“It would be nice, and fairly nearly true,

to say that ‘from that time forth Eustace was a different boy.’ To be strictly accurate, he began to be a different boy.

He had relapses.

There were still many days when he could be very tiresome. But most of those I shall not notice.

The cure had begun.”

--from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, by C. S. Lewis

“‘You think there has been a change, then?’ said Eustace.

‘It’s not only me,’ said Jill. ‘Everyone’s been saying so.’”

--from The Silver Chair, by C. S. Lewis

Here’s the thing: After you’ve gone through an undragoning, Aslan’s probably not going to let you stay up on the mountain with him. You’ll have to walk down the mountain without your dragon skin and wings and fire. You’ll have to show yourself human to the other people down in the valley. People will notice the change.

(Go check out last Tuesday’s Dragon Story post if you have no idea what I’m talking about when I say undragoning or if you don’t know who Eustace is.)

You will find yourself unable to deny the undragoning. But you will feel strangely vulnerable in your human skin. You will wonder whether you will be accepted. Wonder whether you will be seen as less now that enemy spears draw blood rather than glancing off your scales. Whether you are safe now that you can no longer protect yourself with fire.

Or at least that’s what it felt like for me.

Am I making sense here? Post your thoughts below. And in my next post I’ll tell you what happened once I got down the mountain.