Dragons are part of our culture. Every corner of the globe seems to have some myth or legend about them, from Ladon guarding the garden of Hesperides to the dragon who gnaws at the roots of Ygdrasil, most ancient tales.

Arguably one of the most well read accounts can be found in the Bible, in Job 41. Leviathan is described as having scales that could not be sundered and a breath of flame that kindled coals. The description, if religiously poetic, describes what many Riders have experienced. Could the ancient beast that inspired the passage have dwarfed the dragons of today?

Other myths appear to be far from the mark. In China, it is believed in the Yuen Kien Lei Han that dragons get their horns after 500 years and wings after 1,000 years. Yet, no Rider has ever seen a hornless dragon, and certainly not a wingless one. Marcelo managed to get near an occupied nest while Sandro distracted the mother. He said the lone baby dragon had wings and budding horns.

But even wilder claims, dismissed by academics as flights of fancy, such as the Asylian and Mokai peoples' riding dragons into battle, could hold more truth than detractors realise. We know they exist, or at least animals best described as dragons exist, and we have ridden them and even broken one in.

From experience, these myths and legends appear, for the most part, to be just that. The reality we know is very different. One thing they do suggest is that these animals were once more widespread and successful than they are today. Perhaps, like so many other animals, the spread of humanity has pushed them out, driven them to the brink of extinction.

St. George has a lot to answer for.



By Zoë