Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon1

8/7/2019 Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon1

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Remember: Never Tickle A Sleeping Dragon

For Aditi

~Chapter 1~

The Unexpected Arrival

On the eve of King Arthur and Queen Guineveres fifteenth wedding anniversary, a

stranger, tall, cloaked and bleeding stumbled in. Everyone was busy and at first did

not notice him. Sir Kay was the first to notice this bedraggled man.

My Lord, we have a visitor He pointed at the stranger, who was intently looking

upon King Arthur and no one else.

What is your request my good man?

My Lord, I wish to become a noble Knight of the Round Table.

Many knights laughed at this request. But King Arthur and Sir Lancelot did not.

My good man, I appreciate your request, but most unfortunately you cannot wave a

magic wand and become a knight. At this there was more laughter. You must first

prove yourself worthy.

Fool. A dark voice rang out. There was a cackle and a cold wind blew even though

it was a warm summers night. A shiver ran through the table. At a swish of a cloak an

ancient man appeared. He too, like the stranger who had asked to become a knight,

was cloaked. However you could see he had a long white beard, and long white hair.

Everyone turned to face him apart from the stranger who had asked to become a

knight was still looking intently upon King Arthur. He held a staff in one hand.

Fool. Said the man again.

Merlin? King Arthur asked astonished.

Yes, it is I, Merlin. You are once again proving yourself to be a fool Arthur, as you

have done 20 years ago. When we met for the first time since you became king. Take

my advice Arthur, allow him to become a knight for a noble one he shall be. If you do

not believe me, ask him to go on a quest. Ask him to kill the very dragon that has

been harassing the people of the northern side of Logres. As proof, ask him to bringback the dragons heart in a gold bottle filled with golden liquid without spilling a

drop. The Elixir of Happiness. Merlin smiled. As you know, many knights have

failed this task. Some have managed to get the bottle. But have failed to both kill the

dragon and keep themselves from trying a bit of the Elixir. By this time the dragon

had gained its full strength and either harmed the knight by using its fire; short

blasts come out of its nose and longer and hotter blasts of fire come out of its mouth,

or the dragon has hurt the poor knight by using its poisonous spikes on its back and

tail or using its teeth and claws. Several of your knights have suffered a gruesome

death from this dragon as you might have found out. In all these occasions the dragon

had not only triumphed over the knight, but has also got back the Elixir and made

some more of that which had been lost by using its urine. Look far within what yousee Arthur.


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But Merlin, be reasonable. Look at him- By this time Merlin had vanished as

quickly as he had come and in the same fashion that he had come, leaving nothing but

an eerie laughter. The laughter died away and the room was left in silence. Most of

the knights have fought against huge fire breathing dragons and witches. They

werent ever scared of those things or if they were they certainly didnt show it. Butwhen Merlin left if you had been inside the room at that moment, you wouldve not

only been able to sense the fear and tension but you would be able to feel the waves of

fear and tension drifting and spreading around the room.

The stranger broke the silence. My Lord, if I were not worthy of becoming a knight

of the Round Table, my mistress, a Lady of great nobility, would not have sent me

here. But clearly your subjects do not feel I am worthy in which case Ill leave.

No young man, its okay. You can stay on behalf of your Lady. After all, I cannot

turn down someone who has travelled long - and hard by the looks of you journey.

Thank you my Lord. You are most gracious. And may I know the answer to the

question I asked you in the first place?

At this question there was a great deal of muttering. King Arthur held up his hand

and called for silence. If your mistress felt you can handle the stress of a knight, I

cannot see why you must not go on this quest. However, if you were listening to what

Merlin was saying, you must have heard that a large number of knights have failed

this quest. On the other hand, you must never judge a judge a book by its cover.

Therefore I will allow you to attempt at this quest on the account that you take one of

my knights with you.

My Lord, I appreciate your request, but didnt Merlin also say that I will succeed on

this task?

At this King Arthur looked uncomfortable. Yes, but-

You do not feel I have enough skill, bravery or talent perhaps? My Lord, my

Lady was educated by Merlin and therefore knows how to tell the difference between

a simple squire and a knight. Two exceptionally talented people have both

recommended me, and you still feel that I am not worthy? Rumours of your nobility

have reached my ears. Now however I know that its all a lie.

King Arthur looked even more uncomfortable and was frowning as though he was

thinking. True, Merlin did say that. But I dont recall him saying that youll succeed

all on your own. Okay, Ill make a deal with you. Let one of my knights observe you

over the next few days. Like a test on archery, lancing and using a sword. He can help

you improve your skills an then after 3 days the pair of you can set off.

Very well my Lord, if that is what you wish then so be it.

Arthur turned to face his wife. My Queen Guinevere, yet again I am asking for

your advice. Tell me, which knight of the Round Table should accompany our tiredand weary guest on this quest?


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In reply to this, Queen Guinevere gave her full opinion. I do not know my Lord.

For this stranger I do not think he will be very strong and I advise against his

becoming a knight. And after all we dont know who he is. He could be an enemy,

trying to get closer to know your plans. But of course, I am only a humble pawn on a

gigantic chessboard and Merlin is a lot more powerful than me. So if he must go, Iadvise you to give him the most bravest and noblest knight alive, Sir Lancelot du Lac.

For he will protect our stranger in times of great danger.

Thank you for your advice my Queen. Sir Lancelot will certainly act as teacher to

our stranger. If that is fine with you Lancelot.

It was an honour to be recommended by the Queen and even more of an honour to

be chosen by you yourself my Lord. If this stranger would like to me meet me just

after breakfast in the bottom hall on the first floor?

Yes certainly, sir. The stranger replied.

Oh weary traveller on a stormy night, surely you do not wish for us to call you

stranger or traveller for ever more. Even if you do not want to reveal your identity,

surely you can think of another name that we could call you?

My King, you will not need to call me by the name of a traveller or stranger forever

more for I will surely slay the dragon that is harassing your kingdom. But for the time

being the name of Luke shall do.

