Tenacious History

The History Of Dragons

Before the world had become what it was, the Gods sat in their void of an alternate realm and debated, debated on what would become. The council consisted of seven members, each one appearing as one of the seven races within the lands they had created. The order in which the creatures were created list as, Spirits, Dragons, Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Demons, and then Beings of Insanity.

Originally, The God of the Dragons had made a place for the Dragons deep within another realm that many believe is actually hidden at the core of the world. It was called Sulfara, and had lakes of lava, billows of flame, and was the perfect home for the peaceful flame loving race.

It was later taken over by The God of The Demons when he was banished from the council. He forced the Dragon Kind to leave and then later named the place 'Hell'. After that point in History, the Dragon Kind were forced to surface. Many humans and Elves fought with the dragons for years to come but eventually the dragons rushed away to a mountainside in the Western-most region of the land where they stayed in caves they had carved with their large claws and hunted to their pleasure. It wasn't as much a paradise as Suflara was for them, but it was still a home.

The Hatchling

A newly hatched dragon; yet with his young age he was still the size of a large horse; with perhaps a year of growth now walked the scratched path of the dragon kingdom. His scales were soft and a deep green color that had still to reach its true color. The wings that lined his backside were frail and limp, flight was not yet within his reach. Along the ridges of his back were newly sprouted spines that would eventually grow. Most importantly were the horns that had budded from near the temples of his forehead. To a dragon, the length of his horns was attractive to others and showed great wisdom, power, and age.

His ivory claws clacked against the rocky surface of the mountain and he yawned with boredom as a small spurt of sparks and smoke plumed outward. It surprised him but only slightly, the smoke had come recently and it was significant to dragons. It marked the time when he would speak with flame. Now he decided it was time for him to return home to mother and see if she had any venison from the hunt, he was hungry and that was always his favorite. Scampering off like a leaping lizard, it only took him about an hour to reach the caved with clawed markings to indicate his domain.

The tail wriggled behind him as if it had been possessed, the meat in front of him had been burned to a crisp and seasoned with many herbs from near the mountain. Ferociously, he sank his young yet still powerful jaw into the deer and took out a bite from the torso. He chewed on some bone and was pleased to savor the meat.

Like a metallic eagle in the sky, the powerful silver dragon soared through the air, searching for his next meal. He was already four years old and had become wise enough to know where to look. He gazed across the land and through the trees just searching. He had spines going from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail which had what seemed to appear as a double horned fork at the end. His scales were a glistening silver and were hard as stone or harder. He gave what would seem as a smile as he saw his prey. He slowly guided downward in a spiraling motion, moving in for the kill. To any onlooker, it would be a strange sight to see, beings as that you could not easily see his head due to his turning. Finally, when he was close enough to make the strike, he latched down with his powerful claws onto the stomach of a cow that had been grazing in the pasture. He carried the beast to the forest where he had often enjoyed a meal or two. He now let the cow hit the ground hard enough to shatter the brain and kill the animal instantly. He then opened his mouth, revealing his long rows of razor sharp teeth. He bit down hard into the beast, biting around the bone into the juicy delicious meat.

The horse sized green dragon had finished his meal in some time and due to the boredom decided to leave the rocky domain that was his home and move out to the open field of stalagmites that had grown in odd formations in a roofless plateau. This place had always been his favorite, seeing as the shape of the rocks made no logical sense and had a great feel of mystery to them. Personally he thought of it more as a forest of slender trees made of stone.

He wondered for a few hours before finding the area he was the day before which he remembered for he clawed a small crater in the side of a large stalagmite that loomed in the dark terrain of the stone landscape. Curling up inside the pit he closed his eyes and wondered into the darkness-that-behold-visions.

Sometime early in the morning he awoke to stare at the sun in awe. The rays of the fire circle floating above him gave a comforting warmth and as he inhaled a smile crept across his muzzle when he savored the scent of moss and sulfur.

After his meal, he decided to go home. He crept down and leaped high into the air, flapping his wings hard when he reached the peak of his jump. He felt good to return home after a long hunt. He felt good and full and ready for a good flight. After a few minutes, he saw the peak of the mountains he called home. As he glided down, he gave the same dragon smile he always did when he saw the entrance to the cave. Once he got close enough, he pushed his feet forward and let his claws touch down on the rock floor. "Awe finally home. " He didn't fly from here. He hated taking risks of hitting his back on the roof and where as he did have enough room, he never liked flying close to the ground. The sky was where he loved to be.

