The Speaking Sapphire

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. Centuries ago; before the arrival of those monstrous behemoths. There was an empire. An empire so vast, that it covered the entire continent. At its center was the great city of Olith. A holy land and the jewel of the continent. The land was ruled by a monarch located within the fortified walls of Olith. The mountainous terrain further added to the security of the valley. The continent was protected by Rorvik. The only city that used democracy as its form of government. Rorvik’s military was unmatched by any of the other territories within the continent.

Although Olith was the nation’s ruler. Olith had an unusual quality. The city towered over the land, as it was located in the valley within the mountains. And it was all built around a colossal stone. A sapphire of immeasurable size and beauty. The sapphire was worshipped as a gift from the gods themselves. And the gods used it as a means to communicate. The closer one would get to the sapphire, the more one could notice an eerie and delicate voice. A voice, that emerged from the sapphire.

This strange trait was learned of early in the development of ancient Olith, and soon after the discovery, a rare few were appointed by the monarch at the time to translate the god’s demands. This led to Olith naturally leading the entire continent. The alliance followed, without question.

Time went on, and Olith grew. As well as the neighboring lands. All was well, and the land was experiencing a time of peace. The quiet proved itself to be a detriment. The constant state of peace gave way to a pompous king. A king that wasted his days yelling at his servants, drinking his and the entire castle’s fill, and whoring around on a regular basis. The king was always in a foul mood, and one could presume it was either because he was hungover from the night prior, or that he was a bastard of a human being. Either, if not both, felt like a reasonable assumption. His overindulgence in wine, women, and life of flamboyant excess drew into his question his ability to lead. His lifestyle served as a hypocritical embarrassment to everything the holy land stood for.

Word of the king’s vices echoed throughout the valley, and beyond into the remainder of the continent. Rorvik had heard of his transgressions and the appointed leader had taken it upon himself to correct the issue. Rorvik had long believed that a monarchy was a foolish way to lead a nation, let alone a continent. In an act of defiance, Rorvik had laid siege to Olith. An army of imaginable scope trekked the icy terrain of the mountains surrounding Olith, and Olith was at war with Rorvik. The conflict between the two titans left many without homes. Olith was able to keep Rorvik at bay. To many, Olith seemed unstoppable, but Rorvik was formidable.

Believing Olith to be on the side of God. Many of the homeless, sought refuge within the walls of the once-great city. The sudden influx of people included a number of individuals with questionable morals. Bandits sought refuge within the walls of Olith as well. Many of the criminals banded together to attempt to buy their freedom, and help the leader of Rorvik obtain his prize sapphire.

A team of thieves and bandits attempted to steal the stone but to no avail. The stone was simply far too large and far too heavy for any collection of people to move it. The city guard had noticed the attempted theft, and a battle ensued. One with the defeat of the bandits. Most were killed, but not all.

The few bandits that narrowly escaped the city guard regrouped and devised a new plan. A team of bandits began recruiting other criminals. One night, the bandits would surround the speaking sapphire. The stone was being defended by the guard, and one by one, the guard took up a defensive stance. The guards looked at one another with honorable admiration for each other. They all knew, they were overwhelmingly outnumbered by the criminality that plagued Olith. The Bandits, thieves, murderers. The scum of human existence struck down the guards surrounding the stone, and with their pickaxes, began harvesting the sapphire.

The bandits began congratulating each other, and smiled as they had won the battle, and in turn, secured their freedom in what would be, the new age of Rorvik.

The stone began to crack and glow. The ground began to shake, and the victors of the battle stopped harvesting the stone as they focused their attention on it instead. Because evidently, something was not right. Perhaps they angered the gods?

The glowing began shining through the cracks made in the stone, and a dragon burst through the top of the stone. The beast began swirling in the moonlit night sky. The monster rained down fire, and set the legendary city of olith ablaze. A second dragon flew out of the egg, and it looked vastly different from the first. The first was a red behemoth, while the second was a yellow goliath that let out a thunderous scream. The scream was quickly followed by lightning. A third also emerged. The largest of the trinity. The coldest, most unforgiving beast. The winter dragon.

The arrival of those beasts was many centuries ago, but they still fly, and haunt the valley. Olith became a ghost town, and Rorvik began leading the rest of the continent. Leaving The valley that use to contain Olith as a memory of past sin. The gods punish those who do not obey.