#Lore24 – Entry #355 – Sci-Fi Month IV #20 – Musings on the Fate of the Dragons
Transcribed From the Personal Recording Implant of Andra Ganim, Chronicler of the Codex Infinitum
AG: “Given the amount of time you’ve studied the dragons, you are likely the foremost expert on them in the galaxy. Many researchers have previously attempted to access your research, and the one constant is the denial of access, which has fueled countless theories that you’ve made remarkable discoveries that you’ve used to get DSM and yourself to where you are now. I suppose, since we’re moving onto the subject, that we should start at the beginning. What started your admitted obsession with the dragons and their fate?”
RV: “You’ll recall that I had always had an affinity for arcane magic. Unlike others, I grasped the most complex concepts easily, and practically knew the draconic language used in arcana before I even studied it. Most assumed I had simply been able to grasp the language easily, but no, I always knew the language. I even gained mastery of High Draconic in the time it took normal arcanists to learn the basic form of the tongue. Once I had gone to study the arcane, I quickly delved into what was known of dragon-kind, and quickly found it remarkably lacking and, somehow, instinctively, I knew much of it was wrong. I always knew that I was different from my fellow elves, but I would begin to surmise that it was not simply the prodigy I had been named during this time.”
AG: “Correct me if I’m wrong, but are you alluding to your very nature being different from other elves?”
RV: “Yes. My very nature is fundamentally different from that of normal elves, down to my very soul. Taken at surface level, the traits which distinguish me most, my ambition, drive to gain power and wealth, mastery of the arcane, massive ego, my tendency to gain a remarkable loyalty from my lesser, even my lifespan. Most elves tend to grow supremely bored and detached after a thousand years or so, perhaps two if they are particularly ambitious, and go off to die quietly somewhere. I’ve never felt that urge, not even once, and I am just as spry as I was two, three, four thousand years and more ago. Quite an anomaly, you would agree?”
AG: “There are certainly no other known examples of elves as old as you. Common belief is that you have preserved yourself through arcane methods, may in fact be a lich or making use of clones to extend your lifespan.”
RV: “Lichdom is not for me, at least not for the foreseeable future, but there is precedent for it. I have said previously that I mastered the arcane method of creating a clone. That mastery has certainly been honed through practice when required.”
AG: “So you have experienced death before.”
RV: “Death of the body is trivial, my dear. It is merely a vessel for the soul, which houses one’s true essence. That is why I destroyed Halaxaes’ soul when he dared to cross me. When the Hand of Mausolus was sent after me, I did not mean that I was lucky that he never caught me, rather that he did not slay my soul. Had it been Korvalis Nightrunner who had come after me, then perhaps you and I would not be having this conversation.”
AG: “Most would say that dealing in souls is a very terrible, dark art.”
RV: “Most are beneath me and could not begin to understand how little I care about their opinions.”
AG: “With all this talk of souls and your true nature, how does that tie into your draconic research? Have you found a secret there as to the nature of souls themselves? To our very existence, perhaps?”
RV: “Not all souls, only a very small number of them, speaking strictly by the numbers. But before I get into that, I should tell you the short version of what I have learned over these many centuries of study. The proliferation of draconic ruins throughout the galaxy can be no accident, for their general construction and iconography are mostly identical throughout known space, with minor variations depending upon the tastes of the individual dragons who oversaw their construction. As your order’s records indicate, there is a clear advancement in the age of the ruins through time; some ruins have been dated to be much older than those within the Andyllion core worlds, and others have been dated to be much younger, but the youngest of these is still thousands of years older than even I. What most have not discerned, though, is the pattern of their construction, specifically a pattern which indicates an intentional and systematic expansion of dragon kind throughout space in a spiral progression following the spiral nature of the galaxy itself.”
AG: “Are you referring to the draconic migration theory?”
RV: “Yes and no. The theory itself is flawed, you see. The dragons did not simply advance from one world to the next as they grew bored or were vanquished by the lesser races or succumbed to some disease or calamity, to conquer the lesser races on a whim as is surmised. No, the dragons themselves were responsible for seeding the worlds they visited, taking their loyal followers with them as they traveled, creating entirely new civilizations as they advanced, trying something new and different each time, studying how these civilizations flourished or died, then moving on to the next once they had satisfied themselves. The shortsighted and self-absorbed nature of the various races throughout known space could never allow them to open their minds to the possibility that they or their gods were not responsible for their coming to their home worlds or perhaps even their creation.
I can see that you’re going to need a few moments to process this and formulate your next question. I can already guess what that question will be. How does my version of events relating to the draconic seeding of worlds relate to the gods, to the various creation myths and commonly held beliefs that the gods were responsible for the creation of their ‘children’? It’s really not a difficult leap in logic, my dear. Think about it for a moment, have some fresh tea. You’ll get there, I’m certain.”