Dragon Cave and all the critters that call it home belong to TJ09 and the wonderful artists who created them. I own nothing except for the dragons whose stories will be shared throughout this story's tales. I will only be using my own dragons in this, as I have hundreds to choose from. Whether you have a Dragon Cave scroll of your own or not, I hope you enjoy the story my dragons wish to share. :)
Dragon Scrolls
Prologue
The storm was fierce as he ran. His cart had been lost to bad fortune as he entered the old forest. He had started to wonder if the old tales about the woods were true. It was a cursed place, the villagers in the nearby town would say. Some nights you would hear ghostly howls that would frighten even the wolves that called this place home. He had ignored them and boasted that ghosts and spirits only served to frighten children. He was eighteen and too old to cower under his bed. Fate however seemed to be testing his courage. From the moment his horse had been spooked by that tree snake everything had gone wrong.
The horse had panicked and took off in a blind dash to get away from the scaly reptile. He had tried to calm the horse and pull back on the reigns, but it was useless. The wagon's wheel had gotten wedged in between a pair of stones that were sticking out in the road and the horse had broken free of its harness and ran off. As the young man tried to see about improving his bad luck the wolves had found him. Seven in all and he was forced to run. No tree provided a good enough place to climb so he was forced to zig and zag through the trees.
It was then that he emerged suddenly from the forest and tumbled down a steep slope, landing at the muddy bottom was a splash as rain pelted the area. He looked up to see the wolves standing on the ledge. The leader of the pack growled, bearing its fangs and looked like it was preparing to leap when a ghostly wail rose up from behind the man and the wolves whimpered and fled back into the trees.
Slowly, the boy turned and blinked in awe at the sight. It was hard to see the area from the darkening sky as the storm's ferocity increased, but it appeared that he had ended up in a hidden cove. Stone pillars carved naturally by the elements stood tall out of the water's edge. The young man smiled at it as the wind passed through the holes near the top causing another ghostly howl to echo. So, it wasn't ghosts at all, but nature's own doing. He felt a little smug at being right all along, despite his current situation.
Looking around he saw several caves in the area. He hurried to seek shelter in the driest-looking one. He smiled when he discovered that it wasn't only dry, but warm. Taking off his cloak and boots to dry, he went about looking for twigs or sticks to start a fire. As the flames grew bright and lit up the cave he blinked when he realized what else was inside. Towards the back in the far wall were several stacks of papers. Some were rolled up and sealed while others remained blank as if someone had been here writing something and left.
With nothing else to do before the storm passed, the young man walked over and picked up one of the scroll and read it aloud.
"Nebula Color Breeding Cycle?" He blinked at the scroll, not understanding what the words meant. He picked up another and read it. "Blusang Feeding Habits?" None of it made sense to him. He searched through more scrolls, each title making him more and more confused. "Hallow's Eve Mating Rituals", "Winter Sports For The Truly Scaled?"
He set down the scrolls and scratched his head. "This is all a bunch of nonsense!" He was about to ignore it and write it off as words from a fool when another scroll caught his attention. He figured it'd probably say something else that didn't make sense and figured if nothing else it'd help him pass the time until the storm let up. He took the scroll and sat down by the fire and sighed as the flames began to warm him. Taking the seal on the scroll which had a metal emblem on it in the shape of a lizard with wings he slid it off and unrolled it.
"Greetings Traveler,
I can only imagine you may be confused with what you have found. I do not blame you if you deemed me a fool. Truth is, I might just be. By the time you read this parchment I would have probably been dead for many moons, but don't feel sad. I have had an amazing life, thanks to those that surrounded me. My name is Syiren. I am a lucky human who stumbled onto this cove and shared it with a clan of creatures who were very powerful, secretive, majestic, wise and truly amazing. I'm talking about Dragons. Yes, you heard me right. Dragons. No doubt you're calling me a fool once again and you're probably confused about the other scrolls you found. They are all about the dragons that lived in this cove. When you hear the word dragon, you think of a large lizard with wings that breathed fire and tormented villages, devoured livestock, kidnapped princesses and hoarded treasure, am I right? Some dragons did do those things, but none from this cove. We were a peaceful clan. Hunting only wild prey and protecting our boarders. You'll find out if you read the other scrolls how we lived.
There are many stories buried in those pages. Tales of battles that were fought, stories of everyday cave life, and an epic tale of how this cove became our home. There are stories that have happy endings, while others have sad ones. Our clan had raised many young dragons, yet we also had to bid farewell to a fair few. I've kept them separate in case you have a preference. I've spent most of my twilight years recounting every event that wasn't written down with the help of my Scroll keepers. A few dragons who also enjoyed writing as much as I.
Heh, yes, once again you heard right. Even some of my dragons friends learned how to read and write. Other learned how to paint, dance, sing. They were not all about using their fangs and claws. Dragons have many talents. Something else you'll learn through these scrolls. So, if you are still reading this and have some time to spare, feel free to dive into these tales. I bet you'll learn something new or at least walk away with a little more insight into what it truly means to be a dragon.
With Fond Wishes,
Syiren of Dragon's Cove"
The man looked over at the pile of scrolls and then outside at the storm that still raged. It wouldn't hurt to do some reading until the storm passed. He still wasn't sure about the whole 'dragons really existed' idea, but he was open to a good story none the less. He walked over and picked up a handful of them before returning to the warmth and light of the fire. Unrolling the first scroll he began to read.