Well, if thats all Madame Greenshaw, you service is needed here. Take Master

Luke tired and hungry stranger up to his room. Serve him with some food from the

kitchen and then clothe him of his choice. After you have finished with him, please

come back down and entertain us by your wonderful dancing. A Lady with blonde

hair moved out of the shadows, she was dressed in pale green. She must have been in

her early twenties.

Why certainly my Lord. Please follow me, Master Luke. She then led the way

through several halls, down long corridors and up narrow and twisted staircases. Then

finally, she came to a stop in front of a plain wooden door. This is where you can

sleep for the next few days sir. Ill bring you some hot tomato with herbs broth and

some water. Youll need to keep your strength up.

Yes, thank you fair Lady.

Ten minutes laterKnock, knock, knock. Come in. The stranger called.

Sir, I have your food and drink. There are clothes in the cupboard and I have some

black cloaks for you to wear. I wish you luck with becoming a knight. Ill leave now.

Thank you maam. The stranger changed and washed up his wounds and wrapped

them up in a bandage. He then got into bed and fell asleep.

~Chapter 2~


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Lessons with Lancelot

He was awoken quickly the next day by the smell of fried egg and bacon. He found

that Madame Greenshaw had visited a few minutes ago and left him with his

breakfast. He ate quickly and changed, being careful to cloak himself and cover up his

face with a hood so that no one would recognize him. He then stepped out of his roomand, after several attempts; he managed to find his way down to the hall. This was

where Sir Lancelot had arranged to meet him the previous night. Sir Lancelot was

waiting for him there.

Good morning Luke.

Good morning Sir Lancelot.

I thought today we should do a bit of archery. The ground is too slippery to do any

lancing or sword practise. Shall we go then? Some squires, hoping to become knights

are waiting for a class from me as well. Luke then followed Sir Lancelot outside. Itwas a clear summer day although the ground was slippery from the storm last night.

As much as Luke resented being put in a class with squires, he had to follow just to be

polite. Here we are. Lancelot had stopped in a small wood just outside Camelot

castle. Here a small group of squires were waiting for them. Okay boys, today we

shall be concentrating on archery. I have placed a bird in a high tree. I want each of

you to come in turn and take aim at the birds eye, but do not shoot until I tell you to.

I would like my own squire, Garrett you have proven to be the best of your group so

to come first. Okay Garrett, take aim. Now tell me what you see.

Garrett was a handsome young squire with messy brown hair. (He looked quite

skilful). Like everyone in the small group of squires, Garrett had a bow in one hand

and a quiver of arrows hung up on his back. My good Sir Lancelot, I see the tree, its

branches, the bird, the grass around us and most of all I see you, my teacher and my

idol.

Is that all? Lancelot sounded disappointed. Very well then Garrett, step down, let

someone else have a go. Each squire stepped up and described the same thing but

added one more thing to their list. Each squire was hoping to be right with his answer.

Each squire was hoping to be chosen to fire. But no, none of them got chosen. It was

at last Lukes turn. Luke, take aim. Now then, I want you to tell me what exactly do

you see?

Luke, face absolutely still, replied, Sir Lancelot, I see the birds eye and only the

birds eye. Nothing else.

Lancelot was so amazed that he couldnt think of what to say for the next couple of

moments. When words finally found themselves up his throat, he managed to croak,

Then shoot. Luke shot and the arrow hit the birds eye dead centre. That was a

lesson, yes on archery, but more importantly concentration. If you are concentrating

on something you should only be able to see or hear that one thing. Take Luke for

example, Luke was concentrating so hard on shooting the birds eye; he blanked out

every thing from around him so he could see only the birds eye.


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Now that youve had a lesson on concentration, which is the secret key of success

of any talented archer, lets see how you do with aim. Sir Lancelot made a gesture

for the small group of squires and Luke to follow him. He led them through the forest.

But immediately stopped at the end. In front of them was a large field. Ive set of

targets all the way up this field. The first one is 50 yards away; the next is 100 yards

away and so on. Again I would like Garrett to start first. We shall go in the same orderas last time. He then turned to face Garrett as he stepped up. Garrett, I want you to

take aim, block out everything else so that your entire focus is on the target, thats

right. When I say the word I want you to fire. NOW! Garrett fired, his arrow wasnt

bulls-eye, but at least it hit near the centre. In the following squires, not all of them hit

the actual target. However, when it came to Lukes turn Lancelot said. Luke, lets

see if your accuracy is as good as your concentration. So fire NOW! Luke fired

immediately, his arrow flew high into the air and then it hit the target, dead centre.

But it didnt stop there; it went through the target and into the grass. Sir Lancelot

raised his eyebrows and nodded, Impressive. But that was easy. Lets start getting

harder. The next target is 100 yards away. Garrett, take aim, fire. Garretts arrow

missed and so did the rest of the squires arrows. Luke however hit yet again on thecentre of the target with full force. The other squires gasped in admiration. Luke hit

again and again on the middle of the target without fail. He did this until Lancelot and

the other squires got bored and then Lancelot said, I think thats enough for today.

Wed better head back.

By the time they reached Camelot it was dark and the cold weather was nibbling on

the edge of their fingers. Good night Sir Lancelot. Luke called.

Same time, same place tomorrow? Good night.

Luke trudged back up to his room looking forward for something to eat. Once he got

upstairs and changed, he found some chicken and potato waiting for him on the

bedside table. He got into bed and hungrily ate it all. Luke left his plate on the side.

Being exhausted, he fell asleep the minute his eyes closed. He didnt even realise the

chatting and laughter that was going on downstairs as people celebrated King Arthur

and Queen Guineveres fifteenth wedding anniversary.

* * *

The next day, he was almost late for lessons with Lancelot. He overslept. It was

lucky Madame Greenshaw was passing by on her usual morning check up. Sir, sir,dont you need to be going somewhere? At first all Luke heard was a gentle voice

faraway. But then he felt rough bumps as Madame Greenshaw vigorously shook him.

