The Last of a Legend

the prolouge to the book I'm currently writing

          Tell me why the sun still rises in the east. Tell me why the smell of flowers blooming still lingers over dead lands. Tell me why we risk our lives to protect an ancient race of creatures that will never take back the complete control they once held over our world. This is our curse. Our prize. Our destiny. We are the last of our kind. We are Gandros, protectors of the dragons.

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          In the beginning, the world sprung into life. It was a great many years before anything other than plants came into existence. For a time, dinosaurs ruled the earth. After their time was over, the world began again. Then a new creature was called into existence: dragons. They came to rule the world as the dominate species. They ruled for centuries before the next great species arrived: humans. The dragons kept away from the humans, but they could stay hidden for only so long. Once the humans learned of their existence, they stayed away out of fear. After a while, humans and dragons learned how to coexist.

          Centuries passed by, and the human race strengthened. Before long, the humans had grown too proud and power-hungry. They began to believe that the magic that resided in the dragons could be used for their own benefit. After the first dragon was killed by a human, the time of the Draconic Wars began. Humans hunted and killed dragons; dragons fought back. It was during these wars that a new clan of men was created. These men became known as the Protectors; men sworn by blood and stone to defend dragons against their own kind. For their bravery, the dragons bestowed upon this clan a new name, one forged by the gods of the dragons: Gandros. Unfortunately, the Gandros and their efforts came too late. Within a single century, men had wiped the world clean of the dragons, or so they thought.

          In accordance with the only pact between world leaders that ever withstood the sands of time, dragons were forced from the history books and into the realm of myths and fairy tales. They faded from the minds of men and were buried within folklore.

          The world of men progressed and went on through time. In the year 2097, humans entered what they called World War III. According to the history books of the ancients, the first two world wars had been devastating, but the third surpassed them both. New weapons were used that even the history books dare not mention. The war lasted thirteen years. Millions died both military personal and civilians. Thousands more perished in the after-effect of the war. Cities were demolished; whole countries were left nearly destroyed. The most powerful nations in the world faded away into nonexistence. All communications between the nations had been destroyed. No one could know for sure if anyone else was left is any other country. The death toll rose with each passing day.

          To escape the aftermath of what they had done, the remaining humans retreated to the underground tunnels dug during the war. It is said that it was in the tunnels to the far north that the first nests were found. Eggs far larger than any seen before were discovered within the tunnels buried deep within the snow and ice. The humans occupying the tunnels to the north dared not disturb these eggs lest they release a creature that would devastate their numbers more than already had been done. The eggs were left alone and guarded from harm.

          For the next four centuries, humans remained beneath the surface. Only a select few were charged with the task of going above ground to search for supplies and sometimes other humans. After four centuries of hiding from the disaster and devastation their predecessors had accomplished, humans finally reemerged above ground. During those four hundred years, the world had re-grown itself. Vast forests of thick, green trees had sprung; new lakes and swamps had been created; grassy plains as far as the eye could see had grown. No one knows for sure what happened to the cities, the history books do not mention it. It has been rumored that they remained, but became a graveyard of buildings and such things the ancients had created in their time. Communications between the ancient nations were never reestablished. The humans’ new life-style resembled that of a, what the ancients called it, medieval existence only a bit more advanced.

          The humans from the northern tunnels brought with them to the surface the eggs. Once the ice and snow on the eggs had thawed in the sun, humans began to realize that the eggs had not been dead as they had thought. They began cracking and opening. What emerged from the eggs would change the course of the rebirth of Earth for all time. Although the humans from the beginning of time had thought they’d destroyed every last trace of the proof that dragons and their magic existed, they had not anticipated the dragons’ intelligence. Deep within the ice and snow, the last remaining dragons hid away their eggs so that one day the ancient race of creatures may live again. Dragons reemerged into the world and with them they brought their magic.

          The world grew around these races of creatures, humans and dragons. Humans rebuilt homes and villages and lives. Dragons learned again how it was to live and work their magic. For a time, they lived quite peacefully, yet separate from each other. But it was only an amount of time before humans went back to their proud and greedy ways. The dragons lost some power as the humans began repopulating faster.

          And now I bring you to the present time. As the ancients were separated by religion, race, language, and other things, humans are now divided by clans; four clans to be exact. Endents are those who chose to live life separate from the dragons. They’re neutral territory; neither for nor against the dragons and other clans. Hunters do what their name suggests: they hunt. From a young age, children who belong to this clan are taught how to track a dragon. They are exceptionally skilled in hunting and tracking dragons, using magic as well as certain technology they are allowed to know about. They don’t do the actual killing though; that rests with the Slayer clan. Slayers do the dirty work of killing the dragon once a Hunter has tracked it down. They’re taught every way known to a human how to slay a dragon, ranging from peaceful killings of an elder dragon or a diseased dragon reeking havoc to vicious slaughters that are meant to send a message. Slayers today have veered away from the merciful killings and now only stick to slaughtering. Hunters and Slayers work in close contact while still remaining separate clans. And as it was in the ancient times, now again the dragons have their protectors; sworn to defend the creatures by blood and stone.

          Gandros.