With this, this section is complete! I wanted to finish last night but I ran out of steam and needed a break hehe. You know the drill, relevant notes are in their nested section.
Guide to the Dragon Family: The Relationships Between Humans and Dragons (Pt. 2)
Dealing with a Dragon
Meeting
In Dragonia, where opportunities to meet and interact with dragons can be found all over, there are several things that one should keep in mind. Perhaps chief among them is being fearful upon one’s first meeting with a dragon, as was discussed in the description previously given on the dragon species. The danger that poses the greatest threat here in Dragonia is none other than the preconceived notion that humans bear of “dragons are terrifying beings”. If a human who is unable to dispel the image of the dragons of the age of the former Mamono Lords from his mind comes face to face with a dragon, it’s no great surprise that he would be terrified of their overpowering bearing and aggressive attitude, and end up drawing back in fear.
However, no matter what attitude any dragon may take, their hearts are full of feelings of love for human men. To fear them, then, is in their eyes tantamount to being told they have no appeal as a female; a dragon who senses a human’s feelings of terror will be left with a deep wound in her heart. Moreover, there have even been times where these feelings can inadvertently lead to the stirring up of the dragon’s natural sadistic urges. It’s a not at all rare occurrence that, because a man approached with undue fright, an ordinarily gentle dragon has their passions ignited with thoughts such as “I just want to bully him1 by assaulting his body with pleasure!” or “I want to make it so he can’t live without me!” and in that aroused state, carries him off to her home.
There’s nothing wrong with having feelings of admiration and respect for dragons, but in Dragonia, when you converse with a dragon, it is highly recommended that you are fully aware that keeping more distance than is necessary out of a sense of reverence is counterproductive, and that you treat dragons as if they are your close neighbors.
Translation notes:
1: "Bully/torment" was unambiguously the word used in the original Japanese (虐める), ditto with "sadism" earlier (嗜虐性, although that word doesn't necessarily imply sexual sadism as 加虐性愛 does, more like, idk, how a cat is kind of sadistic in that they like hunting for fun), but I think we're all well enough aware of the lore at this point to know that this doesn't necessarily mean the same thing in MGE as it does for us.
The dragons of Dragonia, who usually take on the appearance of women, due to their immense power, are also capable of temporarily reverting back to the hulking draconic forms they once had during the age of the former Mamono Lords. In fact, one can witness dragons in this transformed state all throughout Dragonia. However, as was previously explained, when it comes time to interact with human men, a dragon’s heart is the very essence of a woman in love, and they may show some resistance to the notion of being thought of as “a symbol of great power”. For them, their ancient forms are the “aspect of power” within them, and is such a delicate matter that, depending on the species and individual, some may not want to show it to anybody except their husbands.
For these reasons, wishing to see a dragon transform into her ancient form immediately after meeting her may end up giving her a bad impression; conversely, she could take it as an unabashed confession, as if what was said was “I want to see every part of you”. In other words, asking for such a transformation is equivalent to declaring “I’ll take full responsibility”. In this instance, even if you find yourself set upon by a frenzied dragon, please know well in advance that you did so at your own peril.
There are certain risks attached to referring to a dragon’s fully draconic state, but on the day to day where they appear as women, showing interest in their horns and claws, or their large wings and tails leaves a particularly good impression. For dragons, one’s horns and claws are the body parts that most represent their pride as a species, and a man taking notice of them is proof that they are attractive as dragons.
That being said, in the chances that one would like to build an even more intimate relationship with them, while the “draconic” symbols no doubt matter, what would be best would be to give their “female” symbols– their breasts, hips, buttocks, and the like, of which they are even more proud– your attention. Dragons tend to prefer a strong, unflappable attitude, so staring straight at these feminine aspects without any hesitation and praising them out loud without getting bashful is the first step towards an exceptionally smooth relationship.
No matter what kind of dragon she may be, in her heart she can’t help but want to become close with the man she’s come across, and the clumsiness with which she fails to express that well is a part of a dragon’s appeal. When encountering a dragon here in Dragonia, it is necessary at times for a man to actively touch her skin, gently caress her breasts or buttocks while whispering to her about their charms, and be the one to guide the dragon himself.
Translation notes:
N/A
Most human men who have built up a close relationship with a dragon will, by mating with her and coming together in the “pair-bonding ceremony1”, become a dragon couple recognized throughout the empire. A human man who has become the beloved companion of a dragon will receive powerful dragon mana countless times during sex and become an “incubus”, and in Dragonia, these incubized human men are officially treated as male dragons. From that point on, he wears a “Necklace of the Pair Bond1” crafted from his dragon wife’s own claws around his neck.
