Page 173 of Tiger's Dream
“I will rest when we are done. But there is more I must give them.”
She raised her arms. “Come to me, my dragons. Tell me your new names and I will grant you each a gift.”
“Goddess,” the white dragon said as he drifted closer. “Tell us who you are, that we might thank the mother who gave us this new birth.”
“I…” Ana paused. “I am Mother Earth and this,” she said, indicating me, “is Father Time.”
“Mother,” the white dragon said, “how may we assist you?”
Ana stretched out her hand and cupped his cheek. “You will serve us, mighty dragon. But first, I will give you my blessing.” She looked from him to the others. “All of you are very special. You will be guardians, tasked with certain responsibilities. Only those as brave as you are deserving of so weighty a duty, and therefore, I will gift each of you with abilities to help you in your efforts. First, I summon my dragon of red. What will you call yourself?”
“My new name will be Lóngjun,” the red-and-black dragon said.
“Very good. Then, Lóngjun, newborn of the Pacific Ocean, henceforth, I give you a duty to guard the heavens. When mankind looks to the stars, they will see your shape and feel inspired by your daring. You are gifted with the power of the air and the light that fills the sky. Your domain is found in all points west of the center. I endow you with the breadth of the stars.” Ana touched his clawed foot and blew a kiss in his direction. Wind whipped around him and his body gleamed with power.
“Thank you, Mother,” the crimson-eyed dragon said.
Ana nodded as he spun away. “Come forth, dragon of green,” Ana called.
Immediately, the green dragon undulated toward us. I glared at the crafty beast, but he didn’t yet know who I was or what he’d be doing to me in the future. Even as young as he was, he still struck me as cocky and sly.
“What will you be called?” she asked.
“I will take the name Lüsèlóng,” he said with a shake of his head.
“Very well. Then, Lüsèlóng, newborn of the Indian Ocean, henceforth, I give you a duty to guard the earth. When mankind tills the soil, they will see your shadow overhead and know that their harvests will be fruitful. You are gifted with the power of the earth and the strength of the rocks. Your domain is found in all points east of the center. I endow you with the intensity of lightning.”
The body of the green dragon glowed and green leaves erupted down his back. His barrel chest swelled and he sunk down to the ground as if he’d become as weighted as stone. Then, he lifted his head and rose into the sky once more.
“Lüsèlóng,” I warned, unable to resist needling the dragon, “perhaps it would behoove you to return and thank your mother.”
The dragon wrinkled his nose and snorted a puff of air, but I was gratified to hear his sulky, “Thanks.”
“Next, my dragon of blue,” Ana said.
We waited for him to make his slow way toward us. He hesitated until Ana offered to pat his sides as she did when he’d been a fish. He dropped fully to the ground at her feet and rolled over onto his back so she could scratch his belly.
“What will you call yourself?” Ana asked.
The dragon yawned mightily and lifted an arm so she could reach the spot he wanted. His electric-blue scales shimmered in the light. Only when Ana stopped did he turn his attention back to her. He tried nudging her to continue but she refused. “You will answer me, dragon of blue.”
“Very well,” he said. “You may call me Qinglóng.”
“Qinglóng, newborn of the Southern Ocean,” Ana said, “I give you a duty to guard the oceans. When mariners set sail, they will see the brightness of your scales in the water and will seek to discover places beyond. As this important symbol, I gift you with the power of water and the permeability of such. As you bring storms, you also bring life. Your domain is found in all points south of the center. I endow you with the buoyancy of the clouds.”
Qinglóng didn’t seem to care much about his new powers. He just blew irritably at the turquoise and purple feathers that sprung from his back and flicked his tail in annoyance. Ana told him he could leave, but he just rolled over, wriggled his body in the snow, and proceeded to fall asleep with his short legs sticking up in the air. When he began to snore, Ana grunted and zapped him with enough electricity to make him shove off.
“Who will be next?” Ana asked huffily as she shoved wisps of her hair away from her face.
“Pick me! Pick me!” the golden dragon squealed. “I’d say you should save the best for last but why waste your time when the best is right here?”
Ana smiled. “Dragon of gold—”
“Wait. Wait,” the dragon begged. “You should know that I’m not terribly full of concern for others. Some might call me selfish. As such, I think it best that you gift me with something you know I’ll excel at, such as eating or finding the best spots to sun myself in. Oh! What about being beautiful? Iamthe most stunning of dragons. I sound like I’m boasting but you were already thinking it, so it’s not really boasting then, is it? It’s just stating the obvious.”
“I will keep your suggestions in mind,” Ana said. “What will you call yourself?”
“Now that’s a fascinating question, isn’t it? There are so many words you could use to describe a dragon like me. Unslayable comes to mind. But that might incentivize knights, don’t you think? Then again, a name like Deathbringer might keep away the rabble. I know I don’t want any silly names like Brightscales or Clawbiter, though I’ll be the first to admit I’ll probably nibble when I feel stressed.” He spun in the air, continuing his monologue. “And definitely not something with an “of” in the title, like Protector of, Champion of, or Bringer of. No. There’s too much expectation attached to a name like that.”
