Yes, ladies, I am a real knight in shining armor!
This weekend I’m going to be wearing a full suit of (handmade) chainmail armor, complete with (handmade) chainmail banner, hand & a half sword, & all other pertinent accessories. I will be doing this as accompaniment to a 145’ tall pink & purple (flying) dragon. Seriously!
There is one dedicated press event, & probably press & definitely public the rest of the weekend. I’ll be interviewed & then probably asked questions by the public. It is a PR bit after all. I know the real story, who made the chainmail, how many hours it took, who made the dragon, etc. However, I think it’d be much more fun to answer in character.
Therefore, creative Dopers, please help me out with my backstory. How did I tame the dragon/how did it become my pet? How old is it? Is it a baby or full grown? Given I’ll be in medieval attire & dragons are from then, when did this happen & did I step thru a time portal to get to this festival? Etc, etc, etc.
P.S. Yes, I know the story of St. George but don’t want my backstory to be religious-based.
Maybe the dragon chose you…an average joe, binge watching Game of Thrones, you heard a bump up on your roof. you went to investigate, found a gondola full of medieval goodies. Possibly an injured knight or a skeleton in a suit of armor.
Are you going to be in the basket?
To clarify: Are you going to be in the picnic basket? The backstory is that you were indeed picked by the dragon…for lunch.
One does not simply “tame” a dragon. A dragon selects it’s companion Rider. As dragons live far longer than their humans even in times of peace, they may often have to wander to find a new partner. Dragons get lonely too, and society at large would be more likely to quake in fear and attempt to kill a dragon than accept it, so they avoid mankind as much as possible in the last several centuries. Arrows and spears can do little against a dragon’s hide, but bullets HURT.
Because of this forced isolation, many dragons have come up with an ingenious solution - if they find someone with a brave and noble heart, they will incorporate themselves into that person’s family. They then act as a trusted advisor and confidante, in exchange for the protection of the family’s silence and choice of new Rider from the children, whenever the former friend becomes too frail. Because of this, dragons become more like a distant aunt or uncle for most family members, but a true partner to one select individual.
The armor and weapon are part of that tradition, forged in a conventional manner, with the added bonus of DRAGONFIRE, as part of your training as Rider. Obviously, it’s more for show and protection while walking “down below”, as Riders say, and you generally don’t wear it while with your dragon. Who’s going to hurt you while on a dragon?
Expand as needed.
An evil wizard cursed your beloved princess to take the form of a dragon during the day. But at night, she returns to human form and you turn into a wildebeest!
Same thing happened to my uncle in Sheboygan. Bummer.