All of a sudden he wasnt in Luke-land, but his feet hit solid floor and started running

around, busy. But he was only truly awake when he splashed some cold water on his

face. He shuddered and was brought back to Earth. He was so busy that he forgot to

thank Madame Greenshaw for waking him up. Luke rushed downstairs and went into

the hall where he found Sir Lancelot.

Good morning Sir Lancelot.

Good morning Luke, were going to be doing some lancing on hard ground today.The floor has dried up since the night before the last. If youd like to follow me down


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to the lancing arena? Lancelot led the way outside into a large and hard area with the

odd tree and a stretch of green grass. Around it was thousands of seats. Yet again

squires were waiting for them. They all had brought horses with them and they had all

got lances. Seeming as Luke is new, he didnt get a horse with him and doesnt have

armour or a lance, Ive brought spares.

One of the several qualities of a good knight is being able to joust. You need to beable to joust in battles and tournaments. To lance well you have to be able to do one

thing, concentrate. Those who cant concentrate cant joust. Garrett, Lancelot

rounded on Garrett, I ask for you to help me give the class a demonstration? The

class watched as Garrett climbed onto his horse and drew his lance out. He then

turned to face Lancelot. Does anyone here know how to begin a lancing match?

No one raised their hand. After a couple of moments Lancelot began I didnt thin-

Sir Lancelot, Luke said, I know. The referee stands in the middle of the

opponents and says one two three GO! If either of the opponents move before

then, they are out. At this Sir Lancelot was impressed but he didnt show it. Insteadhe asked for Luke to do it. So Luke walked forwards and did exactly the same. Luke

finished and the lancing started.

The knight and his squire circled each other. Garrett made the first move but

Lancelot dodged. This lasted at least half an hour. At last Lancelot called TIME

OUT! They stopped. But after five minutes Lancelot called for the next person to

come forward. And so it went on again until it was Lukes turn. Again, he was the last

one. None of the squires so far had managed to knock Lancelot of his horse with their

lance.

When Luke started it was almost sunset. Garrett was the person who asked them to

start this time. Most of the other lancing matches took half an hour each, not to

mention time where Lancelot stopped the matches and pointed out to the squires what

they were doing wrong and corrected their mistakes and so on. However when Luke

came to joust with Lancelot, within two minutes of the match, Luke using fantastic

skill had knocked Lancelot off his horse, which no knight in Logres had done before.

The class gasped. Lancelot told everyone that they could leave. Lancelot secretly felt

impressed.

* * *

On the third and final day of Lukes lessons with Lancelot, they were using sword

skills. First the class practised footwork. Then they moved on to hand movements.

The third step was to combine hand movements with footwork into Forms****. It

was about 2 oclock in the afternoon before they could use real swords. From there

onwards, everyone stood in line to have a mock fight with Lancelot. Luke wasnt last

this time in fact he was first.

Class, I want you to study Lukes every move, step and hand twist. Its the first

person to get the other one over to the other side of the ground that wins. Ready, set,

GO! They started, Lancelot was fast and at first it looked like he was going to win.

But then Luke started to realise what he was battling against and how much force heneeded to use. Luke and Lancelot battled faster and faster. At last Lancelot seemed to


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be getting weary although Luke still had full strength. Luke used one last powerful

boost of his sword to push Lancelot against the wall. By this time, Lancelots sword

was at his side and he was panting, but Lukes sword was an inch away from

Lancelots throat even though he was also panting. This battle took one hour. The

other squires just took ten minutes each so everyone was let out early.

Lancelot asked Luke to stay behind.

Yes, sir? Luke asked.

Tell me, Luke. Who are you really? I dont think you could find a squire anywhere

who has as much skill and talent as you. You have to have royal blood inside you.

Luke smiled. Can I trust you?

Yes.

Luke whispered in Lancelots ear. When Lancelot heard his story he was wearing a

big smile on his face. And may I ask you a question now? How does each squire

know what class is on what day without you asking them?

It is a marvellous invention called a timetable. The timetable tells exactly when and

where to go on each day. It doesnt change. It stays the same. You may go now, get a

good nights sleep before tomorrow. Well be starting tomorrow at about noon. But

come to the hall at around nine so that we can get your equipment sorted out.

It is okay Sir Lancelot. I have all the equipment that I need in my room apart from

armour, which I believe, is too heavy to move around in. If Im going to be battling a

dragon I need to be quick and nimble. I have a map. I have a horse. I have everything.

Ill come at noon fully ready. Ill ask Madame Greenshaw to pack enough food to last

us a month at least, but not too much to make carrying it a burden. So goodbye!

Luke turned around and started walking to his room. He had just finished changing

when Madame Greenshaw came in.

Oops! Im so sorry sir. When I come in to leave food your not normally in-

Never mind. Luke quickly took the tray from her hands. Listen, this is very, very

important. Can you please pack enough food to last a month on a journey? But makesure it wont be too much to make a burden.

Yes sir. Good luck. Ill go now.

Luke flopped onto his bed but couldnt get to sleep for a long time. When he slept he

dreamt of the dragon chasing him and his Lady cheering him on.

~Chapter 3~

And So It Begins


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Madame Greenshaw woke Luke up quite early. He changed into green clothes but

cloaked himself in black. It was a very misty morning. Luke decided to use this as an

excuse to cloak himself. But before that, he gathered his things up. He tied a magical

brown belt that his Lady had given to him around his waist. It was magical because it

could hold any weapon whatsoever; yet still make luggage feather light. He put his

lance in and a dagger. He added his sword and its sheath to it. The sword had agolden handle and was almost as beautiful as Excalibur with its jewel-encrusted

handle and sharp, clean double-edged blade. The sheath was even more impressive. It

was dark leather but inlaid with golden patterns. Made from magic, a present from the

elves to him. He swung his quiver, which was completely stocked with sharp arrows,

over his shoulder. He added his bow to his belt. By this time Madame Greenshaw was

knocking at the door again. Come in, Luke called.

Sir, Ive packed everything and left it in the table as you instructed. Is there

anything else you want me to do before you leave?

