Dragon's Fire

Dragons on this world are not something to play with. They are very dangerous, and, thus, hunted by men. The church started this witch-hunt on dragons very early on; the church said that they were evil, malicious, foul beasts of the devil.

The truth couldn't be farther away.

Dragons don't belong to this world, they came from another world, and they came in the early years of creation. God had just created the world (according to the church), and they invaded it, and destroyed big parts of it. Then came a holy man and imprisoned the dragons in their caves, for eternity. Eternity wasn't a very long time, only a few thousands years. And when they were released, they didn't do anything. They just sent their evil thoughts to the world, and the world listened. That was one of the reasons the inquisition were created.

I have lived with dragons for a very long time, and yet I am but a man. Mankind were created, or created themselves, I do not know which, to die after a few years. A few years, in this case, being fifty or sixty. True, some humans get very old, and reach the great age of eighty, or maybe ninety years. I have lived very much longer. I am, to this date, 943 years old. "How?" you might ask, and I shall tell you the answer, in time.

But let's get back to the dragons. The dragons did come from another world; it has now been dead for some thousand years. Their world was dying, and they knew it. So they gathered their greatest "chiere". "Chiere" is a word that, in the language of dragons, means a great many things. Master, weaver, truth-finder, pathfinder, and death-walker. All those meanings, and a many more, does the word consist of. But, in this world, I think the word would be translated to magician. It's a very short word, and a very, very rough translation. Anyway, the dragons formed a circle, and began "chanting" (the dragons magic doesn't work like that, but it's the easiest way of describing it). And, after some years, they had made a rift to another world. Our world.

The dragons did come to this world when it was young, but they won't speak of it, and they won't tell anyone how the world was created. Believe me, I have asked one of them. The church didn't exist then, because the church is a quite young phenomenon, only a few thousands years. Anyway, the dragons, they don't need anything to eat, but they're very aggressive when it comes to their caves. The dragons flew over our world, and found themselves a home, and for many a centuries, nothing happened.

But then, something happened. A dragon, whose name I won't speak out aloud, killed a priest. Actually, it was the priest's own fault. Had he not been walking around in the mountains, and stumbled upon the cave, he wouldn't have died. Now, the church fussed a great deal about this, someone, or something, had killed one of their members. So they decided that there were to be a reward if someone slew the foul creature.

And one did, it was Sir Airthen. Sir Airthen got his reward, but, as a knight of the church, he gave it back. Sir Airthen became a living hero, and when he died, he was made a saint.

But the dragons, they were now hunted. Some died, but the rest hid.

The problem these days is their fire. Dragon's fire, a great, magical fire, and those that are burnt by it, they will live forever. With eternal youth. This, somehow, came out to the humans. And it came out pretty recently, only a few hundred years ago, actually.

This made men who wanted to live longer than normal, to search for the caves of dragons. Most of the persons died, because dragons are very good hunters, even though they don't need to eat, and they won't miss their target often. Some persons did actually succeed in getting burnt. Most often, this lead to suicide for him, or her. The fire gives very ugly wounds, and they won't heal. The persons who got caught by the fire, if they didn't die by it, the would have to live with the pain, for eternity.

I was once a magician, and I decided to get myself a prolonged lifespan. Thus, the fire burned me, but that's another story. Truth be told, I wasn't very brave, but it worked, and the only thing that got burnt was one of my fingers. I'll tell you the story of how the fire burned me the next time you come visiting me.