The world was young, the skies were still,
No mark of shadow on the Moon,
No name was known to dale or hill,
When Rünin woke beneath the Moon
He gave a name to the unnamed,
He drank from yet untasted wells,
The first of all the fire was claimed,
And stirred the deep and silent dells.
The winds that blow now hold his sound,
His secrets lie in paths unkown,
He rests beneath the sacred ground,
A name that stands like mountain stone.
- Lament for Rünin
-------------------------
The first to awaken was the dragon Rünin, and the only one to ever breathe fire throughout history. He was the most ancient living creature on Ferosia. After him came everyone and everything else. The other folks began to regard the dragons as divine figures. They called them gods, prophets, envoys, or guardians sent by the deities. Those epochs were named the Age of Rünin, a time when all folks lived in tranquility. When it began was uncertain, yet its end was absolute: the vanishment of Rünin.
With his disappearance, the period known as the Dark Age commenced. This age endured for tens of thousands of years; the races were severed from one another. Suspicion took root against those who were not of their own kind. Even within their own ranks, the races fractured, drawing borders and establishing nations. When their current holdings proved insufficient, they raised armies and slaughtered each other.
For a long epoch, the dragons paid no heed to the affairs of the other folks. They lived in their own manner. Until Drakon, known as the First Dragon Lord, descended upon the city named Pathyr and declared himself the master of the domain.
At that moment, the period known as the Age of Dragons began.
Perhaps they were not as mighty as Rünin; they could not breathe fire like him, nor were they as immense. Yet, they were mightier and larger than the other races. Dragons who had once been hunted now exacted food from others in the guise of tribute. Most bent the knee to them; some attempted resistance. But no weapon could pierce the dragons' scales. Some folks submitted after defeat, while others sought refuge in places deemed safe.
The Age of Dragons passed relatively calmly, until the dragons, too, succumbed to the same greed as the others. Dragon Lords waged war against one another across all continents, save for Cualareth. Cualareth was a place the dragons ignored and never visited, due to its lack of mountains high enough for them to nest and its great distance from the other continents. The folks dwelling there could be considered "fortunate."
But across all the remaining continents, the dragons and the folks who served them were slaying each other. The dragons became so savage over time that they murdered those not of their own kind while they were still in the egg. Old or young, female or a newborn hatchling—it mattered not. The dragon population, which numbered a few thousand, plummeted below a thousand. This bloody period lasted for approximately 500 years. Five centuries this era of murder, destruction, and terror endured.
The War of the Dragon Lords ended in the year 4000 of the Age of Dragons, sealed by the covenant known as the Dragon Law. According to this pact:
- Attacking dragons in the clutch was forbidden.
- Harming eggs was forbidden.
- Killing dragons younger than 200 years of age was forbidden.
- Dragon Lords were forbidden from assaulting other Dragon Lords without cause.
- If a young dragon wished to claim a Dragon Lord's territory and ascend to Lordship, they must do so through a single, ritual duel. They could not subjugate the populace by force and terrorizing the lands.
- A Dragon Lord could only be challenged to a duel once every five years.
- Those who violated these rules would face the combined might of all Dragon Lords.
The law established by the covenant had ended the senseless wars of the Dragon Lords.
One hundred and fifty years after this event, a young and curious dragon, whose name, origin, and destination were unknown, flew to the continent of Cualareth, traversing the sea now known as the Sea of Endless Storms. The folks there seemed to be divided into three; each race kept to its own region and did not communicate with the others.
Humans dwelt in the center of the continent; their presence did not surprise him, as humans could be found everywhere on Ferosia. Their lands consisted of hills and wooded areas, with no elevations other than a few small mountains. He understood why the dragons had never come here.
Elves lived in the North of the continent—a race he beheld for the first time. They lived in tribes, in a semi-nomadic fashion. Their lands consisted of plains and partially forested terrain. There were no elevations that could be called mountains.
