Official Lore Of Mystical Creatures

Wherever you once were, wherever you think you are now, you feel as if it must all be a dream. Surely it is, because the sight before you is new to you--a distant land you’d never set your eyes upon until this very moment and yet it feels somehow familiar. In a word, it is magnificent.

You stand beneath the shade of a gnarled old willow, its hair-like branches swaying in the breeze and caressing your shoulders like the gentle touch of a loved one. Beneath your feet grows silken, richly green grass, shimmering like ocean mist as the wind curls around you. The sky is the most unreal shade of cerulean that you can’t help but wince against its vivid assault. The clouds hang like ever present deities, watchful and kind.

You’re on a cliff it seems, overlooking a vast stretch of canyons, untamed and bursting with life and color. Ornate stone structures are carved into the cliffs or hang precariously from their overhangs. Hunks of rock suspended on nothing drift by, dangling ivy curtains from their underbellies. From everything sprouts vents of hazy wisps of blue-white light, like hidden rivers breaking through to the surface.

Overhead, you hear the distant screech of some winged creature and you squint against the glaring sun. A dark shape, like that of a bird of prey with its wings outstretched to catch the rising thermals, soars overhead. But it's not just one--It is many and you realize these creatures are Dragons! Majestic beasts of myth and legend, as real as your own self. They’re everywhere, clinging to the floating islands and darting through the pillars and hallways of those distant structures. Some are locked by their talons, performing death-defying aerial stunts that would make even the most grizzled pilots think twice.

All around you, life moves, seemingly unaware of your presence in this unknown place.

“Greetings, traveler.” A voice says behind you. It is soft, caring--motherly almost. You turn to face the source and find yourself some distance from a large Dragoness. You startle, if only for a moment.

At her full height, she is as tall as the willow, and a wingspan as wide as she is long from the end of her snout to the tip of her tail. A grand crown of golden horns sprout from the crest of her head curling to and fro, while feather-like pinions grow all along her body in neat rows, their surfaces iridescent in the sunlight. Her alabaster scales shimmer like satin as she takes a bow, wings spread while her head dips to the ground. There is ancient knowledge flickering behind her prismatic gaze. Everything about her sleek form and elegant stance speaks of grace and peace, putting you at ease.

You can’t help but bow back, out of some sense of respect for the mighty and beautiful creature before you.

“I’m sure you have many questions.” She says. Her maw turns to the sky, to the flurry of wings and roars, to the majesty of floating castles and magick in abundance. “--About this place, about our kind, about me.”

You nod, a little slack jawed. You find your composure quickly and at least do her the courtesy of not gawking too much.

“My name is Tia’Malcara, and I am one of the last Dragons. It is an honor to meet you.”

One of the Last? But there are so many here, you think. You squint at the multitudinous beasts soaring overhead. One zips by so close that the downbeat of its mighty wings nearly knocks you from your feet. Atop the crimson beast’s back is a rider, gripping onto the reins while whooping. You can’t stop the jovial laughter escaping you at the awe of it all. A laugh escapes her as well, but it is short lived.

“Please forgive me. I meant no deception, but this place--It is a memory. One of mine, actually--from a time long past, a time when my kind were numerous and Aurum flowed like honey. A time when Dragons lived alongside you and our people shared the bounty of the land. Allow me the chance to show you.”

She turns, lowering her chest to the ground while unfurling a single wing. It seems as if she is offering you a chance to climb aboard. It takes some sorting, but you eventually clamber up her wing and nestle yourself comfortably between two of her feather-like pinions along her back. She doesn’t seem to mind or notice as you grasp one firmly to keep from being thrown.

She rises to her full height once more and stretches her wings in preparation for flight. Your heart is set to burst with excitement.

Tia’Malcara takes a few steps back, before taking two great bounds toward the cliff’s edge. You hang on to that pinion with all your might as her massive form leaps from the edge, plunging into the valley below. Her great wings ripple, billowing as they catch air and just like that, you’re flying!

You whoop and holler at the majesty of it all while the wind beats mercilessly against your face. Its freshness fills you to your core. It breathes new life into you and you wonder how your kind could have ever given up something so incredible.

If this is a memory of the past, you wonder, what happened? War? Some unseen apocalypse? Sickness?

“I’m glad you asked. Nothing so.. Dramatic, I assure you.” Her mouth is still, though her words flicker through your mind as if to come from everywhere at once. “Though we Dragons do love a good fight from time to time, it was not war that drove us back into obscurity. It was simply.. That our paths diverged. Your kind, curious and intelligent as you are, developed vast and wondrous technologies. No longer was there need for the Kinship and magicks we had to offer. Quite simply, you outgrew our symbiotic relationship--Outgrew your reliance on Aurum.”

You’re sorry, you think.

She shakes her head. “Do not fret, my friend. I cannot blame your kind for our passing any more than I can blame the eb and flow of the ocean for reshaping the shores or the wildfires that swallow whole forests. It is simply.. The way of the universe. My kind had grown far too… dependent on your kind, and many others bitter. They felt mankind had abandoned them. And so our vast histories wilted into nothing until the records of our existence faded into legends, passed around by your storytellers as myths and fantasy. When we faded away, so too did the Aurum and the magicks it could create.”

