Prologue: The Treaties
By John Adams Theibert Jr.
The King of the Dragons and one-hundred of his highest ranking dragon guards had flown over the Great Western Ocean and came within eyeshot of the white cliffs of Thethall, which was on the western shore of the continent of Myyrrowshah. They were making an annual visit to the human controlled lands in order to exchange their precious dragon eggs to humans, for the maldgold, magical gems, and crystals that the humans mined.
King Molldoc of the human lands had large piles of maldgold, colorful gemstones, and sparkling crystalline minerals sitting in blackish-purple drogginiron pots twenty-five feet in diameter. The pots had drogginiron chains attached to them so that they could be carried by the dragons as payment for their eggs. The enormous drogginiron pots were laid in several rows in the middle of the vast throne room of Castle Strahnglorn. Many distinguished guests of King Molldoc were arrayed at ornately engraved timber tables, sitting on wooden chairs of intricate designs.
The dragons, from the Dragon Lands, flew across the continent of Myyrrowshah, the city of Wysttshorren, Grand Loch Cadrohvaince, and the Bvelphorrm Mountains and eventually flew to the capital city of Vaynfere. Vaynfere was located on the eastern shore of Myyrrowshah bordering the Sea of Trantearz. The dragons from the west landed outside the towering opened drogginiron doors of castle Strahnglorn. Human guards, adorned in gleaming maldgold armor, were standing on their dragon companions’ backs. Their dragon companions were lined up on the wide cobblestone road leading up to the castle doors. Many dragons flew overhead or perched on ledges of the castle, with or without dragon riders standing on their backs.
The dragons from the west brought with them large egg carrying vessels similar to the large pots that contained that for which they had come. Upon landing the western dragons placed their egg carrying vessels, made from drogginiron, on the cobblestone courtyard in front of the doors of the castle. The King of the dragons went in first and released a fiery bellow upon entering Castle Strahnglorn. The humans sitting on the sides of the throne room could feel the sonic vibration and radiant heat produced by the dragon’s fiery breath. King Molldoc stood up from his throne to receive the Dragon King. The Dragon King entered the throne room followed by his entourage.
“They tell me, Vymgrhum that you’re bringing only half as many eggs as usual. Is there any reason for this reduction in our trade agreement?” King Molldoc yelled boisterously for the King of the Dragons to hear. Molldoc’s dragon language interpreter was standing on the balcony above the king’s throne. The dragon language interpreter listened to the dragon’s deep rumbling growl and high pitched metallic screeching and responded to Molldoc.
“I apologize, Molldoc, The King of Zordroum, but the world population of dragons is too high at the moment. In order to keep it under control we have reduced the number of eggs that we offer by half, consequently, this is all that we could provide.
“I do hope that you understand; the trade agreement cannot impose upon our egg production capacity. Therefore, we will only take half of the payment that you are offering,” the dragon interpreter said in his airy hushed whispery voice, which was still audible even with the boisterous noises from the dragon. King Molldoc nodded in agreement with the disappointed look on his face, and with that the dragons from the west took one pot each until all but half of the pots were taken. They carried them out by their mouths into the outer courtyard where they had placed the dragon egg carrying vessels. The dragons from the west clasped the drogginiron chains in their claws and flew up into the air taking with them the payment in accordance with the treaties that ended the War of the Dragons thirty-thousand years before.
The guards sent signals into their dragons’ small scaly tendrils, which were protruding from their dragons’ backs. Holding the dragons’ tendrils in their hands, they gave their dragons commands, in the form of mental images. The guards had their dragons grab the egg carrying vessels by their jaws and bring them into the throne room. After they had taken the egg carrying vessels into the throne room, the king ordered that his subjects, who had come to receive eggs, stand up and line-up next to the egg carrying vessels with the front of the line at the base of the dais of his throne.
Molldoc stood up from his throne and walked down the stairs in front of his throne. Molldoc lifted a handle on the front of the closest egg carrying vessel opening a door that became a ramp when lowered. The door opened with a metallic squeak and rattle and lowered with a loud and deep clatter and gong. The king entered the egg carrying vessel by the ramp and grabbed an egg out of the hemispherical drogginiron cradle, with a slaghj stone slate at the bottom that kept the egg incubated. The king turned around with a blue and pink speckled egg about the size of a large melon, and commanded that the first in line come up to receive their Xordgirn dragon egg. The order in which the king’s subjects were standing in line was determined by a lottery, which was run every year before the dragons came with their eggs. The annual lottery was only for children who were the age of eight.
The dragon egg glinted with hints of tiny crystals covering its surface. A young girl about the age of eight, wearing a blue dress, blonde hair, and pink ribbons in her ponytails walked up with a wide smile gracing her face to see the egg that the king was holding.
“This is your dragon now. Take care of it and it will in turn take care of you,” the king said.
“I shall sire. Thank you extremely much,” the girl said.
“What is your name my dear?” the king asked.
“I am Thirrila, Your Highness,” Thirrila said bowing as she received her egg in her outstretched hands. Thirrila returned from her bow, revealing a continued strong sunny smile graced by glittering sapphire blue eyes as she took the egg from the king. The king smiled back with a bearded grin, his silvery beard partially obscuring his face. Thirrila could feel the rough texture of the egg’s surface covered with millions of tiny abrasive crystals. She also felt the baby dragon moving around in the shell, making it feel awkward to hold, which made her giggle as she steadied the egg. Thirrila held the dragon egg up to the light of a torch situated conveniently at the eye level of a girl her age.
Thirrila saw through the slightly translucent mineralized egg shell the first glimpse of her dragon companion. She could see the faint silhouette of her dragon fetus as it kicked its legs, wobbled its head, and thrashed its tail in the fetal position as it floated in the embryonic fluid. She smiled again, cradled her warm dragon egg in her arms, and cooed at it. She heard thumping, buzzing, and clicking from the dragon embryo in response to her affectionate and delightful voice. She walked down the stairs and showed her parents the egg she had received.
She named her dragon, Xelathinya. Thirrila’s parents sent her to dragon raising school immediately after receiving her egg. Dragon raising school helped preserve the dragon egg trade treaties by insuring that the dragons were raised properly.
The king continued giving out dragon eggs until half of the children who had come received an egg. The king having emptied the last egg carrying vessel walked up to his throne and told everyone who was left that they would have to wait until the next annual visit, because of the dragon egg shortage in the lands across the Great Western Ocean. The king’s subjects who happened to be last in line and did not receive a dragon egg left with sighs and groans; yet, they knew, or their parents told them that the king was powerless to get more dragon eggs from the western dragons.