The lizard-folk dwelt in the South of the continent; this race, too, he saw for the first time. They lived in small tribes within villages that could be called hidden. Their lands consisted of rainforests and swamps. Occasionally, steep, rocky elevations jutted out from between the trees, but they were too short to be considered mountains.
This reconnaissance lasted for a few years. The folks here had seemingly forgotten the dragons' very existence; dragons were merely creatures of myth. He considered the other continents, where the populace regarded dragons as divine beings. And he asked himself, "To what extent can I shape the beliefs of the other folks to my own will?"
He went to the Elves and spoke to them in a high and majestic tone.
"I am the Emissary of the Gods," he declared. The Elves believed this dragon, who resembled the beings described in their legends. Seeing the light in their eyes, the dragon continued to speak in the same tone.
"I bring you the commandments of the Gods. The Gods wish you to live in harmony with all other folks, doing no harm to nature. Love all, heedless of their appearance," he commanded. And he flew away without uttering another word, without looking back.
The Elves who heard this recounted the event to the rest of their kin. In time, they all began to obey these words.
He went to the lizard-folk and spoke to them in a high and majestic tone.
"I am the Emissary of the Gods," he declared. The lizard-folk also believed this dragon, who resembled the beings described in their legends. Seeing the light in their eyes, the dragon continued to speak in the same tone.
"I bring you the commandments of the Gods. The Gods have placed you on this continent to safeguard it. This is a sacred land; no one other than you shall set foot here," he commanded. And he flew away without uttering another word, without looking back.
The lizard-folk who heard this recounted the event to the others. In time, they all began to obey these words.
After ensuring that the other folks obeyed his words, he finally went to the humans. And he spoke in a high and majestic tone.
"I am the Emissary of the Gods," he declared. Humans, due to their short lifespans compared to the others, had forgotten even the legends about dragons. He noticed their blank stares and realized he needed to "convince" them, for the humans did not seem likely to obey immediately like the others. And he considered the religions of the other continents; most religions generally spoke of punishment or curses for those who did ill deeds. He continued his speech in the same tone.
"I bring you the commandments of the Gods. The Gods demand sacrifices—non-human sacrifices—and in return, they promise you abundance and bounty. But if sufficient sacrifices are not given, they shall rain down curses upon you," he stated.
The humans looked at each other, confused and slightly afraid. An old man with a cane stepped forward from the crowd; he had long white hair and a long beard, and his clothes suggested poverty. His back was bowed with age; he could not even stand straight. And he spoke against the dragon.
"Esteemed Emissary of the High Gods, what exactly do the gods require of us?" he asked.
The dragon spoke, looking at the old man, in the same tone.
"The Gods' desires are simple. Sacrifices from the non-human folks. The God of Death shall come every winter to collect the souls of your sacrifices. However, you must perform this without harming their bodies. Harming their bodies also harms their souls. Within these confines, how you kill your sacrifices is left to your judgment."
"But what if we do not do as you say?" asked a young man from within the crowd, stepping forward as if challenging the dragon. His body was well-built, and his voice was confident.
"Then you shall be punished," the dragon stated, and with a swift motion, crushed the young man with a single clawed hand.
"I trust you have understood," he said, and flew away without looking back.
The crowd was in shock at the recent event.
The young dragon hid for a few years and watched the folks of the continent. The lizard-folk were attacking everyone who entered their lands. The humans were invading the lands of the other folks to take sacrifices, attempting to capture them alive. The Elves, meanwhile, were sending envoys to all folks. He realized that some human settlements were not taking his words seriously, and he brought "calamities" upon some of them.
He redirected rivers, causing floods. He broke off rock fragments from the mountains, creating artificial landslides. He even dropped dead animals from the sky onto one village. All these ensured that the humans believed his words. If you do not give sacrifices to the Gods, the Gods will bring calamities upon you.
He then retreated to rest for a few decades. He waited patiently for the results of his "experiment."