Dragons Wild

The other part of these meetings was further training and learning about just what it was to be a dragon. After all these weeks, Griffen still had more questions than answers. Though Mose claimed not to have all the answers the young dragon would need, he certainly had more than the young man had. In fact, it didn’t hurt to have Mose around just while Griffen practiced on his own. The older man knew what signs of progress or problems to look for.

Today Griffen seemed more preoccupied than most. Mose had to keep repeating himself to get his attention. It was as if something had been nagging at Griffen, and he just didn’t know how to put it into words.

“So just spill it already,” Mose said.

“Huh?”

Griffen shook his head and realized that Mose had been giving him a piercing gaze for about five minutes. He flushed a bit and shook his head.

“What do you mean, Mose?”

“Well, something sure has you distracted today. New gal in your life?”

“Old one come back again…but no, that’s not quite it.”

“So why don’t you tell me what it is, so we can stop wasting both our time. I swear you haven’t heard half what I’ve said since you came in.”

“You’d probably be right. Okay, Mose. Tell me about glamour.”

It was Mose’s turn to say “huh” and give Griffen another hard look. He gathered his thoughts carefully.

“That’s some random train of thought you’ve got, Grifter. Before I start, though, I’ve got to ask, who you thinking of putting the glamour on?”

“What? No no no, other way around maybe. How do you tell if it’s being done? How do you counter it? That sort of thing.”

“Ah…Well, damn, son, if it will set your mind at ease, I can see right off that no one’s got a glamour on you.”

“You can see it?”

“Yes and no, you can see the change in the person, maybe something in the eye. The heavier it’s been laid, the longer it lasts, the more you can see the signs.”

“Okay, this is a good start. But, Mose, it wasn’t me I was worried about.”

“Damn, that might change things. Okay, let’s start with the basics. What do you know or think you know about glamour?”

“Nothing really. It’s only been mentioned in passing, I’m honestly surprised I remembered the name. From what I can tell, it’s something between supercharisma and the Jedi mind trick.”

“Okay, give me a moment, this isn’t going to be easy.”

Mose leaned back in his chair and half closed his eyes in thought. Every once in a while his lips would purse, as if he were trying on a word for fit. Griffen watched, his curiosity growing. None of his questions so far had required quite this level of thought. He wondered why this one topic was so different.

“Glamour is a tricksie thing,” Mose said finally.

“Tricksie?” Griffen couldn’t help himself.

“Back off, we’re talking about glamour for crying out loud. Just be glad I’m not going to bring elves and fairies into the damn mix.”

“Good…I don’t think I want to know.”

“Me neither. And that’s part of the problem. I don’t do glamour; I don’t know many who do. It’s not anything as simple as your growing scales or fire breathing.”

“Simple?”

Griffen didn’t try to keep the irony and sarcasm out of his tone. His experience with such powers had been all involuntarily, and down right awkward. Hearing it referred to as simple added to his frustration. Mose narrowed his eyes.

“Yeah, simple. Look, things like that, it doesn’t matter much how it happens. As long as you know how to trigger it. Like your muscles, does it matter the chemical exchange that makes one tighten and another loosen so your arm bends? Not really, as long as you can bend your arm at will, and instinctually if in danger.”

“And glamour is different?”

“Yeah, it is. There are a handful of powers out there…well, that doesn’t matter just now. Glamour is all about perception. Part of it is the dragon’s natural charisma. But that becomes augmented, and just how depends on the person who’s doing it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, to be blunt, I don’t think I could teach you glamour if I tried, I’m not even sure you could manage it. Because part of it is a lie to the victim, but another part is lying to yourself. And lying to yourself on purpose is a tricky business. You have to believe what you are making them believe, but, of course, a part of you knows it’s just the magic. You can see the pitfalls in that?”

“I think I need a drink; I almost understood that.”

“Yeah, pour us both one. And remember, this ain’t exactly my area. I’m passing on thirdhand knowledge at best.”

Griffen got up and poured the drinks. As he passed one to Mose, he raised his in silent toast and they both drank. Griffen sighed as he sat back in the chair.

“I would never have believed I’d run into something that made fire breathing seem simple,” he said.

“You’re still young; you’ll run into a lot more,” Mose said. “In the oldest legends glamour and illusion were almost the same. One could be made to see monsters and nightmares and all sorts of things. Though I haven’t heard of anything like that in the modern world, so it’s probably just myth.”