Disclaimer: I don't own dungeons & dragons, just the characters that i make up. And i don't own Faerun.
A/N: This is my first fic. It will take me a while to get the next chapter up unless I have some real motivation to work harder on it (hint hint - review damit). P.S. I didn't take the time to proofread so let me know if it's that bad.
The Dragon War
Prologue
There was a time when the mighty dragons of the world were at war, battles being fought everywhere. A time when it was not so rare a sight to see two dragons dueling in the skies; fire, lightning, acid, and freezing air being spewed forth at enemy dragons. Thus this time period was aptly named the dragon wars.
People would often watch the spectacle of the dragons fighting each other from a distance, so as to not be accidentally hit by the spells or bodies of the dead dragon falling in signal of it's defeat. And you were in for a treat if you saw any more then three dragons fighting at a time. The largest number ever seen in one place was ten, at the climax of the war between the good and evil races of dragons.
Yes, just like in the race of humans, and all other races for that matter, there are good and evil dragons. The only thing is that no one knows which ones are good and which ones are evil. Before the war no one ever thought of asking a dragon if he or she was good or evil, everyone just assumed all dragons were evil from the children stories. You know the ones, where a brave adventurer wandered into a dragons' lair in search of gold and other treasures and was killed by the dragon, his belongings being added to the dragons' pile of treasure.
In most stories you hear about a great red dragon, supposedly the mightiest of all the types of dragons, yet occasionally you hear about a black or white dragon. But now that the war is over it has been discovered that there is a total of ten different types of dragons. In all there are red, black, copper, bronze, white, green, gold, brass, blue, and silver. It has also been discovered which types are good and which types are evil, but I will let you figure that out for yourself, and hopefully by the end of my story you will be able to answer that question – which are good and which are evil.
The story I am going to tell you will take place in the middle of the war between dragons, and is about how a child is born with certain gifts that could change the tide of this war.
Chapter 1 The coming of the child
Within the dangerous Arcane Forest dwelled a human couple. Eldon, the male of the couple, was a ranger that helped people get safely through the forest, and Diesa, the female of the couple, was a wizard of decent stature who whenever able to helped her husband protecting people on their journey through the forest.
The Arcane Forest was named so because it was said that the trees themselves were made of arcane magic. In fact to a wizard, or anyone that was able to feel any kind of magic, walking through the arcane forest felt almost electrifying.
Eldon and Diesa had made a house out of tree, rather large in diameter, within the center of the forest when they first came here. Diesa had used her magic to carve out the inside of the tree to make it hollow, while Eldon made the top half of their house in the form of a tree house. Diesa had also used a special spell she had learned to make the inside of the tree the size of a decent size three room house. And within a few weeks of work they had built themselves a nice house.
After a few years of living in the Arcane Forest and saving up some money from helping travelers through the dangerous wood they both decided that they wanted to have a child. Within the next year Diesa had give birth to a baby boy and they named him Thamior. Almost right after Thamior was born a golden finch flew up to Eldon and perched on his shoulder. "You know about the gifts granted to one born in the Arcane Forest Right?" the finch said to Eldon in peeping sounds knowing that Eldon would be able to understand him because he was a ranger.
"No, we are not aware of this. Please tell us," Eldon said back to the bird in the same peeping sounds.
"Well, as I'm sure you know this forest was created by arcane magic. The part that you probably don't know of is that the person who created this forest, a very powerful elven wizard, is still alive after many centuries since the forest was first created. And he has a message that he wishes to give to you in person, so if you would be so kind as to the deepest part of the forest located farther back from here. And he asks that you bring the young child," the finch finished telling the tale to Eldon and was out of breath.
While the finch caught his breath Eldon related the tale to his wife. "Of course we'll go to see this wizard," Diesa said to Eldon as much as to the finch. Diesa even as tired as she must be after giving birth was not one to miss the chance to meet a new wizard, always looking for new things to learn.
The finch the preceded to give them more specific directions and to write them down as he told them so that they would have it in the future.
OoOoOoOo
So it was with these direction in hand that Eldon and Diesa left their house and headed toward the place described by the finch. They packed some supplies but not really needing much they didn't overdue it, since Eldon could easily live off the land and Diesa could use her spells to provide fresh drinking water.
After a few days of traveling through the forest Eldon and Diesa came to the spot they were looking for, it was a dark grove within the deepest and darkest part of the forest. Another clue that this was the right place was that there was a small wooden shack built in the center of the grove.
As they approached the door to the shack the sensation Diesa got whenever she was around a large amount of arcane magic intensified tenfold. So she knew that what the finch had told them about the wizard being very powerful was very true.
