War of Scale and Flame
Summary
Before the mortal races began to grow in numbers it was the dragons who controlled the world. The dragons competed over territory and fought over the differences in their beliefs but these battles were fought between individuals and it was rare for more than two or three dragons to fight at any one time. As the mortal races grew in number the dragons began to see that these small creatures might eventually pose a threat rather than being a source of easily intimidated labour.
In an unusual move, the dragons gathered at the largest mountain in Beraca to discuss how to deal with this threat. There they created a chamber deep inside the mountain and made it suitable for conducting a great debate. Each dragon offered up a part of their wealth as tribute to their deities on the completion of the chamber, with the combined wealth placed behind mystical barriers so that none would be tempted by the vast hoard.
The dragons were split between two approaches. One group, led by Dypharis the Scarlet Destruction, wanted to destroy or fully enslave the lesser races. The other group, led by Locith the Shimmering Glory, wished to find a way to live peacefully with them. The debate went on for a decade before Locith's faction noticed that communities of the tiny mortals were disappearing.
Realising that Dypharis' followers had been using the talks as a distraction, Locith withdrew from the debate and began sending her followers out in pairs to defend the mortals. Dypharis responded by sending out his followers in larger groups to overcome the defenders which naturally led to Locith arranging for even larger groups of defenders. This cycle went on for several decades and led to to the death of almost a quarter of dragonkind. Realising that they couldn't sustain this drawn out conflict the two leaders agreed to hold one final battle between their followers, with the victor deciding the future course of their kind.
The smaller fights between groups of dragons had already destroyed several forests, and boiled away a couple of lakes so Dypharis and Locith decided to hold the fight in a region that had been the site of the original discussions. This region was little more than wide open plains with little of interest to the dragons apart from the occasional mountain (which they were sure would survive the fight).
The two draconic leaders assembled their forces and personally led them into battle. The dragons unleashed their powers without restraint and waves of elemental energy were sent racing across the landscape. A tenth of the dragons on both sides were killed in the first hour as the less powerful fell to the spells of their elders. The combat then descended into skirmishes between individuals or small groups of dragons but the ferocity of the magics unleashed was undiminished and with each passing day parts of the landscape were destroyed or forever changed. After weeks of fighting and with no victor emerging the two leaders gathered their forces for a final attack on their foes.
The two factions met at the mountain that held the chamber where they had once tried resolving their differences peacefully. Given draconic nature it is widely believed that this choice was driven by greed for the wealth stored there, but the more generous of spirit may choose to believe that this was a symbolic gesture. When battle was joined, there was no holding back from either side with terrible spells unleashed, the like of which have not been seen since. Both sides were evenly matched in offensive and defensive magic, and having exhausted all of their magical energy the dragons resorted to tooth, claw, and their elementally charged breath attacks. The unrelenting blasts of magic, fire, lighting, acid, and ice changed the very nature of the rock of the mountain they were fighting around, both hardening it and smoothing it till it had a surface like glass.
Afrer days of battle only Locith and Dypharis, along with their honour guards, were left alive. Despite the devastaing losses both leaders were too proud to admit defeat and joined battle one final time. Each managed to fatally wound the other and they each died alone on opposite sides of the mountain. The only dragons who survived this war were the young and those few who remained neutral. With too few dragons to dominate the whole population of the lesser races the remaining dragons choose to withdraw into isolation, or dominated small communities. Believing the mountain where the two leaders had died to be cursed by the amount of dragon blood spilt there, the dragons never returned to it, despite the wealth left there by those foolish enough to take part in the war.
The region where the dragons fought became known as the dragon wastes, a harsh land, forever changed by the magic unleashed upon it. The chamber that the dragons prepared, along with a portion of their wealth remains in the mountain which the elves later named Oron Calcamorna. With it's glass like surface that offers next to no grip, and fierce winds that swirl around the mountain, no one has been able to reach the chamber under the mountain, and it is believed that the wealth of the dragons still awaits the first soul to reach it.
Historical Basis
The evidence that there was a battle involving a large number of dragons is dotted all over the dragon wastes, but historical details have been hard to come by. The few dragons who might have been alive near the time of the war are reluctant to speak about it, frequently feigning a failing memory to avoid saying anything. Attempts to use magic to look back have also failed, though that in itself may be confirmation that a vast amount of magic was swirling around when the war supposedly happened. It is likely that the only definite confirmation will come if someone manages to reach the chamber under Oron Calcamorna.
Cultural Reception
Most who hear this tale care little for the folly of the dragons, or even the incredible spells unleashed. What almost every listener remembers about this is the stories about the accumulated wealth of the dragons that is presumably still somewhere under the mountain. There have been no stories of anyone recovering it, so this tale remains a favourite wherever groups of adventurers and treasure seekers gather.
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