The young dragon started walking back from his little pit in the stone and wondered what he would be doing today. His best idea was to sneak off and hunt some small sort of animal. Unfortunately, he had no idea how to get to the forest and his didn't yet have the ability to fly which would make the trip to the forest near much much longer. The only way out was a tunnel that lined the base of the mountain and wasn't easily accessed. A sigh escaped his lips and he wondered off to the outskirts of the rocks to the cliff side a wide opening at the peak. He stared off from his lonely space and observed the untouched land before him. A sad humming sound emitted from his throat. The only thing he desired was to explore.

Since he was the only new-hatched-dragon, not many would play with him as he wished. Everyone else had already matured and carried long horns of pride and wisdom. A frown formed on his snout as he poked the small bony lumps on his head.

A distance off, the silver dragon let a puff of smoke fly from his snout as he noticed the haltchling from a way. He walked over to him and smiled. "Do not worry young one about flying just yet. Your wings may not be strong enough but if you like, I can give you a few tips on how to go about learning. First off, I would start by becoming comfortable with leaping as high as you can into the air. " With this, he sat down.

The little dragon tilted his head and observed his stature with squinted eyes. After taking the leaping advice into account he memorized it and then sat down before him without speaking. His eyes were fairly wide and focused and seemed to give off a determined appearance to his character. His fangs and claws seemed to be a bit long for his age as he gingerly clawed at the ground before him. When he didn't hear anything else he kept the same wide eyed expression but puffed out a line of smoke from his nostrils to show inpatients.

He smiled and knelt down far and lept into the air, showing how he let his wings expand in a perfect parachute motion. They slowly guided him back down. "Keep your wings expanded out as you leap. This will teach you to feel for the air flowing through your skin. Let yourself be taken by the wind. Just when you reach the height of your jump, push the air back down, and yourself upwards. The rest is easy. "

He looked to one side as he carefully extended a wing and then to the other as he lifted the final and then practiced flapping the wings that were each about twice the length of his nose to the tip of his tail. After this he jumped and flapped his wings about halfway to get a small boost and maybe got ten feet in the air before his body would force him back down. The muscles that lined the arms curving over his leathery feathers hadn't gained much mass so it was currently hard for him to flap more than a few times without getting exhausted.

About fifteen minuets into his practiced he sat on the warm surface of the stone and panted with his wings limp at his sides covering a large portion of the ground. His eyes leered at the instructor and seemed to beg for a break yet wanting to continue deep down.

He chuckled and let a puff of smoke fly out of his nostrils. "I never said you had to continue. Just suggested it. If you wish, stop. Pick it up tomorrow. " For now, he just sat down there. "Oh and in case your wondering, I am Gretchen Alevlerin. " With that, he lay down and look out across the land.

With a warn out tone he muttered, "Tovarel..." He slumped over and lay down on the hard surface below. "That is my name." A timid groan escaped his jaw before he fell asleep on the spot. He slept away the fatique and eventually woke up to find that the sun had almost set and then he sighed. His wings ached so he couldn't pull them back in without hurting so he sluggishly started to drag his way back across the carved surface of the mountain.

During the night, he had took a light nap himself. Gretchen smiled when the young one awoke. "Here, allow me to help you. Where do you wish to lay while you recover? i shall carry you. "

His eyes seemed to droop at the offer and he reluctantly shook his head and staggered a bit as he walked and then soon laid back down, obviously too tired to continue. He silently muttered the name of his mother as an indication of where he lived. Other than that he would speak, he was more frustrated and embarrassed that he had to accept the aid of another. The prospect was humiliating for him.

Gretchen simply smiled, nodded and slid his neck under the dragon's wing and lifted him. He then carried him to where he remembered the youngling's mother lived and dropped him at the entrance. He then took his leave to his own cave, wanting very much to be in his usual spot with the hole in the roof. He loved looking at the stars while he slept.

Tovarel crawled back into his home and the mother seemed a bit worried by his late arrival and the look of exhaustion but he ignored everything she seemed to question and as usual routine he sat down and ate a meal she had made for him before crawling back from the room. Staggering out to the entrance of the cave he gazed up at the stars and glared at them. Once more he thought of freedom and turned his heads to examine his wings. I will fly someday... He thought to himself.

Four Years Later

The green dragon was now five years of age and his spines were long and the horns on the sides of his head even longer, even for his age. He flew brilliantly in the sky with complicated turns and twists and smiled at the wind sliding off his flickering scales that revealed his true grace. Down below in a lush green forest he spotted a meal and dived down with a battle roar and twisted several times before expanding his closed wings to slow himself and then crashed down, clamping one of his talons around the chest of a deer. He continued to add pressure until it ceased to breath. At this point he lurched out at it and took a crunchy bite from it and licked his chops before taking another bite and eventually eating the remains whole.

