For as long as history was recorded, the Dragons ruled the land. While many were benevolent souls who acted only in the best interest of their subjects, too many were tyrannical monsters who ruled with an iron claw, the only future for those who defied them being the course in their Lord's next dinner. Even the more beneficent dragons acted in ways that stifled freedom. And the infighting between these great serpents was immense. Where they battled, forests burned and cities crumbled. Rebellions arose, but where most were swiftly put down in dragonsfire, the few too strong for one dragon to subjugate would often prompt even bitter rivals to unite against the common threat, recognizing the threat to their own power should the evils of self-determination not be stomped out.
Two hundred years ago, a secretive group known as the Dragonsbane Cabal cast their legendary ritual. Though the dragons did eradicate this group of almighty spellcasters, the damage had been done. For many decades, nothing happened, and the spell was presumed to have failed. However over time, civilization began to notice odd behaviors from their Draconic lords. They became more distant. Withdrawn. Concerned in their own affairs rather than attending to their subjects, and the more observant would notice that there was some kind of pallor that hung around them. Like the entire species was meant to bore the knowledge of a terrible secret. Either way, with their newfound freedom, civilization flourished and were able to drive the dragons into the fringes of the world. Though observers and historians would note that the dragons, once so proud and mighty, lacked the will to fight.
Many rumors have persisted about this change in behavior for the dragons. Some say they're regrouping and are preparing for an assault to enslave the world forever. Others say they're slowly going insane. Either way, the future for civilization is looking bright, but at the expense of the dragons, whose future never looked bleaker.
But one particularly bright, enterprising, and overwhelmingly desperate dragon has come up with a solution.
"Welcome into my home." A voice whispered from deep within the cave, a feminine one, though pleasant and soothing. "Do not be afraid. I mean you no harm, little one."
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