A Dragon's view.

The sun rose leisurely above the horizon and moments later, its warmth spread across the land. It had been a cold night and the dew sparkled in the new light of the day. All across Reptiliad, the sounds and movement of awakening began and deep in the forest, a pair of topaz coloured eyes gently opened to greet the dawn. The forest Dragon flashed its tongue across the surface of each of its eyes and shrugged; raising all of its scales to release the collection of dew whilst gently shivering to help the process. Very carefully, it slowly stretched its wings and retracted them before surveying the nearby woods for any life. Through the eyes of a Dragon, every little speck of heat shone as brightly as a star and the dragon quickly found prey that was large enough to sate its immediate hunger.

The badger checked the sky and the ground as it foraged in the dead leaves on the forest floor. It was on the edge of a clearing and was returning to its set after a night of hunting and socialising. It was a male of good age so was fully grown and had sired many a cub. It paused sharply and sniffed the air before continuing to forage.

The forest Dragon flexed its muscles and stretched its broad wings before dropping from its roost in the tall oak tree and gliding off towards its prey. Its tongue continuously flashed out to taste the air and the air was moist and dense; excellent for hunting.

The badger sensed movement and froze. He quickly sniffed the air and looked around but he couldn’t smell anything unusual and his eyesight was poor so he couldn’t see any movement either.

The forest Dragon could see the heat signature getting closer so it tucked its wings in closer to its body to gain speed for the attack. It felt the air rushing over its smooth scales and heard the rushing of the air as the speed increased. The forest Dragon could almost taste the beast as it thrust its front talons forward for the kill.

The badger sensed danger and immediately made a bolt for its set. Its legs hammered the ground as it fled purposefully towards safety. It was only feet away when the impact happened. Then there was silence for what seemed like an age.

The badger gingerly peered out of its set, making sure that it was still deep enough to feel safe. It could hear the sharp cracking sounds of bones being broken by powerful jaws. It could smell the unmistakable odour of blood and that was enough for it to back down into the depths of its set and take no further interest in what was going on.

The deer didn’t stand a chance. It was young and inexperienced and didn’t hear the Dragon until it was too late. The knife-long talons of the Dragon punctured its chest cavity with no resistance and the deer was dead before the weight of the killer pinned it to the floor. The forest Dragon raised its head and roared before shearing chunks of flesh from the deer with its razor-sharp fangs and gulping them down. In moments, the deer was gone and the forest Dragon delicately licked the ground to drink as much of the blood as it could. Once it had finished, the Dragon flexed its wings and with a burst of effort flapped itself into the air and off up above the canopy of the forest. Its hunger was sated and it was a glorious day so the forest Dragon relaxed into a soaring posture and enjoyed the heat of the new morning.

It was good to be a Dragon.

The strangest thing.

My name is Narls Bjornsson and I am a Dragon slayer by trade; with seven fire-stones to my credit. I am looking forward to the day when one of the forges sponsor me but I seem to be doing okay without their support although it is tough work. I have followed some big hitters in the past but they tend to get in before you have a chance yourself and if I’m going to put my life on the line, I want to get the fire-stone as a reward so I have gone solo now.

Well, I say I’ve gone solo but for some reason, I seem to have adopted a follower. His name is Blit miner and for some inexplicable reason, one of the forges has seen fit to give him a suit of specialist armour to wear. Now it is a rarity for a Goblin to wear heavy armour in the first place but to wear power-stone armour is, to be honest, unique. I’ve never heard of another one; usually the Goblins take up a bow and fire at a distance but Blit, he’s a bit special. Not only does he have the special armour, he’s got four fire-stones to his credit and he got them from close combat with Dragons.

Now, you’ve seen how big a Goblin is and how heavy power-stone armour can be so you can imagine that most of the power goes to helping Blit move around but there is also a sting in his armour. He looks pretty funny to be honest; a bit like the head of a blunt mace but with arms and legs. He has a heavy visor that drops down and covers his face completely and a small boiler with short stacks on it. The weirdest thing is that he doesn’t carry any weapons. He just waddles around and goes head to head with the Dragon.

