I love dragons, which is strange because I have always been leery of reptiles. But dragons are cool because they fly, breath fire, and guard treasure. My favorite dragon (so far) is Eustace from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. It takes that nasty little snot of a boy becoming a beast in order to see how beastly he really is. It also takes the shedding of his beastly self with the help of Aslan’s claws, for him to understand how hideous he had become. While I hated Eustace up until this point (and still don’t like him as much as Lucy, Peter and Edmond), I really hated him because he showed me myself. It takes those moments of horrible behavior or thought to remind me how beastly I can be. But hopefully I allow each experience with my dragon-self to change me. Hopefully Aslan’s claws really tear into the flesh of the monster so that I’m not just changing the outside (to look nicer) but the inside (the beast) as well.

A friend of mine preached a fantastic sermon once tied to the phrase “I’m only human.” The distinction of being human is so much more than what we as a people have become. Not because we are particularly wonderful beings but because we were created by One who is particularly wonderful, and we were created to mirror Him. Instead we have chosen to mirror our beastly selves. Beasts modeled after another reptile who told us that we could be particularly wonderful if we just followed our hearts.

My dragon, Dusepter, in The Queen and Knights of Nor, realized his dragon-ness, and his need to rebel against his masters Graken and Draka , who were following their own corrupt hearts.  He and his family chose to work along side their new allies (who were “only human”) to build a kingdom of justice and peace. I didn’t realize until now, how important Dusepter was. Because Dusepter is me and every person who has seen their beastly behavior and has chosen to change. A beast who has understood his beastliness and has decided that he is going to be more, not for his own glory but for his friends, his kingdom and his king.

What’s not to love about dragons!