History of Dragons

Nae so long ago, Syrania, one of our dear tutors, was informed of the current situation with dragons. She told the following tale to a few of us.

It is to the Battle of Gara that Mages can trace their association with Dragons. In this time, Merdread had set his will upon conquering the Mages Guild. Using his enormous powers, he summoned hoardes of demons, of undead, of all manner of fell creatures to attack the Guild. It was only with great effort that the combined wills of the Mages managed to repell his attacks. As the days passed, the remaining Mages grew weaker and weaker. They were exhausted from efforts to defend their Guild, and their energies began to wane.

Fearing the worst, in a temporary lull in the fighting, there was a meeting of the Magi. They needed a strategy to defeat Merdread, or their guild was to be destroyed. One among their number, Syrania, suggested they call upon their brethren in Magic, the Dragons, to come to their aid, and it was agreed that this would be done. Syrania cried out for the Dragons, and soon they began appearing from all parts of the lands. Before long, Merdread was being pushed back by this unexpected twist. The combined might of Mage and Dragon was more than he and his allies could withstand.

It was during this time that the Coven was founded. It was not a part of the Mages Guild at this juncture, but rather a haven for Merdread and his fellow warlocks to continue their plotting away from prying eyes. After the Coven was built, Merdread, along with the Covenites, began raising the Dragons slain in battle from the dead, and commanded these undead Dragons to attack the Mages.

Meanwhile, Valtera had been watching these events with a careful eye. Seeing Mages work together to fight Merdread, in spite of her curse dividing magic, she grew angry. Seeing Merdread use Dragons, her creations, for his own purposes, she grew jealous . Seeing Mages and Dragons fight alongside each other, and defeat Merdread, with the help of the Paladins, she grew fearful. In a rage caused by seeing others rival her own power, Valtera decided to cause the destruction of the Dragons. She hunted all those she could find, twisting their bodies and tainting their minds. All that she caught ended up mere shadows of the majestic beasts they had once been. Their descendants are the Dragons we often see today, wandering the Lowly Downs, or raging in Dark Blizzard Pass.

Not all Dragons met with this cruel fate, however. One group, seeking to remain pure, and to protect themselves from Valtera's wrath , took refuge with the Mage' s Guild, their hatchlings being nurtured under the watchful eye of Syrania. As the years, and then decades have passed since this time, more of the remaining Greater Dragons have sought out their kin, initially the dark Shadow Dragons, soon followed by the great Shimmering White Dragons and latterly, the thoughtful Star Dragons. Each have found their own niche within the Guild, associating themselves with like-minded members of the Mage's Subguilds. It is a great honour to this day, for any Magi to be accepted as an equal by one of these Greater Dragons, and be permitted to ride them. Each possesses a keen intellect and they will often set tasks to any who seek them out, in order to prove their worthiness.

So began the relationship betwen Mage and Dragonkin, as they found refuge within the halls of the Mage's Guild.