This is a chapter from one of my stories, and it describes the evolution of dragons and fanghurs. I'm not sure when it will get updated with more information, but I post it anyway, since you might find this idea intriguing.
NOTE: The creatures named in the story are my creations! They do not appear in the Inheritance Cycle, so don't go back to check for missing facts
When the wooden door creaked open, I took a few steps into the darkness as the dim light of my torch revealed the way. After lifting my left arm to catch a better glimpse of my surroundings, I could finally see it: The great Wall of Knowledge which our ancestors have gifted us with. The stone wall was cut and compartmented in cubic shapes with an unmatched precision, leaving no signs of damage. It looked like the rock molded itself to the crafter's will! By me own beard... I thought as my eyes looked above when a golden glitter distracted my attention. Above of the compartments filled with various scrolls and books, there were a few golden runes encased into the stone which named the first dwarves who have carved the Wall and its biggest contributors. I felt tiny if front of its grandeur and beauty, as if my existence was a mere stain in one of the parchments. The ancient scrolls reeked a distinctive odor, but it was a pleasant one. Wise were the dwarves of old who had chosen this place to preserve their knowledge inside the scrolls. Here, the air was not moist with water that could damage the scrolls over time.
I took a few steps back, mesmerized by what I was seeing. It was a true marvel of the dwarven ingenuity, one that would last for eternity. Every king was immortal in the ancient parchments, their deeds still influencing their descendants. However, my current task did not allow me to praise the work, but to use it for a request the King gave to me.
Searching… That's all what I've been doing since I arrived here. A dying torch flickered its faint light, casting decaying shades on the musty scrolls and tomes situated on The Wall of Knowledge. Barzhul! The fragile scroll slipped through my hands like a cunning snake, spinning towards the cold marble floor. Sneaky one, are ye? My hand reached towards the folded parchment and gently picked it up, placing it back on the row among the other scrolls. After so much time spent here, frustration began to tingle at the back of my mind. What would the king say, were I not to find the tome he asked for? If the winged creatures are so perilous, then the lives of many rest on me success.
The slithering drop of sweat was swiped away from my brow as I resumed the search. The torch in my left hand was burning lazily and with little intensity, mocking me with indiscretion while I was pushing every rugged scroll to the side. Barzul knurlar! If it wasn't for the duties of the royal librarian Hasnfod to travel right to them tall arrogant woodsmen, then… My thoughts froze the moment my hand touched something cold that resembled a metal. Could it truly be? Doing my best to keep everything close to tidy, I pushed all the scrolls aside, careful not to break any of them. Our ancestors preserved the ancient history within these walls, and each unseemly scroll contained a piece of our glorious past. But each of them held no real importance compared to Guntera's Creation, brought to existence by Thelduin the Oracle. A shiver engulfed me as I pulled the heavy tome towards the light, the metal frame screeching in protest. Very few dwarves were privileged to visit this section, and even less had the right to open this simple looking tome. Despite its plain appearance that consisted of its name scratched on the metallic cover, the importance of this work was unmatched by anything. If the king himself wouldn't have graced me with the knowledge of its position, I might have never found it.
Everything seemed to vanish around me as my thoughts were directed solely to the ancient tome in front of me. This knowledge was within my grasp, a true privilege. Stop looking at it and open the tome! Was the only thing that kept away my feverish anticipation and marvel. It was truly a unique moment, one that would spread among me relatives and make them regret the time when they doubted me.
I carefully placed the torch at a safe distance, for this tome was precious beyond words could express. By pushing away the encasing metal that protected the frail parchments, the marvel of this tome struck me with its awe inspiring hieroglyphs. By Guntera's beard… My trembling hand moved slowly across the parchment painted with hieroglyphs of the Old Language, the tongue me ancestors talked when Helzvog breathed life into his children. It rightfully belongs to us, so it is only natural that the most revered dwarfs must understand it and maintain its importance. But how can me people bask in such knowledge when them blasted Rune Priests shadow it with their own beliefs? In order to achieve ancestral knowledge, one must immerse itself in the Language of power, they say. BAH! A knurlag that has no respect for history and his own language is a traitor for his people. What else are they when the language of them Grey Folk is more important to them? Me blood boiled at such blatant defiance for their own kin. My vision fixed on the wander in front of me, trying to comprehend why would they refuse to accept their true nature. I wished nothing more than to find out the secrets of this tome, but the claws of enmity clang onto me thoughts, suffocating it within their tenacious grip. Barzhul!