Thank you maam. Two things. Firstly, could you please ask the stable lads to leadmy horse down to the forest and take the food with it. Next would you please bring

me a big breakfast? Im rather hungry you see

Yes sir.

Once Madame Greenshaw had left. He took out a bottle. It contained water, but it

wasnt any normal water but a gift from his Lady. It tasted sourer than sour, bitterer

than bitter, spicier than spicy, yet sweeter than sweet and clearer than clear. It gave

Luke the most wonderful sensation when he drank it. It made him feel strong and

happy but relax at the same time. But he only had one bottle so therefore was

restricted in using it. He usually took it just before a long, hard and dangerous

journey. Or when he felt nervous and had nobody to turn to. He took one sip and then

quickly put it back in his pocket.

In Lukes opinion, Madame Greenshaw was incredibly fast at the work he had given

to her. Before long she was knocking on the door to Lukes room. Here is your

breakfast sir. Its almost time to leave so Lancelot says hurry up. I wish you luck

again, sir. She looked sadly at Luke. Goodbye. She turned and walked away.

Luke quickly finished his breakfast. Then he walked downstairs. The east sun shone

into his eyes as he found his horse laden with supplies for the journey. Lancelot wasalready waiting for him, but not on his own. King Arthur was there as well.

Luke, I wish you luck. And Lancelot, take care of young Luke for me. Goodbye!

King Arthur waved them off. Lancelot and Luke set course immediately.

Sir Lancelot, I am glad you got an extra horse

Now, Ill have none of that. You cant call mesirwhen your blood is purer than

mine. Can you Sir Yv-

No, please dont call me my real name even where no one can hear.


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But why ever not?

Even trees have ears Sir Lancelot.

Please, Luke. Dont call me sir. Just Lancelot.

Fine then Lancelot.

Luke took Lancelots extra steed and tied all the food to its back. Then he jumped

onto his own steed and said something in a much braver voice than he felt. So we

ride. Here we come Dacon!

And so Luke and his companion set off on a long journey.

~Chapter 4~

The Red Knight

Sir Lancelot and Luke had been travelling for many days. As they rode further andfurther away from Camelot and away from safety, they rode closer and closer to

Dacons cave and more and more into the wilderness. There was the odd occasion

when they would see a knight going to or coming back from a quest. Almost all the

knights they met came from Camelot. Lancelot therefore sent a message with them to

King Arthur to explain how they were progressing. However there was the odd knight

who came from a different kingdom, like Cornwall. Most of these knights Luke

noticed and asked them to send a message back to his Lady to explain how they were

progressing. All of the knights that they met were friendly. All except one. One

knight was so big, so strong, so greedy, so mighty and had so much of a thirst for

blood that whichever poor knight happened to cross his way he challenged them to a

battle. He won and he killed each knight mercilessly.

Now one day Lancelot and Luke got lost. For the first time they had an argument.

I thoughtyou were mapping Lancelot.

Me? Dont you remember back when we started the quest? You were the one whosaid,I have everything we need!

And so their argument continued

Weve been travelling south since God knows when. Ive only realised after we

reached the Mortmain Mountains.

Well Lancelot, Im new to the kingdom of Logres. I can hardly map and route

everything- Shhhhhh!

What? Lancelot whispered.

Look up ahead.


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Ahead, there was a knight dressed in red, holding his sword to another knights

neck. SPLAT! The Red Knight had chopped off the other knights head. He then

licked his sword and roared.

I LOVE THE TASTE OF BLOOD! the Red Knight said. He then cut the other

knights body open and after picking out all the bones, he pierced each gut with hissword and ate it. After he had finished with eating everything, he let out a gigantic

burp and licked his lips. Time for the afters! He picked up the other knights body

and began devouring it. First sucking up all the blood and then tearing the flesh off

with his yellow and black teeth.

Come on Luke.

WHAT! Lancelot dont be crazy. You cant go. You saw him devouring up that

poor knight.

Lancelot raised his eyebrows. So this is Luke, the almighty. Anyway, Im not beingcrazy. And I can go. I set off on this quest and Ill carry on until I die or until I

succeed. I WILL carry on even if you wont come with me. In fact why dont you

return to Camelot and explain to King Arthur why you returned?

I Lancelot you for gods sake! Be reasonable! Anyway I cant go back

because I was sent out to complete this task and that I shall.

Then we shall carry on! To victory! With that Lancelot rode forward out of his

hiding place. By this time, the Red Knight had finished his meal. As Luke

approached, the Red Knight turned his red eyes on Luke and Lancelot, who was not

far behind.

Good afternoon strangers. He said with a pleasant smile showing all his yellow

and black teeth, which were by now cleared by his brown tongue of any blood that

was left behind.

Good afternoon sir. We would like to cross this path, if you wouldnt mind.

At this the Red Knight gave an even friendlier smile, but his face was tinged with

slyness. You may. But first you must joust with me. If I win I either kill you or you

be my slave, if you win you can kill me and cross this path.

The Red Knight looked at Lancelot closely. Ah, so this is Sir Lancelot. Well Im

very pleased to meet you. He held out a hand, which was brown and covered in hair,

it might as well have been an animals paw. It also had super sharp nails. Lancelot

took it, smiling nevertheless the situation. The Red Knights grip was strong although

he quickly let go.

I dont need to joust with you. This young man will be more than enough.

Ah, so this is Luke. I have heard rumours of him even from here. So you will joust

with me. Here is a lance. The Red Knight held out to Luke a rusty lance, whichwasnt even sharp. While he twizzled his own lance, which was sharp, in his fingers.


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No thanks, I have my own. He took it out of its sheath, which hung on the flank of

the third horse It was almost equally as sharp as the Red Knights. Luke then climbed

onto his horse and began jousting.

