THE LAST DRAGON
                                       by
                                Gerald del Campo

          In  the land of Oz lived a great Wizard named  Albert  Creemshaw.
          He  was  loved  by everyone, and became  quite  popular  when  he
          destroyed the Last Dragon in a great battle between the forces of
          oppression and the powers of Freedom.

          When  the villagers heard that the monster had been  killed  they
          rushed  the  mountain  side where the Dragon  had  its  nest  and
          proceeded to break the eggs; thereby insuring the destruction  of
          the creatures forever.

          What they did not know, was that Albert had snuck one of the eggs
          out before the villagers got there. He cared for it in his Castle
          and through his great magical ability he was able to  genetically
          alter  the dragon fetus so that it would soon be the  watcher  of
          the people; a symbol of freedom and great strength.  But he  kept
          this a secret from the people because they were not ready yet for
          the trial which awaited them; they would just have ganged up  and
          tried  to kill the Little Dragon.  He became a Hermit  and  loved
          the little creature.

          One day the Wizard received a message from his God that he  would
          have  to move on, and release his body the way that  a  butterfly
          sheds its cocoon.  So Albert called for the Council of The  Sword
          and Shield, a ruling body of his most trusted students, and  told
          them about the little dragon.  At first they were repulsed by the
          idea of bringing up the offspring of the object of their  misery;
          but  the Magician persuaded them by telling them that the  little
          dragon  would  soon be the symbol of freedom and  strength:  they
          swore by the Warrior Gods they would care for it.

          The following evening, while the Full Moon shined on the peaceful
          waters of Oz, Albert and his God left forever.

          Upon  finding  their  Master  dead,  the  Council  released   the
          information  about the Little Dragon to the people of  Oz.    The
          people  of Oz loved Albert as much as he loved them,  and   after
          they saw how fragile this poor orphaned creature was they decided
          amongst themselves that they would honor those raising the little
          dragon,  for the dragon would represent all of the things  Albert
          himself stood for.



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          Things  went well, for a while.  The favoritism displayed by  the
          people  of Oz towards the Priests and Priestesses that cared  for
          the  Dragon created turmoil:  all of the sudden there were  power
          struggles within the Council, its members were fighting over  who
          would  supervise  the education of the Little Dragon,  who  would
          feed  it, who would educate it.  They set up  rules  specifically
          designed  to  make it impossible for others to reach  the  grades
          appropiate  to  caring for the Dragon so that only a few  on  top
          could  reap  the benefits associated with caring for  the  Little
          Dragon.

          One would say:  "I have risked my life and given all so that  the
          little  dragon  could have food", and his ego was  pleased.   The
          other  would say:  "While you first despised the dragon  I  stood
          fast in my duty to care for it, for I have kept my word", and her
          ego was satisfied.

          The  people were so impressed by the "devotion and  selflessness"
          of  The Council that certain members were given gifts of  silver,
          gold,  spices,  and women.  Treated as Gods for  their  sense  of
          duty.

          Everyone  at  The Council became so preoccupied  with  the  power
          struggle,  and with keeping their peers in lower  positions  that
          they forgot about the little, fragile Dragon.  When they  finally
          gained  their  senses, and returned to the Castle  where  it  was
          guarded   they  found  it  dead,  starved  from   attention   and
          sustenance.   They then realized that empty, lost feeling  Albert
          himself would have felt, if HE had killed the Last Dragon.



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