Tovarel jumped up with great distance as he tucked legs under as to keep his body more agile and then flapped his wings to gain momentum. Once balanced in the sky he flew back to the mountain the the stone forest of stalagmites. As before, he had returned to a pit dug years ago when he was only a year old hatch ling. The crater was much larger now and showed features that greatly resembled that of a dragon's home. Markings were clawed into a bridge above the entrance dug below the large rock surface that had the diameter of at least one hundred feet. Inside was a complex system with floors he clawed out and would commonly climb his way up the scraped wall through holes made in several floors until he reached a thick floor at the top that was under an opening caused by Tovarel clawing off the top of the stalagmite. The surface was still orange and smoldering from earlier use and he quickly turned and released a jet of green flames that heated the burning plate he created as the main floor of his home. Here he sat and meditated under the sky, absorbing his earlier meal and finding the flow of peace and aura.

The years passed quickly for Gretchen. With the years, he grew as well. He became larger and stronger. This being said, he looked even more fearsome than before. He now flew through the sky as he usually did. He loved being in the sky. He enjoyed seeing the world as it truly was. Beautiful. He looked upwards and let out a loud roar and shot a long burst of flame, expressing his happiness. He let himself flow downwards. The wind shot passed him and over his silver scales. He shot faster and faster towards the ground. Right before he hit the ground, he swooped into the air pushing his wings back to increase his height. "Nothing like the the feeling of flight. " he thought to himself.

After a few hours Tovarel left his tower by leaping off the edge and gliding down when spreading his massive wings. His muscles rippled with the embrace of the earth and he folded the instruments of his flight and walked through the mountain city, his claws clicking against the rock with every step.

He began to recall the events of the past two years. The second coming of demons had started and they were at war with the Dragon Race which was more of a hidden war for no race besides the two were involved or even knew about it. Tovarel was told to stay behind and he did, although he wished he did not. Deciding to go hunt food for his mother which had become a rising habit to repay her for the dedication of affection.

Taking to a cliff, he leaped in a single bound and flew across the landscape until he found another scrumptious meal his mother would take delight in devouring. His fearsome jaw opened in a roar when he came down and clamped down on the creatures neck and then shook his head from side to side until the deer's spine snapped. He set the animal down and then gently picked it back up to prepare for flight.

He took off towards his mothers cavern to find that something odd was going on. Flames were shooting from the ground and lighting up the rocks of the carved mountain. He swooped down and dropped the deer as he saw a herd of demons that had invaded the territory. It was a horror he did not expect to behold and with another loud roar he flapped his wings and landed with one talon crushing a demon that was just unfortunate to be in his landing zone. He looked around and caught a glimpse of his mother...laying in a pool of her own crimson blood.

Everything around him stopped, silence was all he heard and the smell of roasted flesh and boiling blood filled his nostrils. A demon came a bit too close and was about to attack the young dragon when he turned his head and chomped off his head, swallowing it and then roaring as a gushing stream of molten green flame that charred many demons alive. The corpse before him fell flat from the decapitation and Tovarel reared his head back and cried at the sky.

The demons fled from the area and Tovarel chased after them, killed as many as possible and when it was over he sat in the center of bodies from both races. His head hung from his neck, his heart was broken as well as his spirit. A whimpering hum came from his muzzle as he sat there. A few dragons that had witnessed the event would later call him 'Tovarel TheKillerOfDemons' or several variations meaning the same thing.

He came close to the mountains now, being saddened that his home was not his own any more. During the years, the war had broken out. He, being a calm quiet fighter, never liked war and when the war broke out, he fled and hid in the only place he knew no one would look. He arched his shoulders wide and turned around. He flew higher and higher, making sure his trail could not be followed. Thirty minutes he flew over the land and seas until he had come to his new home. It wasn't bad for a dragon but it was no mountain. Below the clouds, he swooped low into a long shallow tunnel. He landed on the soft grass. As he walked, he stepped lightly, as to not leave any marks as he entered the long winding caves. Finally he came to an opening in the small hill that revealed enough of the sky to his liking. He shot a quick burst of fire into a stack of hay in the corner of his new home and relaxed. "Home sweet home" he said sarcastically.

Tovarel had taken the body into her home and shifted it into a tomb. He sealed her in a steel block that he welded around her and then sealed the entrance shut with his burning flames. Months would go by and rarely would he leave the top of his smoldering tower. He preferred to dwell in his sorrow at this point and he meditated on how to move on after such a rough patch in his childhood. The memory of her dying flooded his thoughts and it was hard for him to forget.