Half the day was gone before at long last Luke knocked the Red Knight of his steed.He did this by raising himself to a certain height so that he looked incredibly tall. The

Red Knight adjusted the aim of his lance to quite high up. At the last possible

moment, Luke ducked down low, so that he was hardly visible, swung to the side and

while the Red Knight thrust his lance high, Luke, aiming from the side got him

immediately in the abdomen. The Red Knight fell off his horse.

Luke threw away his lance and replaced it with a sword. He was now panting

heavily, being cut in several places and bruised even more.

Pppplease dont kill me!

You dont deserve to live. I saw you eating that defenceless knight. You are no

knight. Just a wild animal.

I can change my ways! Im sorry.

Tell me something. Were lost. Do you know the direction in which to go to get to

Dacon the dragons cave?

Yes. Go through the forest the way you came He then gave a long list of

instructions that would bore you to death if I put them down so Ill carry on with the

story.

Thank you.

Luke was now gasping harder than ever. His hair was wet with sweat and he had to

make his first big decision after starting his quest to become a knight. Should he kill

this evil man or should he forgive him and let him change his ways? After all he hadkilled several noble knights. But on the other hand, he had also helped them. He

decided that he would let him change his ways. Slowly, carefully he took his sword

away from the Red Knights neck. He then slowly began walking back to his horse.

Luke, Sir Lancelot yelled. Loo-

Too late, the Red Knight had already grasped his sword and roared mightily.

Luckily Luke heard this roar and grasped his own sword and turned just in time to see

the Red Knight charging at him. He raised his sword and held it high in the air. The

Red Knights sword broke into two pieces as he tried to bring it down onto Lukes

head. The only problem was he had to go through Lukes sword first. This time Luke

didnt hesitate, this time Luke pierced his sword into the Red Knights stomach.

Sour lemons dont become sweet. Luke said. There was one thing that Luke did

not know though. He did not know that the Red Knight had been working for


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someone. He did not know that the Red Knight could not speak of whom he was

working for until his dieing day, which had now come.

Before I d d die. I was cursed by the woman who I worked for. I could not

speak of her. But now I am dieing. I I think you might be interested in knowing who

she is.

Sir Lancelot and Luke who had been walking away from the dieing knight were now

intrigued. They slowly turned around and looked at him. Luke suddenly rushed to his

side. Tell me, who put this curse upon you?

I am a cannibal, but but I work for someone. She tells me not to let anyone

through or shell kill me. I was always scared of death but now He took a deep

breath as though in a few moments he would run out of air.

Yes, yes, who did this to you?!?

Mm Mm Mo F. He took his last breath of air and that was the last ever seenof the Red Knight. He died.

Luke, have you learnt a lesson from this experience?

Yes.

~Chapter 5~

Beautiful?

There is a saying that says beauty is only skin deep. There must be several people

who dont agree with this. However Sir Lancelot and Luke learned from the

following experience that this saying was perfectly true. In fact they learnt a lot of

useful lessons from their quest. One of them was never trust a vicious cannibal.

Another is that some peoples beauty is only skin deep. It happened like this.

Five queens were hunting in the Forest of Rohini. This was where Lancelot and

Luke were travelling at the time. One queen (she was particularly fat) got of her horse

and walked towards a rabbit. Or rather she waddledtowards a rabbit. GOTCHA!

she shouted. She picked the rabbit up by its ears and used her sword to kill it.

Give it here for a minute Mary.

NO. I CAUGHT IT, I KEEP IT! There was no emotional reason for her to shout.

Her voice was just LOUD. I CAN KEEP THIS ONES LEGS AS A LUCKY

CHARM AND I CAN CUT OFF ITS EARS AND USE THAT AS A LUCKY

CHARM. I CAN ALSO GIVE ALL THIS DELICIOUS MEAT TO MY COOK. SEE

HOW TENDER IT IS? OOOH! AND LOOK AT THIS TAIL. ILL USE IT FOR

PART OF MY CLOTHES.

Okay, you dont need to shout.

ITS NOT MY FAULT IM SO LOUD!


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Mary, Mary. If you cant talk quietly, dont talk AT ALL!

MMM, M MMMM M MMMM!

What nonsense are you speaking now?

M, MMMM MM MMM.

Oh god. Shell never change. You know that she takes things literally all the time.

Its okay Mary. You can talk.

Marilyn? How did you know?

Shes my sister.

Yeah well so are the rest of us!

True, but I was born first.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! Mary had just been shot in the stomach

with an arrow. The good thing was she was so fat that she could hardly feel anything.

Oh Im so sorry maam. I thought you were an animal. Sir Lancelot said emerging

from the trees.

My, my, what a handsome knight you are! Are there more of you lurking in the

shadows?

Mary! He thought you were an animal!

SO WHAT? LETS TAKE HIM BACK TO OUR CASTLE.

Lancelot, I

OOOOH! SO THIS IS YOUR HANDSOME SQUIRE. LETS TAKE HIM BACK

TOO!

Maam, we would love to come to your castle but we are on a quest

Mary! This is Lancelot. Sir Lancelot.

THE SIR LANCELOT! NOW YOU HAVE TO COME HOME.

Come on, lets go. Get your horses and then well go. Sir Lancelot and Luke then

turned their eyes away from the fat queen and onto Marilyn. She was the most

beautiful Lady either of them had ever laid eyes on. Her green eyes enchanted both of

them.

MARILYN, HOW COME YOU ALWAYS GET ALL THE ATTENTION?


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For the first time, Marilyn stopped smiling and turned her sharp green eyes upon

Luke. She did not speak in tones of sweetness, but in a harsh, hoarse way. Why

not?

There are several reasons. Firstly my heart is on someone else at Camelot.

Secondly, I am on a quest and cannot be delayed. Thirdly, I do not like yourentrancing eyes very much. Therefore I will not marry you.

Of that is so, then have it your way. But Lancelot will marry me, wont you?

I would of course maam. But firstly, my heart lies with a different Lady. And I

was sent on this quest to look after Luke. I must complete my task.

Oh you good for nothing Knights. You are so disrespectful. GO! Get on with your

journey! You insulted my sisters and you insulted me! No one has ever done that

before. GO! GET OUT! I would keep you as slaves, but I have no space in my home

for disrespectful knights. GOOD BYE!

