The six children sat on the floor of the room, not fidgeting, or fighting, or wiggling as children are known to do, but in rapt silence. They sat in front of the old man like they’re very lives were dependent on his next words. “I don’t know why you little snips are so interested in me; my stories can’t be worth keeping you all in here on a perfectly sunny day.” The Children groaned at this, because even though it was a nice enough day outside, the old man told stories rarely, and nobody wanted to miss it when he did. “Bah, you all will regret not getting out and catching frogs while you still can, before you end up an old man like me.” Even though the man was well past seventy years of age, he was built like a village smith, with his chest and arms pulling his robes tight around his frame. “Tell the story already,” said young Mikael, “We want to hear the story!” The old man looked at him for what seemed like a moment longer, before sighing to himself. “Very well…”
“Our story begins with a god. A majestic god, known only as the dragon, For that is the form he chose when he came here. Years after coming to this earth, the Dragon God realized that he was lonely, and had no one to talk to. Being a god, he decided to create a race of man in his image, on a land he declared as Mendio. He created the men, Then the women, Then the animals so they could hunt."
"But after a couple of years, it was apparent that his creations were not faring well, and the animals he created were driving the people almost to extinction. Upset that he had not adequately prepared his people, the dragon god gave the people the ability to draw power from the earth itself, and shape that power to their whim. This worked out for a time, and both the God and his people were happy."
"Eventually though, the people got greedy, and they drew power out of the earth not out of necessity, but out of lust. They built themselves lands of magnificent riches, and used magic for daily tasks they no longer felt like doing. The Mendions were so drunk off of their power; they failed to realize they were draining the earth of not just the magic, but of its very essence. Tree’s started dying, animals started starving and moving away, the rivers and streams were drying up, but the people failed to care, they were content creating magical means for sustenance."
"The dragon god was so upset, he appealed to his people to stop using magic, to no avail. During one of these pleas, the people actually went so far as to attack the dragon himself, causing him to flee to a new land. Upon fleeing, the dragon created two new races of people in neighboring lands. The first he called Drakkas, which means salvation in the old language. The second, Ishitar, which means redemption. He gave these people the same traits as the Mendions, but instead of drawing power from the earth, he created a score of godlings, and bonded them with animals on the two continents. These godlings could channel his magic through them. This gave the god control over the magic, and, he hoped, created a bond between animal and man that would prevent the problems he faced previously. He gave the people of Drakkas an additional affinity for these bond to their dieties, for at some point they were to be the force used to help him defeat the Mendions, and he wanted them to have complete control over the magic. "
"All was well on the continent of Ishitar, The people thrived, the women bore children that led the nations, the men protected their villages from the animals outside of there control. Meanwhile, on the continent of Drakkas, the people had disciplined themselves to the point of the entire land being a single effective war machine. The women were experts not in weaving and gardening, but in dressing wounds, and fixing armor. The men judged themselves not on there keen business sense, or their bountiful harvest, they were viewed only as much as they were successfull in training. Not interested in politics, or theology, or religion as the Ishitarians were, there sole focus in life was war, and all aspects of war, and they slept each night hoping that the morning would bring the call for them to attack in the name of the Dragon. They were so mighty, and trained so well in fact, the Dragon lord decided that he could no longer bear to see the Drakkans causing harm to the Mendions, for crimes that he was just as much at fault for. So before unleashing the Drakkans, The Dragon flew back over to Mendio, in complete secrecy, seen only by the brothers of the moon. Made stronger by the Praise of his new people, the Dragon managed to sever the ties between the Mendions and there earth magic, but at a price he failed to see. The tie was so strong, the magic released was too much for the god, and he could no longer control his own power. In an effort to contain the madness unleashing itself, the Dragon god hurled his essence into the earth, combining his essence with the planet, but destroying himself in the same act. His Sacrifice is a constant reminder of his love for his people, both Mendions, who he could not bear to see suffer, and the Ishitarians, who he gave his life to save."
"Back on Drakkas, the people were enraged, feeling that there god saw them as weak, and unworthy of accompanying him in the battle of ages. Unanamously, they denounced the Dragon Lord, saying that they were not to accept being slighted in the eyes of any god, and declared war on the Ishitarians, calling them the Favored Children. Their flag became two white hands on a black cloth, for they said fate was now in the hands of men."
