Greetings, people of the human cities. After what happened recently, it doesn't take a psychic to know what I'll bring to you today. Indeed, you shall be given some knowledge of how the Vartai as they are came to be, as well as a bit of the history behind everything leading up to the return of the Dragon King to Lore. Amazingly, the behavior of these Vartai you've seen is far from normal, and is likely coming from the Dragon King's influence. While there were minor conflicts before, it only reached full-scale war on two occasions.

 

Vartai, as we're known, are a vast race of half-dragons that have existed for nearly as long as humans themselves. As you've seen, we resemble humans, save for our unusual skin color. Like the dragons we were born from, Vartai are born with power over a particular element, which is just as easy to figure out as it is in the case of a dragon. In some cases, a Vartai can use the powers of their draconic ancestry, particularly breath weapons. In addition, they can live well over 1200 years, meaning I'll be alive when your great-great-great-great grandchild defeats their first monster. There is a drawback to all this, however; a Vartai is vulnerable to that metal you refer to as Dragonbane, not to mention bitter Dragonslayers that look like walking tin cans. No worries for you, though. Eating humans would be considered cannibalism, and I'm told you taste quite disgusting anyway. Fish, especially raw fish, tastes much better, and usually doesn't try to kill us.

 

My knowledge on the beginnings of the Vartai, sadly, is only from books. From what I have learned, though, our race began as either experiments of twisted wizards seeking to merge humans and dragons, or from more natural, far less destructive means. After about a century, the Vartai were finally great enough in number to safely increase their numbers on their own, which also led to the first Vartai of legend. This warrior, Medros, was known for both his compassion and his incredible might. Under his guidance, a number of Vartai built our first great city, which they named Medrovia, after their leader. Soon after the city's completion, He was named the first High Khan of the city, the term itself being a form of the Draconic word for “Protector”.

 

All fared well in Medrovia for a time, though Vartai of some elemental alignments chose to move farther south, to what you know now as the Smoke Mountains, in hopes of not freezing to death in the cold of the far northern lands. While the two clans of Vartai existed peacefully for a time, this was quickly put to an end about 225 years ago when a second great warrior rose to power in their lands. He was known as Jalek Guth'Hai, a Fire Vartai famous for his tremendous form and incredible strength, even among our own powerful race. Some say he was guided by dark powers himself, but no matter what caused it, he managed to whip an entire clan of Vartai into a frenzied army, destroying anyone and anything that crossed its path, both human and Vartai alike. Among the humans, he gained a moniker he became most fond of: Dragon King.

 

Dragon King Jalek, through his influence alone, managed to start a great war between the two major Vartai clans. Most of those with the powers of fire and earth, along with a handful of those that control water, sided with the Dragon King, while those of us with the powers of Ice, Wind, and Energy remained to defend our homes in Medrovia. Many good Vartai on both sides lost their lives in the following months until we saw the influence the Dragon King had over his people. I devised a plan to lure the Dragon King to the front lines of his army, leaving him open to an attack from Xerxes. However, the Dragon King was more powerful than any of us had imagined, and Xerxes was eventually defeated, and left for dead. When Gaspar saw this, something seemed to snap in him.

 

My brother's usual calm, collected demeanor instantly vanished and he let out a terrifying war cry, calling forth a gigantic Ice Dragon to devastate what remained of the Dragon King's personal guard. At the same moment, every one of our warriors suddenly charged forward with renewed vigor and fury. The actual number that fell on the battlefield was low, though, as even the wrath of the Dragon King seemed relatively calm in comparison to what Gaspar had just unleashed, which sent most of the army into a retreat. Without his soldiers to help him, even the Dragon King was unable to overcome Gaspar's fury. Once he lay dead on the battlefield, his army looked down at him for a moment, then fled in terror. Without any enemy soldiers in the way, our healers were able to reach those who hadn't died yet, including Xerxes. Somewhere in the chaos, however, Gaspar managed to disappear. We can sense that he's alive, somewhere, but nobody in my family has seen him since...

 

Looking back on what happened, one thing troubles me. After the battle, we took the Dragon King's body and burned it on a funeral pyre, complete with traditional Vartai rites to make sure his spirit left this plane. I don't see how he could have come back, though I guess anything is possible after a couple hundred years. Even better, he's now in the body of that walking tin can, Galanoth. I guess that's not a completely bad thing, provided I can get rid of him without killing the slayer.

 

For now, I must go. There are preparations to be made for the upcoming attack. While I am usually against aggression, the Dragon King's influence must be stopped before he uses Galanoth to obliterate us all with their combined powers. In the meantime, feel free to use the Drakel's technomancy to leave messages at aqcyrus@gmail.com.