Bound To The Earth (Open Novella Contest 2020)

How it all began

Humans are so oblivious to what treads on the same soil as them, to what breathes the same air as them. Over time it hasn't changed, no matter the era or generation that I walk alongside. No one notices me, which is just how I like it.

It's not that they ignore me, it's just that they don't know what they should be looking for. No one looks for myths walking in their skin, looking like them, talking like them, acting like them. Then again, why would they? Dragons are just written in the pages of books, myths and legends long forgotten from memory and history. Even if we are all but forgotten in the minds of man, there is one legend that only we dragons know, one we have not forgotten and will never let slip from our vast minds. This one legend is that of our own undoing; the one legend that must remain if there is any hope of undoing the curse that imprisons us in the form of humans.

Back when the world was still young, fresh and new, the race of dragons prospered in the untrodden skies, under the endless oceans and over the open lands of Acirema, today known as North America. Humans were a species all but unheard of, said to be living far beyond our borders, but that was only the rumours. We didn't care about anything outside of our land, or that's what I had thought. I was young, foolish and blind to the corruption happening. I had followed blindly, like all other dragons. We listened to every single word and command that the High Dragons of Acirema said, not questioning anything.

No one questioned our rulers, the High Dragons of Acirema, and why would we? They were said to have been chosen by a goddess. There was no reason to think or believe that they would do anything to harm us. But, over time, even power can corrupt the humblest of dragons.

The High Dragons twisted the stories that they fed to the public, spreading fear and chaos all the while turning themselves into the heroes, no matter the situation, with their twisted solutions and manipulation. Everything that they did was for complete and utter control of the entire dragon population. The civilians turned a blind eye to what The High Dragons did, too distracted by the bigger events that our rulers caused, allowing small unchecked things to slip by and seize more and more control.

When they made every dragon wear magic restraining cuffs said to stop the supposed mass murders from happening, no one questioned it. When more and more dragons disappeared, we were told that they left our land to try and find the humans. A law was made to 'protect' us. No one was to leave the kingdom without a High Dragon's permission. The law wasn't for our protection, but was rather all about control. It was all the High Dragons ever wanted.

More and more laws and regulations were put in place as the years advanced, and since we dragons are immortal, the rule of the High Dragons remained unchallenged. With the passing of time and the growth of their rule, some dragons grew suspicious. Quickly, they were snuffed out and silenced from telling the truth that they had dug up. The public was told they were slowly going insane, eventually committing suicide, implying that their so called 'ramblings' were a result of their insanity. Even before their untimely deaths, we, the truth tellers, had heard our fellow truth seekers.

Slowly, dragons were awakening from the false world that had been weaved to hold them in check and returning back to the horrible reality that was the real world. We worked in silence, not letting the High Dragons know of our plans and awakening. Then the final straw was pulled, and the fury of the awakened was released.

We rebelled, removed the magic suppressing cuffs and fought back, doing everything we could to deny the rulers their satisfaction of power and total control. Slowly, the population awoke from the false world and either joined our side or aligned themselves with our corrupted rulers. That was when the war broke out, the climb to our curse.

The war was brutal, the death tolls higher than any dragon could have ever imagined. With every passing blood-soaked day, more and more loved ones left to join the next life. Over three quarters of our dense population was killed in the fight, leaving our numbers small and diminished, but the fighting never stopped.