"And so these crazed war beasts fell on to the Ishitarians, bent on complete conquest. The only thing that gave the Ishitarians a glimmer of hope was their faith. For when the Drakkans renounced their God, they lost their connection with their godlings, who in turn attacked them from within. Indeed, only seven godlings remained, but unfortunately, without the help of the Dragon God, they were forced to remain bonded to a creature of the earth, or they would cease to exist, much like their creator. Never the less, it was they who helped change the tide of the war, and helped beat back the Drakkans, until they were a mere shadow of their former empire. It was these same seven who, after the war, discovered part of the dragon lord’s essence in the earth, and the realization that even though they couldn’t draw all of the magic, the majority of it was still there, and could be used to influence certain events in their lives. This is the year we start our calendar, as this is the year the seven remaining companions chose their champions, who together formed the first Pantheon of the Dragon. The Pantheon was declared rulers of Ishitar, which they renamed Teliosa, or sunrise. The Panthion agreed to meet every five years in the tower they dubbed the Tower of the Crown. Here they brought their powers together and tried to re-connect with the essence of the dragon left over. And so this went on, with Pantheon Members dying, and new ones replacing them, always remaining seven champions, and always coming together every five years, to pay homage to the God that created them. This lasted for almost 700 years, until even that got to be too much for some.”
“But that my young friends, is a story for different time!"
The old man suddenly slapped his Knees, “There now, you’ve heard your story from me, now go out there and create stories that you can tell the next group of snips that feel too slow to catch frogs in the ponds.” He said with a gleam in his eye, knowing full well that this would cause all of the children to jump up and shake off the remaining cobwebs of his story, eager to prove to him just how many frogs they can catch, before the sun goes down.
All except for one.
As the kids all ran down the hall, running and jumping and yelling their children war cries, young Daeven sat with a troubled look on his face. “Is there something else master Daeven? Something you didn’t like about my story?” The old man leaned down to hear better, “What is it now?”
Daeven looked up, still a concerned look in his eye “Well sir, I’ve heard you tell this story before, and it always leads me to the same question. What happened to the Mendions? Did they die when the Dragon god entered the earth, or are they still out there somewhere?”
The old man stared at him in silence for a long time. He slowly got up, and walked to the door without so much a word to Daeven. He beckoned down the hall. “Marsitta, will you make up chambers for Master Daeven, and let his parents know that he is to move into my quarters, and he is to remain here, and conclude his studies with me from now on.” As he slowly sat down in his chair, the full impact of what he just said hit Daeven. “But why Sir? What did I say wrong? All I asked was a stupid question! What’s wrong with that?”
“No my son. There is nothing wrong with your question at all. But it is a question that has been asked by one other, with terrible results...” The old man said, a gleam in his silver eyes, as he looked out to the window of his tower, past the five other towers bustling with scholars, past those into the seventh tower, the tower with the sole window on the top floor illuminated by the light of a single candle. “Still….an important question none the less..”
“Our story begins with a god. A majestic god, known only as the dragon, For that is the form he chose when he came here. Years after coming to this earth, the Dragon God realized that he was lonely, and had no one to talk to. Being a god, he decided to create a race of man in his image, on a land he declared as Mendio. He created the men, Then the women, Then the animals so they could hunt."
"But after a couple of years, it was apparent that his creations were not faring well, and the animals he created were driving the people almost to extinction. Upset that he had not adequately prepared his people, the dragon god gave the people the ability to draw power from the earth itself, and shape that power to their whim. This worked out for a time, and both the God and his people were happy."
"Eventually though, the people got greedy, and they drew power out of the earth not out of necessity, but out of lust. They built themselves lands of magnificent riches, and used magic for daily tasks they no longer felt like doing. The Mendions were so drunk off of their power; they failed to realize they were draining the earth of not just the magic, but of its very essence. Tree’s started dying, animals started starving and moving away, the rivers and streams were drying up, but the people failed to care, they were content creating magical means for sustenance."