The soft thud against a hard surface echoed throughout the darkened halls, lifting dust off the marble floor. The sudden disturbance disappeared as fast as it came. When me boot stomped the ground, I felt my negative thoughts being drained. Try as I might to understand them, their mysteries were safely guarded and their society was graced by the king himself. Hurting my foot wouldn't change their clouded minds, nor put them on the right path.
The flicker of the torch quickly brought me back on the ground, reminding me of the urgent work that had to be attended. Berating myself with a slap on the forehead for my hot temper, I quickly grabbed me monocle and tapped the old paper. On the first page, according to me knowledge, it reads: Glory eternal to them gods who watch over their children ceaselessly. Just as their will flows into us, so shall me knowledge become a part of the timeless cycle.
These intense words made my hand twitch on the paper. It is so beautiful! As much as I wanted to read the whole book, time was of the essence. With great care and gentleness, I put aside parchment by parchment while searching for information about those winged beasts. After turning another parchment, I jolted from my standing position when the picture of a four legged winged creature presented itself before me. It looked like nothing I have ever seen, yet it didn't match the creatures I was after. With my curiosity roused, I proceeded to read from the parchment.
Me hand glided along the runes as I muttered the ancient words under my breath. For the first time in a decade, I had the privilege to read in the smooth, honey-like tongue. Each word had its own beauty, yet the power of certain words interrupted the ever lightly flow of the text.
The first part spoke of the great beasts of old and the rise and extinction of entire species, a mere link in the Great Cycle of life and death. As my wide eyes scanned every single word, I found myself caught in the grandeur of such work. It surpassed even the brightest mind of our times, even if its time was long gone. Words turned to incoherent mumblings as I wiped my brow, exhaling my whole tension and amazement. My mind was a swirl of astonishment and awe at the same time. Have these beasts truly lived far before our times? I was always a hardened skeptic when someone would show me a pile of bones and tell me that it belonged to a creature that seemed conjured by a too rich imagination. Yet, after reading only a little of this tome, my solid rock beliefs began to shake slightly under its influence. With fervent resolution, I steadied my monocle and continued to read from the tome, pleading in my mind for it to show me whether I was right or wrong this whole time.
Time seemed to stop as I immersed myself in the cascading words that depicted a land governed by different powers. Me hand hastily ran across each word of each line, as if the book has already imprisoned with its magical manacles. I found it impossible to translate it without tarnishing its beauty, but the king demanded it so. From the Spark of Origination, it reads.
The lush primordial land of Norvanold holds secrets that not even I can fully comprehend. But how can we, the vessels of a higher force, can aspire to a knowledge only the gods can have? Life is weak, fragile, but knowledge stands eternal.
The next line contains words of which I have no means of deciphering them. It's probably an advice or a warning passed on to the descendants of the knurlag. It's irrelevant to my quest, so I quickly passed onto the next line, which describes this ancient land and its creatures.
…And when the veil of a mortal's limitation lifted, before my eyes lay endless forests, scorching sand barren lands and vast stretches of water. And different creatures lived across the wide land, each with its own powers and weaknesses. Unlike me people, most beasts live alone and come together to reproduce, never to spend life together. Remarkable as each of them is, their inferiority will eventually lead to their disappearance.
Of all the beasts that roam this land, only the Vornust live together in groups, a mark of supremacy over any other creature. But even this quality is only an adaptation, serving for their survival as their stature solely allows them to feast on bigger prey by hunting together.
