Larnac and the Dragon

## Prologue

Many ages before our sun and moon and stars were commanded to come forth from the deep and shine upon our world, another world was created. Far across the uncreated sea Alkiezador Allfather planted Mishtar, the world tree. For an age Alkiezador lived in the center of Mishtar on a vast plane called Glenn with his wife Archmother Zephadora and their children and grandchildren. As the age came to an end strife and bloodshed tainted the pure soil of that land, starting when Alkiezador's third son Adameos and his wife Evenella murdered their brother Angelos and his wife Malakez. ultimately nearly all the children and grandchildren of Alkiezador departed, were killed, or were driven off of Glenn. Finally at the end of the age Alkiezador himself, along with his wife Zephadora, their youngest son Diadar, and his wife Fellorien departed from Mishtar across the Waters of Chaos to some unknown shore.

Rule of Glenn fell to his grandson Golerex, who was the father of giants by his wife Heradia and the father of dragons through an affair with his aunt, Tiamat. Throughout the second age of Mishtar Golerex ruled from the walled city of Golhom in the center of Glenn. There dwelled the mighty and immortal giants, Adameos and Evenella and their descendants cursed with death, and the children of Diadar and Fellorien called fey. All the rest of Glenn was filled by ruthless and terrible dragons, ruled by their mother Tiamat, in constant back-and-forth war with Golerex and the giants.

The twelve sons of Adameos and Evenella were born, like all the children and grandchildren of Alkiezador, with two hearts. By the time of our story, nearly one thousand years after the departure of Alkiezador and five hundred years after the death of Adameos, eleven had cut out their right heart giving form to their second halves with whom they fathered the nations of men. Only Adameos' eleventh son, Larnac, had held on to his second heart. This seemed to delay his aging so that he outlived several generations of his single-hearted nieces and nephews. But after many centuries wrinkles were appearing on his face and he held little honor among the race of men, who saw him mainly as a relic of a bygone age. After his brothers and their wives departed to establish their own homes, Larnac was left to inherit his parents home, Misgav, built upon the highest hill in Golhom. Here he frequently held feasts where he would discuss with many of his nieces and nephews who were of full height but not full wit questions of nature, philosophy, and the will of the stars (who were in fact his cousins, the children of Angelos and Malakez). It is in the midst of just such a supper, that our story begins.

## Larnac and the Dragon

"Do you think the news is right?" asked a young man of the race of Lak, "do you think they've really found Tiamat?" When news of the discovery of the enemy queen's lair far to the west had reached Golhom, the entire host of giants had been assembled, except a select few to defend Golerex in his palace, and were being led by Saar the Storm Prince to destroy their foe once and for all.

"I hope so" whispered a thin granddaughter of Preatar the last patriarch, perhaps too young for the wine she was holding. "I don't ever want to see one those monsters over our house ever again."

"I bet its a trick" an older girl replied. Larnac couldn't remember which family she came from. "I bet as soon as the giants are out of sight Tiamat is going to come out of hiding with a hundred hundreds of dragons and burn the whole city down to ashes and kill us all!" Larnac looked to the west beyond the walls of Golhom and could barely make out the end of the miles long line of giants. They had left the city two days prior with much pomp and celebration.

Through the crystal roof of Misgav, Larnac saw that the stars were beginning to depart from their daily conclave and disperse across the sky. "It is getting to be time for you all to start walking home" Larnac announced. "I imagine it will be several days until we get any news back from the prince." One of his older nephews offered to help Larnac clean up from the feast, but he sent the boy home. The youth was starting to get a bad reputation for spending his days conversing with Larnac instead of finding a way to contribute to the giant's war effort, as was expected of those men who had come of age. Larnac was soon left alone in his hilltop home.

~

Once he finished cleaning his home, he went out to sit in his garden.