As they reached the door to the shack Eldon went to knock on the door but before his hand could reach the door a voice from inside called, "Enter."
With a side ways glance at his wife for a reassuring nod Eldon opened the door and stepped in. The inside of the shack was made up of one room, but it looked as if it could use another room or two due to the piles upon piles of tomes and scrolls. Even with the bookshelves located all around the room there were still way too many tomes and scrolls. The wizard himself was sitting behind the one piece of furniture that wasn't a bookshelf, a large desk with a chair, looking through one of the largest tomes in the room.
The thing that puzzled Eldon and Diesa both, even if they didn't know that they should the puzzlement, was way didn't the wizard just use his magic to make his house appear bigger when inside.
"Greetings, I am Nexal the wizard that created this forest more than a three centuries ago," the wizard said as he looked up from his book and for the first time Eldon and Diesa could see the pointed ears that marked him as an elf.
"But that would make you at least four hundred years old!" Diesa said.
"Actually, it should be a bit closer to four hundred and fifty, I think, you tend to lose track of time when you have been in the same place for three hundred years," Nexal replied.
"But, I've never heard of an elf being much more than four hundred years old, and I've was raised by elves," Diesa said.
"And why have you been in this forest for three hundred years, that's an awfully long time to be in one place," Eldon added.
"First I'll answer your question," Nexal said pointing to Eldon, "I've been here so long because when I created this forest the gods feared its power, so they imprisoned me within the forest. And if I try to even take one step out of this forest my body is engulfed in pain. And with my imprisonment came eternal life to ensure that I would always be able to protect the forest and keep its powers in check, until such a time as when the gods see fit for someone to succeed me."
"I'm sure not every god would fear this forest?" Diesa pointed out.
"You're right, all of them except my own god, Mystra," Nexal said.
"I figured that Mystra wouldn't oppose or fear anything like this, after all she is the goddess of magic," Diesa replied talking fondly about her own goddess.
"What are these powers of the forest that you keep talking about?' Eldon asked.
"Well, whenever a child is born within the forest a great gift is bestowed upon him or her, and in your case him I can see," Nexal said looking at Thamior. Then he added, "As you son grows up you will find that he will have a certain affinity with magic, he will still have to work hard to perfect it but not quite as hard as any other normal person. This is the gift of the Arcane Forest, and that is also why it is named that not just because it was made from arcane magic."
"Well that makes some sense," Eldon said merely to say something.
"There's more to the powers thing, this affinity with magic will only be a hazy sixth sense. It will not be truly developed until Thamior reaches the age of eighteen, at which time he must return here so that he can fully awaken the gift of the forest," Nexal said.
"Ok then, we'll return here when Thamior is eighteen," Diesa said with closure.
"There is one more thing you ought to know before you leave here," Nexal said pausing to set the mood for the coming news before he continued, "As I'm sure you have heard, from a passing traveler, a mighty war between the races dragons has recently begun."
"Yea, so we've heard, but I don't understand what this has to do with coming back here in eighteen years," Eldon said cutting Nexal off.
"Well, I fear that this war will soon reach this forest. Though I do not fear for the safety of the forest itself, for I know that this forest cannot be destroyed not even by fire, I fear instead for the safety of you and Thamior. I believe that Thamior may play a major role in this war, if he lives long enough to develop his gift. So I must ask you, please will you protect him with your lives? Not just as a parent but for all of Faerûn. For I also fear that there is more to this war than what is know," Nexal continued bringing surprised looks from Eldon and Diesa.
"We would protect our son with more than just our lives. We would willing give our souls to protect our only child, gifted or not," Eldon and Diesa said in almost complete unison.
"Good, I am glad to hear it. Now I'm afraid that I have taken up too much of your time, so I will allow you to leave now. But you must take this scroll with you. It details the strengths and weaknesses of the trees within this forest," Nexal said handing a scroll to Eldon.
"We thank you, Nexal, for your kindness, and for parting upon us this knowledge. We will spend what time we can teaching our son well, and remaining on guard for any danger," Diesa said.
"Yes thank you, we will prepare for the time when the war reaches us. And Thamior will return here when he is eighteen, we will make sure that, if nothing else, we tell that to our son," Eldon added.
"Well then, if there is nothing else you need I have some work I have to get back to. Three hundred years in this place and to think that I still have work to do. I guess a wizard's job is never done; we do not stop seeking knowledge until we die," Nexal said in a tone of finality.
"Good-bye," Eldon and Diesa called back as they walked out the door with their son Thamior.
And there it is, the first chapter of my first fic. Please read and review.