Outcast

by Guerin Zand

  “Finally the dragon appeared, and the little boy spoke. ‘Do you see the dragon now, samurai?’”

  “The samurai looked puzzled. They saw no dragon. ‘Is this a joke, boy? There is no dragon here.’”

  “The little boy looked up at the dragon. ‘Why can’t these samurai see you, Mr. Dragon?’”

  “‘It is their fear that blinds them,’ the dragon roared. The samurai once again jumped back and looked around. Still, they saw nothing. The little boy could see the fear in their eyes.”

  “The samurai called the little boy a liar and began walking back down the mountain. The little boy sat a while longer and finished his meal of the dragon’s fruit. He stood up, brushed off the back of his pants, and started back down the mountain. The dragon simply looked on as the little boy seemed to pay him no attention.”

  “The samurai told the villagers that the little boy had been lying and that he was not right in the head. He was seeing a dragon where the samurai all saw nothing. The boy even pretended to talk to his imaginary dragon. Still, the roars from the mountain would occasionally fill the night air, and the animals that lived on the mountain would run down into the village. They decided in order to be safe, they would make offerings to the gods of the mountain to protect the village. Once a year a young woman from the village would place food and flowers at the site of the little boy’s old home. Then they would sing a song to placate the angry gods. No one would ever venture any further up the mountain than the site of the boy’s old home.”

  “Meanwhile, the little boy began his apprenticeship with the blacksmith. He learned to smelt the steel, a process that required him and the blacksmith to spend three continuous days at the task. He learned about the different varieties of steel created by the smelting process and what part of the sword each was used for. He learned the process of forge welding and folding the steel. He spent years learning these skills, while at the same time he was taught to polish and sharpen the swords the blacksmith made. He was taught the art of making the scabbards, hilts, and handguards alongside the blacksmith until the time came that the blacksmith could assign him any of the many tasks to perform on his own. Then the blacksmith started to work with the now young man on his dragon blade. They spent two years working together on the dragon blade when they were not busy with the blacksmith’s customer’s orders.”

  “As his sword progressed, he spent his late nights working on his new armor. His old armor was built for a little boy and no longer fit. The blacksmith’s wife helped the young man cut the materials and connect them together with leather cords and rivets. It again took several years for the armor to be built. It had several parts. The Dou, Kusazuri, Sode, Kote, Kabuto, Mengu, Haidate, and Suneate. Each taking several months of intensive labor. He kept the giant tortoise shell shield he had used as a boy. It had proven itself against the dragon’s breath and he could think of nothing that would work as well. When he was a little boy, he could hide his entire body behind the shield. Now, he would have to crouch behind this shield to protect the majority of vulnerable areas his body armor would not protect, such as his head and neck area. Much of his armor used plates made from the same type of tortoise shell rather than steel to protect the rest of his body from the flames.”

  “The young man finished his preparations. It was early spring in the village and flowers were starting to bloom. The air was cool and fresh. It was a good day to fight a dragon. The young man stood outside the blacksmith’s house, his armor glistening in the sun. The blacksmith and his wife helped the young man with the final adjustments to his armor, making sure all was secure and sturdy. He thanked the man and his wife for their kindness and aid in preparing him for this day.”

  “The young man handed the blacksmith a purse with the money he had saved over the years. ‘This is not enough to repay you for all you have done, but it is all I have. I will have no need for such things where I am going.’”

  “A tear rolled down the cheek of the blacksmith’s wife. She awkwardly tried to hug the young man through his armor and he tried to return the hug. The blacksmith simply placed his hand on the young man’s shoulder armor, and with the look of a proud father, he wished the young man well.”

  “As he had done once before as a young boy, the young man walked down the main road of the village on his way to the mountain. His head held high as the villagers looked on in silence. They all thought he was a strange young man, still stupid and foolish, but now dangerous as well. They dared not mock him. Before he reached the end of the road the leader of the local samurai walked in front of the young man and blocked his way.”

  “‘Remove that armor, boy. You are not Samurai and you will not dishonor the samurai in this town by posing as one of them.’”

  “‘I am going to slay the dragon of the mountain. I have no quarrel with you, but I will kill any man who stands in my way.’”

  “The samurai leader reached for his sword. His hand had barely reached the hilt when the tip of the young man’s sword pressed up against his throat, drawing the slightest amount of blood from the cut made by the tip of his blade. The samurai looked at the young man’s sword, a sword of such quality. The samurai had never seen an equal. He lowered his hand back to his side and stepped out of the young man’s way. After he had passed the samurai, the young man returned his sword to the scabbard. He continued up to the mountain.”

  “When he reached the mountain top, he gathered the dragon’s fruit and sat once again on the boulder to wait for the dragon to arrive. He did not have to wait long this time. The next morning the dragon arrived and landed in front of the young man. He drew his sword and raised his shield.”

  “‘So, I see the brave little boy has grown up into a foolish young man. You know that no man can defeat me, yet here you are.’”

  “The young man smiled at the dragon. ‘And you have grown old and slow, Mr. Dragon. Perhaps it would be unfair of me to kill you, but I have waited so long for this day. I hope you will forgive me if I do.’”