Gretchen arose the next day, feeling refreshed but resumed to have a bad taste in his mouth. He yawned a bit and flapped his wings, flying up high through the hole in the ceiling. He decided to go get some breakfast in the forest nearby. Once he had fully woken up, he took off at high speeds flapping hard and fast. He stopped flapping for a moment and just let the wind take him. It was the last freedom he had from his old life. He closed his eyes and just lived in the moment for that one moment. For that second, he was actually happy. He then opened his eyes slowly to find a herd of buffalo running. He chuckled and smiled, thinking to himself I guess they saw me comin. He then swooped down, quietly and quickly, snatching up one of the bigger ones in the herd, pulling away with his catch for the day. He smiled at it and returned his body in an arch towards the sky. His body moved so fluently through the sky as his spine moved in a spiral motion towards his makeshift home. When he approached the cave, he let the animal fall to it's death before scooping it back up and landing with a big whoosh of wind behind him. He let his claws touch down as softly as he could but the landing would have shook the earth for anyone near enough to feel it. He smiled again and would lay his catch down and begin eating.

After some time of his grieving, it was time for the yearly gathering of the dragons at the center opening inside of the large mountain. The room was large and stood at least a thousand feet high and a few more thousand feet wide for the dragon kind to fly and move around at ease. As well as the massive space, several hundred holes and tunnels lined the large from from the side, ceiling, and floor as a way for dragons to enter and sit around while listening to the elders and other speak.

An amazing thing it was, to see so many dragons of every color, size, and variation all gathered in one area. They sat at the ends of the tunnels, outside the walls, along the sides of the mountain and even some flying around could all be seen from miles away. In fact, it was the only time that any other race of the world could behold the magnificent dragons.

The first order of was brought to attention as a large bronze colored elder dragon stepped up to a large mound that was carved in the center of the thousand fold room that the dragons now occupied. They all gave their condolences to the hatch ling Tovarel by allowing sorrow full hums surround the area, it could be heard for hundreds of miles.

Tovarel sat at the edge of the room, his expression was different now. He appeared the way he did when he was younger. His eyes were attentive while the rest of his expression gave a touch of focus. Yet what made him different was deep in his eyes was a new fire that put some of the Elders off guard but they ignored it for the time being.

Several hours had passed as they mourned the loss of dragons in the battles between their race and the demon kind. As they were coming to an end, Tovarel unexpectadly roared as lowed as he could which caught the others off guard. He leaped to the center of the room in a single bound, expanding his wings to intimidate any who may attempt at forcing him down. The passion in his soul was powerful and he would not rest. "I declare war on Demon Kind and I will not rest until I have avenged my mothers permanent slumber to the void."

An elder approached him from the crowed with a scolding tone, "Don't be a fool Tovarel. We cannot take them on."

"If no one will help me, I will simply leave by myself." He glared back at the elder as he began to hum angrily.

The elder then said, "If you go then you shall not return. You are merely a newly hatched child and would last no longer out there against the demons as would a hornless human."

Tovarel took offense to this and a bit of humiliation from his pride being attacked but with as loud of a roar he could muster, silenced the elder. "Then I shall fly with myself! I will not return until my vengeance has been achieved."

During the night, Gretchen had flown just close enough to watch over the meeting. He may be an outcast but he still believed in the power of the council. As the events unfolded, a grimace appeared on his face. He thought to himself Interesting. Very interesting. The Hatchling has become the mighty vengeful warrior.

After the gathering had finally ended, the single dragon walked from the caves and tunnels until he came to a large opening that overlooked the entire eastern portion of the large country he was a part of. The smell of cool night air scented his memory and the wind was comforting against his scales. With no one to say goodbye to, he leaped from his perch and opened his wings halfway between the cliff side and the ground and began to glide. Once I find them, I will tear them to pieces.

Gretchen wanted to approach the young dragon but didn't want to cause harm to anyone so he figured he would follow him and wait till he landed then try to talk more sense into the young one. He went over how he would attempt to talk this very new dragon out of commencing war onto this land. As always, he still hated the thought of war and found it to be foolish to attack someone just because you have a problem with them. He found that talking and punishment seemed best rather raging wars and killing innocents. The only ones responsible, are those responsible.

After several hours of flying, Tovarel had spotted a group of demons down below harassing a village of humans and he quickly adjusted his left wing and tilted downwards in a spiraling motion as a loud roar announced his presence. Both demons and humans were frightened by the sudden appearance of a dragon. The hornless humans ran but the demons stood their ground and prepared for battle.

The massive dragon touched down with the earth and before attacking, spoke with them. His intention was to learn of the attack on the mountain and find out why they killed his mother and other kinsmen. It took a long time of speak before one of the demons finally revealed the name of a demon general who lead the attack. His name was Slavacka, and he was no mere whelp such as the demons before him.

Originally he was to leave them but one attempted to attack which the green scaled dragon countered with a stream of his molten fire, burning him to charcoal. Now he was stalking in wait for the others to attack him as well as the last.