The Necklace of the Pair Bond is, for the dragon wife, the mark of a happily married woman who has found the one and only male dragon for her in her lifetime, and for the man, proof that he is a gallant male dragon as acknowledged by a female dragon. The pair-bonding ceremony is a wedding ceremony wherein the new couple exchanges necklaces with one another and puts them on for the first time; it has become customary to hold the ceremony at the top of “the Pillar of Heaven”, a tower that pierces the skies of the Dragonian Territories. In Dragonia, which cherishes its founding principle of the coexistence of humans and dragons, the pair-bonding ceremony is a rite that demands precedence above all else. For that reason, a day this ceremony is held is always declared a citizen’s holiday, and in celebration of a newly married couple, and thus, the advent of a male dragon, dragons from all across Dragonia gather at the Pillar of Heaven in order to watch the ritual to its very end.
The singular remaining element of the culture of the Dragei Empire is the “Dragoon Corps Parade of Triumph”, which is held after the necklaces are exchanged. The Parade, where members of the Dragoon Corps march, full of magnificence and valor, leading the procession of the dragon bride and groom to Her Majesty the Queen, is considered “the triumphant return of the dragons”, and there is no small amount of monster couples who visit Dragonia as tourists just to see this procession. And so, being watched intently by swathes of people both Dragonian natives and visitors, under the authority of Her Majesty the Queen, the passion of the ceremony reaches its peak when the pair exchange a kiss, pledging their eternal love. The dragon bride and groom, completely enveloped in thunderous applause, ceaseless cheers, and the amorous cries from monster couples who wound up having sex in the heat of the moment, finally embark on a new chapter of their lives.
Translation notes:
1: I've elected to go with "pair-bonding ceremony" and "Necklace of the Pair Bond", as opposed to what the original translation gives as "Couples Ceremony" and "Necklace of Pairing". This is because the word used specifically for both is 番い, which doesn't refer to a human couple, but an animal pair. "Pair bonding" is the specific term used in biology for species wherein mating pairs form strong bonds and typically/ideally mate for life. I found this highly fitting for MGE dragons!
When evening arrives in the city of the Dragonia Empire, wandering minstrels arrive at the taverns and eateries, and one can enjoy their food and drink while listening to the yarns they spin of the magnificent love between dragons and humans. Of the tales told by these legendary storytellers, the most classic, and most popular, is that of the First Dragoon, Dell Row, and the founding of Dragonia.
In the long chronicles of the coexistence of dragons and humans, a considerable amount of such grand sagas exist, passed down and told now as legends and fairy tales. And yet, the leading roles of the stories told by these bards aren’t necessarily limited to the heroes who changed the course of history. A great number of these tales, from “an adventure story about a young rookie dragoon who admires the heroes of old, working together with his mount to overcome the many obstacles on his way to becoming a full-fledged dragoon”, to “an epic poem about a greedy adventurer who wandered into a dragon’s nest in his search for treasure, who came to realize the value of love during his days with her”, to “a romance about a poor but compassionate youth who drifted to the Dragon’s Graveyard and filled a dragon zombie’s empty heart”, are all the fateful encounters of dragon couples living in Dragonia now, sourced from their own testimonies about their love lives.
There are many gaps as species, discrepancies in values, and potential risks between dragons and humans. Men end up being attacked simply because of a dragon misunderstanding them, which is why they relay these stories– that one must learn how to act around dragons, that loving a dragon is not easy. However, it is because such obstacles and hardships exist that the romance between dragons and humans, and the time they spend together, make for such enchanting stories, possessing a spark that never fades away.
When you meet a dragon here in Dragonia and feel that spark, eventually becoming husband and wife, the story of your love might just be told in the minstrels’ songs, another footprint in the story of the coexistence of dragons and humans etched into Dragonia’s history.
Translation notes:
N/A
In Dragonia, it is not impossible for human women who have been exposed to dragon mana to end up monsterizing into a dragon, but such cases are exceptional; very few instances occur over the course of an entire year. This is because a human woman transforming into a dragon, a species possessing tremendous power even among other monsters, means that her body is the vessel in which high concentrations of dragon mana are poured into. If this happens, an ordinary woman would find herself completely violated by mana in the process of changing into a dragon, and she will be unable to maintain a dragon’s great pride… or to put it another way, a strong sense of self.
If a woman who is flooded with these high quantities of mana has a “lustful” nature, it’s typical for her to become a race of monster more suitable for her needs; simply undergoing monsterization in a land such as this, where dragons are so close, is not enough to raise the extremely low chances of becoming a dragon. Regardless, here in Dragonia, there is a group of women in possession of a particular trait that, should they be monsterized, will all but guarantee their metamorphoses into dragons. These women are those who are called “dragon slayers”1.
