The story from Northold I want to share tonight is about a young man, the only son of a rich and aristocratic family, who was badly injured during birth, brain damaged through lack of oxygene we would suppose today.

The DragonLord & The Sick Boy

The story from Northold I want to share tonight is about a young man, the only son of a rich and aristocratic family, who was badly injured during birth, brain damaged through lack of oxygene we would suppose today.

It is his 18th birthday, and he and his parents have lived in absolute reclusion since he was born.

A DragonLord comes to visit, and of course, they have all the magic in all the planes of existence; he asks to be shown to the boy with a vague view of setting some kind of healing sequence into action that will improve the young man's condition and allow the mother and father too to emerge from their self imposed exile.

He is the first stranger the mother allows to visit with her son; so they make their way upstairs to a spacious appartment on the first floor.

There, we find the boy - he is not more than that - pale and skeleton skinny, twisted, with his neck at a strange angle, his mouth open and drooling and his eyes staring into space - in a comfortable chair by the fire which is turned so he is facing a huge picture window that overlooks the land, beautiful, and extremely serene at this time of the day as it turns slowly towards the night.

There is a nurse on a chair by the fire, and a tutor, who is reading aloud from a romantic novel in a sweet and well modulated voice.

The DragonLord sees this scene, takes it in, and then he sees beyond - the spirit of the child, soaring high above, freely, powerfully over the house, and the land, blessing it all, safe guarding it all, loving it all.

The DragonLord is speechless at first as he greets the soaring spirit, and turns to the mother, awed by the experience, and exclaims, "Oh my! But how blessed you all are!!!"

The mother is completely taken aback but then she replies, "Oh, I know! I've always known! But I never thought that anyone else would understand this ... so we kept him here with us, safe from everyone, from everything ..."

They look at each other and they understand perfectly - the DragonLord bows his head to the young man, and he leaves.

There is no healing needed here, not here in this house, not in all the valley, only gratitude, and wonder.

The DragonLord & The Sick Boy - A Story from "Northold" by Silvia Hartmann 2008