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The entire existence of dragon economies (that’s a phrase you’ve probably never read before) seems entirely predicated upon A) stealing and hoarding gold, jewels, and magical swords and B) princesses. We hadn’t had any idea what the princesses had to do with their livelihood until now. Now we understand.

The princesses are everything.

If you can’t get a good night’s rest, your entire society falls apart. Now all the stories make sense.

Dragons are one of those ubiquitous creatures in human folklore, making appearances in cultures on every continent. What they’re all about varies depending on who you talk to, but the basic shape and structure of the creatures themselves are very similar.

The ones we know best here in the Western world are the ones infamous for kidnapping young royalties for no fathomable reason, showing up in everything from Norse legend to the Christian Bible. Dragons, in almost all of these European tales were the greatest of foes to be bested. Equipped with bat wings, a powerful tail, fiery breath, and raking claws, conquering a dragon was the greatest feat anyone could achieve. It was also a great way to score a date with fetching young ladies.

Dragons, despite the very physical descriptions seen in much of folklore, have always been considered spiritual creatures by the majority of cultures that tell tales of them. The power and strength of the dragon has been featured on heraldry in Europe, harnessed in the name of infantry units in Asia, and held a place in the most essential portions of Norse myth. The diversity of descriptions nearly matches the diversity of their roles in legend throughout the world.

It is this importance and power in the literature of ancient history that has kept dragons a part of our lives even into modern times. These days, it’s impossible to believe in the actual physical manifestation of dragonkind when such large and fiery creatures would undoubtedly show up on Google maps. Fantasy novels and games, however, would never let such a resilient concept die out. Since the time of J.R.R. Tolkien, dragons have become a staple in fiction, playing many of the same parts they have since their earliest usage. They range from villain to savior, always harkening back to those cultural memories that float on the surface of the human subconscious even today.

Dragons, whether you love them or hate them, will likely continue being a part of our stories far into the future. Something about them, the power, the fear or joy they can invoke, keeps them with us.

The dragons are, likely, pleased as can be with that. Just so long as they can continue gathering up princesses for their beds.

Apologies for the lack of a strip on Friday, I was terribly ill and unable to write anything. To make up for it, Liz helped me write something like twenty great strips, so I’ll try to start getting ahead in case something happens again!