These four legged creatures have adapted remarkably to survive in this harsh environment where only the strong can prevail. Their appearance and structure are unlike anything I have seen before: large body, long neck and a long, powerful tail that would appear to slow them down are but a few of this creature's traits. Large, rock-like scales protect their back and neck, while larger scales cover their exposed bellies, like impenetrable plating. This archaic form of defense appears thick, but I am convinced that the smaller scales on their neck would not protect them against a powerful bite from a cunning opponent. What is truly remarkable about these creaturesr are the small shapes that rise from their back. They appear to be similar to the wings of any flying creature, yet they do not serve any purpose, for they are too weak and frail to ever lift a creature of this stature off the ground.
My eyes immediately drifted from the ancient runes that held the ancient secrets of the past towards a vague representation of what appeared to be a Vornust. My heart was pounding with exhilaration as I analyzed every detail of this strange creature. It was represented exactly like it was described, leaving no traces of doubt of its existence. After I ran my hand across it once again, I reluctantly turned my view towards the ancient runes that revealed more about the Vornust.
Yet by living together in the same land, fierce fights happen between the big groups. Shrieks of battle and pain cries perturb the silence of the night, as their fierce battles can last longer than two light-and-dark cycles. Bloodthirsty and savage they are for killing their own kin, and their organization turns into chaos every time a battle takes place. After a long time yearning to find creatures that live in groups, I finally encountered the Vornust.
Observing, I was, for more than time itself may whisper. These tiny winged creatures rarely venture into forests, and the cycle of their life takes place in the barren sand land or The Green Plains. Prey in the forest is different, powerful, too cunning for them to trap and kill, like they do. No, they cannot live there, and that's their greatest weakness.
I kept absorbing the information without stopping, muttering words below my breath as I immersed myself into the mysteries of the past. If a single dwarf could learn so much about these creatures, there's no telling what other secrets he might have discovered when he still walked this land. My hand rapidly turned parchment after parchment as my thirst for knowledge was not even close to being satisfied.
… After the mating season, each group increases in number. This time, the biggest group living in the barren sand lands displayed a most peculiar behavior: a smaller group of young ones separated from the main group in search for a land of their own. Is this their solution to combat lack of food? By sending the young ones to perish in the claws and teeth of their own kind?
I went back, checking rune after rune to see if there was a mistake, but it wasn't. All what I read was pure truth, and these creatures never ceased to surprise me. But, the one thing that truly eluded me was how this dwarf could know so much about these creatures. If they are as savage as to kill their own kind, then they would kill every weaker creature without restraints. My head kept pounding with questions that only one thing could answer, so I ignored them and focused on reading more.
There was another fight, one that lasted far longer than the previous one. Two of the biggest groups clashed together in a desperate attempt to conquer more land for their brethren. Unlike the last battle, the high pitched shrieks of warning sounded unceasingly. Only a dozen of Vornust died, but the land cannot support their numbers anymore.
The future belongs to the young ones, so my interest drifted towards a group of juvenile Vornust that numbers several dozens of individuals. Their search for a suitable land to settle in carried them into the verdant woods of Sangorath to the south. I expect the flame of life to extinguish from them, as the prey that lives in the woods is no weak beast.
I lightly tapped my monocle to adjust it for a better view. I have been staying here for more than I can think of, but time lost any importance to me while I was reading from this book of enlightenment. After I hurriedly read more details about how and why the younger ones separated from their original group, I finally stopped from turning yet another page as my eyes settled onto a vaguely written section.
More groups of youngsters separate from the big ones living in the central barren sand land and The Green Plains , heading towards Beard of Guntera mountain chain in the west and Kilf's Fallen Tears lakes in the North. There is an abundance of creatures living in these lands, yet I fear that the young ones would be unable to adapt.
…This was one of the many nights spent in the wilderness when I was awakened by a loud screech of pain that rippled through the forest like a wave of death, announcing the end of another creature. More cries and screeches follow, but I pay no attention to it. Such is the natural order: become strong enough to survive, else you may find yourself become the prey.