  “The dragon attacked with his fiery breath as the young man tucked behind his shield and charged under the dragon’s chest. He slashed the underbelly of the beast with a mighty swing. The gush of blood from the beast’s belly rained down upon the young man. The dragon raised his left rear talon to stomp the impudent young man, but the young man’s blade was quick and sharp. The dragon screeched, an earsplitting screech, as the talon he attempted to strike the young man with fell free to the ground. His tail snapped around and caught the young man midsection. It sent him flying several yards away. The sound of breaking bones was apparent to both.”

  “The dragon, sensing the kill, released his flames at his opponent. The young man huddled flat on the ground with only his small shield to protect him. The smell of the young man’s burning flesh brought more confidence to the dragon as he moved forward to enjoy his meal. He had forgotten that his one talon was no longer a part of his body. He stumbled and fell forward, his mouth open and eager for the taste of the young man’s flesh, but the young man was not finished. He rolled to the right side of the dragon as the unsteady dragon rolled left. The dragon’s mouth missed its target, and the young man’s sword found his. He drove his blade into the right eye of the dragon. The noise the dragon made was so loud and ominous that the villagers ran into their homes at the sound of it. The dragon managed to get up and pivoted, striking the young man once more with its mighty tail. The fight ended for the young man as he lost consciousness.”

  “The young man awoke several days later to see a beautiful young woman, a princess, standing over him. She was the local shogun’s daughter. She was up on the mountain to make offerings to the mountain’s gods that day and saw the young man’s battle with the dragon. She had never seen such a brave samurai, or any man for that matter, battle a dragon. The dragon had pivoted and only accidentally hit the young man with its tail as it turned to fly away. He had injured the dragon so severely it could only run at that point, fearing the young man was not yet don
e. He had underestimated his opponent twice earlier and it had cost him an eye and a talon.”

  “The princess had rushed to the young man’s side. Having found him still alive, she sent for her father’s samurai to carry the young man down the mountain to her father’s castle. There she had her father’s physician’s set the young man’s broken bones and treat his burns. She stayed with the young man to tend to his recovery. She told her father what she had seen. How this young man had battled a giant dragon on his own. He had injured the dragon to such an extent that the dragon withdrew from the battle. Her father’s samurai insisted that there was no dragon, and the young man was simply insane. This angered the shogun, since they were implying that his daughter had lied. They recanted and said they were not there, so what his daughter saw, must have happened.”

  “It took months for the young man to recover. The shogun’s daughter never left his side. She told him that she saw the battle, and the dragon retreat. The young man was heartbroken. He had failed. The princess could not understand how the young man could feel this way. He had bested the dragon single-handedly. He explained that no one would believe that. No one else could see the dragon.”

  “She placed her hand on his as he laid on the bed. With a tender look in her eyes she said to the young man, ‘But I saw the dragon. I saw the entire battle. No one will call you crazy or a fool again.’”

  “Once the young man had recovered, he donned his armor, weapons, and shield once again. The princess asked where he was going.”

  “‘The dragon is not dead, and our battle is not over. I must return to the mountain and finish this, one way or the other.’”

  The princess tried to argue with the young man, but finally her father stepped in. He told his daughter that the young man was right. He could not leave things unsettled.

  When the young man arrived at the top of the mountain, he found the dragon there waiting for him this time.

  “‘I was wondering when you would return, brave young warrior. Since your body was nowhere to be found, I knew that you had survived, and I knew you would not let things remain unfinished.’”

  “‘Then shall we settle this matter now, Mr. Dragon?’”

  “‘The matter is settled, young warrior. You have bested me, and I cannot match you with one eye and a single talon to stand on. I yield to you, brave young warrior. You may have my head if that is your wish.’ The dragon lowered his head to the ground.”

  “The young man shook his head. ‘I have no use for your head, Mr. Dragon. It would be unfair of me to kill a crippled and half-blind dragon.’”

  “‘So be it. I am sorry for the pain I have caused you by taking the lives of your parents. They were no threat to me, and I should have let them be, especially since they had a young child to care for. I hope you can accept my apology. I will leave this mountain now, and I will tell all the other dragons that this mountain belongs to a brave young warrior. No dragon will ever return to your mountain. I wish you well. I consider it my honor to have known such a brave and fierce little boy.’”

  “The dragon left the mountain never to return. The young man returned to the village to visit the blacksmith and his wife. The crowd cheered the young man. The samurai stood at the side of the road and bowed as he passed by. The young man ignored them all as he had always done. When he reached the blacksmith’s home, he knocked on the door and was greeted warmly by the man and his wife. He changed out of his armor and sat down with his adopted parents for a feast of a meal. He had never eaten so well, not even in the shogun’s castle.”

  “In the morning, the young man packed up the few belongings he had left in the home before he went to meet the dragon on the mountain. He handed the armor, shield, and weapons to the blacksmith.”

  “‘I no longer have any use for these, sir. You may do what you wish with them. Perhaps you can sell them and buy something nice for you and your wife.’”

