Mechanical by Bruno Flexer

Mechanical by Bruno Flexer
Mechanical by Bruno Flexer

Friday, November 15, 2013

Dragon Slayers in Ancient Myths, the original Science Fiction and Fantasy stories




















Dragon Slayers in Ancient Myths, the original Science Fiction and Fantasy stories:



They come with as many types, sizes and shapes as dragons themselves come. Some of them are might demigods while others are humble peasants. They use everything from guile to magic weapons to simple tricks to try to overcome their mortal enemies.

Whenever there's a dragon, there usually is an accompanying hero, or dragon slayer.

Hercules was perhaps one of the mightiest dragon slayers recorded in myth. The son of Zeus, the king of the gods, Hercules started his career by killing two serpents sent to his cradle by the jealous Hera, Zeus's wife. Hercules's mightiest feat involving dragons was the slaying of the Hydra, the nine headed dragon. Hercules, though possessing strength no other mortal possessed, nevertheless found it was insufficient to perform the task, since every dragon head he killed, two new heads sprang up. Hercules had to use his head. He cauterized with fire every neck stump of the dragon and thus made sure it could not rise again.


In a Japaneses tale, Susanoo, a son of the mighty Sun Goddess, also found that power, even the power of a god, was insufficient to kill a might dragon with eight heads and eight tails. Sunsanoo had to use his head. He constructed an elaborate trap and tricked the dragon, where simple force would not have been sufficient to finish that mighty monster.

Hercules was finally killed by a cloak wet with blood poisoned by the Hydra's blood, thus making that nine headed dragon an accomplice in the demise of the demigod.


Though Susanoo was victorious over the might dragon with eight heads and eight tails, Japan still suffered because the dragon returned and stole the grass cutter sword, one of three artifacts given to the Japanese people by the Sun Goddess herself.

Of course, Apollo was also a victim of a dragon, Python, but this will be told in another post.

From these examples we can learn that sometimes it takes a demigod to best a dragon, but beware! Even a dead dragon can sometimes have its revenge.  Of course, this is the place really good science fiction and fantasy will have their field day ...

Monday, November 11, 2013

Ancient Fantasy - Dragon Myths - The Dragon with eight heads and eight tails - Part 2

by Bruno Flexer, Author of:
Dragon Over Washington for Kindle,  Dragon Over Washington Paperback
The Fire At The Gates

Automatic Rebellion
UK Amazon: Bruno Flexer's Works

Dragon Myths - The Dragon with eight heads and eight tails - Part 2



Susanoo built a huge fence across the dragon's probable coursee and cut eights openings in the fence. Near every opening Susanoo placed a large barrel of rice wine distilled eight times and on a nearby hill Susanoo built a wooden likeness of the girl. Then, he waited for the dragon.


On the appointed day the dragon came, filling the sky with thunder and making the earth tremble, coloring the day red with light from it eyes. Its scales reflected the sun and its talons dug holes in the ground. The noise from its snapping jaws was enormous.


But then the dragon saw the girl's image and thrust its heads through the openings in Susanoo's fence. The dragon then saw the girl's reflection in the wine barrels, swallowed them and the strong wine made it fall asleep and close its awful eyes.


Susanoo took advantage of the great dragon's slumber and killed it, using sharp axes to chop it into little pieces, replacing the axes when their metal blades became blunt after hacking through the iron hard scales. The dragon's poisonous blood turned the land black and killed vegetation and animals for miles.


Susanoo found trouble hacking one of the dragon's tails. There was something inside. It was the grass-cutter blade, the sword the Sun Goddess made, one of the most important of Japan's artifacts.


But all who deal with dragons must know that dealing with dragons is tricky business. Fantasy and science fiction stories always make a point of this. After the land of the rising sun crowned its eighth emperor, the great dragon with eight heads and eight tails was reborn. It slithered into the Emperor's palace and stole the grass-cutter sword, taking it to the deepest sea, to its king, Naga, the king of dragons. No man had seen that dragon with eight heads and eight tails or the sword again.


Japan was thus robbed of its one of its greatest artifacts.

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Ancient Fantasy - Dragon Myths - The Dragon with eight heads and eight tails - Part 1

by Bruno Flexer, Author of:
Dragon Over Washington for Kindle,  Dragon Over Washington Paperback
The Fire At The Gates

Automatic Rebellion
UK Amazon: Bruno Flexer's Works

Dragon Myths - The Dragon with eight heads and eight tails - Part 1



A victory over a dragon is not a simple thing. In the following story a dragon was vanquished but the price was paid by all of Japan.


Most Japanese stories, including dragon stories, bear very little semblance to the dragon tales of other cultures. Eastern dragons are usually rulers of nature, kings of rivers and seas, more akin to sophisticated science fiction or fantasy really. But this story is about a dragon who was nothing else but a huge, horrifying monster. 


Susanoo was the son of the Sun Goddess but he was cast down from the skies and walked the earth, as if he was a common man.


One day Susanoo noticed wooden chop sticks floating down the river nearby. Figuring he would find people up the river, Susanoo changed his course, walking towards the river's source, anxious to meet new people.



Susanoo didn't have much land to cover before he found an elderly couple with a beautiful girl next to them. Susanoo greeted them and noticed the couple was weeping bitterly. The elderly man talk to Susanoo and told he was the local god of the earth, the son of the great god of the mountain.


But the region here was plagued by a great dragon that came once every year and ate one of the elderly's couple daughters till only one remained, the one standing nearby.


The man then went on and described the dragon. It had eight heads and eights tails. It was so huge, it filled entire valleys when it came and vegetation grew on its back. The giant dragon was taller than mountains. There was red fire in its stomach and its giant eyes glowed with a malevolent red light as if they were evil lanterns. For years no man nor god was able to fight this gigantic dragon. All those who tried, died.

Susanoo looked at the girl and fell in love with her. He was determined that no dragon, no matter how many heads or tails it had would eat her. Susanoo used his divine power and turned the girl to a comb and then he put her in his hair.

To be continued ...