Aurum, you ask. She’s mentioned it a couple of times now.

“Before the rise of technology, our shared world was governed by powerful magicks, granted to us by Aurum--the energy of Life that flows through us all. At least, it used to. Dragons, you see, are especially sensitive to Aurum--It sustains us. From it we are born, and to it we return when we die. When it is abundant, so too are Dragons. And where Dragons are numerous, Aurum flows freely. One cannot exist without the other, so when Dragonkind faded from memory, the magicks of our age went with us.”

During her explanations, you notice the landscape beneath you has changed. It is devoid of life, the vibrancy and movement that once dominated your vision nothing more than a figment of the past. Even the ever-present aetherial glow of magick is gone.

You want to help, you feel it in your soul. But you’re left empty, unsure of how. She’s telling you so much that you do not yet understand, though you suspect that with time, you will.

“..That is why I come to you, today. To you and many like you, to beg for your help. With your help, there might be a chance to save Dragonkind and bring magick back to our world.” There’s an urgency to her tone. It's sudden, and you’re enraptured by the starfire seemingly burning in her multi-hued eyes as she turns to look back at you.

Beneath you, the barren landscape gives way to desolate shorelines and finally vast open sea. You turn back to see the land you once stood upon now just a hazy shape in the distance. Ocean surrounds you, and it's almost too much in its swallowing openness. But she seems to know where she’s going, and you trust she’ll get you there safely--wherever it is she’s taking you.

What can I do, you ask.

“Like your ancestors did long ago, take our kind into your homes, your hearts, your lives. Raise them to be strong. Help us rebuild and reclaim our lost history. They will flourish beneath your guidance and through your companionship. As our numbers grow, the Aurum will flow again. And both making and Dragonkind might find unity once more.”

You’re descending now, it seems. Wispy clouds blur past you and obscure your vision momentarily, leaving your cheeks kissed with moisture. Mist trails from her wingtips and you feel her begin to stall, tilting her great wings by just a few degrees. Ahead of you sits an island. Its rocky edifices are baked in the sunlight, and old ruins seem to blend into the landscape. Its hard to make out details from this distance, but the whole place looks barren and desolate, though an otherworldly blue glow seems to emanate from cracks in the landscape.

“Hang on!” She says aloud. You brace for the impending landing as her wings beat rapidly, her back end lowering as her hind feet make contact first, then her front feet. The impact rattles you a bit, and she laughs while half tucking in her wings, still wet with mist. “Apologies. Been a long time since I carried a rider. Suppose I’m a little rusty.”

It's fine, you insist. For now, you’re wondering where you are. There’s an.. Energy about this place, and you can’t quite put a finger on it. Is it this ‘Aurum’ that she speaks of? You’d felt it before, but its more.. Focused here, almost tangible like the taste of dew and greenery in the air on a cool spring morning.

A closer inspection of your surroundings reveal what seems to be an old courtyard. The ground is littered with cracked and broken tiles. Wiry grass clings to the stones and veins of glittering blue smoke-like tendrils of light, not unlike what you saw before, dot the land. Vines cling to the rocky outcroppings, while the songs of birds fill the air. Overhead a tree sways in the wind, shadows dancing on the worn ruins around you. Everything here seems touched by some unseen power. Was this still some sort of memory?

“This is the last safe haven of Dragonkind, and the last wellspring of Aurum in the world--for now, at least. I’ve dedicated my life to protecting it.” She states matter-of-factly, dipping her shoulder to allow you to slide off. This island can’t be very big at all. “Though there.. are not many of us left, it is as good a home as any.”

You take several steps forward, spinning on your heels to take it all in. The size of this place is daunting, and you feel small amidst what was once great ruins. It's then that you notice she hasn’t moved from where she landed. Her expression seems distant.

You wonder if something is wrong.

She shakes her head. “Not wrong, exactly, but I grow weak from overextending myself. So I’m afraid this is where our meeting must end.”

You truly hope she hasn’t flown you all this way to abandon you on some remote island. None of these trees look like they bear any kind of fruit and last time you checked, ocean water wasn’t exactly drinkable. The life of a deserted island is not for you, you think.

A laugh escapes her toothy maw. “By the Fundemanals no. But you’ve seen this place. You’ve heard my plea for help. I leave you now with the knowledge of how to find me, so that we might meet face to face. I have what you will need to begin.”

You’d like that, you think. How soon, you ask her.

“Soon. Until we meet again, friend.”

The ground gives way and you find yourself plummeting through a sky so impossibly filled with stars that it's almost too much. A light beneath you quickly approaches and it engulfs you in its intensity.

By the time you open your eyes once again, you’re back home but filled with a new resolve and untamed excitement for what's to come.

 

Welcome, to the world of Mystical Creatures. We look forward to embarking on this epic journey with all of you!