3. Vermithrax Perjorative (Dragonslayer)
Vermithrax is a dragon that a king has offered a sacrifice twice a year (chosen by a raffle) in return for leaving the village in peace. See, Vermithrax is old and unable to hunt like she used to and, like an ageing lion, has to target slower and weaker prey, so already theres a degree of sympathy for our last dragon. But the scales of empathy swing in favour of the dragon when the cowardly king reneges on his deal and hires a wannabe wizard to kill the dragon (even though hes already shown his duplicitous nature by withholding his daughter from the raffle) . Unfortunately for the king, the wannabe messes up,, his ego and ignorance only serving to anger the dragon by trapping it in a cave to which the dragon torches the village in retaliation once it frees itself. . And to make matters worse, the wannabe wizard embarks on yet another mission to kill the dragon and ruthlessly kills its babies as they hatch! Even if you were onside with the king and the wannabe, the sight of this incompetent fool spearing innocent babies is a step too far. We even see poor Vermithrax nudging her slain young in a heartbreaking moment of maternal love. Naturally, this wannabe wizards actions incur Vermithraxs wrath and she attacks the village in retribution (after she had to endure the wizard trying to spear her to death too, mind you). And were supposed to cheer for her demise.
WTF? If you want us to cheer the dragon killers, dont make the beast a decrepit old aged pensioner, with tattered, hole-strewn wings. Make her evil and calculated, not desperately acting out of survival instinct; dont double cross her; and dont slaughter her young. And absolutely do not show her cradling her dead babies!