"The dragon god was so upset, he appealed to his people to stop using magic, to no avail. During one of these pleas, the people actually went so far as to attack the dragon himself, causing him to flee to a new land. Upon fleeing, the dragon created two new races of people in neighboring lands. The first he called Drakkas, which means salvation in the old language. The second, Ishitar, which means redemption. He gave these people the same traits as the Mendions, but instead of drawing power from the earth, he created a score of godlings, and bonded them with animals on the two continents. These godlings could channel his magic through them. This gave the god control over the magic, and, he hoped, created a bond between animal and man that would prevent the problems he faced previously. He gave the people of Drakkas an additional affinity for these bond to their dieties, for at some point they were to be the force used to help him defeat the Mendions, and he wanted them to have complete control over the magic. "
"All was well on the continent of Ishitar, The people thrived, the women bore children that led the nations, the men protected their villages from the animals outside of there control. Meanwhile, on the continent of Drakkas, the people had disciplined themselves to the point of the entire land being a single effective war machine. The women were experts not in weaving and gardening, but in dressing wounds, and fixing armor. The men judged themselves not on there keen business sense, or their bountiful harvest, they were viewed only as much as they were successfull in training. Not interested in politics, or theology, or religion as the Ishitarians were, there sole focus in life was war, and all aspects of war, and they slept each night hoping that the morning would bring the call for them to attack in the name of the Dragon. They were so mighty, and trained so well in fact, the Dragon lord decided that he could no longer bear to see the Drakkans causing harm to the Mendions, for crimes that he was just as much at fault for. So before unleashing the Drakkans, The Dragon flew back over to Mendio, in complete secrecy, seen only by the brothers of the moon. Made stronger by the Praise of his new people, the Dragon managed to sever the ties between the Mendions and there earth magic, but at a price he failed to see. The tie was so strong, the magic released was too much for the god, and he could no longer control his own power. In an effort to contain the madness unleashing itself, the Dragon god hurled his essence into the earth, combining his essence with the planet, but destroying himself in the same act. His Sacrifice is a constant reminder of his love for his people, both Mendions, who he could not bear to see suffer, and the Ishitarians, who he gave his life to save."
"Back on Drakkas, the people were enraged, feeling that there god saw them as weak, and unworthy of accompanying him in the battle of ages. Unanamously, they denounced the Dragon Lord, saying that they were not to accept being slighted in the eyes of any god, and declared war on the Ishitarians, calling them the Favored Children. Their flag became two white hands on a black cloth, for they said fate was now in the hands of men."
"And so these crazed war beasts fell on to the Ishitarians, bent on complete conquest. The only thing that gave the Ishitarians a glimmer of hope was their faith. For when the Drakkans renounced their God, they lost their connection with their godlings, who in turn attacked them from within. Indeed, only seven godlings remained, but unfortunately, without the help of the Dragon God, they were forced to remain bonded to a creature of the earth, or they would cease to exist, much like their creator. Never the less, it was they who helped change the tide of the war, and helped beat back the Drakkans, until they were a mere shadow of their former empire. It was these same seven who, after the war, discovered part of the dragon lord’s essence in the earth, and the realization that even though they couldn’t draw all of the magic, the majority of it was still there, and could be used to influence certain events in their lives. This is the year we start our calendar, as this is the year the seven remaining companions chose their champions, who together formed the first Pantheon of the Dragon. The Pantheon was declared rulers of Ishitar, which they renamed Teliosa, or sunrise. The Panthion agreed to meet every five years in the tower they dubbed the Tower of the Crown. Here they brought their powers together and tried to re-connect with the essence of the dragon left over. And so this went on, with Pantheon Members dying, and new ones replacing them, always remaining seven champions, and always coming together every five years, to pay homage to the God that created them. This lasted for almost 700 years, until even that got to be too much for some.”
“But that my young friends, is a story for different time!"
The old man suddenly slapped his Knees, “There now, you’ve heard your story from me, now go out there and create stories that you can tell the next group of snips that feel too slow to catch frogs in the ponds.” He said with a gleam in his eye, knowing full well that this would cause all of the children to jump up and shake off the remaining cobwebs of his story, eager to prove to him just how many frogs they can catch, before the sun goes down.
All except for one.
As the kids all ran down the hall, running and jumping and yelling their children war cries, young Daeven sat with a troubled look on his face. “Is there something else master Daeven? Something you didn’t like about my story?” The old man leaned down to hear better, “What is it now?”
Daeven looked up, still a concerned look in his eye “Well sir, I’ve heard you tell this story before, and it always leads me to the same question. What happened to the Mendions? Did they die when the Dragon god entered the earth, or are they still out there somewhere?”
The old man stared at him in silence for a long time. He slowly got up, and walked to the door without so much a word to Daeven. He beckoned down the hall. “Marsitta, will you make up chambers for Master Daeven, and let his parents know that he is to move into my quarters, and he is to remain here, and conclude his studies with me from now on.” As he slowly sat down in his chair, the full impact of what he just said hit Daeven. “But why Sir? What did I say wrong? All I asked was a stupid question! What’s wrong with that?”
“No my son. There is nothing wrong with your question at all. But it is a question that has been asked by one other, with terrible results...” The old man said, a gleam in his silver eyes, as he looked out to the window of his tower, past the five other towers bustling with scholars, past those into the seventh tower, the tower with the sole window on the top floor illuminated by the light of a single candle. “Still….an important question none the less..”