Can you imagine how ridiculous it looks when a knee-high ball of metal goes waddling up to a Dragon to fight it? Well Blit doesn’t care he waddles straight up; puffing and clanking. Normally, he’ll dodge a bit but then he just gets swallowed and you think he’s done for but that armour of his is special. It’s super tough and can withstand the bites and stomach fluids of a Dragon and when Blit is ready he activates the secret weapon. Once that happens, powerful spikes spring out and retract over and over again and the inside of the Dragon is peppered with holes. It is a horror to watch and you almost feel sorry for the Dragon as it retches and claws at itself to rid the pain from its guts. After a while, the Dragon falls down dead and once it is all still, Blit emerges from its mouth with a fire-stone in his hand.

I’ve talked to him about why he hasn’t gone back to the mines and he says that if he ever gets scared of the outside, he just closes his visor and he feels safe again. I think another reason is that he has become quite a celebrity and enjoys the opportunity to tell his tales and get rewarded. I must admit that I have become quite fond of the little chap… and he’s the only one I know who can drink as much ale as I do without falling over although I’m not sure whether some of that is down to his armour holding him up rather than his constitution.

Yes, I’d say we make a good team; me and Blit.

The Ballad of Glack Miner

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It's not just a job.

Simon 'The Pious' strode forward into the forest. He knew what he was going to face. The locals called it the Great Wyrm and it lived in Spring-Tide forest. It was a fell beast of emerald green; a full fifty yards long. It's teeth were like short-swords and it's eyes were as orange as the dying embers of a fire. The Great Wyrm was a man-killer and it had taken a full baker's dozen so Simon knew it was time to slay the beast and bring peace to the land again so he set off into the forest with fire in his eyes and faith in his heart.

A few words on population

Throughout Reptiliad, there are various levels of population but there is a tendency for the various tribes to stick to the areas they are most suited to.

The Dwarfs are most likely to have the largest population in Reptiliad but there will always be difficulty in proving this because the Goblins may exceed their numbers but are rarely above ground long enough to find out. The Dwarfs tend to live near to the mountains but like to have a mix of open plain and forest nearby. That gives them the benefits of being close to the source of the stone they need for their castles, close to the Goblins who mine the ores for weapons and power-stone and it also means that they have good access to grazing land and hunting grounds. They were the second of the humanoid races to arrive on Reptiliad after the Goblins but it is not really known whether the Goblins originate from the continent or whether they travelled to it.

Whether the Goblins travelled to Reptiliad or not is widely discussed but it can certainly be said that they have been there the longest of the humanoid races. There are large populations of Goblins who almost exclusively live below ground, in the mountains of the continent. They like to make tunnels that give them access to the forests so that they can go hunting for animals at night and they tend to steer clear of open spaces because they tend to become agoraphobic. It is a good thing for the Goblins that they have such a good trading relationship with the Dwarfs because they would have difficulty travelling too far to trade with other tribes. The Dwarfs are always happy to go into the mines to trade and the Goblins are always happy to entertain them.

The humans are the most recent of the humanoid races to arrive on Reptiliad. They came in great long ships that were filled with food, seeds and domesticated animals so they were prepared to settle the land. It came as a great surprise to them that there were not more people in the land... until they encountered Dragons for the first time. Luckily for them, the Dwarfs were able to help them out and they quickly struck up trade agreements that enabled the Dwarfs to obtain fine cloth and a variation of foods in return for their building expertise. This helped the humans to get a foothold in the land while they built up their farms and fortifications. Many a human has been saved by the sturdy architecture of their Dwarf-build house. The protection that they have received has enabled them to properly settle and build up their numbers but they have only been on Reptiliad for a hundred years or so and their numbers are few when compared to the other races.

The Dhurni live in the northern territories and are most numerous of the dinoran races. Although they are nomadic, there are many separate caravans that travel the wastes and they are excellent at surviving where others would falter. There are more Dhurni than humans but they are far fewer in number than the Dwarfs or Goblins. Little is known about their arrival in Reptiliad and some even suggest that they may be an off-shoot of the Dragon species but this is absurd because they are mammalian, not reptilian in design. What is certain about the Dhurni is that although they are fairly slight and sinewy in build, they are immensely strong and agile and they excel at hunting.

