In the first paragraph of that the area where this story takes place there is a problem and nature doesn't like it. "It had been years since a single bird had flown by in the great blind shell of sky."" The second paragraph hints at the time period of the story with the final sentence of the paragraph, "At last one man poked the fire with his sword."" Further on the focus of the story is revealed to us with the sentence "The dragon can smell us miles off anyway."" A bit further on the time frame is reinforced by one of the characters referring to a castle. The quote, "The dragon never sets foot in the town,"" Offers the reader just enough information to make them curious but not enough to give them any real understanding of the dragon. The next few paragraphs further establish the time period, the location (northern Europe), and the identity and the intention of the two main characters. They are knights in the year 900 A.D., ("900 years since the Nativity,"") and they have come to kill the dragon. "On the moor is no time, is only forever,"" the second man hints that the prospect that there is more wrong with this area than simply the lack of birds. .
The description the knight uses of the dragon can fit those of the myths and legends. When read closely though you realize that the description lack key details. "They say his eyes are fire. His breath a white gas; you can see him burn across the dark lands. He runs with sulfur and thunder and kindles the grass."" The dragon runs from nowhere; we cannot guess its home. It vanishes in fog; we know not where it goes,"" this quote tells us that there is more to the dragon than that of the myths. No one has been able to track the dragon down or find where it comes from. "Miles off, rushing with a great chant and a roar "the dragon,"" and "its flashing yellow glare spurted above a hill and then, fold on fold of dark body, distantly seen, therefore indistinct, flowed over that hill and plunged vanishing into a valley,"" are descriptions of the dragon but when you read it they are not very good descriptions of the dragon.
