The First Tome: Origins

The seven large books appeared in front of him, Ra felt a sense of awe overcome him as the aura radiating from the books emitted a low hum. He grabbed the nearest one and it responded to his touch instantly flipping open, a burst of pure energy flowed through his fingers, the symbols were still present but Ra found he could perfectly understand them; it read:

In the beginning, There were Dragons.

The sole occupants of Miviniel, a land collapsing in on itself, order...control...these things were nonexistent. Born while the planet was still in the stage of its infancy it was in this environment the Dragons came to be.

Ra paused his reading, "The Dragons are as old as the world?" He was filled with conflicting thoughts, he thought back to the words of that Primal Red Dragon Saint, "The war will end..."

Ra shook his head, "I think this is what I've been searching for...Answers, the truth!" he buried his nose back in the book.

In the first days with the birth of Dragons, they found themselves alone, nothing grew while the elements reigned unchecked, the Dragons had to exert control over the world to make it habitable, but they were few, and quite small.

However they soon learned that the power they needed was within them, and with great effort they tapped into a primal source, a connection- to the land.

With this connection the winds were calmed, the fires died, and the energies than ran rampant in the sky became stable. The Dragons reigned in peace for 200,000 years, tending the planet and healing the land, their connection continuously grew stronger.

200,000 years after the Rise of Dragons, a rift was torn in space, the tear stretched over a thousand miles in every direction, a cataclysm had dawned on Miviniel. Through this rift came many violent and war-like races- Phoenices, Trolls, Elves... and Humans. These creatures arrived and immediately began to fight for dominion over this peaceful land.

The Trolls were the first to be forced into hiding, their magic unaccustomed to this strange world their combat power was vastly diminished, in the face of the physically strong Humans and Elves- They fled, and we Dragons watched.

The Phoenices were powerful, Great winged birds of flame, they were few but undying- resurrecting after each death, it seemed the wars would never end. But the Phoenix soon learned the others could not fly and soon, they too left the battle. The Elves were fast, and strong in magic, they soon held the advantage, but they underestimated the cleverness of Humans, we Dragons watched as the Humans learned to work spells, we observed as they built traps, raised walls, turned beasts into weapons. The Elves were quickly forced on the defensive, and the first Human settlement was formed. Still we did not show ourselves, choosing instead to remain hidden and continue to observe, bystanders on our own planet. 20 years passed, the settlement became a village, the village a town- the town a city... the city became many cities and the city became a Kingdom. The Humans continued to grow stronger and eventually the rift was closed by a powerful Human King. We considered ending our silence, we should reach out to the Humans, speak with them. Our elders refused, but they would not live forever, there will come a day when our races can live together.

Another 100,000 years, The humans breed quickly, they have multiplied drastically and cover every inch of Miviniel, their capital- Undurroq now stretches to border of what they call the Sine River in the east, Vollock Desert in the North and a thousand mile mountain range at its back in the west, these mountains were impassable by land and the Humans greatest defense.

20,000 years, Our King has returned to the land, his tomb the most magnificent we have ever erected, in honor of his leadership during the time of war. I have become the Dragon King, soon I will establish contact with the Humans.

Ra had only read 4 pages, this story had him fascinated, "So the Dragons wrote the Tomes?" he wondered, "and what's more, a Dragon King?" This revelation had left him in a far worse state than he had previously been in, "it seems the Dragons were not even our enemies and even wanted to become our allies! how did it come to this?" he was feeling increasingly upset, "The answers are in these books, I'll find it, I will learn the truth today," he swore to no one in particular as he buried his nose back in the books.

I have made contact with the Human King, a small language barrier was easily removed, hardly worth mentioning but I document it regardless for posterity, The Humans have proven intelligent and resourceful, they will be of great help to our race. The Humans desire power, we are unfamiliar with this 'power' they speak of, they claim it is a type of strength, this we understand, without sufficient strength survival is difficult, power we can give them...

We allowed a few of the Humans to look at our treasures, we didn't think much of it as they were uninterested in most of it. Their eyes fell on the draconite, they asked where it came from, we saw no reason to lie- how wrong we were.

It was no issue at first, after 500,000 years we had accumulated many of the draconite stones that form within our bodies. We expel them in death and they have no use, only as reminders for those we lost. The Humans took what they could carry, they didn't make a dent. We began a prosperous trading relationship, in exchange for the draconite the Humans would build our Cities, and build they did. Great, towering structures large enough to house thousands of Dragons, for the first time in 500,000 years we Dragons had a home. But the Humans need for Draconite continued to grow, soon the Humans were 7 and 8 feet tall, we had no idea what the cause was for the change, but they were bigger, stronger than before. We came to know that this was the 'power' they had spoken of, their ability to evolve in certain conditions. They offered us more structures in exchange for draconite, we agreed and they built us Dragonwall. It was beautiful, images of Dragons were carved in the wall, depicting our history, telling our story, we paid the Humans in an abundance of draconite stones. Our hoard of stones ran low, we didn't think much of it, we already had all we needed, we sent the remaining draconite to the Humans as thanks.

But 100 years later the Humans demanded more, they offered us cities, statues- things we did not need, we declined. They pestered us, they offered treasures, machines, even- slaves...

Aghast we refused, and retreated to Dragon Valley, behind Dragonwall and into our city. We hadn't known of the concept behind slaves at first, but observations of the Humans revealed that 'slaves' were the weak, weaker humans, weaker races. Whoever and whatever could be subjugated became slaves; We wanted no part in it.

9,000 years passed- The Human King died, we held out hope for their race, that they could be led towards co-existing without a desire for power. But the Humans thirst for power they yearn for it, no matter how strong they get they only wished to grow stronger!

Ra felt sick, he stopped reading. "Is this how the world views us? as power hungry and slavers?" He was aware of the existence of slaves, his family had never employed them but it had always made sense to enslave the weak, it wasnt wrong! how can weak races possibly survive without the strong to protect them? "Is my thinking flawed?" complex emotions raged beneath the surface of Ra's twisted face, he stared at his hands, he too had been obsessed with strength...power... All he desired was to grow stronger "But why? To kill Dragons? They don't even want this war!" He wanted to yell at someone but he didn't know where to lay the blame. Ra finished the first Tome, he closed it- he could read the title now. Origins.

He opened the second, and felt a rush of power many times more potent than the first, he felt his soul changing, becoming something different, something - more.