest in his modest personage by this vain maiden. He clearly understood that from their very first meeting, but he still went forward, agreeing to a quick wedding with her parents.
We should mention that Aubin was a very practical man, who had no time for sentimental nonsense or useless chatter. So soon they were married in the maiden’s home at the insistence of Lord O'Lans. Lord Aubin took away his young wife to his huge luxurious castle that was situated within the close embrace of high cliffs and the warm waves of the Ageleysy Sea.
The newlywed’s lodgings were decorated in sophisticated and expensive style and located on top of the tallest tower in castle Futor, whose sharp dome rested above the snow clouds. From there, the whole world was visible in the palm of your hand. The view was heart-stopping and giddy. The vast blue sea stretched beyond the horizon. White seagulls hovered around the tower, soaring on the Zephyr winds. However, none of this pleased Marbel’s heart, because she expected to go to bed with somebody that she did not love, who she was now bound to for the rest of her life. So, what do you think that she did?
While her newfound spouse was absent from their chambers, the girl went to the balcony, and turning to the sky, she raised her hands and decided to sing for one last time to her beloved wyvern. Her song, shrill and loud, boomed and echoed around the massive stone walls of the castle, but was suddenly interrupted by a voice that sounded like the rumble of thunder. It came from inside the bedroom and terrified her:
“Here I am, you stupid girl! Look back! Here I am. The one that you have prayed for. Strip off naked and prostrate yourself at my feet. Now you'll get what you have been dreaming of for such a long time. Now you are going to experience Dragon Love!”
Marbel could never have imagined how painful the steel embrace of the merciless evil monster could be. How hot his fiery kisses were and how his sharp and long prehensile claws could tear the flesh of an innocent maiden to pieces.
Thus, now I ask you again: “Do you still love dragons? Would you love them as much as the proud Lady Marbel once did, whose mutilated remains now rest quietly in peace at the bottom of the deep Ageleysy Sea, at the foot of castle Futor.”