The Ballad of Dragonslayer Worm von Peter Laessig

"The story! Please, tell us a story. Peter, you have promised it!" 
Five pairs of glowing yellow, green and cobalt blue eyes are staring at the young man and a black muzzle gently nudges Peter’s arm. The human feels another two pairs of reptilian eyes eyeing him.
Peter looks the mighty dragon straight into its red glowing eyes. What a wonderful sight, the dragon’s red-golden scales reflecting the shine of the fire they incinerated a while ago on the large clearing. It is a mild summer night and the stars are shining bright.

"Lord Yigdrassil?" Peter asks. "Friend Peter!", the dragon’s wonderful dark voice rumbles through the night. "You are our guest, our friend. And I am teaching you the way of us dragons. So, if you have promised them a story, you shall tell them a story. And as I am your and theirs teacher as well, I suggest to tell them a story which summarizes one of the lessons I have taught you." "And if I may add", the beautiful dragoness on Yigdrassil’s side says, "so I want to test your abilities of harmonies and music I have taught you. Please perform the story as a ballad using the human’s instrument you brought with you when you came to us a couple of months ago, as our daughter Repnulticna brought you with her into our lair." 

Peter blushes a little as he doesn’t like to perform anything in public. On the other hand, he has not to perform it for a human audience. 
Actually, there’s no human within range of miles, only a couple of grown up dragons, Lady Yalnerdi, Yigdrassil’s beloved wife and their children Repnultnicna, a young, playful black dragoness with hypnotizing blue eyes, her calmer brothers Nightwind, Slither and Crimson and her sister Star.

Peter eyes these dragon hatchlings lovingly. In human terms, they would be merely teenagers. 'And that’s exactly how they behave', the man thinks and gives the young black dragoness a warm smile as he remembers how it all began. 
"My dear friends, Lady Yalnerdi, Lord Yigdrassil", Peter starts and gets interrupted by a wet, forked tongue tickling his ear. With a swift movement, the human grabs the greenish muzzle from which the tongue extended. "Slither! Please. I love you, too, my friend, but now just be a good dragon and listen like your siblings do." 
As if there was an unspoken command, several muzzles and tongues start to rub and to lick and to caress the human and it is impossible for him to move. Especially Repnultnica proves to be very playful and affectionate as she nuzzles her human friend’s face over and over. 
Only a warning growl from Yigdrassil’s throat made her and her siblings stop and Peter continues: 
"Well, I could tell you a story or sing you a ballad about how it all began. How I came into the situation to be with you tonight, at this wonderful evening . But I guess, that’s something for a long evening in the winter, as it would be a very long story to tell. Instead of that story, I am going to perform for you a very special song, a ballad. It is about dragons and a dragonslayer and it is a lesson, your father taught me a couple of weeks ago. It is something which goes for us humans as well as for you dragons. I am sure, you will understand the lesson as well as I did." 
Peter reaches out, picks up his guitar, which of course must be sniffed at once very carefully by Repnultnica and Nightwind. 
The human comes closer to the fire, the dragons do so as well. "Watch out, darling", Peter warns the black dragoness as she lays her head into the human’s lap and stares at him with her wonderful blue eyes. Peter can’t resist, bows down his head and kisses her snout, gently petting her muzzle. 
Carefully, he brings his guitar in the right position and takes a deep breath. "My dear friends, "THE BALLAD OF DRAGONSLAYER WORM". If you wish, you can join the chorus. It goes this way: 
He roams around, through night and storm,
He is the Dragonslayer Worm.
And now: all of you!"
Hesitately, the dragon hatchlings repeated the chorus and only as Lord Yigdrassil joined himself, all the dragons repeated the chorus with thier full voices.
"Very well, my dear friends. So, let me begin. Oh, the ballad takes place on the clearing where we are sitting just right now. Here we go:...."
 

THE BALLAD OF DRAGONSLAYER WORM

...Late at night a gorgeous dragoness makes her lonely way through the forest. She is very old, even for a dragon, and she is a member of the Highlords of Carànth where her opinion is highly appreciated at the Council.
Today, the dragons of the Council had a hard job to do: They had to sentence a human to death, a human who was accused to be the notorious Dragonslayer Worm. Although he remained stubborn, even after several hours of tormenting, he claimed to be innocent.
She has been  relieved that now all was over. But walking through this forest, it all comes  into her mind again:

CHORUS 
He roams around, through night and storm,
He is the Dragonslayer Worm.
CHORUS - all
He roams around, through night and storm
He is the Dragonslayer Worm.

Finally, she reaches the large clearing not too far away from her lair. The dragoness knows exactly this location to be an evil and dangerous place. Although she will be at home quite soon, she allows her a short footrest.
When she finally moves on, she is startled by a strange scent reaching her nostrils and now she realizes a dark silhouette in between the trees right in front of her. Again, she remembers these words:

CHORUS
He roams around, through night and storm,
He is the Dragonslayer Worm.
CHORUS – all
He roams around, through night and storm
He is the Dragonslayer Worm.

The dragoness very carefully and slowly approaches the silhouette. Close enough, she relaxes as it was only a young dragoness standing there and waiting for something. Nearly still a hatchling, the little dragoness is alone as well and she gives the old one a gentle smile. „I greet you, Lady Ember.„ „What are you doing here at night, all alone?„, the old dragoness asks. „Well„, the young dragoness seems to blush, „I am waiting here for my beloved mate to arrive. But my parents don’t like him and they have forbidden me to meet him.„ 
 Suddenly the old dragoness starts to laugh like a maniac and in a sudden flash of light, she transforms herself into a valiant knight in a shining golden armour, holding a large silver sword. She only says: „Well, let me introduce myself: I am Ember Worm, the Dragonslayer!„

CHORUS
I roam around, through night and storm,
Masked as the Dragonslayer Worm.
CHORUS - all
She roams around, through night and storm
Masked as the Dragonslayer Worm.

And she says: „I am much smarter than any of the other dragons. Noone of these idiots will ever catch me!„
After comiting the crime, she places the bloody sword next to the corpse and disappears into the darkness of the night.
The Dragonslayer Worm is never to be found...

CHORUS
He roams around, through night and storm,
He is the Dragonslayer Worm.
CHORUS - all
He roams around, through night and storm
He is the Dragonslayer Worm.

CHORUS
He roams around, through night and storm,
He is the Dragonslayer Worm.
CHORUS - all
He roams around, through night and storm
He is the Dragonslayer Worm.
 

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