Preliminary author's notes:

Me: (playing HoI 4 as Communist China and is at war)

Me: Oh shit I just won the war after seven hours

Me: (annexes USSR in 1918)

Me: AAAAAAAAAAAGH! I GROW STRONGAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Me: Well, now that I did that what should I do now? (pause) Oh I know, maybe I should get to finishing some of my fanfics I started in high school. College starts in about a month so I better get moving...

Writer's block: Hold my bear ;)

Me: FUUUUU-!


The clattering of tank treads echoed throughout the countryside. The Federal Revolutionary Army, in response to a number of strange sightings of a mystical dragon, decided to send elements of the 7th Panzer Division to the city of Mirak.

Five M4A3E2(HVSS) Sherman Jumbos, seven Type 97 Model Ha Medium Tanks (Chi-Ha medium tanks), three Type 98 Anti-Aircraft Gun Tanks, and fifteen M3A1 Halftracks rolled through the dirt road leading to Mirak. Simo and Marco, along with their squadmates, sat within one of these half tracks, quietly observing the rolling countryside.

Marco yawned.

"Are we there yet?" he said, causing some of the soldiers to chuckle. Simo sighed in response to Marco's comment.

"Of course not," said she. "It shouldn't be long, though. I'm going to guess we're…"

Simo took a glance over the side of the halftrack's armor into the distance.

"... about an hour away," she concluded. Marco raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"How do you know?" said he. Simo shrugged.

"I've been here and there," said she. A fairly ambiguous and shady answer, but Marco let it slide.

Suddenly, the column in front of them stopped. The commander of the unit jumped out of a jeep and tapped on the driver's window of the halftrack.

After a brief conversation, the commander returned to his jeep and the column continued forward. Up ahead, a small town became visible, bustling with activity of both the residents and local garrison.

The column drove through the outskirts of the town, stopping in front of what seemed to be a fairly large assembly area. Soldiers milled about the open fields while mechanics fiddled around with the various machinery. The occasional aircraft flew overhead as a group of soldiers finished setting up a number of 88mm FlaK guns.

The infantry began to jump out of the halftracks, checking their equipment as they did so, before heading to the encampment. They chatted amongst themselves, discussing anything which came to mind.

Simo sighed a breath of relief as she looked around, a soft smile creeping across her face as she did so.

"Nothing's changed…" she whispered.

Her look changed to that of negativity, however, upon reaching a certain portion of the city.

Buildings had been melted apart. Rubble covered the sidewalks. Even though the blood had been washed away, its smell still lingered. The amount of destruction, though small, still made some of the soldiers' eyes widen.

Marco was no exception to this. He turned around to say something to Simo, but stopped before he could say anything.

The lighthearted glow in her eyes disappeared with the sight of the destroyed portion of the city. A dark aura seemed to surround her, one of sorrow more than anything. Simo's grip on her rifle tightened as she continued to stare at the destruction, wondering if it could have been any worse.

She shook her head, perhaps in sorrow or disappointment, before moving to rejoin her unit. Stories circulated throughout the camp as the soldiers discussed the enemy.

"Dragon or not," said one soldier. "As long as it is a living thing, it can be killed. I don't see the problem."

"But this one is really ancient," another replied. "I hear it's practically impervious to any attack!"

"Spare me the bullshit, mate, we'll be fine."

"I'm serious!"

Suddenly, someone tapped on Simo's shoulder, causing her to turn around. Her surprised and tense expression loosened up as she recognized Marco's face.

"You okay?" he asked. Simo simply nodded in reply before returning her attention to the encampment around her.

"Think this will be enough?" she asked, gesturing to the anti-aircraft gun emplacements in the area. "We don't really know how strong our enemy is…"

Marco blinked at the sudden question before shrugging his shoulders in response.

"Don't know," he replied. "I'm more worried about what might happen if it isn't enough. There would be a really high possibility that we all would…"

He paused.

"Nevermind. Saying it out loud might actually cause it to happen."

Simo gave a small chuckle at the statement.

"Superstitious, I see," she said. "Just like me."

Marco also gave a small chuckle and would have continued the conversation, but a whistle soon called both of them to one of the nearby tents.

Within the tent, Leo and some of the other officers in his company seemed to be gathering around an old man in civilian clothing. His white beard seemed to be unkept and spots of mud dotted the man's clothes. What caught Marco's attention the most, however, was the strange medallion-esque object hanging from the man's neck like a necklace.

"Nice of you to join us, guys," Leo said as both Marco and Simo walked into the tent. "You guys might want to hear this."

The old man raised an eyebrow at the two new additions to his audience before returning his attention to Leo.

"Is this everyone?" the man's raspy voice said, to which Leo nodded.

"Very well," the man continued. "Take a seat, take a seat. Make yourselves comfortable, for what I am about to tell you is quite a long tale, yes, but very much related to your task at hand."

