The Dragon of the Ashen Lake

Ivenarea is a country of wonders, and therefore also of wondrous tales. "The Dragon of the Ashen Lake" is a story dating back several millennia, its origins presumably attempts at explaining natural phenomena witnessed in and around the lake.

Summary

Once a mighty volcano the Ashen Lake is today a large freshwater lake with a flourishing community growing at its shores. Long before the first house of this town called Stendell was finished, millennia even before its name-giver had been born, the closest nearby settlement was the ancient city Beldran. From its libraries and academies highest observatory hours it was possible to see the Ashen Lake glittering in the distance during the day, and at night the moons reflected in its black, calm surface.
One night though a young student stayed up very late in the tower, taking notes on the movement of the stars, and almost falling asleep, when a bright burst of light woke her up again. Scrambling to her feet and to the window she identified the source of the light the Ashen Lake, and quick-thinking she then hurried to a nearby telescope to inspect the landmark closer. A vortex had formed at the lake's center as if a truly massive beast had plunged into its depths. The usually so calm surface of the water was dramatically stirred, the ripples ominously glowing in a golden light, as if something bright was moving beneath the surface.
By the time the student had informed her supervisor, having to leave the tower and return together, the lake was calm again, and the glow had faded. The supervisor did believe her trusted student though, and together they informed the faculty director, who informed the Fervis, who then in return informed Iovana Davar's, but the ruler was old and dying, so the investigation of the occurrence eventually fell to his son and successor's hand: Elek.
On behalf of the new Iovana, the Avon Julanor were sent to initiate an investigation at the lake - yet, almost nothing suspicious could be found in the area that wasn't explicable through natural phenomena related to the Ashen Lake's volcanic history. Warm bubbles of air rose from the bottom of the lake, and in the days after the sighting travelers and workers in the region spoke of a strange, ozone-like smell in the air - as well as a sudden onset and passing of rain in the surrounding forests, despite no clouds in sight.
While the Avon Julanor concluded their report with no distinctly strange findings, the tale of a smart dragon playing a trick on the investigators persists. Even today, when the night-sky is clear, people believe to see movement in the lake and a strange shimmer moving along its deep, deep ground, an underwater dragon who built its nest deep and undisturbed in the caldera.