A Book In The Making

The world started as such: empty. The features of the land were the only inhabitants of this country we now know as Nyathnore. The sweeping forest to the northwest that stretches beyond the knowledge of even the wisest of wise men. No bear, deer, fox, wolf, squirrel, owl, or any other manner of beast, insect, or life other than that of the trees was present. The forest was quiet and empty as a forgotten cave. To the southeast was a vast mountain range that backed up to the coast of the calm sea, the waves of which lapped against the bases of these hulking stone monoliths. The mountains crawled up the eastern coast getting smaller the further north they went, hemming in the rest of the land. Separating the mountains and the forest was a vast plain with some places being fertile and able to grow a few sparse trees yet most of the plain was covered by grasses that grew as tall as an elf or higher. The plain was intersected by two great rivers: one that flowed east and out to the sea through the mountains and the other who flowed in a curve south and out to the sea at the beginning of the mountain range. The rivers flowed out from a lake at the edge of the forest. The last of the inhabitants of the empty land lied to the southwest and it was the greatest of them all. A short distance from the southern river laid a desolate desert that lead to a massive set of cliffs that reached so high into the sky that no being knows how high they reach. The cliffs were terraced and looked as if it was a staircase for the giants to climb all the way to the heavens. Unlike the seemingly smooth sides of the mountain range the cliffs were coarse and rough. Large pieces of stone often fell away from the cliff side at invisible fault lines. The back of the cliffs fell straight down to an angry ocean that battered the cliff face with a thunderous fury and tremendous power as if the water were in pain.

Thus was the beginning of our world: empty save for trees and grass and the forces of nature.

Then descended two beings of such strength and immense power they can only be referred to as gods. One had scales of gleaming gold with eyes that shone like coals and wings made of sunlight. The other had scales that sparkled like stars, eyes of pitted stone, and wings that were made from the darkest of nights. These two beings were the gods of the Sun and Moon and it was them that brought life into the world. The Sun God brought into being the beasts and plants of the earth and sky and such, the forest, plain, and mountains were filled. The Moon God brought into being the creatures and plants of the water and so the lake, rivers, and seas were filled. Then the Sun and Moon Gods came together and brought into being creatures after their own shape and so did dragons enter the world.

The dragons were of every color and they sparkled like the richest treasure. There were dragons of the deepest blue and of the lightest green, of the brightest yellow and the fieriest red. Pink, purple, orange, brown, gold, silver, and white. The dragons chose to settle in the towering cliffs, digging a multitude of caves within the rock face and mating as is the wont of creatures of flesh. Eventually however, the dragons grew too numerous and began to fight each other for food.

A terrible war began that rained blood and sorrow upon the land. The dragons had split into two factions and no one but them knows how each side was decided. The battles between the dragons raged louder than any thunderstorm and were terrible indeed for not only were the dragons ferocious with their fangs and claws and spiked tails, but the dragons also could use magic and wrought many terrible deeds.

In a hidden cave in the cliffs, one faction had hidden their eggs to protect them from the other dragons. The cave was in such a spot that the dragons believed no one but their group could find the eggs and felt there was little need to guard them as all of the dragons were needed for the fighting.

They couldn’t have been any more wrong.

One night, one of the nesting mothers came to visit the eggs and found them all broken and smashed open by magic. She roared her lamentation and fury to the world and thus she and the others of their faction sought out a terrible revenge. Once the next egg was laid, a white dragon egg that shone with the soft luminescence of an opal or a pearl, a clutch of the dragons carried the egg to what we know as the Shadows Glade. It is a part of the forest where the trees grow closer than they should and the sun nor it’s heat ever quite reach the ground. The dragons placed the egg in the center of the glade and enacted a dangerous spell of vengeance. The shell turned black before their eyes like ink spilling onto a page and began to shake and glow. Suddenly the egg burst open and there appeared, fully grown, the worlds first black dragon.

And the dragon’s name was Thundival and he was bred for war.

He was unlike any other dragon ever seen in the whole Nyathnore. Everything about him was as black as the darkest of nights from the spines on his back and tail, the claws on his feet, the membrane of his wings, to the fangs in his mouth. Even his eyes, tongue, and blood were black. Shadows seemed to cling to him wherever he moved and the fire from his belly came out of his maw in a flickering mass of heated shadow.

The dragons led Thundival to the battlefield and unleashed him upon their enemies. But Thundival was mad. His mind twisted by the magic of the dragons, he saw them all as his enemy and so he attacked every dragon in sight. Due to the spells placed upon him, the dragons magic could no longer work on him to kill him. The other dragons could not hold their own against him as he was faster and fiercer than any dragon before him. And so happened the Slaughter of The First Race.

The Sun and Moon God were horrified by what they saw happen to their precious creations and so together they trapped Thundival in a diamond and stopped his rampage. But the damage had been done. Of the hundreds of dragons that had populated the land only twenty were left. The dragons swore they would never again allow themselves to fall into such a war again and bound themselves in magic to ensure such a tragedy would never spring forth again.

Over time, Nyathnore recovered. The elves appeared coming from the far northern reaches of the forest and appearing to the dragons as if they had just emerged from the trees as there are few places in the forest for dragons to land. The dwarves came by the sea and burrowed into the mountains and carved towns from the mountains faces. Peace reigned so the Sun and Moon Gods left leaving the world to its new inhabitants. Thus, is the creation of our world.

However, this account comes with a word of caution, for they say the Sun and Moon Gods entrusted Thundival's diamond to the dragons, who in their turn, entrusted it to the elves. The elves are not as violent as the dragons and so they believed they would be better suited to be guardians of the Mad Dragon. But according to a prophecy, the black dragon will return and his rage will be terrible indeed for not only will it be his rage but that of the one who is both light and dark, hot and cold, who will release him from his prison and unleash their wrath upon the land.