As I opened my eyes, I searched for the source of the noise that alerted me last night, and my fears were confirmed the moment blood-covered grass stained my leg: a massacre has happened last night, a large group of young Vornust and two Torulus entering the cold embrace of death. The dangerous and big prey disposed of its attackers quickly, using its formidable protection and deadly tusks to end the threat that was upon them. Most of the Vornust perish because of the battle wounds or the lack of food while the ones that banished them prosper. Such a cruel fate, to be banished by your own flesh and blood…
Mine shaky hand almost ripped a fragile parchment as I turned the musty page of the tome. If two creatures could kill these group of Vornust, then there's no telling what other beasts roamed the land in the time of our ancestors. Skipping through more detail-filled pages and a representation of a larger Feldunost, I found what I was searching for.
… Today is a grand day. I can barely believe that the Vornust have survived in the woods of Sangorath. The group that established at the Beard of Guntera has suffered great losses, but both of them have gathered the necessary skill to bring down prey. But survival is not enough, and their young die at the claws of the vicious predators or because of the enraged prey. I don't expect them to survive, but I suspect that these Vornust will surpass the ones living in the central part of the land.
Only a void space continued under this last paragraph. Questions buzzed in my head like bees, yet my thirst for knowledge was far from satisfied. Caught in the frenzy of finding out more about the Vornust, I quickly put the parchment away and picked the next one. I couldn't help but to feel my heart skip a beat when the title, along with a good drawing of a winged creature confirmed that Thelduin's suspicions were probably correct. The drawing resembled a Fanghur, a fearsome winged creature that is as much of a pest as its other winged and scaled reptilian relative. But how did the title, and the drawing related to the Vornust? Unlike them, Fanghurs had big wings, two powerful legs sustaining them and shared a poisonous bite. Could it be…?
I felt blood boiling in me veins as I grabbed my head in me hands, gasping for air. "The…the Fanghurs evolved from the Vornust?" I asked myself loudly without restraints. The question echoed back to myself, increasing the mystery behind it. Unable to restrain myself, I wiped my brow and tapped the paper with me hand while I bended in the chair to see the writing better in the dim light of the torch.
After ages of oppression from predators such as the dread horned Morhost and endless struggle to bring down the mighty Torulus, the great bull with six horns and tusks, the Vornust have finally raised their young to adulthood, bringing new power into their decaying group.
The next few parchments told about the evolution of this particular group of Vornust, but as beautiful as the tome was, I couldn't dwell on more unimportant information. I needed to find out the truth! After wildly skimming through the parchments, I found a promising one.
… Life works in mysterious and amazing ways. Not long ago, the Vornust at the Beard of Guntera were a weak predator, and right now, they have conquered the skies, and the other beasts along with it. Because of the harsh winters and lack of prey, these creatures suffered certain transformations meant to improve their surviving chances. Fanghurs, as I might call them, have large and strong wings meant to sustain them in the air. Their front legs almost disappeared, but their hind legs have grown stronger and their claws have grown to an impressive size. These formidable creatures can catch an unsuspecting Feldunost into their claws, without even risking an injury. They now prefer to live above the others, on the cliffs, as a sign of dominance.
Even if evolution gifted them, their intellect has remained the same. Not even their strength, agility and cunning will compensate for this deficit. Without the ability to think, they are as weak as the Vornust.
Most remarkable, I said to myself while I blankly stared at the rugged, almost torn parchments in front of me. However, if the Fanghurs evolved from Vornust, then what of the four legged winged creatures that breathe fire? My first thought was that they evolved from Fanghurs, but the tome of Thelduin the Oracle held the true answer. Without time to spend thinking about useless theories, I picked a new torch from an old metal chest and replaced the almost dying one with it. The stronger light instilled a feeling of happiness inside of me. Or maybe it was the thought that I was about to uncover a secret that not even the king was aware of.
