TodoBaku - Dragon's Riches

5

Dragons have always been around, dating back before men of any race or intelligence. They were big, beautiful creatures that controlled the skies an the caves below them. The only thing they cared for was peace, choosing to stay hidden and starve themselves rather than go out and find something to eat.

It was a wonder how, many decades later, man had come to find dragons.

As the story goes, a man looking for adventure one day stumbled across a cave where a dragon lay. After much thought, he reported his sightings to the king of the land and showed him the cave where the sleepy dragon rested.

The king, astonished by the sight, decided to hold a contest."Whoever slays the dragon may wed my daughter and become the next king!" He announced. Soon people from all across the kingdom, rich and poor, came to try and defeat the dragon to gain the princesses hand in marriage.

Many who entered died and, after many years, the dragon still wasn't killed. But then one day, a farm boy went into the cave, slaying the dragon and becoming the new king. People always asked him how he did it, and he would always answer with the same, humble tone."When I came to the dragons lair, the beast was so tired that it fell with a single strike from my sword."

After the discovery, peoples searched for dragon caves everywhere and soon the the Dragon Era began. Dragon meat, scales, and anything anyone could savage was sold at a price, so high it could make any poor man rich.

But slaying dragons was hard work and required lots of patience. Dragon Slayers would work in large groups, finding inhabited caves and going in everyday to attack the dragon for a short time and then leave until the next day. It was a long process that took up to a year depending on the number of casualties.

One day, a certain dragon raged and killed many Dragon Slayers, leaving only one alive to be eaten. A lone Dragon Slayer, in fear for his life, begged the dragon to spare him, saying he had a family and was forced into the dragon slaying business in order to feed them.

The dragon understood his pleas and let him go.

One month later, the man showed up again, this time he wasn't scared but determined."Please grant me your strength, o mighty dragon, so that I may slay the king who has killed my family and poisoned my land," the man requested, bowing before the dragon.

The dragon understood the mans pains, so he accepted but with conditions."On the first day of every month, you must give me 100 gold chips. If you do this, and only this, I shall grant you the power you desire."

The man accepted and took his revenge, taking over the kingdom. He would soon be known as the first Dragon Tamer, someone with the strength of a dragon and will of a man.

News spread of the Dragon Tamer and soon people followed in his footsteps, making deals with dragons of their own to gain power. Soon, Dragon Tamers ruled the land, as no one could oppose their might. But outsiders grew weary and tried to find ways to hinder the great Dragon Tamers.

It was not long after that the first bond was created between man and Dragon Tamer. Sick of the Dragon Tamers rule, someone had forced a Tamer into a bond, making them unable to do anything of their own free will.

And, as the story repeats itself, people all across the world started to form pacts and bonds with Dragon Tamers. They were called Dragon Riders, people strong enough to take on Dragon Tamers and bend them to their will.

But as dragons became more scarce so did Dragon Riders, Tamers, and Slayers. Decades later, the Dragon Era became nothing more than a fairy tale told to children, and it would remain that way forever.