I was thinking the other day about what mythological creature I associate most with my nature (or, at least, my demeanor).  It took me a good long while to come up with something that felt right, but, one creature that did pass through my mind was a dragon.

This may seem an odd choice, but, to me, dragons are a varied group and embody a much more broad stratum of traits than is exemplified in the modern fantasy media.  Instead, my background comes from Dungeons and Dragons, where dragons may be either good or evil, and not necessarily combative or violent.  Instead, in a general sense, the traits that most quickly come to my mind in describing a dragon are magical, powerful, respected, and, eventually, wise.

In that vein, I’ve always been attracted to Silver dragons – they are good dragons and their description always struck a chord with me,  The AD&D Second Edition Monstrous Manual describes Silver dragons with the following paragraphs:

Silver dragons are kind and helpful.  They will cheerfully assist good creatures if their need is genuine.  They often take the form of kindly old men or fair damsels when associating with people.

…

Silver dragons seem to prefer human form to their own, and often have mortal companions.  Frequently, they share deep friendships with mortals.  Inevitably, however, the dragon reveals its true form and takes its leave to live a dragon’s life for a time.

The image of a beneficent wise man stuck with me long after I first read these words, and resonated with me as I thought of how a massively powerful being would come to take such a humbling form.  It also reminded me of the wise man archetype that appears often in my favorite books and movies – Ynyr, The Prophet of Arakeen, Merlin, Pagonel – and how much I am drawn to that particular archetype.

More recently, the image of a dragon revealing its true form and taking its leave from close companions also resonates with me in an odd way.  As an introvert, I inevitably find myself in a situation where I have too long been overwhelmed with social pressures and need to get away.  This usually manifests itself as, “by the way, I’m a hermit” at which point I disappear for a few days.