History

Tradaeya began her recitation, telling it as if it were her own story, though I knew she was simply remembering things she had read. She spoke of a time when this kingdom was still thriving off its spoils. A time when dragons were not grounded and gorged upon, but soaring majestically into the endless azure. A time when Seraphil was once called Lumiraet.

Long ago, seemingly before the calamity, Lumiraet was a land of many dragons. There were endless amounts that soared through the empty air. Then one day, one by one these dragons were plucked out of the sky by a group of people below. These people mounted giant hawks to take flight and wielded miracles that allowed them to pierce the dragons' scales. As for why they did this: to please the god they worshiped, the god of the sky. Though the sky god had been given dominion over the sky, there was another who wanted it, another god. In his jealousy and greed, he waged war on the sky god, and this war was what brought on the birth of the dragons, a means to take the sky by force.

This war lasted generations, even affecting those who followed the two gods. To fight back against the dragons, the sky god began blessing her followers with miracles meant for slaying the scaled beasts, and it worked almost too well. Dragons fell endlessly from the sky, and so Lumiraet was born from the slain dragons made by its first settlers.

Lumiraet prospered for a long time, selling and trading goods that came from the bodies of fallen dragons. The kingdom slowly grew and the populace grew wealthier. However, all good things must come to an end, and as they killed more dragons, the source of their primary goods began to dwindle. With this, commerce began to fall, and Lumiraet was headed for an economic depression. Fear began to spread amongst the people, and soon this fear would spread to even upper society and the king. With no other option, the king decided to commence an expedition across the sea. A group of his best dragon slayers, scholars, and navigators were rallied and set sail on ships across the open ocean in search of more goods and resources to sell. Within a time, the ship had come back with news of new land that was discovered, a land of many more dragons. Eventually, the ships sent dragon goods back, and Lumiraet prospered once again, until one day another ship returned, not with goods, but with a message. Those who went across the sea had decided to become independent and were even willing to wage war against the kingdom they were once a part of. This stirred many worries throughout Lumiraet, but before any war ensued, the sky had blackened and the world would soon be reduced to ash.

"And that's about everything I've read." Tradaeya said as if it were nothing at all.

With all that information dumped on me, I could not help but just stare at her for a second, taking in the long history of everything she said. In my solitude of thinking, I realized that though I knew more about Seraphil's past, there were still many looming questions.

"That's... interesting, but it doesn't explain what's going on right now." I said.

"Perhaps not, but it's good to be knowledgeable. Now thou knowest the existence of a kingdom across the sea. If thou findest not thine answers here, then perhaps thou couldst find them elsewhere." She said, clearly hinting at something obvious.

"Right, like I even know how to sail. Do you?" I asked.

"I've had my fair share of experience." She said, whatever that could possibly mean.

We stood in silence for a moment before Tradaeya had something to say. "Didst thou findest it not strange?" She suddenly asked, to which I shrugged in response. She exhaled a heavy breath as if disappointed in me. "The expedition... it's strange that soon after attempting their independence from Lumiraet, the calamity unfolds."

"Are you suggesting that the ones who went on that expedition have something to do with all this?" I asked.

Tradaeya simply smiled. "Perhaps not, but it's merely a theory of mine."

Tradaeya looked at me, staring deep into my expression. "I can't tell by a glance thou wishest for more. There is but one last thing I can show thee, but it will take a bit of a walk." She paused. "Thy hunger for knowledge knows no bounds, that's a good trait to have." She complimented me, but I could not help but feel something off about that statement.

Tradaeya made her way toward the wooden hand railing that jutted from the dusty wooden floor. She took two steps down before turning toward me. "Shall we?" She asked and I followed. We made our way back through the decrepit building that Tradaeya had made her temporary home, assuming she was a nomad like myself for now. She swung the door and we were greeted by the dark alley where we had met. We stepped out and Tradaeya led me back the way I came before taking another alley that divulged from where I had come from. I followed her through the winding, dust ridden crevices of the architecturally rich ruins. We passed various human bodies as we traversed the moldy brick labyrinth. Steadily, the land began to elevate, and I noticed a frequency in short staircases along our path. Soon the buildings on either side of me dissipated and the weak draft that had worked against us going up had now evened out in the open air. I turned around to see a silent view ahead of me. We were not that much higher than before, but the elevation was just enough for a view of the capital from where I stood all the way to the rampart. I could see the various sizes of buildings, the harsh divide between the slums and the higher class areas by the main road, and various little open squares throughout the dense formations of buildings. Just to the right along the main road, I could see more of the residence scurrying about, rummaging through the various dragon corpses that have been laid out evenly along the ashy bricks. Despite its desolate and ruined nature, I could not help but imagine what this view could have been if I was just taken to this world before the calamity. Its past beauty was still lingering.

"Keep coming, we're almost there." Tradaeya said from behind.

I turned and continued following her into the unknown. In this world I had suddenly found myself in, with nothing but mysteries to discover, what other choice did I have? It made me wonder if I was truly making progress on finding a way back home, or just biding my time here before this world eats me whole.