Andy's Shorts to GA Prompts - 12. Prompt #77

So they have found the remains of Yddraigfawr in the Chilterns. The Ddraig-Cyfrinachau have kept the existence of dragons a secret for nearly three millennia and now some damned fortune hunter lucks into what the newspapers are calling “the greatest myth bust of all time”.

The media are celebrating the discovery, whilst I am in mourning over the desecration of our most holy of sites. Even to our society Yddraigfawr was for millennia believed to be a myth until her final resting place was discovered in the Year of our Lord 1642. She was, and even in spite of proof of her existence, remains to this day revered as a deity by all those who believe.

My name is Thomas and I was six when I was finally told the truth about the existence of dragons and the role my family has played in the protection of, and devotion to, these great creatures. I am the twenty-seventh in my family to serve in the role of Ceidwadwy, and in my care is the greatest treasure in the world; the last remaining dragon egg. My family have been in the Ddraig-Cyfrinachau since long before the Roman invasion of Britain, and as such I am sadly aware of our laws. The last dragon died about a hundred years ago and although I’m not sure of how long these majestic creatures remain in their larval form prior to hatching, I believe it’s around two hundred years.

I packed the egg and trudged off most reluctantly to our sanctuary near the village of Llanbedr in Monmouthshire at the base of Mynydd Pen-y-Fal, The Sugar Loaf. In my father’s day this was a two day journey, in his father’s day this was a five day journey and three hundred years ago this was nearly a three week journey; today for me, this is a mere eighteen hours from my house in West London. Eighteen hours until my meeting with destiny.

I arrived near midnight, and was greeted by the duty docent, “We have been expecting you.”

“It is a tragedy I am here under the current circumstances.”

“The Inner Council of the Ddraig-Cyfrinachau are in session. I have been ordered to show you straight through to the chambers. Please follow me.”

I followed the elderly docent. As we entered the inner chamber, we paused to pay our respects to the sculpture of Yddraigfawr sculpted from a piece of her tailbone. In the presence of this icon which is at the core of our society, I felt an even deeper sense of trepidation at what must come to pass.

I entered the council chambers and bowed respectfully. “I am here as protocol demands.”

“You have the egg?”

“I do.”

“We have finished destroying our records and the original Ddraig Llyfr, our most sacred of texts. There is now no evidence remaining of the existence of our order or our faith. You are here because in the current circumstances protocol demands you to commit the final act.”

“I beg the forgiveness of Yddraigfawr and all those who have given their lives in the protection of the dragon.” With that, I smashed the egg on the floor and wept.

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