Chronicles of the Dragon Cave from A to Z: "A" for Al

   "Sire?"
   Sessin's interruption made the Ninja Muse escape from my Dragonator Lock, disappearing in a black shroud.
   "It's still a no!" I yelled at the empty space. "I won't do a Muppet show for the challenge!" I folded my wings and turned to my chef dwarf. "Have you finished cleaning the Grand Library?"
   "Yes." He held a couple books in his hands. One had my grandfather's  name on it, the other had mine. "Sire, I was wondering...Why did you pick 'Al' for your public name? You said because of your granddad but no one called him 'Al'. His name was Alfonso but his pet name was 'Poncho' and the short for your name -which is that of a conqueror- is actually 'Alex'. You should have kept the conqueror's name."
   He hesitated under my gaze, maybe thinking he should have not asked that.
   "Alex and Poncho are different dragons but his essence lives in me. Al is where our names converge. Al is for Alfonso, for Alex and for Alpha. It is also for 'Aliento', the Spanish word for 'breath' but that also serves as metaphor for 'life', for 'strength' and for 'encouragement'. All the things you need to conquer adversity. Al is where everything amalgamates and where Father Dragon's powers come from. Al Diaz is my union with my grandfather in an eternal present, where he still teaches me of the greatness of our bloodline. Al is twice a conqueror's name."
  Sessin held the books closer and nodded. "I'll return the books back to their place and help with the preparations for the challenge."
  "Call the squad. The first preparation I want to make is a thank you note for Arlee Bird, for creating and organizing the Blogging from A to Z Challenge."