The Legend of Lac Long Quan and Au Co

Long, long ago, when the world was still young and magic flowed through every mountain stream and forest grove, there lived a mighty Dragon King named Lac Long Quan. He was the son of Kinh Duong Vuong, ruler of the underwater kingdom, and his domain stretched across all the waters of the land that would one day be called Vietnam.

Lac Long Quan was not like ordinary dragons. He possessed the wisdom of ancient seas, the strength of mighty rivers, and a heart filled with love for all living creatures. His scales shimmered like emeralds in sunlight, and when he transformed into human form, he appeared as a handsome young man with eyes that held the depth of oceans and the warmth of gentle springs.

The Dragon King spent his days protecting the people of the land from monsters and evil spirits. Whenever demons from the sea threatened the coastal villages, Lac Long Quan would rise from the depths, his powerful form cutting through the waves like lightning through storm clouds.

“Fear not, good people!” his voice would boom like benevolent thunder. “I am here to guard you!”

With his magical powers, he would banish the demons back to the darkest depths of the ocean, ensuring the safety of all who lived along the shores.

High in the misty mountains of the north, in a realm where clouds danced with mountain peaks and starlight pooled in crystal caves, lived Au Co, the most beautiful of all mountain fairies. She was the daughter of De Lai, the Mountain King, and possessed grace that made flowers bloom in her footsteps and a voice so sweet that even the wind would pause to listen.

Au Co’s hair flowed like a waterfall of midnight silk, and her robes seemed woven from morning mist and moonbeams. She could fly on wings invisible as air itself, and wherever she went, she brought peace and healing to all living things.

One day, while Au Co was visiting the mortal realm to tend to sick children in a mountain village, terrible roars echoed from the valley below. A massive demon had emerged from the depths, its eyes blazing like red coals and its breath turning the air poisonous.

The villagers fled in terror, but Au Co could not abandon the children under her care. She spread her protective light around the village, but even her fairy magic was not strong enough to defeat such a powerful demon.

Just as the monster prepared to attack, the sea began to churn and rise. From the waters emerged Lac Long Quan in his magnificent dragon form, his scales catching the sunlight like a thousand emeralds. The battle between the Dragon King and the demon shook the earth and made the mountains tremble.

“You shall not harm these innocent people!” Lac Long Quan declared, his voice carrying the power of crashing waves.

The battle raged for three days and three nights. Lightning crackled from the dragon’s breath while the demon’s claws carved great gouges in the mountainsides. Finally, with a tremendous roar that could be heard across all the land, Lac Long Quan struck the final blow, sending the demon tumbling back into the abyss from whence it came.

As the waters calmed and peace returned to the land, Lac Long Quan transformed into his human form. When he looked up at the mountain village, his eyes met those of Au Co, who stood watching from above, her fairy light still protecting the children.

In that moment, time seemed to stop. The Dragon King, who had commanded the respect of all sea creatures and defeated countless enemies, felt his heart skip like a stone across water. Au Co, who had lived for centuries among the clouds and stars, found herself drawn to this brave protector as flowers are drawn to the sun.

Slowly, Au Co descended from the mountain, her feet touching the ground as gently as falling cherry blossoms. Lac Long Quan approached with reverence, as if approaching a sacred shrine.

“Noble fairy,” he said, bowing deeply, “your kindness to these people shines brighter than all the pearls in my underwater palace.”

“Brave Dragon King,” Au Co replied, her voice like the music of mountain streams, “your courage and compassion honor all who dwell in this realm.”

As they spoke, they discovered that despite coming from different worlds—he from the depths of the sea, she from the heights of the mountains—their hearts beat with the same rhythm of love for the land and its people.

Their courtship was like a beautiful dance between sea and sky. Lac Long Quan would rise from the waters bearing gifts of perfect pearls and coral roses, while Au Co would descend from her mountain realm carrying flowers that never wilted and fruits that tasted of starlight.

They would meet in the peaceful valleys between mountain and sea, walking together through fields of rice that swayed like green silk in the gentle breeze. The Dragon King told Au Co stories of underwater palaces and sea gardens, while she shared tales of cloud cities and moon festivals among the peaks.

When they finally decided to marry, the celebration lasted for a hundred days. Sea creatures and mountain spirits alike came to witness the union. Dolphins leaped through the air in joyful arcs, while phoenixes painted the sky with their brilliant plumage. The very elements seemed to sing in harmony—waves keeping rhythm while mountain winds provided melody.