Thelduin had spent a good amount of time writing everything he knew about the Fanghurs. From further inspection, I found out that their starving for battle temper was inherited from the Vornust. After increasing in numbers due to a prosperous territory, the Fanghur had eventually flown towards the center of the land where they have annihilated every trace of competition. The large groups of inferior Vornust were no match for a flying opponent. This weakness has led to a big decrease in their numbers, and I thought that they were extinct, until… As I mistakenly turned two parchments, a drawing similar to a Fanghur appeared before me, but it was somehow different. It still had four legs, not two. Above the drawing, a single word was written: Dragon.
I nearly jumped out from my seat as a cold shiver made itself noticeable. "This…this is the…the one!" I babbled, barely restraining my feelings of fear and excitement at the same time. "Barzhul!". My monocle fell on the floor, clicking faintly. After picking it up with a quick move, I moved a hand across my face and tried to calm down by keeping my thoughts in control. But I couldn't stay calm. The only cure for my aching disease lay in front of me, somewhere along the lines. Without giving it second thoughts, a shaky hand moved along each line as I began reading from the start, skipping a few unimportant descriptive lines along the way.
The Woods of Sangorath offered a dangerous shelter to the Vornust that sought a more hospitable land to stay. While their group organization allowed them a fair advantage over prey, Urzhadons and dread flying Hyerants killed the lone group members that strayed far from protection or made a good food out of the eggs from their nests or their defenseless youngsters, which were completely helpless against the air predators . The main cause of their decline were the Hyerants, who were far too agile to be stopped by any ground creature.
Without the possibility to raise their young in peace, the Vornust focused on raising the few remaining hatchlings by hunting dangerous Torulus and Barsecs, four legged lizards that had a toxic bite and breathed fire and acid to confuse their enemy by attacking its face.
Ages passed without seeing a major increase in the numbers of the Vornust living here. After hunting a Barsec with the help of my companion, he explained to me that these creatures have a very good meat that helps the creatures develop their minds because of what it contains. Why would I believe him, when the Vornust were still communicating through body language and screeches?
What followed next was a tremendous amount of description that was probably useful, but time was of the essence. What greatly surprised me was the introduction of this so called 'companion'. There was no mention in any historical work that Thelduin the Oracle was helped by someone, yet his own work showed different. With my concerns lying elsewhere, I resumed my search for information meant to help the king. I abruptly stopped when a bolded word caught my attention.
Extraordinary. Nature is truly the miracle of our world. Just as it happened with the Fanghurs, the Vornust have adapted to the environment by developing bigger wings that could not sustain them in the air yet, their scales toughened, and most surprising, they could breath fire like the Barsecs, but only for very short moments. There's no doubt that the constant hunting of Barsecs had something to do with this ability. Their calls used for communication have also deepened, and they sound more like growls and roars.
A faint creak followed by an immediate thud made me shudder violently, almost to the point of losing my balance due to the unexpected surprise. After I recovered slightly, I turned my face in the direction of the sound. The footsteps, by the sound of it, increased in intensity as someone approached me. Barzul! I cursed in my mind, my face acquiring a more pronounced nuance of red as I could barely contain the raging emotions of anger and disappointment that started to churn inside me. I wanted nothing more than to finish what I had began, yet I knew that it would not be possible at this time. I eyed the worn-out parchments with the utmost regret before I quickly sealed the tome and placed it back with me shaky hand into its own compartment while covering it with other scrolls and parchments. If it was one of them Rune Priests, I could never forgive myself for letting them discover such work. After placing everything back on the shaft, a gray bearded knurlag appeared before me.
"Have you found what you were looking for?" He asked me, his deep gaze trying to read me like an opened scroll.
"Aye lad, I can now inform the king of my findings," I answered shortly, trying to sound as normal as I could despite the anger I felt towards this sudden interruption. I started moving with quick steps towards the exit as not to prologue this short meeting for more than it was necessary. The library keeper eyed me with a curious look, but quickly dismissed his suspicions as the distance between us increased. When I reached the door, I pulled it open hesitantly, looking back at the Wall of Knowledge one last time. I will return to finish what I started, no matter the repercussions.