Amidst the Howling Dark

Immortal Div

It had been quite a trek, and De'mah was told it would go on for some time more. As he and his dragon guide, Tolmirak, went the two spoke both to pass the time, and to fill in the overpowering silence of that wide desert.

"Tell me of the high lord" De'mah asked.

"It would be better to see his grandness in person, but I'll tell you what I can. Jilnarok took the reigns of our species many centuries ago, and it is under his guidance we have expanded as a proud species, through the Ages of our being. All dragons follow the Ages, even if they do not adhere to their tenets" Tolmirak explained.

"The ages?"

Tolmirak nodded. "Yes. There are five, and they form the basis for our faith in the high lord. The Age of Peace, the Age of Aggression, the Age of Subservience, the Age of Prosperity, and the Age of Deceit. At the end of the Age of Deceit, the current high lord is killed and replaced, the new one entrusted to lead us down a more golden path."

"How does this work? What does each Age entail, usually, beyond their namesakes?"

"It's a simple matter. Each era begins at the Age of Peace, where all dragons are calmed under the guidance of the new high lord. After this comes the Age of Aggression, when our new high lord's vision becomes known and our species undergoes an aggressive change into disciples of this new vision. This quickly transforms into the Age of Subservience, when all dragons come to understand the nature of our high lord's reign. It is with this understanding we enter the Age of Prosperity, a golden age, and advance our understanding of the world. At last is the Age of Deceit, a period of doubt and dissent marked by an event fitting the Age's name. Deceit from one of our own, or from an outsider. This deceit leads to the death of the current high lord, and thus the cycle starts anew. Each age can last for many hundreds of years, or for mere months. We are a constantly evolving and changing people, despite the world's impression of us."

Interesting. "How many of your kind are there?"

"It's been a long time since a wise one took count of our numbers, but it is certain that we would all blot out Celestia's sun were we to rise into the skies. We are currently in the Age of Prosperity, so we have no reason to take to the skies. It is always a question of some interest to our scholars as to what the Age of Deceit will be" Tolmirak said.

"And this Celestia? What of them?"

Tolmirak smiled. "She and her sister rule the Equestrians, who I'm sure you've heard of. The two of them are Alicorns; fast and powerful, but kind and benevolent. They are a weak people, currently struggling to recover from the chaos of some mad demon's reign."

"Discord, I was told" De'mah commented. "If they are such a weak people then I must wonder how they've survived as long as they have. That is a question I will see answered some day, after I have learned of your kind. You said that Jilnarok took his place as the high lord many centuries ago. How long does one of your blood usually live?"

"Oh we are immortal, my friend. It is only by the hand or hoof of another that we die. Otherwise, we live forever, unmarred by the passage of time and the ages. It is both a gift and a curse, and it is why we have developed the tenets of the Ages, so that we might better understand our place in the universe, and answer that question of 'why?' Why are immortal, when none of the other races are? We haven't found an answer" Tolmirak said.

An immortal race of warriors, one that waged no war, and ruled no lands but their own. De'mah was dumbstruck. Here was a race that could rule every corner of the world if they wanted, but instead they kept to themselves and their own interests, theorizing about philosophy and the nature of their own existence. They could have it ALL, they could satisfy the 'why' of their existence if they exerted their power and prowess over the other races, and find purpose in seeking their subjugation.

Instead, they contained themselves. Their high lord wasn't a grand being, he was a WEAKLING. He kept these dragons from realizing their true potential, when the answers they sought to the questions they asked were RIGHT THERE, in the lands beyond their borders. The Equestrians were weakened, why wouldn't the dragons crush them? The Griffons, little though De'mah knew of them, likely couldn't stand against the might of the dragons either. Were there any others they'd likely fall within weeks or months to the might of the dragons, and yet...nothing. It was here, in these badlands, they stayed. Isolated from the rest of the world.

De'mah had to know why.

It was nearly dusk when the two of them arrived at the mouth of a mammoth cave, stretching more than 50 units into the air, its maw a howling darkness. Tolmirak gestured for De'mah to step forward, and so he did, the drake close behind. The cave winded into a mountain without peak, and the darkness soon gave way to the lights of torches along the stony walls. De'mah plodded deeper in, certain that he was entering the den of the dragon high lord, and certain he would get his answers.

De'mah rounded a bend in the cave and paused, feeling the earth shake beneath his feet. He continued on a bit slower, a great cavern ahead illuminated by innumerable torches, hills and piles of gleaming metal inside. He and Tolmirak entered the cavern, stretching on for eternity, and again De'mah could not find his words. The artificial light mixed with the natural glows of some exotic fungus along both the floor and ceiling, mingling with the stalagtites and stalagmites. The hills of gleaming metal were revealed to be great piles of golden coins and colored rocks, the same De'mah had been shown by the Griffon caravan, the piles clustered at random.

A distant rock formation rumbled and shifted, and as it unfurled De'mah was again dumbstruck by what he saw. It was not a rock formation, but rather a great dragon, five times as tall as De'mah was. He watched in awe as the magnificent wyvern thundered slowly toward him and his guide, black smoke billowing from his snout as he came. His scales were a bold and vibrant red, and they shined in the light of the cave.

"Iln otdus, il vele..." the dragon growled low, probably the equivalent of a whisper, but the walls shook all the same. De'mah had never been afraid of another being, but it was here, in this cave, that he finally understood fear. This dragon, if he was the high lord, was no doubt a weakling mentally, but there was no doubt he commanded fear and respect simply through his size alone. "Lu trem auo silnek tortrumuh."

"Er otdus neki vildu oto Div, hih lar. He speaks the Equestrian language" Tolmirak said, and the mammoth dragon cast his gaze upon De'mah.

"An ignorant tongue for an ignorant. What would compel you to seek our wisdom, outsider? We could hardly teach one of your size anything of value. Knowledge is all you'll gain from us, I assure you of that" the dragon declared.

"Knowledge will be more than sufficient. If I seek anything more than that, then I will find it on my own" De'mah said, and the dragon scoffed, black smoke once more billowing out and rising into the air. He craned his neck down the ground until his head was level with De'mah's, and his brilliant green eyes bored into the Sangheili.

"Knowledge is hardly sufficient. Because when one finally attains that knowledge, they seek to act on that knowledge. The question we will come to see, in time, is just what you will do with what I teach you. I am Jilnarok," the dragon said, raising his head back up into the air, unfurling his titanic wings and throwing them up. "Er Hih Lar oto Div. The High Lord of the Dragons."