drakurgis

Chapter 1: A Draught at the Sign of the Green Dragon

 "You can drink your fancy ales, You can drink them by the flagon, But the only brew for the brave and true Comes from the Green Dragon!" J.R.R. Tolkieen

    The street is a feeding frenzy, day or night. Sometimes those fed think they are being eaten; sometimes those eaten think they are being fed. In contemplation of these words, some might imagine the chaos of some crowded urban dystopia, but it is equally true here in this seemingly tranquil suburban neighborhood. Every surface is covered with innumerable invisible microscopic lives consuming and being consumed. Even at the visible scale, if you looked log enough, you would see raccoons, and mice scavenging, and periodically being torn apart by a bird of prey or a rubber tire. Nonetheless, people carry on as if they were encapsulated in some type of protective sphere of their own mundane daily script of normalcy.

    On this particular street, on this evening the lighting is soft and filtered by the canopy of oaks. The script of normalcy involved me closing the door of a sedan and walking across the street toward a small A-frame that looks like a old chapel in a Spanish colonial style. The sign over the door is hand-carved and says: Green Dragon Tea House. I am coming here for the first time to meet a friend after school and catch up. 

    Stepping inside the door, I noticed lots of ferns and plant life, as well as various paintings and wood sculptures by local artists exhibited for sale. There was a large bookshelf on the far wall and a big open space in the center of the room. Across the room I saw the friend i had come to meet seated in a large green chair across a small table from an identical chair. Lisa was sitting with a stack of papers and a  textbook on microbiology. She was quite striking despite her small stature, with a thick mane of red hair that she kept tied back while studying. As I approached she looked up from her book over the rims of her reading glasses. 

     "Yay, you made it."

     "Wouldn't have missed it. This place is great. It looks like it used to be a church.'

      "Yes, i think it was. Wait till you try the drinks."

    Across the room, by the large bookshelf was the tea and espresso bar, which I approached to order. A tall white haired man behind the counter smiled and handed me a menu.

    "Wow! Fujian white? I didn't know you could get that in America. I heard export of white tea was restricted."

    "You would be correct about that, but recently I think the restrictions have eased. Not many people seem to know much about chinese tea; how did you learn about it?

    "I study chinese herbalism, actually. Right around the corner there, actually" I pointed indicating the street north of here.

    "Oh yeah, we get quite a few of the students here. Maybe one of our main demographics here. Would you like to try the Fujian White?"

    "Yes please."

    "Anything else?"

    "That's it for now"

    As he was pouring me a cup. I was purusing The bookshelf next to the counter. 

   "Amazing book collection, you have here." I picked up a rre volume from the shelf and checked the table of contents

    "Thank you. James from Lost Horizon comes in once in a while and drops off some donations for the collection. I think that one you've got just arrived today in fact. It'll be 3.50 for the tea, by the way"

    I fished out my wallet and paid, setting the book down on the counter.

    "I was just at his store over the weekend. He has an amazing collection. I actuallly saw a large format edition of Secret Teachings of All Ages he had. Maybe someday I'll have seven thousand dollars to spend on a book" 

    "Well, luckily here we just have more of an informal book exchange. Are you interested in the Golden Dawn stuff? I think we have several other titles like that one."

    "Yeah, actually I've been working my way through the reading list they used to have for members. I just finished this one, in fact." I pulled out an old paperback from my backpack and showed it to him.

    "Oh . . .interesting. I haven't seen that one."

    "It's pretty interesting. The guy who wrote it is actually a math teacher who invented the idea of the tesseract. . .like a hypercube that they mention in A Wrinkle in Time. He also came up with the idea for the jungle gym as a way to try and teach kids to think four dimensionally. Can I donate this one to your collection?"

    "Sure. That one will definitely fit in nicely." 

    He passed my steaming tea to me over the counter.

    "Did you know that the pub where the American Revolution was dreamt up in Boston was also called the Green Dragon?"

    "Yep. There's a picture of the tavern right here, actually."

    He indicated a framed engraving behind the counter. 

    "It's also the name of the place where Bilbo Baggins set's out on his adventure in Lord of the Rings."

    "That's right. . .I forgot about that."

    "Now let's see if I can show you something you didn't know about."     

    He wiped his hands and came out from the bar, over to the bookshelf, and pulled out a paperback.

    "Have you seen this one?"

    "Wow! No, I hadn't seen that. But, I heard that is the book where Ian Fleming got the idea for James Bond and Spectre. Some say he actually wrote that under a pseudonym."
    

    "Impressive. You seem to know a lot about obscure topics."

    "Well, that's not all either. Did you know that the character Le Chiffre in Casino Royale is supposedly based on Aliester Crowley? Just to bring it all back around to the Golden Dawn. . .There seems to be quite an overlap between military intelligence and the so-called 'secret orders'."

    "I had come to similar conclusions myself. You might be surprised how prominent these groups are around here. . .going back a hundred years or more. Have you ever been to the Book Den? Its over next to the art museum."

    "Of course, right under the old Odd Fellows lodge if I'm not mistaken."

    "Yes indeed. Well, there's a woman who works there you should meet. . .Corey. She grew up in hollywood in the 50s. . .used to hobnob with all those golden dawn people of that era. I bet she has a lot of info that would interest you."

    "Wow. that does sound interesting. I will ask around. My name is Shams by the way, pleased to meet you." I reached out to shake hands. He dried his hands behind the bar and as he reached out i noticed a strange ring. 

     "Shams? Like Shams of Tabriz"

     "Close. . .Shams Bavli. . .some friends mix the letters up and call me Smashbob"

      "Pleased to meet you. Friends call me Zo"

      "Like Alphonso? or Alonzo"

      "Close. . .more like Zo-ology. . .or Zo-diac"

      "A wild beast?"

      "So it's been said." He smilled.