“With this union,” proclaimed the ancient spirits, “the sea and mountains are joined forever, and their children shall inherit the best of both realms.”

After their marriage, Lac Long Quan and Au Co settled in a beautiful palace that stood where the mountains met the sea. There, Au Co gave birth to a magical pouch containing one hundred eggs, each one glowing with soft, pearlescent light.

For seven days and seven nights, the couple watched over the eggs with tender care. Lac Long Quan would sing ancient sea lullabies, while Au Co hummed mountain melodies that made the eggs glow even brighter.

On the eighth day, the eggs began to crack open, and from each one emerged a perfect baby—fifty sons and fifty daughters, each child beautiful and strong, with the wisdom of the mountains and the courage of the sea flowing through their veins.

“Our children,” Au Co whispered in wonder, “they are more precious than all the treasures of heaven and earth.”

For several years, the family lived in perfect happiness. The children grew quickly and learned the ways of both their parents—how to swim like dolphins and climb like mountain goats, how to speak with sea creatures and befriend the spirits of the peaks.

But as time passed, Lac Long Quan began to feel the call of his watery domain growing stronger. The sea needed its king, and the underwater realm required his protection and guidance.

Similarly, Au Co felt the pull of her mountain homeland. The fairy realm called to her spirit, and she longed for the crystal caves and cloud gardens of her birth.

One evening, as they sat watching their children play in the garden where land flowers grew alongside sea anemones, Lac Long Quan took Au Co’s hands in his.

“My beloved,” he said gently, “I feel the tides calling me home to the sea. My people need their king, and I cannot ignore my duties much longer.”

Au Co nodded, understanding filling her bright eyes. “And I hear the mountain winds calling my name, my dear husband. The fairy realm needs its daughter to return.”

They looked at their hundred children, their hearts heavy with love and the knowledge of what must come.

“Though we must part,” Lac Long Quan said, “our love will live forever in our children and their children’s children.”

“Let us divide our family with wisdom and fairness,” Au Co suggested. “Fifty children shall come with me to learn the ways of the mountains, and fifty shall go with you to master the secrets of the sea.”

And so it was decided. With tears of both sorrow and pride, the great Dragon King and the Mountain Fairy prepared to part ways.

“My children,” Lac Long Quan addressed the fifty who would come with him, “you shall be the guardians of the coasts and rivers. You will learn to fish and sail, to trade with distant lands across the waters, and to protect all who depend on the sea for their livelihood.”

“My dear ones,” Au Co said to her fifty children, “you shall be the keepers of the mountains and forests. You will learn to farm the fertile valleys, to craft beautiful things with your hands, and to preserve the ancient wisdom of the land.”

Before they parted, Lac Long Quan gave each child a small piece of dragon scale that would always protect them from harm. Au Co blessed each child with a feather from her fairy wings that would bring them wisdom and good fortune.

“Remember,” both parents said together, “though we go to different realms, you are all brothers and sisters, born of the same love between mountain and sea. In times of great need, you must come together, for united you are stronger than any force in the world.”

With final embraces that seemed to last forever yet ended far too soon, the families separated. Lac Long Quan transformed into his dragon form and led his fifty children into the shimmering depths of the sea. Au Co spread her fairy wings and carried her fifty children up into the misty heights of the mountains.

The children who went with their father became the ancestors of all the fishing peoples, the boat builders, and the coastal traders. They learned the rhythms of the tides and the songs of the sea winds. Their descendants would always feel the call of water in their blood and possess an unbreakable connection to all things maritime.

The children who followed their mother became the ancestors of the farmers, the craftspeople, and the mountain dwellers. They learned to read the seasons in the flight of birds and to find healing herbs in the forest depths. Their descendants would always carry the strength of stone and the persistence of growing things.

Though separated by the vast distances between mountain peaks and ocean depths, both groups remembered their shared origin. They celebrated the same festivals, told stories of their common ancestors, and in times of invasion or natural disaster, they would unite as one people—the children of the Dragon and the Fairy.

And so the Vietnamese people came to be, carrying in their hearts both the adventurous spirit of the sea dragon and the nurturing wisdom of the mountain fairy. To this day, the Vietnamese honor both Lac Long Quan and Au Co as their spiritual ancestors, remembering that they are the children of both water and earth, born from a love that transcended the boundaries between different worlds.

In every Vietnamese heart flows the courage of dragons and the grace of fairies, and in every generation, the eternal love story of Lac Long Quan and Au Co continues, binding the people together as one family under the vast sky that stretches from the highest mountain to the deepest sea.