League of Improbable Riders

Prologue: The History of V'relden

                                                      

When Eloah created time, so, too, did he create the dragons, and placed them on a remote continent that he called V'relden. After six days, he created humans to live alongside the creatures in harmony.

But one dragon, however, rebelled, and in the dark of night, he killed a man.

Eloah was filled with sorrow at the death, and knew that great trouble would come of it, so immediately introduced his master plan that would eventually bring peace between the two tribes—for after the human was slain, the others of his kind were enraged, and attacked the dragons; soon the land was filled with a bloody war. He appointed worthy helpers to watch over the earth-dwellers, to help and guard them, and he ensured that he was ever free to spare words of advice and healing.

The blood-bath continued, but some beings of both sides saw the potential in the other species, and they eventually formed a loose pact. During the time of peace, a few humans grew to know the dragons intimately, and they bonded.

The strand that kept them from fighting was too thin, though, for dragons' blood runs hot within them, and paper is all too easily burnt. A drunk youth swore an oath, deceived an innocent dragon with honeyed words, and brutally slew her.

The dragons' natural savagery came out topmost as their hatred for humans renewed. Some, however, they trusted, for these had bonded with a dragons, and loved them as their own flesh-and-blood.

After fifty long years the war was forgotten, for drought encompassed the land, and all three groups—the Commoners, the Wild Dragons, and the Bonded—were forced to work together for their own survival.

But one black day, when the drought was ended, a rider grew enraged and slew a Commoner on account of his sharp tongue.

Any trust and respect the Commoners had for the Bonded immediately evaporated, and, once again, they waged war against their brethren. The Wild Dragons were separated from this dispute, yet the Commoners still killed them, assuming that they were nothing more than beasts.

The Wild Ones' response, was to kill the Commoners for equivalent reasons—food, self-defence, and revenge—which only convinced the Commoners that they were mere animals, predators akin to wolves and tigers—although a little different.

At last, out of desperation for a pointless war that resolved nothing, a Commoner by the name of Vidar braved the treacherous crags of the Deimos Alps, and there fought the Scorway Chief for three days and nights. At last, Vidar prevailed, and cast the bird down the lofty peaks, breaking his neck. Then, Vidar pricked his vein and, mingling the chief's blood with his own, declared himself Lord of the Scorways. The great birds were filled with terror when they saw their leader slain, and readily followed Vidar, urged on by nothing but fear.

With his new power, Vidar easily intimidated the other Commoner chiefs and anointed himself their king.

Contenting himself with only allowing his fortress a troop of scorways, Vidar released most of the birds until he had need of them. However, he was not averse to other villages ensnaring their own birds, for he had immediately slaughtered all of the Scorway Chief's descendants; only he and his blood-line could control the mighty birds. He decreed that whosoever captured a scorway must needs bring it before him, that he could command the bird to obey its villager captors to the death.

Thus, the Commoners finally had a fighting chance, and grew bolder, increasing in numbers.

The Bonded, however, grew scarce and scattered, assailed as they were by this new threat, until a rider by the name of Vorsten gathered the remnants of his people and they fled to the Cyclone Mountains. Toiling diligently, they soon excavated dwellings deep in the crags, where they flourished in relative safety, and gained dominance of the lofty peaks. After many many years, Vorsten married another rider, and they became the ancestors of Silron the Steadfast.

The Scorway Chief's blood was passed on to Vidar's descendants, until three hundred years passed and Vidar II, one of his grandsons' grandsons' grandson, who was as cruel, brave, and treacherous as The First became king...