And so that is one very strange chapter in their lives to retrieve the Elixir of

Happiness.

~Chapter 6~

Sirenated

Sirens are mythical beasts. They have the heads of beautiful woman and the bodies

of birds. Legend has it that sirens had beautiful voices. Sailors thought they were

mermaids and got attracted by their melodious singing. This was where their ships

either crashed into the rocks, or didnt. Instead they got out onto the rocks and fell

straight into the sirens trap. The siren(s) ate him up. Strangely enough, Luke and

Lancelot had an encounter with these vicious creatures.

They had reached the end of the Forest of Rohini and a small village. They thought

that it was strange that in the midst of wilderness there was a village.

Aye, are you new around here? A small man with a bent back and a stick

stumbled forwards.

Yes my good sir, we are. We are looking for a dragon by the name of Dacon. Could

you please direct us in the correct direction?

Aye, you dont look like youre from these parts. You shouldnt be tangling with

this dragon. Aye.

Ah, but I am a Knight of the Round Table. This young man here wants to become a

Knight.

Aye? Youd better come inside then. He led them inside a small hut made out of

straw and stone. It was cramped inside, and smelt strongly of fish. Aye, sorry if it

smells. Im a fisherman in me old days, you see. Now, you wanted to know about

Dacon?


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Yes, Sir, if you wont find it any trouble.

Now just you follow the road up North, till you come to the ol river. Theres as

likely as youll find out bout the dragon there. Aye. Just you be careful though, the

old folks say that therere sirens up there. But for the night you can stay here with me

old wife. Aye!

Thank you, kind Sir. We would love to stay, but we must be getting on. Thank you

very much for your help. And so Luke and Lancelot left the little hut. It was sunset

by the time they had reached Lake Rimorse, or so it was labelled on the map, which

Luke, after a lot of emptying-of-pockets, found. The last of the fishermen were

coming back from fishing.

Should we start or should we come back at sunrise? Lancelot asked.

Well start! We dont have any time to lose! Its been more than a month. The King

will think were dead!

Yes Luke, although it would be wiser to start the next morning. You see, if there

are sirens out and about as the folks say, they are more likely to disturb us in the night

than in the morning. Well be delayed for longer. But if you want, well go.

Siren. Look, lets ask that fisherman over there to lend us a boat for the night.

They walked up to the fisherman. Excuse me? We would like to borrow a boat for

the night. Would you care to lend us yours?

Ooooh, no, no, no, no, no! There are sirens out there. Theyll rip you from limb to

limb. Aye!

Please?

Umm very well. But dont say I dint warn you.

Thank you, kind Sir. They took the boat and started rowing across the calm

waters. By this time it was nightfall. Luke and Lancelot took turns to row while the

other slept.

It was Lukes turn to row when he heard this beautiful, melodious music. Lukestarted getting attracted but then realised that they were sirens and immediately tried

to block out their music. It got louder and more delicate until Lancelot was awake. It

stopped. Luke had managed to concentrate, as his Lady had taught him for most of

his life. It was now Lancelots turn to row. Luke warned him about the sirens but

Lancelot didnt seem to take him seriously. As soon as Luke had dozed off, the music

began again. But Lancelot was not as trained as Luke was on concentrating and could

not block it out. He started to row towards the rocks. With careful skill he guided the

boat across the waters, which were now stormy. Lancelot got out onto the rock. Luke

was awoken by the boats sudden bump against a rock.

Lancelot? He called. He suddenly realised where they were and quickly jumpedout of the boat. He turned around to see a womans head, which enchantingly


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beautiful, seemed to ask him to come to her. When he managed to take his eyes off

her head (which was very difficult, because she seemed to pull his attention to her

face), he saw that the head was on top of a birds body, a huge bird like the picture of

one he had seen in one of his Ladys books in her library. He reached around for his

sword. This felt like he was moving through a viscous fluid, with great effort. He

finally found it and grasped its jewel encrusted handle. By this time the siren hadpecked at his other arm. He yelled out in pain. This noise woke Lancelot up from his

trance.

LUKE!!! He yelled. He took his own sword out and swung it at the sirens head. It

met with its target, but it didnt kill the siren. However it did give Luke time to think.

Luke figured out that sirens must like damp, cold conditions. This was because they

sang at sailors who are at sea on stormy nights. As if in a trance, he saw Lancelot

fighting this strange creature, the battle seemed to be tiring him as well. So, he

thought, whats warm and hot? A fire! He took out the flint stones from his belt that

he used to start campfires with. At the same time he also took out the precious drykindling. He started striking the flints against one another. The sound drove the siren

mad, especially when a spark came out from the flints. It stamped and squawked.

When Luke finally managed to light a fire, the siren fainted. Luke then raised his

sword and chopped the sirens head off. He dropped the sirens head into the sea. Let

us keep the body for food. Lancelot thought this was a really cleverly devised plan.

Youll make a good knight. Im very proud. He then plucked out all the birds

feathers and chopped its legs off. Using the fire that Luke had made, he roasted the

body. They stayed there talking and feasting until the first rays shone. This was when

they got back into their boat and continued with their very long journey.

~Chapter 7~

The Cave, The Dragon and The Story

After a long and tiring journey, Luke and Lancelot reached their final destination.

They had crossed a river, where a siren tried to attack them; five queens had tried to

force them to marry them; and Luke had a joust with a vicious cannibal. They had

crossed several streams, mountains and forests. They were in the frosty mountainside.

It had taken several weeks and they were almost out of food, so it had to be rationed.

According to the map, it should be just around there! Luke pointed to a smallhole in the side of a mountain. This mountain towered above all the rest and it looked

like it was black against the sparkling snow covered tops that were untouched.

HA! Dont be ridiculous Luke. A dragon couldnt fit through there.

