Behold the Dragon
by Paetram
[The following text is a recently discovered ancient account of the coming of the Dragon.]
And it came to pass in those days that all manner of highly unpleasant things did happen, not the least of which was the increasing frequency of right hands faltering, not to mention the worrying amount of left hands straying. The people were sore afraid, and did mutter amongst themselves. "The next thing you know, the town will sink into the ground. Let us not ignore these portents, and just get the hell out of here," the people said.
And so they wandered into the land whose name in the Old Tongue is Beth-shadar, which means "land of the lingering death." When the people realized this, their wails and lamentations could be heard across the hills and valleys of that land, and they reversed their wandering back into the lands of their births.
And there were rumors in the land of the coming of the True Dragon Reborn. The wizened village elders gathered the people together and spake unto them, "Do not panic." But the people panicked anyway, and, after hanging the six False Dragons Reborn they had left over from that week, and the witch-burnings, almost forgetting the stonings, they sat and brooded over their mysterious prophecies.
And in the autumn of that year the Dragon appeared, and behold he waxed exceeding mighty, and did smite the earth. And, lo, when terrible invaders came from across the sea, the Dragon stretched out his hand and smote them also, and they did flee for a time. The dragon then turned his eye upon an ancient stronghold, and took the sword therein to increase by a thousandfold his smiting ability. And when the Dark One heard this thing, he was sore afraid.
The dragon was fruitful, and did multiply, and his wives begat him many sons and daughters, all of whom never really did anything, but here are their names anyway... [text missing]
And it further came to pass in those last days that the Dragon stood before his arch-nemesis, and said unto him, "Behold, I have come to smite thee as none have been smitten before." And the Dark One laughed, replying, "Dragon, your empty threats amuse me mightily." Whereupon, the Dragon was not afraid. He raised his sword, but before he could deliver the final blow, the Creator appeared and spake unto him, saying, "Well, would you look at this! I step out of the room for just a minute, and all hell breaks loose!"