The third Red Dragon the Gold ate taught him a valuable lesson.

He very much liked eating other dragons, and especially Reds, since he was immune to their flames. That was one less protective spell he must cast before taking them on, and their exceptionally malevolent nature meant he was never happier than when he had a Red's tail hanging from his jaws.

But he liked devouring them tailfirst, so they could both feel and see what was happening as they slid inexorably down his throat. The third Red taught him the error of his ways at the last possible moment. Once it was fully swallowed the tight walls of his throat would make it impossible to bite him from within, but just as its head was overtaken by his jaws it clamped down on his chin tendrils.

It did not save the Red, for he would not relinquish a nearly complete meal to save himself a little pain (or even, as in this case, quite a lot of pain). A last gulp sent it helplessly down his gullet, where its head would lie until enough of its body digested to make room in his stomach. Perhaps it took comfort that on its slow passage through his guts, it carried part of him with it. Perhaps not. He had his meal, and has removed an enemy from the world, and that was what mattered.

But he did not forget his lesson. He could heal his chin, but elected not to so that every time he looked in a mirror or smooth lake he'd remember what had happened. And for the rest of his days he would eat other dragons head-first. Not only did the limbs fold better that way, but as he learned on that day, it gave them one less chance to resist. The goal of it, after all, was to get out of it with a whole skin and a full belly, and he was not required to be sportsmanlike with creatures he planned to eat.

Not even with other dragons, at least the evil ones. As far as we was concerned those deserved to share the Red's fate: to be the reason he lay so swollen the skin showed between his scales. Even a Gold dragon had to eat, after all.

Even a dragon can subscribe to black and white morality in a D&D world, apparently. Cue the "It's racist!" kid. 83

Please login to post a comment.