“I have communed with the wolves”.
Her voice rang out in the silence of the huge chamber. She took a deep breath and swallowed the rising anxiety. Literally, in her case. Dragon anxiety can display itself pretty explosively if you don’t keep it down. Humans whining about butterflies in their tummy really pissed her off. Try having a volcano in there.
The Speaker of the Hall recognized her right to speak with a small intricate puff of smoke signals. The colour and frequency represented her house and her position. Konge of the Northern Mountains, Ruler of the Polar Sky, she was a powerful voice in the Council. But being a powerful voice only added to the pressure of speaking for her.
“The Wolves tell of another way, with the Humans. An end to war, and torches, and the hunting.”
A murmur, but then a single dragon gave them all voice.“ANOTHER WAY? Traitors talk. We take their money, and we take their power to organise.”
“SILENCE!” boomed the Speaker of the Hall. “Your turn will come to say your piece. The next words from your mouth will be ‘Yes Lord’ or they will be a challenge to my position. And it is a challenge I am itching to answer, Jarl Darhect.”
“Yes my Lord”, hissed Darhect, with just enough of the venom taken out of his tone to avoid a fight. Control restored, the Speaker nodded for her to continue. He’d had his eye on her upcoming clutch fertilisation rights, and this would do him no harm.
“The Wolves no longer fight the humans. The Humans fight for them. Hunting for them, caring and sheltering the pack in their own homes.”
Jarl Darhect nearly said something at this, but the rebuke was too fresh in his mind, and he wisely stayed his tongue. A more sensible voice this time spoke up.
“How have they managed this? Sorcery? Some sort of mind trick.”
“Of a kind, Lord”, she answered respectfully. “Humans trick themselves. They are so sure of their own intelligence they believe the Wolves have altered to fit them. All they had to do was rebrand as ‘Dogs’ and the Humans nigh on worship them. All they do in return is to allow their nurturing pack instinct to extend to their human employees.”
“You are telling me that the Grand Pack Master of the Wolves…”
“He is calling himself the CEO of Dog Incorporated now, Lord”
“The CEO of the what? What about the truce with the Cats? Does it still hold?”
“Not only does it hold, Lord. The Cats have joined them, in taking human employees. Feeding and housing them in the same way.”
“In return for what? They have no nurturing instincts to speak of.”
“No Lord. They treat humans with the contempt they have always shown them. But the Dog re-brand seems to have opened a window for others. They have been accepted without making any changes at all. It is this opportunity I think we should take.”
“Humans cannot accept us in their tiny tinderbox homes. It would be a massacre.”
“Yes, Lord. But we have shown some talent in acquiring and defending the only thing they care about as much as their own vision of themselves. Money. I believe we can control this, and in time enslave them more completely than fire alone ever could. I have developed a new concept. I call it Firenance. We will create something called a Bank. If I am right, the humans will hand their gold over willingly.”
