Once upon a time in a land far, far away called Fash, there lived 2 Princesses, Damina & Aree. Their big hearts, always willing to help others even when their position did not call for it, only matched the beauty of the 2 Princesses. But being a Princess in the Land of Fash, also Mox & Datinport, was dangerous business these days. Thanks to A Dragon, the only one ever seen around these parts. It is extremely hard for an outsider like a Dragon to get to this land, so you know this one is special. For a Dragon to get to this place, which I will describe shortly, they have to go through the Thunderfalls, over the Marshmellow Mountains, across the razor rock desert, and down Hurricane Alley. If you think it sounds hard, you are right but successfully completing it was thought impossibly hard until the Dragon, Fraygar arrived so many years ago.

Took awhile for him to recover but when he did he made his presence more than felt. His meal of choice was brave Men. Oh how he loved to make giant bowls of soup with Brave Men as the key ingredient, delicious. But even Dragon’s can’t immediately tell who is brave and who is not. So to lure out the brave Men he would kidnap 2 Princesses and keep them in 2 of the 4 towers that held his courtyard in the heart of his castle. Only 2 at a time until they no longer brought brave men to his castle, then he would lock them away forever and go find 2 more Princesses to replace them. The Land of Fash was as beautiful as the women. Fresh green fields, strong tall trees and breathtaking valleys dominate the landscape as the majestic Marshmellow Mountains line the sky. The rain in Fash tastes sweet like honey and the smell of the air with the combination of flowers, grass and trees in the meadows after a rain could melt even the coldest heart. True love is considered very sacred in Fash and all strive to find it. Men and Women are tested by each other, some tests by choice and some not like the one we will be discussing, as true love only shows its face if you fight for it. Kisses are like Gold in Fash but some do not treat them this way, and that brings us to our Princesses Damina and Aree.

One day each was picking flowers in their gardens when Fraygar swooped in and kidnapped them, first taking Aree and then Damina. As he has done too many times before, he flew the Princesses back to his castle to a fresh prison high above in the towers where all approaching could see. If you want to rescue the Princess and prove your true love just go get her, after you slay Fraygar, the Greatest Dragon that ever lived. Not exactly a walk in the park. But the beauty of Princess Damina and Princess Aree was very great and the news of their capture by Fraygar brought many men to their castles to acknowledge with their houses that they were accepting this journey. Separate journeys would be required to rescue each Princess but the destination would be the same. There was 1 difference between the Princesses that would prove to be very important. You see in these days women only kissed a man if she loved him, there is a difference between loving someone and true love but that is for another time.

As the years went by, some Princesses started to value their kisses less and less. Princess Aree had never kissed anyone in her life for she wanted to find her true love and live a happy life, but Princess Damina did not value her kisses and thought she could have both. She had many men wanting to kiss her as she was very beautiful, and she kissed a lot of them. She liked kissing, and the Dragon was far from her mind until the second he swooped her up. At first this detail did not matter as there were more brave men waiting to head out on the journey to rescue Princess Damina than were there for Princess Aree. Because of her generosity with kisses, Princess Damina was loved throughout the land & her reputation of great beauty spread like wildfire.

The Great Dragon Fraygar does not simply lie in wait for the attack of brave men. If he allowed the entire ranks of both journeys to enter his castle unhindered he would stand a very good chance in losing the battle for good. He already had many great duels with brave men, some he even lamented killing afterwards for he admired great warriors. But that was 1 on 1, things would be much more dangerous with 10’s or 100’s. Fraygar likes to venture out into the wilderness and make 3 attacks; usually by the 3^rd attack there are few left depending on the honor of the Princess. First, he attacked the brave men on the journey to rescue Princess Aree. He made his move on the mud paths and lit up the surrounding swamp with flames. Screeching loud and roaring deep he dove in again and again on the men. But these men were very brave and prepared for a Dragon attack; they created a shell using their shields to avoid the flames and launched arrows and spears when the Dragon left an opening. The men had soaked their hands in Elven Firemilk before the journey began to be able withstand the heat from the shields created by Dragon fire. These men are highly skilled, thought Fraygar; I will need to increase my intensity on the 2nd attack. Not a sword was unsheathed and no brave men were lost due to flee or flame during the 1st attack of Fraygar. Before the embers had been put out from his attack on the journey to Princess Aree, he was already upon the brave men on the journey to Princess Damina. These men were not as prepared and many were lost to the Dragon. More than 1 quarter of the men abandoned the journey and fled back to their homes for they had already kissed Princess Damina and did not deem the journey worth it. This is more like it, thought Fraygar, but I will take no chances by showing mercy on the second pass.

