Dragons

Everybody loves dragons. They are the quintessential super boss, ultimate evil, and greatest ally. If a dragon can't do it, ain't nobody can, right? They physically dominate in every arena, and they are most powerful super sorcerers. They are the smartest, and the fastest. They fly, they change shape, they charm humans, they destroy civilizations, they hoard mountains of gold, jewels, and magic items.

Heck, whats not to love?

Well, dragons are all of that, but they do have a tragic flaw that will be their downfall every time. They are narcissistic, egomaniacal loners. For those of you that don't follow Criminal Minds, that means they are only interested in themselves. They have an ego that is limited only by their imagination. Everyone and everything else is put on the planet for them to use, abuse, or discard.

"Now, hold on." you might say. "There are good dragons. There are even altruistic dragons that are willing to sacrifice themselves for a good cause." ...and that is true. After all look at Pete's Dragon. He was only there to help, right? He really loved Pete. ...and what about the dragons in Eragon. They seem to truly care about their riders.

I have to admit that from my limited experience with Eragon, that those dragons may be an exception. But don't be fooled, that is, after all, a fantasy world that may not actually exist.

Putting the few exceptions aside, lets think about dragons for a minute. It is easy to see that the evil dragons such as Smaug are only out for themselves, but what about the ones that protect kingdoms, and even act as mounts for great heroes?

Well here's the skinny. Dragons will always act in their own best interest. There are times that their wills can be bent to obey a rider or a master, but that will never be by their own choice unless there is something in it for them. (I suspect that the dragons of Eragon's world are controlled by some ancient magic that is far greater than themselves. We'll have to keep an eye on that.) Anyway, when you find exceptions to this rule you will also find that something or someone stronger has taken control, or they are playing submissive to accomplish their own ends.

You will also find dragons that act as guardians or counselors. Maybe they are doing it to repay a debt, or to show loyalty to a person or a cause, or just to help out, but you can be sure that they are getting something out of it. Often they will do this to stay in touch with what is happening, or to create opportunities to show off.

This egomaniacal behavior is also the root of their isolationism. They cannot stand to have another grand-stander constantly around them. The competition for top ego will drive them apart eventually.

I met a noble seeming dragon once that was a loyal advisor and protector for a dynasty of kings. His reputation was immaculate, and his actions were honorable. Along the way we was basically worshiped by the kingdom, but I learned that his real motive was to get into the cave a lady dragon. He spent almost 200 years serving this family to prove his integrity to a lady dragon. Now I am not saying that he did anything wrong, or cruel, or immoral. I am just pointing out that a dragon will always have his or her own agenda, and even if you think you know what that is, it may be only a small part of the plan.

It turns out that this dragon couple was very happy for several hundred years, and produced a large brood of young dragons. As I understand it, the dragon that had served the royal family was proving that he could be subservient for a long period of time. The she-dragon was eventually convinced, and they spent several millenia living together, and ruling an ever growing brood until the male dragon could no longer play the subservient role. They split control of the brood, and went their own ways.

Another aspect of dragons is their ambition. It is pretty uncommon for dragons to exist in communities for any length of time, but it does happen occasionally. As far as I can tell this is always in militaristic societies where the egos are only kept in check by the ambition to rule the roost. Much like wolves.

You will also find that these societies are constantly shedding rebels. These dragons are often the weak dragons that realize they have no chance to become the dominant leader, so they leave looking for other paths of glory and conquest.  But there are occasionally those that have a good chance of taking control that simply don't have the patience to wait until they are strong enough. These will generally leave to seek a faster way to gain power, and plan to return and take control.