Dragon slayers, as the name might suggest, are master hunters who made careers and livings for themselves defeating dragons in the age of the former Mamono Lords. As one knows, the dragons of that time were exceedingly menacing, and exceedingly dangerous monsters. There were dragons so savage that one could not subdue them even when commanding a whole army, and they even toppled entire nations with their overwhelming power. Those who made their way towards such savage drakes’ nesting grounds, set up camps, laid traps, and after many long days of fierce battle eventually slayed them were none other than the dragon slayers.
The dragon slayers of yore were legendary figures with power comparable to the “heroes”2 of today, and their deep knowledge of dragonkind and extraordinary weapons and magic that only showed their true power when facing them were the very picture of hope for humanity. However, after the ascension of the current Mamono Lord had brought an end to virtually all of the tyranny dragons inflicted on humans, the world around the dragon slayers, once lauded as heroes, changed as well.
The rare ores needed for their clan’s ancestral magic, passed down for generations, the special tools for blinding dragons, the raw materials used in their traps, and of course, the cost of maintenance– be as it may that they were necessary expenses in order to defeat a dragon, it was no small sum for a country to pay one single dragon slayer. Even so, in the old days, when weighing the damages caused by a dragon with these women’s3 salaries, most countries determined it was slightly cheaper to keep a dragon slayer stationed than to remain in terror of the dragon menace. However, now that that menace is no more, the nations who once kept the slayers in their employ no longer needed them, and they even came to be denounced as “excessive power”.
For the dragon slayers alive today, gone are the days of being hired by countries, and of being called heroes. They instead roam about the world, finding work as mercenaries and wild game hunters. What remains in their hearts is a strong desire to reclaim their prosperity as dragon slayers once more, and an iron will to prove their worth and restore their clan. The current “dragon slayers”, as it were, are simply the descendants of the slayers from their golden age, and even though they have the skills, many have never seen a dragon, let alone hunted one. When these women arrive in Dragonia seeking dragons, they are shocked by the current coexistence between their former enemies and humans, and as if aiming for that crack in their spirit’s armor, dragon mana penetrates through.
This mana adapts itself to their bodies, possessed by the spirits of the dragons slain by their ancestors, with ease; due to a lifetime’s worth of obsession towards dragonkind, they maintain their sense of self, and end up monsterizing into the very beings they sought to slay. While now reborn as dragons, they have not lost their powerful urge to “claim victory over dragons” that they had when they were humans. So, in order to prove that they will surpass all other dragons, the “slayers” seduce human men with a passionate approach that utilizes their freshly transformed bodies to the fullest, and actively try to mate with them.
All dragon slayers who have come to Dragonia in an attempt to hunt dragons to this point, without exception, have transformed into “female lizards” with happy homes, and are the envy of other dragons. The dragons slain by their ancestors during the age of the former Mamono Lords have often left curses upon them before returning to the earth: “some day, we dragons will prosper on the flesh of your descendants4”. Perhaps the image of former dragon slayers making love to their husbands as dragons themselves is due to the nature of the curse transforming along with the rise of the Mamono Lord: “some day, your descendants will ensure the prosperity of our dragon clan as female dragons”.
Translation notes:
1: Once again, we've got one that is written in katakana as the English phrase "dragon slayer": ドラゴンスレイヤー. Interestingly, a reference to slaying dragons is in the history section, where the weapons of the elite army are referred to as of the dragon slayers, but that one is spelled 竜殺し, or "ryuu-goroshi", in Japanese. Therefore, it's reasonable to conclude that even though both refer to those who slay dragons, any old schmuck could have been a 竜殺し, but ドラゴンスレイヤー certainly refers to this specific bloodline.
2: These are the heroes that the lore discusses; you know, Wilmarina and pals. They're specifically referred to exclusively with the terminology 勇者. The term that I have translated as "legendary figure" here is 英雄, which has a slightly different nuance that is hard to articulate in a single world, but can also be translated as "hero" depending on context.
3: Even when referring to the old days, the dragon slayers are referred to as the plural feminine pronoun 彼女たち, which leads me to believe that this clan was basically matrilineal/matriarchal and that only women could be dragon slayers.
4: 糧, the things that the dragons are vowing to turn the descendants into in Japanese, has a dual meaning as both literal (AKA food) and figurative nourishment/sustenance. This is probably the pivot for the nature of the curse, and I tried to incorporate "prosper/prosperity" in both versions to create that sort of ironic echo. I also threw in "flesh" to try to make it a bit of a double-entendre. Like both "eating flesh" and "pleasures of the flesh"... well, you get it. Or at least I hope you do.
Again, please ask any questions you have!
