from unicorn to dragon

there are two films that deeply moved me as a child - e.t. and the last unicorn (well and terminator II at some point, but that doesn't fit the clumsy picture i attempt to paint here). i have seen both a couple of times as a child and cried every time. i would like to see the movies again, but i am afraid they will lose that dear and special glow that surrounds them. maybe they belong to my childhood and shouldn't be touched. maybe i should just keep them encased in the shrine of early days and not desecrate those moments, tainting them with the slime of the present.

i found peter beagle's the last unicorn a some days ago and i have just put the book down now to write this blog because something occurred to me. it is weird how metaphors wriggle their ways into our lives and express them even if we are not aware of them.

there used to be a time when i was a lover of unicorns and pegasi, and sometimes even of the cross-breed that so called fantasy artist made of the two (woo-hoo, why not draw both wings and a horn on the same poor creature?). there used to be a time when i gathered every half-decent picture of any of them. there used to be a time when i loved to draw them (well, it was more copying, since i'm not good at drawing). there used to be a time when it broke me that someone else stole my idea of drawing silvery white unicorns on black cardboard before i got round to do it. there used to be a time when i identified those wonderful magical horse like creatures as my second nature.

for those out there unfamiliar with such beasts:
the unicorn is not merely a white horse with a horn; it's smaller, more graceful, with cloven hooves, a lion's tail and a goat-like beard. ageless and immortal creatures, their horns may cure diseases and neutralise poisons. unicorns are a symbol of grace and beauty; fierce but kind, they are the uncatchable cretures that can be tamed only by pure hearted maidens.
pegasus is the winged horse of greek mythology, mount of heroes and companion of the muses, often seen as a symbol of inspiration. he was born after the slaying of the gorgon medusa, a mere look at whom might have killed, by perseus; allegorically speaking the said medusa was a personification of paralyzing fear out of which nothing good comes. instead of looking at her directly and becoming a victim like all others before him, perseus aimed his strike while watching her in a polished shield. using another, cool-headed point of view, he overcame fear. at fear's death, inspiration was born.

i couldn't tell you when magical horses, be they winged or horned, faded from the picture :( eventually they did and what replaced them was the imagery of the dragon. dragons too populate the world of myth and lore as mighty beast, through whose veins the magic of earth (the planet, not the element) itself courses. a race older perhaps than any other, time has but little significance to them and growing age only renders them wiser, stronger, their scales thicker and more resistant and their breath deadlier and reaching ever farther. they watch, prey and hoard when offered the occasion but prefer the solace of their lair to the company of others.

while i confess to be a lover of dragons and regard them as highly misunderstood creatures... i must also confess i find the transformation sad. to be going to a happy, careless and free roaming creature of the skies and forests such as pegasi and unicorns to... well, an old, sulking reptile thing, with still the power but not the will to roam at large, hoarding to no end other than the hoarding itself (be it material or spiritual possessions), avoiding encounters and finishing them briskly if not even violently when they happen... that is not a good think.

however, if mythical creature it must be... the world is fitter for a dragon than for a unicorn these days. innocent maidens are deceiving, the hunters countless and their greed unmeasured. thick scales and deadly breath make better surviving tools than grace and playful nimbleness.