Dragon's Legacy

Chapter 5: New Normal

Very little is known about the events leading up to the Collapse. There are scattered histories and folklore throughout all of Galladia pertaining to life under the Dragon's tutelage. We know that they came to us a long time ago and helped gather our burgeoning tribes of us to form civilizations. They encouraged us to learn about our world and the forces that dwell within, guiding us to understand more about everything. There's a reason Dragons are associated with schools; they were the first teachers.

They standardized a language they developed for us. They mediated disputes. They sheltered us from disasters. They healed plagues. They invoked strange magics to create a form of rapid transportation and communication. But why?

Answers we will never find out. The entire species disappeared, and our world fractured. The Dragons took with them our teachers, our judges, our protectors. The magic network they built grew mad without them, turning into the chaotic and dangerous Feywilds. Legends say they disappeared to fight Yannis, the scars of their conflict separating Galladia and all the other regions from one another. This author doesn't know if he can believe that. Evidence of the Dragons persist, but Yannis? Only ancient tales and the odd sailor can give credence to the existence of any 'demons'. No bodies have ever been found.

I fear the dragons abandoned us. I fear they grew tired, or bored, or worst of all, deemed us unworthy. And it terrifies me, for how cruel must we be for a lonely race to look upon us, raise us, and determine we cannot witness the splendors of the cosmos with them?

—Excerpt from Meditations on the Collapse

The last book written by Scholar Deraj Carbonne before Bergin's Immolation of Heretics

Azmond woke with tears in his eyes, mouth open in a silent scream. The remnants of sleep clung into his mind, dulling his thoughts and preventing any coherent consciousness from taking hold as the Child of Dragons erupted out of his bed in a blind panic. Azmond was surrounded by strangers. They were covered in thick beards and animal skins, but he barely noticed that. Where was Rael? He ignored the strangely dressed people around his bed, pushing one of them aside to get away.

"Rael?!" He cried, vision growing blurrier with tears. "Rael!"

One of them tried to grab the boy but he jumped away from his grasp. The skinny one lunged for him from behind, wrapping his arms around Azmond. Screeching, the scaled boy broke through his grasp and ran for the door.

"Damn it, Bak!"

"He's stronger than he looks!"

Azmond was almost out the door when a man appeared out of nowhere in front of him. One second Azmond was reaching for the door, the next a blank-faced warrior stood in the way. The boy darted backwards, his eyes widening in confusion. But only for a moment. He ducked down as the hairy one tried to catch him by the back of his neck and scampered on all fours between the legs of the one who blocked the door.

He burst outside, taking in the sights for a mere moment. He was on a tree. A massive one, reaching its branches and roots so far, they faded into the impermeable fog. Despite the branches covering such a large area, the light diffused through the fog enough to illuminate the town that lived on the giant tree. Glowing mushrooms marked paths through the snaking, tangled roots emerging from void-black waters and following ladders dripping down from the branches like melted cheese. Structures hung from the branches, pale lights on bridges connecting from the trails.

Azmond rushed over to the closest ladder, scurrying up the side with practiced ease. It wasn't the first time he'd climbed a tree, although perhaps never one so big. And it was significantly easier, the ladders being made of the tree's still living branches woven together in cross-hatched patterns. Blue flowers opened as he passed them, glowing softly enough to reveal the best knots and footholds.