Diana, your article is delightful and so fun to read. I love it.
Where does lore and myth come from? Well, in all my research and writing on folklore and mythology, I find that in the society in which it is told, a myth is usually regarded as a true account of the remote past.
So, therefore, as sure as there is smoke and fire, there are dragons, and, according to Puff, in caves, on mountain tops, by the sea, there they be.