The brave men on the journey to Princess Aree were very uplifted after surviving the 1^st attack without a loss but a Dragon like Fraygar does not gain his reputation in 1 battle. During the 1^st attack the men were able to anticipate the Dragon’s movements but this time it was the Dragon who was 1 step ahead and cracked the shell for good with 1 swing of his tail. It was a good battle and the Dragon received a semi-serious wound to his wing shoulder but it was a victory for the Dragon as over half of the brave men were lost in the second attack. But none fled, and after the Dragon had finished his attack they pushed forward onto the castle and Princess Aree, for they all hoped to be her true love and would risk life and limb. The first 2 battles with the journey to Princess Aree had been great and taken their toll on Fraygar, he was done with them. He will look to end this on the 3^rd attack. But first he made his 2^nd attack on the journey to Princess Damina. They were angry and wanted some payback for the 1^st battle so this was not as easy as Fraygar was hoping. But as the battle continued, more and more men fled for they had also already kissed Princess Damina and were not willing to risk for more. Other journeys Fraygar wouldn’t have attacked as long and there may have been some brave men left to rescue her, but after all the trouble he wanted it over. So after the 2nd attack on the journey to Princess Damina, not a single brave man was left to rescue her. She had not valued her kisses and no man wanted to kiss her bad enough to rescue her from the Dragon, so she was taken away to be a prisoner forever.

The Dragon regrouped for his 3^rd attack and hit the remaining brave men on the journey to Princess Aree with a fierce attack. The brave men fought hard but they were also tired and injured, so this battle was not long in time. The Dragon intended to leave no man left to continue the journey but after he had vanquished all others, 1 man remained that would not be killed by Fraygar. The Great Dragon flew back to his castle to prepare for the final battle, in his mind he half thought the last man would perish before he reached the castle. But he was wrong.

The brave man reached the castle not long after the Dragon. Dragon’s fire is strong but a man fueled by the fire of true love burns hotter than any flame. Along the way just before he arrived, he picked up some not so burnt extra armour and a small but surprisingly sharp axe, must have been from man that had fled away alive. This brave man couldn’t imagine coming this far only to retreat, and he had no intentions of doing so. When he entered the Dragon’s castle he knew his fate was sealed, either he left with his love or he didn’t leave. The air in the castle was damp and musty, hard to breathe even without the smell. But the scent of all the evil that had gone on in there only fueled him on this night, he would turn the memory of every brave man that was denied a life with his love into a focused anger towards the Dragon. As soon as the brave man entered the heart of the castle he immediately looked up and noticed a once beautiful chandelier still hanging high above. He only barely had time to avoid the fire.

The Dragon wanted to end this now, but the man was ready and fired a short spear piercing the nose, an important part of breathing fire. Breathing fire would be more painful making the Dragon selective about when to use it, this would give the brave man the chance he needed. The Dragon was getting more frustrated and angry with every second, as this man was moving around his castle almost better than he did. This particular brave man had spent his days exploring every castle his feet would take him to, pouring over layouts and designs of castles at every opportunity, so it did not take him long at all to figure out a castle.  But how could this man know the layout of MY castle, thought Fraygar? This is exactly what the brave man was hoping would happen; if the Dragon was thinking about this then his mind wasn’t totally on the battle. If he only knew the brave man was doing this all on instinct and was very concerned he would soon run out of luck. Then he saw his chance. He had managed to figure out the Dragon’s attack and was waiting for him to do it again, this plan was all or nothing. The Dragon circled up to the roof again to come back down and attempt to breathe a finishing blow of fire but doing so meant he had to take his eyes off the brave man for a second. As he did it this time, the man launched his sword up in a prayer as hard as he could. It spun through the air getting stronger as it rose up and the blade caught the rope perfectly. It sliced through and sent the chandelier down to the floor with blazing speed. The sharp spikes on the bottom of it would catch the Dragon perfectly in his path, but he saw it coming. Out of the corner of his eye he saw it at the last instant and barely got out of the way. Thinking this was the last pathetic attempt at victory his anger seethed as he prepared to continue his path down towards the brave man. He never did see the axe coming and it caught him right in his black heart ending his life and reign of terror on the Princesses of the land…

