Black Magic

The Jewel Thief

Chapter 1: The Jewel Thief

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Excerpt from Dragons: A History of Mixed Blood and Magic, Written in the year 611 A.C.

Chapter 1: An Examination of Dragon Relations

As legend has it, the Dragon races existed long before the humans. Dragons are strong creatures, gifted with the magic of elemental control and blessed with the ability to shift forms; they are very territorial and possessive. When it comes to mating, at least in the old days, a female would take flight, and the strongest of the males, the one who was able to catch her, was the one who got to keep her.

Due to the volatile nature of dragons, history is fraught with dragon wars. Traditionally, the Northern Mountains are ruled by the Air Dragons. To the East, along the volcanic coast, are the Fire Dragons. The craggy mountains of the West belong to the Earth Dragons, while in the South, the Water Dragons control the sandy beaches of the Azure Sea.

Over the years, I have observed that Fire Elemental Dragons show a particular dislike to the Water Dragons, and Air Dragons would choose both Fire and Water for mate and friend over an Earth Dragon. (Of course, with the recent tension over the stolen Heartstones, Earth Dragons have earned the distrust of all the dragons, more on that below).

As might be guessed, with Air dragons and Earth dragons sharing a northwest border, small skirmishes between the two are commonplace. The same can be said for the Fire/Water southeastern borderline. Since the founding of the city Exolin and the creation of the Heartstones in the year 401 A.C. (A.C standing for After Convergence, the year in which humans and dragons first reached a compromise), these battles have been reportedly mild.

It has now been 611 years since the Convergence (and 210 years since Exolin was built) and humans and dragons continue to share a beneficial relationship. As you know, humans work the lands, providing food and resources, while the dragons offer protection and means of trade with the other territories. Though there is technically a compromise in place promising equal benefit for all, over the centuries, a rough hierarchy has emerged:

Royalty - Pure-blooded dragons (dragon-born dragons who can shift into human form; now considered Royalty as their numbers have declined) are at the top of the pyramid.

Elementals - humans born of a dragon-human mating. Elementals are able to shift into dragon form at will and can also exert some measure of control over one of the four elements. Sadly the date at which humans and dragons began to interbreed has also been lost to legend; it is thought to be sometime before the Convergence.

Rulers - they are rich and influential in society, but purely human.

Street Dwellers - humans who labor for a living, but earn wages.

Slaves - usually humans that are captured during border skirmishes.

Though this chain of command has been in place for a couple of centuries, it is far from completely rigid. It is not unheard of for a seemingly human individual to exhibit signs of dragon blood. If said human can control any aspect of Air, Earth, Water, or Fire, he is considered an Elemental and so he, along with his family, is boosted in standing.

As this is the Dragon Relations section, it would be poor to exclude the history of the Heartstones. I shall also include a brief summary detailing the recent events concerning these precious jewels.

The Heartstones were created at the time of the Convergence and founding of Exolin. Exolin is a city originally built for the purpose of creating a neutral space. The city was actually designed around a school, known as the School of Magic, in which dragons from any element were allowed to come and learn about their magic. The Heartstones, imbued with Light Magic (versus Dark), ensured peaceful relations and balance throughout the land. No dragon faction was any stronger than the other.