Well it says on the map

The map is obviously wrong then. Anyway, if it really is there then wed better

have a good meal. Here, Lancelot passed Luke a loaf of bread and some water. Luke

accepted the bread but didnt want the water. Instead he took out his own water called

Ceracical in the elfish way. He drank three drops, a little more than usual, butdesperate times call for desperate measures. A strong power flooded through his


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body. Immediately he started relaxing. He finished half the loaf of bread and gave the

rest back to Lancelot.

Well need it for the journey home.

Although Lancelot didnt say anything, he thought, if were going home that is.Luke, be careful.

Luke had already started going into the cave. He squeezed through the small crack

and a magnificent sight met his eyes. There were trees made from gold and silver.

There were masses and masses of jewels, gems and precious stones. Diamonds,

pearls, sapphires, amethysts, opals, carbuncles, garnets, topazes, emeralds and rubies

decorated the high ceiling of the cave and the rest of it too. But this wasnt what

caught Lukes eye. In the middle of everything lay a long snake on legs. It was of the

deepest red imaginable, like dried blood on a battlefield, almost black. Its scales

blended in together. Its wings lay folded on its back. Its back was covered in sharp

spikes and so was its tail. At first it looked as though its eyes were shut and thenslowly it lifted its eyelids. Luke froze immediately.

Luke, what are you- But Lancelot didnt finish his sentence because he had just

entered the cave in time to see the dragons eyelids lifting.

Luke was terrified, but eventually started relaxing. A lesson from when he was

younger came into mind. His tutor was teaching him the properties of a dragon. All

dragons have three sets of eyelids. Luke remembered his tutor saying. The first one

is thin and completely clear. The second one is transparent. The third one is made out

of the same material as its hide and its completely opaque. Luke smiled.

Come on Lancelot, lets find the Elixir.

ARE YOU MAD? LETS FIRST KILL THE DRAGON.

Luke shook his head. Shhhh! You dont want to wake it. Its not noble and

anyway, wheres the fun without the danger? The spark Lukes green eyes was now

brighter then ever. So they set to work after Luke explained about the three sets of

eyelids. They found plenty of money and very rare things that you wouldnt find

anywhere else. Both of them were very tempted to cram their pockets with this. But

they did find two things that Lukes sixth sense told him to keep. One was a brownfeather, the other was a dagger. It wasnt impressive at all. Not decorated and the

handle was rusty. But the blade was still sharp.

They forgot about the dragon. Luke moved backwards, stumbled over the dragons

tail and fell into a crumpled heap on the floor.

The dragon didnt awake, but it looked like it was close to. All this happened so

quickly. When Luke fell over, he threw the feather up into the air. It was gently

floating down. It floated onto the dragons stomach and landed gently. The dragon let

out a snort of fire and opened its last set of eyelids. Its eyes were jet black and

reminded Luke of cold, dark, abanded, dwarf tunnels. It swished its spine-covered tailback and forth, while it roared in anger at seeing Luke and Lancelot in his cave.


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Luke jumped up and ran over to the cave entrance. This was where he drew his

arrow out and pulled an arrow out of his quiver. He aimed at the dragons short legs.

It missed by a few inches because the dragon was moving so quickly. Luke quickly

raised another arrow. This time it met with its target but immediately rebounded. Of

course, Luke thought, dragon hide is incredibly tough. If only I could get underneathit. But Luke didnt have long to think of a way because the dragon had drawn a deep

breath and let out a long, but very thin streak of fire. Luke called out to Lancelot,

Attract its attention! What Luke didnt know was Dacon knew several languages

including English.

Lancelot cut his sword against Dacons leg. True, it didnt cut it or weaken it but it

still must have hurt. The dragon started raging. Of course he knew that Lancelot

purposely did this and really didnt want to turn his attention, however, it hurt so

badly that he wanted revenge. He turned his attention to Lancelot.

Great Luke, now what am I supposed to do?

Just hold it off for a little longer. Nearly one more minute Luke was looking

for a chance to slip under the dragons stomach. At last the dragon lifted its body off

the floor. Luke ran and slipped under its body. Using the dagger that he had picked up

he thrust it into the dragons stomach. He turned over just in time to miss a drop of

lava that came out instead of blood.Lava. Lava? But that means fire? Of course! This

gripped the dragons attention. Straight away Luke backed away. He held the dagger

up. Then dragon slowly backed away.

Dont kill me, please. It said.

You can talk? Well then, follow the dagger.

Luke, what are you doing? Lancelot whispered.

Luke just ignored him. He led Dacon out into the freezing mountainside. Still facing

Dacon, he walked right back into the Valley of Four Drafts. The wind that came from

all four directions stung his face. He found a river that was reasonably deep and threw

the dagger into it. The dragon immediately followed. It fell into the sharp water.

Luke turned to face Lancelot. You see, if the dragons blood is lava, then it musthave fire inside it. What puts out fire? Water. Cold water. Luke explained.

Very clever. Im really imp- Good lord! Look whats happening in the lake.

Luke looked at the place that Lancelot was pointing at. It was where Dacon had

fallen in. The water was rising. It started forming the shape of a human body.

Eventually, a tall man with brown hair and black eyes stood there. He glided across

the water to them.

Who are you?

Dacon.


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Thanks, but I think we can manage without them. But can we have some of that

fruit that grows on the gold and silver trees?

Dacon handed them a soft fruit, brown in colour. Toffee-fruit. He said.

Thank you! Luke bit into it. It was soft, sweet and sticky inside and smelledstrongly of toffee.

The trio split up and went back to their original home. Apart from Luke, who went

back to Camelot with Lancelot.

~Chapter 9~

Court!

Because Dacon had gone, the Elixir of Happiness wasnt that strong. It still gave the

drinker eternal happiness, but the force that drew the drinker towards it wasnt half as

strong as it was. The journey home was a lot faster and easier than the journey to getthere. They passed through the mountains, back across the River Rimorse and past the

forest where they had met the five queens. This time they didnt get lost, so they

didnt go anywhere near where they had met the red knight. Soon they were riding

through familiar places. Their surroundings became less wild and they could see more

and more knights. It was lucky that they bumped into Sir Lionel; otherwise they

would have starved.