Princess Aree sat in her tower prison with no expression on her face. She could cry no more tears, she had already shed a river. She could no longer scream for help, she knew there was nobody coming. If only she had her sword, she might stand a chance of getting out of there. She cursed her decision to never kiss any of the men who had courted her, who would want to rescue someone they had never kissed? She had visions of Princess Damina being rescued by a number of brave men who had loved her kisses. And even if anyone would come for her, the Dragon would surely devour him. She heard the door to her castle open; the Dragon would soon bring her the day’s food. But there was something different this time, the ground did not shake, nor did the air fill with the horrid smell of Dragon’s breath. She dared allow her heart to flutter with hope for a second before she crushed it, convincing herself it must have been the wind blowing the door. But before she could think anything more, the door to her room burst open…

The failing light of the world shone brightly behind him, she could only see a sunset silhouette of his warrior frame. Could it really be true? Had this man come all this way, slayed the great dragon Fraygar, all for her love? “Princess Aree, I have come for you,” he said. “What about the Dragon?,” she asked. “He has been slain, my love. My name is Ja’Whey (jah-way). I have loved you from the moment I laid eyes on you, when I first saw you picking flowers in your garden. But there was no equal to your beauty in that garden, nor anywhere. The day you were taken, my heart went with you. And I vowed I would not rest until I had proved my love and freed you. If I had to give my last breath for you to be free, I would gladly give it. But as long as I had air in my lungs and strength in my legs I would fight to rescue you. And I have done this, for now that the Dragon is dead, you are free. I wish with all my heart that you would choose me but your happiness is all that matters my love, so choose, as your heart desires. But know that I will love and protect you for all the days of the Earth, and beyond the end of time.” She smiled brightly and said, ”As I sat here waiting to be rescued, I hoped it would be you. I did not know your name or where you came from, but I hoped it would be you. I remember you watching me that day, for every time I went into the garden after that I hoped it would be you watching me. When all my greatest dreams of love were fulfilled, I hoped it would be you. And now all my dreams have come true, and it is you. It is you who I have loved now, then and always. I will be a magnificent Queen to you my great King, and we will spend our lives living and fighting for love and family. Strike any thoughts of unrequited love from your mind, you have found your one true soul mate in me and I in you. Thank you, my love, for rescuing me from this cruel fate, the feelings for you filling my heart will grow as each day passes.” “Your words shine a light on my soul and fill it with happiness. I feel as though I could fight 1000 Dragons.” “1 is more than enough for me,” she smiled. “I must apologize my Queen, for I have already waited far too long to do what I should have done the second I walked in here…” They met each other in the center of the room; he gently brushed the hair from her face. He placed his hand on her hip and pulled her close. As he tilted her chin up their eyes met, any doubts they had about their love were gone. And he kissed her, the first kiss for both of them. A kiss the description of which is not fit for my talents. But if there were a list of Greatest Kisses, you can bet this one sets the standard. They felt as if they had known each other forever and could feel the love they had for each other growing each passing second.

As they were about to depart the castle for the final time, the Princess lamented, “What about Princess Damina, and all the other Princesses. The ones who have been locked away forever? We can’t just leave them here.” “You’re right. And once the news of the Dragon’s death spreads, there will be no shortage of suitors looking to cash in on an easy victory to rescue a Princess. We will put an end to the misery caused by the Fraygar.” And so Ja’Whey and Princess Aree freed all the Princesses that were never rescued by a brave man, that have been locked away never to be seen again, until now. Long gone was their youthful beauty as many had been there a very long time, but a miracle was to be realized and as soon as they walked through the gates their youthful beauty was returned to them. They had learned an extremely important lesson and would not let others make the same mistake. For the rest of their days they counseled young Princesses on the dangers of giving away kisses, sharing the gift on intimacy with strangers and ignoring the quest for true love. Telling all who would listen about how all the pleasures in the world combined are not worthy to be compared with 1 fraction of pleasure with your true love and soul mate. Princess Damina was eternally grateful to Ja’Whey and Aree for not leaving her in the castle. And when she returned many of the men she had kissed but abandoned her in her time of need came to her with many excuses and new promises. But she would not listen to a single one and only kissed one man the rest of her days, her true love. With her new knowledge of love and the consequences, she was eventually able to find him. Princess Damina also took a large role in counseling young Princesses and teaching them about the dangers of not cherishing your kisses. Ja-Whey & Princess Aree became King Ja-Whey & Queen Aree. They ruled a kingdom full of love, happiness, and peace. After the death of Fraygar and up until this writing, there has never been another Dragon seen in all the Lands. King Ja’Whey and Queen Aree loved each other forever and lived happily ever after.