Written by Sapphire Mathieson and Darius Mesmer.
The Coming of Dragons to Avilion
At the dusk of the Third Age, when came the great migration;
The elves of the Northern Lands, displaced by war and earthly affliction,
Departing for the West, to return to the Undying Lands.
The time of Man had come, and with it human frailty;
And as was told in the Tirandiel Arcanum, by sages great and wise
Brought forth great conflicts in all corners of the Earth.
At River’s Rest came the great battle,
The forces of the archwizards of Netheril assembled,
The dark forces of the Witch King against the guardians of Light;
The day won, and evil Tz’arkan vanquished by the hand of the Tel’Quessir.
And elves and men fought as one, and drew to their side
Such allies, of drow and dragon and dwarf
Who would rally to the side of Light against the coming Dark.
One great battle, among many, the conflict growing;
And never ceasing in its ebb and flow, as human fears
And aspirations sought to shift the world to one course or the other.
And so it was, that the Great Council of Wyrms
Led by the fierce and noble Naur’Loki,
Whose hearts breathed fire and life into dragonkind
In all the high and hidden places of the world;
Gathered then, in grand and somber council
To lay forth the course for all its children;
The hopes of the ancient race reliant now
On seeking out those points of refuge amid the gloom and strife.
That noble race, more ancient even than the Fair People of the Wood;
Proud and passionate were they, even to the Years of the Trees;
And having once gazed down upon the wide spaces at the dawn of Ages;
Now watched, as humankind did spread its reach;
And, as the young will do, raged forth in battle upon the sacred grounds.
“No longer may we fly above the world,
Away from the fray that consumes the very earth”, spoke the Dragon Lord.
“While once we lived only with concerns for drake and wyrm,
Now must we find our harmony with the world at large;
For the very Fate of our kind waits now on the outcome of this struggle”.
In the great tumult that ensued, as dragons fierce and proud
Did weigh this choice and find it wanting;
The legacies and destinies of the great wyrms called into debate,
And emotions, hotter even then the fires stoked within,
Raged forth for days without a path to resolution of the matter.
And as the contest reached its peak,
And it seemed that only force of talon and beak, of fire and might
Could bring the issue to a close;
Came forth a whisper, growing to a quiet voice
That spoke what all knew in their noble hearts:
“Brothers and sisters, we argue that which has long since passed beyond our reach.
This is not debate, but rather the railings of they who will not see
The truth which lies before their very eyes.
A dragon may see far and long, even into the hearts of men
More clearly than he oft may seek to know his own.
Those days we once knew are gone; and we stand on a battlefield
Not of our choosing, nor of our own dispositions to resolve.
And it is our people – the young and those yet unhatched –
Whom Fate holds hostage in the bargain…none other.
And so you see, we are not called upon to choose…that destiny has been set;
And all we may hope is to shape the course by which we travel there.”
Silence fell upon the Council like a shroud, for all knew this voice;
‘Twas none but Garakh’un who spoke; he who the elves called Bragollach;
For this drake, aged beyond the count of Ages,
Who had lived in legend as the most fearsome and terrible of the Fire breed,
And who knew better the ways of elves and men than any from this gathering or before,
Alone earned the respect of silence when such a question fell upon this table.
“What, Great Master, must we do in the face of these new troubles?”,
Asked the Dragon King, in homage to the ancient dragon’s knowledge of the world.
Garakh’un pondered the question for some long time,
So that some less patient huffed and shuffled anxiously for fear he was asleep;
And at last he spoke, in measured words that left little doubt of their direction:
“Our Family must break and go into the world;
Not in great hordes, nor each unto himself.
In clans must we gather, and in such clans depart;
To gather in the guarded places, where the defenses are strong;
And where we might align with those who will stand firm to fight the coming Dark.
Our allies will be elf and drow, and men of good heart;
Or any others who will face the evil which seeks now to break the world.
For me, I know one such place; where strong magic rules the land;
Two Ladies bind it in their holy grasp – the first of the Lake;
And the last of the Land; and the name of the Land is Avilion.
It lies, enclosed in Mist, enshrouded from the evil that may seek its footing there;
And powered by strange and magickal crystals found deep within the earth.
There, ‘tis said a great wizard, Myrddin Emrys, did cast tremendous spells
That to this day still move within the world to set the course straight.
And of late, my eyes and ears have told me that new, more powerful magick
Moves within those hallowed lands.
The way is open, for I have made my council with the Lady of the Land.
She, who once did this humble drake a great service in time of need,
Now makes ready a place of welcome for those of our Family
Who will bring their aid and might to the coming struggles,
And will be of good order in their conduct in the Land.
In this time of turmoil, one fact rings ever clear upon the ears of the righteous;
That in our unity is our strength;
And in our division lays corruption, and the death of all the good we know.
And so, Good Lord Dragon, will I gather my small clan,
And take them thence, to Avilion”
“As ever, noble Garakh’un…your heart is true and counsel swift.
In clans will we go forth, to this and other places in the world;
And from those outposts shall we weigh, with might force, into the struggle.
Our Council must first preserve the race of dragons in the world;
And thence draw them back, so that our great Family might endure as one
When Darkness is once more chased from all good lands.
Let us go forth then, Brothers and Sisters;
We go as one to battle; and pray that this sad day will pass;
And that all will one day, soon, smile upon the rejoining of this number.
Editor’s Note: Join the Avilion Order as Dragon of the Mist by submitting an application. Pick up an application the Heart of Avilion at the Elven Circle or the Quartermaster’s Office. Applications are considered by the owners/creators of Avilion.