The Mhurni have the lowest population of all the races on Reptiliad and the Dwarfs are always desperate to prevent it reducing further. The Mhurni tend to live at the junctions of different environments and like to have a mix of mountain, plain and forest within easy reach so that they can harvest the various ingredients they need for their medicines and alchemy. Whether it is as a result of the drugs they take, the alcohol they drink or the vapours that they breathe, is uncertain but the Mhurni breed very slowly and if they suffer casualties from Dragon predation it hits them the hardest of all the races on Reptiliad. As has been mentioned already, the Dwarfs are always concerned about the Mhurni for fear that they are left without the ability to trade for power-stone so they are extremely protective of the gentle race. The Mhurni, on the other hand, are not easily looked after because they like their own simple ways and are usually far to intoxicated to worry about things like keeping away from danger.

Occasionally, there are other visitors that either don’t stay long or are taken by the Dragons. These tend to be people who lack the confidence to mingle with the local tribes and, in isolation, falter and pass away over time. There are also those that are shipwrecked who may find shelter in one of the tribes or will be swept up by a hunting Dragon or killed by one of the many beasts. Raiders often visit Reptiliad but they tend to be surprised at just how well the locals defend themselves and each other and usually leave with fewer numbers and a wish never to return. As a result, there can be a wide range of different races in the land at any time and occasionally, they may stay long enough to make a legend of their own.

A late night visitor.

My name is Robert Brown and I live on this farm. My father’s father landed his kingship on the beach here and we have farmed in this valley ever since. We managed to trade with the stout fellows and they built us this fine house out of the best stone; strongly locked together using their skills of masonry. It is a good job too otherwise my family may have been lost to me.

Only last month we were awoken by the sound of the hounds barking. We quickly dressed and gathered our pitchforks and went the front door. I am glad it was securely closed because there was a terrible noise from outside before the hounds fell silent and then we heard the heavy footfalls of a Dragon. I went over to one of the narrow windows and looked out but all I saw was a large, yellow eye peering back at me. I told Maud to get back and shelter in the corner and she did as I told her; she’s a good wife, that woman.

Then the door started to heave under the force of the Dragon’s talons and the ground shook as it tried to force a way in. I could only think of my son and daughter so I rushed to their room and fetched them out to sit with their mother in the corner. They were terribly afraid but they knew they had to stay quiet and they did as they were told. Moments later the Dragon was on the stone roof and we could hear the scraping of his sharp claws as he tried to get to us. I must say that those stout fellows make a solid building because, try as he might, the Dragon couldn't get inside and after a long while of digging and scraping, it gave up and thumped back onto the ground outside. I managed to get a good look at it as it sloped off towards the milkers; it was a wonderful jade green colour and had a bright orange frill on its head. I know the pen dragons don’t tend to have bright colours on them so it must have been a drake and he was at least half grown; about five times the length of one of the milkers.

It was a terrible thing to see the Dragon catch one of the frightened cows. I’ll never forget the look of terror on its face as the Dragon flapped into the air and dropped heavily on its back, pinning it down and biting into its neck; killing it outright. The Dragon tore chunks from the cow and gulped them down before it had lightened the animal enough to carry. It then flapped into the air again and grasped the remains of the cow with its rear claws before it flew off with it. As it left it screeched loudly but then it was gone and everything was quiet. I made sure Maud and the children were safe before I went outside to have a look and when I opened the door I could see the deep claw-marks in the heavy oak panels and up the walls of the house.

The hounds were left in their own blood and entrails; poor things. They’ll be getting a good send off later for doing such a good job. Fortunately, the Dragon only killed the one cow but the rest were clinging to the fence with terror in their eyes... there’d be no milk from them for a day or so and what they produced for a week afterwards was only good for cheese making. Apart from that, we’d got off pretty lightly and I can’t praise the stout fellows enough for their masterful building skills; we’d have been lost if it wasn’t for them.

When it got light the next day, you could see all the foot prints and claw marks around the place and you could tell where the Dragon had dragged his tail along the ground. We collected the hounds together and wrapped them in cloth so that we could send them off and we were lucky because a Mhurni traveller happened to be passing and he helped to raise the pyre and prepare an offering to the goddess. We made sure he was well fed and watered before he left and he left some strong smelling herbs to settle the milkers down so we were truly blessed. Those Mhurni really know how to make you feel better about things but I have always felt strange in their company... they are so different to us, you know.

The Ballad of Snorri Brakkison.

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