Dalinda's Tale

Andraous (Discontinued)    Culture    Legends/Myths      Dalinda's Tale

Summary

An old myth believed to have originated during the First Era, it tells the story of a young woman named Dalinda. She was said to have come from a modest background, but was stolen into a life of slavery at a young age. For many years she was forced to work in the castle of a corrupt king. One day a noble brought in a Regal Dragon hatchling as a gift for the king. The king as pleased by the offering, and had the hatchling brought to the dungeons, intending to have the hatchling broken in and trained to be a glorious battle mount. It was heavily chained and beaten often, breaking Dalinda's heart.
One night the guards feel asleep at their posts, and Dalinda saw an opportunity to free the poor hatchling. She was able to remove the chains and the two of them were able to reach the castle walls before being discovered by the guards. The hatchling was able to take flight and escape, but Dalinda was quickly captured and brought to the king. Furious, the king decided to punish the slave girl, and had her locked away. For many days she was trapped, forced to suffer the king's punishments.
Several days later, while awaiting her next punishment, Dalinda heard bone rattling roars and terrifying screams from outside. She quickly raced to the window, and could see that a massive Regal Dragon had begun to attack the castle, breathing fire towards the charging guards and destroying a wagon with the flick of it's tail. Dalinda was hypnotized by how easily the dragon shrugged off whatever was thrown it's way, and it took her a moment to realize that the dragon was looking right at her.
With one last fiery breathe towards the guards, the dragon flung itself towards the castle, hitting the stone walls with an earthshaking thump. Dalinda could only scream as a dragon hand burst through the window in front of her, and the next thing she knew was that she was watching the castle rapidly shrink below herself. Everything then faded to black.
When Dalinda would awaken in the dragon's den later, she would learn that the dragon that kidnapped her was the mother of the hatchling she had freed from the castle. To show her appreciation, the mother Dragon taught Dalinda both how to fight and how to use magic. Dalinda never forgot the king's cruelty, and swore that one day she would end his reign.
Eventually the day came were Dalinda had to leave her her new dragon family to forage her own way. Before she left however, the mother dragon gave her one last gift, a spear. The blade was made from one of the dragon's teeth, and the shaft was decorated with dragon scales and gemstones. This spear could help her channel fire, call for help from near by dragons, and induce a fear effect on weaker willed foes.
Dalinda would go onto join the rebellion, and with the help of her spear, would go onto help win many important battles. Eventually the king would be overthrown, and Dalinda would go on to help form a new government. It is said that when she died a dragon appeared at her funeral, and took both her body and the spear away, to be laid to rest in a Dragon Graveyard. Many claim that whoever can find her resting site and the spear, will become the new ruler of her kingdom.
Since then there has been many rumors of the spear reappearing throughout history, but most have been proven to be hoaxes or flat out lies.

Historical Basis

Much of the legend is true, and the Dragon Graveyard that Dalinda's body and spear rest in are on a hard to reach island.
The current rulers of the kingdom despise the part of the legend that states that whoever acquires the spear will be the next ruler. As a result they have been doing everything in their power to search for it will sabotaging others efforts.