Dragon Wars

History of the Great Dragon Wars, vol. 1: The Blunder of Wil Bartram

By Horelipo Palusm the Historian

Many years ago a young adventurer by the name of Wil Bartram set out to find his fame and fortune. As all young men desire to do he ventured far and wide. He traveled from one land to another until one day he inadvertently stumbled upon a great horde of treasure. Just as Wil began filling his coin purse with glittering gems and gold the great dragon to whom the horde of wealth belonged to returned, and caught him in the act!

Normally under such circumstances a dragon would not stop to ask questions of such an act however on this day something most peculiar happened. Whether the dragon was full from a previous meal or if it was simply in a forgiving mood no one shall ever know; however, it is known that instead of making a quick meal out of him, the great dragon instead conversed with him demanding to know why he was there and who had sent him.

The exact conversation that took place on that day is unknown. What we do known is that the great dragon suspected that a rival dragon had sent young Wil to pilfer his horde and as such asked him. As fate would have it, the young adventure in an attempt to make a hasty retreat unwittingly answered yes to having been sent by another dragon. Young Bartman believed that if he laid blame on another, even another dragon in this case, he might escape his almost guaranteed fiery demise. So to the utter ruin of many young Bartram’s risky gamble paid off.

Upon hearing that Wil Bartram was sent by another dragon to pilfer his gold horde the great dragon became enraged. The dragon then asks Wil a question which has thus been referred to as the catalyst that began The Great Dragon Wars. The dragon asked, ‘if the rival dragon (exact name unknown) believed his horde of wealth to be larger then its own?’ For the second time in one day, as fate would have it, Wil Bartram answered yes to the dragons question unwittingly setting into motion a series of events that would untimely lead to the ‘The Great Dragon Wars of the 7th Age’.

History of the Great Dragon Wars, vol. 2: Deceit, Trickery, and Brute Force

By Horelipo Palusm the Historian

Wil Bartram and the great dragon inadvertently on that day put into motion something that would cause countless deaths. In the thick of it throwing king against king, nation against nation, and brother against brother. The Great Dragon, upon learning what he believed to be truth, entered a rage in which the words on these pages can not possibly begin to describe.

It is common knowledge that dragons love their treasure hordes, and with the utmost possessiveness will guard it to their death. We must surmise that the great dragon decided in his mind that his rival was out to destroy him, and to take his horde of wealth for its own. What we do know is what young Bartram over heard the dragon bellowing, and later recorded as he made his hasty retreat to escape the dragon’s jealous wrath. Bartram described the dragon as having wailed that it would, “vow to amass the greatest treasure horde any dragon had ever seen or possessed.”

In all of its jealous fury the Great Dragon had not only let the ‘thief’ escape, but it now believed that its rival was after its own treasure horde. With that thought in mind the monster took flight, and headed to its rival’s layer. Upon arriving the Great Dragon discovered the rival dragon’s lair to be deserted. Legend has it that there was no great battle on that day. Instead, the Dragon took advantage of the situation and pilfered the horde of gold as only a dragon can. It stole items of value and power that are beyond imagination and returned to its lair with the newly claimed wealth.

The Great Dragon's rival returned to its own lair only to discover that its dragon horde had been plundered; This setting into motion a chain of events that would untimely drag the four corners of the known lands into a great conflict. Nothing of this nature or magnitude had even been witness or recorded before the races of the lands. The great dragon begin to steal from others and events escalate. The great dragons, undoubtedly jealous of one another, begin competing to see which could amass the greatest treasure horde.

It began simply enough with some of the Great Dragons enlisting small groups of the different races of men, beasts, and monsters to their cause. They initially accomplished this by means of employment or trickery. While others resorted to more devious methods of enrollment. It was not long before whole cities and armies were under the controls of these great beasts. This continued for a time until the dragons competing for more power brought whole nation under their control and command. The nations that had managed to remain independent of the Great Dragons conflict were after one another. These nations beguiled out of a necessity to survive join with one dragon or another throwing the entire known lands into a series of chaotic battles. These battles laid waste and destruction to everything.