  “‘Don’t be ridiculous, boy. We will hold on to these for you and maybe one day, when you have a son of your own, you can pass them down to him. Your weapons and armor are part of you. A part of your soul went into the making of these objects. You are not the kind of man that would sell your soul, are you?’ The young man shook his head. ‘Where will you go?’”

  “‘Back to the mountain. I will rebuild my parents’ house and I will become a farmer like my father. There are no more dragons to battle there.’”

  “So the young man went back up to the mountain. He rarely returned to the village except for an occasional visit to the blacksmith and his wife. The princess heard the young man had survived from the blacksmith and went to the mountain to be with him. They got married in a big wedding at the shogun’s castle. They lived the rest of their lives together as farmers on the mountain. They had many children. Still today, his descendants live on the mountain of dragons where they harvest the dragon’s fruit while protecting the mountain and the village below. And they all lived happily ever after.”

  I looked at Maria with a puzzled look. “And?”

  “That’s what I asked Mom. As I said, she told me the story when I asked her what it was you did when you left home. She explained it this way. ‘Your father has seen the dragons, and when he leaves home he’s preparing for when he sees them again. He is helping us all to prepare for that day.’”

  “And you believed her?”

  “Yes, Dad. I mean, I was only like six years old at the time. I did make her add the part about the girl being a princess. You couldn’t really have a good bedtime story without a princess, could you?”

  “Of course not. But I still don’t get what this little story has to do with what’s happening right now.”

  “I made Mom tell me that story just about every night you were away. It was our story, and it made me feel so proud of my father. Even now, it means even more to me. After Mom died, you were like that wounded young man after his battle with the dragon. It took you a while to heal, but you came back to face the dragons again.”

  “I was so mad at you for Mom’s death that I couldn’t see how badly you were hurt. It was only after talking to Stella that I understood. You lost a part of yourself, like losing a leg, and without that part of you, you had lost your balance.”

  “Now, as I watched you ignore everyone that called you stupid, an idiot, and a fool, even me, you still did what you had to regardless. I see that Mom’s little story was really all about you. You see the dragons, and you stand up to them. Even when others scoff at you, you ignore them. Now they are as proud of you as I am.”

  Maria grabbed me in a big hug and kissed my cheek. “I love you, Dad.”

  “We’re not going to get all mushy now, are we?” I was sort of pulling my head away but not really releasing her from our hug.

  “And you’re still an asshole.”

  I kissed her back and whispered, “I love you too, and you’re still a giant pain in my ass.”

  “So, what are you going to do now, Dad?”

  “Well, right now I’m hungry. Get the crew on board the Ryvius and we’ll leave in about half an hour. I feel like some real Chinese. How about you?”

  “Sounds great. What about the Collective’s punishment?”

  “Trust me, they’re going to regret it. If they thought I was an asshole before, they ain’t seen nothing yet!”

  Epilogue

  Maria and I got up and started to head back to the Ryvius. As usual, nothing good ever lasts.

  “GUERIN! GUERIN ZAND! Don’t you even think about walking away from me.”

  It was Julie, of course.

  “Keep going, Maria. Get the crew back on the ship and I’ll meet you there shortly. I’ll handle the Wicked Witch of the West. Just watch out for her flying monkeys on the way.”

  “Oh, Dad!”

  “Go on.”

  Maria headed off as I stood there waiting for Julie to catch up to me.

  “What is it now, Julie?”

  “Don’t think just because the Collective let
you off the hook that easy that I’m going to. You may have fooled the rest of them with your little bullshit story, but not me. I expect to see an outline of your proposal for the Taes system tomorrow.”

  “Whatever, Julie. Right now, I’m hungry, and we’re going to get some dinner. Then I have to see if I can fit in saving the universe before breakfast. After that, I’ll probably need a little nap. I’ll see if I can pencil you in sometime later in the day.”

  “Very funny, Guerin. I’m going to be watching you like a hawk from now on. I’ve been assigned to be your liaison on the Taes project. That means your ass is mine.”

  “You really need to get over this sexual obsession with me, Julie. It’s not going to happen.”

  I started to turn and walk away. Julie grabbed my arm.

  “Just where do you think you’re going?”

  “I told you. I’m hungry, and we’re going out for dinner, Chinese food. Do you want to join us?”

  “You’re inviting me out to dinner?”

  “Don’t make more out of it than it is, Julie.”

  “Well, you rarely invite me to dinner, Guerin.”

  “I’ve never invited you to dinner, Julie.”

  “Yes, you have. You invited me to your dinner party when you returned from Earth.”

  “No, I didn’t. I left you and Milly off the guest list for that dinner on purpose. It was Prima and Seca who sent you the invitation without telling me.”

  “Well, what about the time you took me to the committee dinner?”

  “Milly made me do that. If I wanted to have sex with her again, I had to take you. So that doesn’t count either.”

  “So, this is our first real date?” Julie took my arm as she looked up at me. She smiled and batted her eyes.

  “I’m already regretting it.”

  “Oh, Guerin. Why can’t you just admit you care about me?”

  “Now I’m starting to lose my appetite. Could you just not ruin this one dinner for me?”