The man stroked his beard, taking the time to note that his audience had, indeed, taken a seat, before beginning his tale…


There once was a legend in this land, one which existed far before the arrival of the Empire. Life was divided, you see, divided between races, cultures, ideas, any division possible. Much blood was shed in those days, so much in fact that the Gods seemed to take notice. The disregard for life in this land very much angered the Gods, so they sent a grand army to punish the souls who inhabited this land.

Among this heavenly army there existed a deity. No one is sure of the deity's true form, but when it arrived upon this land it took the form of a human, leading this heavenly army in a crusade across the land.

One day, however, the war ended. For the first time in history peace became commonplace. The deity, still in the form of a human, seemed to lose purpose in life, but soon became accustomed to the lack of bloodshed as well. The deity's heavenly powers seemed to disappear as time went on, but in exchange it gained a family, friends, a place in the world, things which the deity never knew it could experience.

But soon the peace was shattered. Bloodshed returned to these lands, murdering and burning everything in its path. The deity prayed to the Gods which had sent him to this land, prayed to save all that had been lost.

But the Gods did nothing. This was the punishment for life upon this land. So long as life killed each other, life would not be saved. No help would come.

The deity, devoured in its grief changed its form for the first time since its arrival. He took the form of a dragon, a beast which it knew other beings feared. Soon the dragon became the arbeiter of the punishment the Gods had sent to life on this land, and, every millenia, would wake from its slumber to teach life the error of its ways.


"...Thus is how the Calamity Dragon, your enemy, came to be," the man concluded.

Some soldiers, who found the story to be both boring and uninteresting, had already left the tent. Others chatted amongst themselves.

Leo, who actually found the story to be of interest, spoke up first.

"How do you know all this?"

The ghost of a smile tugged at the old man's lips.

"I have been entrusted with maintaining the oral tradition, you see," said he. "Despite my age I am quite confident I remember the more important parts of that story."

The man took a brief look outside through the open flaps of the tent before saying, "Oh my, it has already become dark. Perhaps I should take a bit of a rest…"

Marco, meanwhile, noticed Simo's very much nervous look, and, as much as he wanted to say something, he refrained from doing so. Instead he asked a question to the old man.

"Is there any way we can defeat the dragon?" he asked. "Preferably without killing it."

"I cannot guarantee that such a result can happen, young one," the old man replied, "but there is one way to defeat it…"

Perhaps Marco had been overthinking it, but he could have sworn the old man was staring at Simo.

"You must collect three objects in order to defeat the Calamity Dragon," the man said. "The Heavenly Sword, the Stone of Vangva, and the Dragon's Blood."

Voices shouted from the outside of the tent as the sounds of running echoed through the night.

"Find these," the man said, "And the dragon can be defeated."

An air raid siren, followed by the deep booms from the heavier anti-aircraft guns, resonated throughout the city.

Suddenly, a strange blue light began to shine on the tent, causing Simo to panic. She grabbed Marco and the two immediately ran out from the tent.

The old man continued to smile as the two made their escape.

"Good luck," said he, playing with the medallion as he did so. "And may Saint Adrian save us all."

Then a blue beam engulfed the tent, sending both a shockwave and flames into the surrounding area.

Marco and Simo, meanwhile, found themselves on the ground, Simo gritting her teeth in pain.

"You're hurt!"

"I'll be fine."

A loud roar, and the sound of anti-aircraft fire, cut their conversation short.

The two immediately covered their ears when a high pitched whistling noise suddenly emanated alongside a bright blue beam, obliterating the first line of Federation anti-aircraft guns.

Above the camp, silhouetted only by the moon, hovered a great beast with massive leathery wings, its thick scales illuminated by the moonlight. A pair of blood red eyes scanned the area before an 88mm shell burst nearby, causing the beast to flinch.

The Calamity Dragon let out a deafening roar, before unleashing a bright blue beam at the humans below.


Actual author's notes:

Hey yall, it's Karl the Arty. I'm sorry it took me so long to get another chapter out but, as you can tell, I am still alive. Thankfully we are getting into the more interesting part of this story so I hope you guys find it as interesting as I do.

I have an entire century-worth of historical events related to this fanfic. I need to get them all in a digestible format soon.

All shall be told in due time.

Anyway, hope there are still people reading this story despite the unofficial hiatus I took. I hope to see you guys in the next chapter.

Cheers ;)

-Karl


Oh, and on another note, I am currently in the process of making a universe in which all of my fictional nations exist together, and I want to present this particular universe to the world, preferably in a video format. Unfortunately, I cannot draw any kind of good concept art and am also short on funds. If anyone would like to contribute to the effort, please let me know.

The existence of Neue Dreisland Projekt is entirely reliant on your support.

Thank you.

-Karl