David Taylor, 31 Mar '13

“A dragon,” Slip shouted, accidentally releasing a long stream of bubbles in her excitement.

“Where?” a fish from behind her demanded, drawing up alongside her in an instant.

“There,” she said incredulously. “Don’t you see it?”

The fish beside her squinted and stared around for a few moments, before shuddering with excitement. “Yes! I see it!”

“Well, who’d have thought it?” Slip asked, awestruck as she continued to watch the dragon. Although the mighty beast was a fair way off through the lake, Slip could see its body swaying from side-to-side quite clearly as it carved a path through the crystal water. Its scales, which were a brilliant sapphire, shone brightly through the lake, scattering the sunlight from the Waterless Above into myriad bright hues, and Slip could see its clawed limbs pressed tightly against its body.

“Look,” another fish shouted suddenly, drawn to their side by all the commotion. “A human rides on its back!”

Cursing herself for not having already noticed it, Slip looked. There was indeed a human riding on the back on the dragon. The human, which was from a race that ordinarily seemed enormous to Slip on the rare occasion she saw one swimming, looked tiny in comparison to the dragon’s svelte length and clutched its neck tightly from what appeared to be a brown seat at the base of its neck. “Unbelievable!” she muttered.

“I know!” yet another fish responded. “And to think I was gonna explore the Sways today! I’d never have forgiven myself if I’d missed seeing a dragon!”

Slip nodded in agreement, floating motionless in the water alongside most of her shoal as she watched the majestic beast. After what seemed like a lifetime of swimming, the dragon suddenly angled upwards. Within just a few strokes of its glittering tail, it had broken through the surface of the water; vanishing as suddenly as it had appeared.

“A dragon,” Slip muttered to herself as she hurriedly checked to see if any pike were nearby. “Who’d have thought I’d live to see a dragon!”