So, Luke, you have managed to slay the dragon? Congratulations.

Hello Sir Lionel, what are you off to? answered Lancelot before Luke could open

his mouth.

Oh, Im going to try to save a damsel.

This time Luke did speak. Good luck, Sir. You dont by any chance have some

spare food, do you?

Plenty young man. Plenty. Sir Lionel gave them plenty of food Its a shame I

have to miss this. He replied, before turning around and trotting off on his steed.

They set off on their journey back to Camelot Castle. After another couple of days,it came into view. For the last hour of their journey, they trotted gently and then

finally reached the castle. The peasants inside cheered them on, they finally met up

with King Arthur.

My Lord, we have been successful. Luke has more talent as a knight in him than I

have. Most of the journey I did not need to protect him, but he needed to protect me.

Congratulations! Luke, Im very proud of you. May I have the Elixir?

Yes, my Lord, but first promise that you will not drink it.


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Yes. Very well, you need to be made a knight immediately! Come on, well have

the ceremony tonight. You must have had an adventurous journey, tell me you story.

* * *

That night there was plenty of laughter and chatter. SILENCE! called KingArthur. We are here to celebrate Master Lukes triumph over the Dacon, a dragon

who has been harassing the northern side of Logres. He has battled several things that

some knights here would never have been able to battle. King Arthur then retold the

whole story. At the end of the speech, someone who was stood outside the hall would

have thought some kind of explosion had taken place inside because the cheering was

so loud. I would now like to call him forward. Luke half walked, half ran forward

and bowed down low before the king. First would you please tell me your name?

Yvain. I come from Cornwall.

At this King Arthur frowned. That name seems familiar. He narrowed his eyes asthough he was trying to think hard. No.

What? Yvain inquisitively looked up at King Arthur. For the first time the king

saw his beautiful green eyes and his long blonde hair and his sharp face.

Youre my sisters son. At this there was a sharp intake of breath from the crowd.

Everyone who had come to watch could all remember the nasty incident involving

Queen Guinevere and King Arthurs sister.

Yvain held his head high. That I am my Lord. My Lady is Queen Morgan Le Fay

of Cornwall.

I shall not name you a Knight of the Round Table you vile betrayer!

What do you mean?

After what your mother didIm sorry young man, but youll just have to go

home.

But you promised! You said that if I got the Elixir of Happiness back here without

spilling a drop and slayed Dacon I could become a Knight of the Round Table! Youmade a public announcement about it as well. You cant turn me down now! And

anyhow, what has my mother got to do with any of this?

Are you saying, you dont know?

About WHAT?

Your mother sent Queen Guinevere a beautiful cloak on our wedding anniversary.

She told the maid who came and gave it that it was only for my Queen and no one

else. Guinevere was about to wear it when Merlin appeared and told the maid to try it

on. At first she refused, but Merlin insisted and in the end she had to wear it. Themoment it was draped around her, she let out a loud scream and burst into flame.


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Are you sure it was my mother who sent this?

Is your mother Queen Morgan Le Fay?

Yes.

Then it definitely was your mother who sent it. All these years she hid her evil acts

from you?

Yes. I swear to be loyal only to you my Lord. I will get my revenge on my mother

for such a ghastly deed. Yvain kneeled down and bent his head again. If you wish

to kill me because of my mother. Please do so now.

King Arthur raised his Excalibur, his sword, but didnt kill Yvain. Instead he placed

it steadily down on his shoulder and said the following words. I dub you Sir Yvain

of Cornwall and a Knight of the Round Table! At these words a lot of cheering wenton.

I would like to thank Sir Lancelot. Without him, I would most likely be dead.

Thanks to King Arthur for letting me go on this quest and knighting me, even though

my mother was dreadfully evil. Even more cheering exploded out of the crowd.

King Arthur and Sir Yvain walked back to their seats and King Arthur gave the signal

for the feast to start.

There were plenty of entertainers. Some damsels danced to the melody played by

some young boys holding flutes. Jugglers juggled. Two knights had a mock fight.

This was by far a very enjoyable evening. It was two in the morning before people

started going to bed. Sir Yvain in particular was tired so the hero of that night went to

bed early. He did not know of what would happen that very night, but he felt like

something was building up inside himself apart from his happiness. He could not tell

what that feeling meant but it was churning his insides as though fire was melting

them. He could not feel pain, but he felt discomfort. He fell asleep with this same

uncomfortable feeling, although he was happy at finally becoming a Knight of the

Round Table.

And so here ends the story of Sir Yvains first quest, although I assure you, it wont

be his last.

By Akshaya Reddy

7z, L6

Never Tickle A Sleeping Dragon

Part 2


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His feet crushed the leaves that lay scattered on the forest floor. There was nothing

stirring as it was in the middle of the night although the occasional owl swooped and

hooted overhead. He was a tall man dressed in pure white; he had a long white beard

and long white hair to finish the look. He held a white and silver staff in one hand. He

finally stopped when he reached a clearing. Several other men and women, much like

himself but in different colours were waiting for him.

As Head of The White Magic Association, I hereby call this meeting to begin.

There is a reason why I have called this meeting. It is my belief that someone evil is

out there. I also believe that one of our members is guilty of supporting this evil

person. I have something here that may prove my point. He held out a golden bottle

filled with golden liquid. The Elixir of Happiness* At this there was a gasp.

A woman from the front row spoke up, So its true then Merlin? Its not just a

legend?

My dear Lady, I have spoken the truth, it is true. Dacon has been released by one ofthe noblest knights ever to be heard of. It is time now to see whowhich person that

I, myself taught did this, it is time to see whether my hunch is correct. He had a

curious expression etched into his old, withered face. There was a great swirling of

his long white cloak, his eyes closed and he began muttering strange names and

words under his breath. It would have been a strange sight to anyone who didnt

know what was going on. Although there wasnt any change in the temperature,

everyone suddenly felt colder.

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Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon1