A long time ago, when the world was still young and new, the dragons ruled the land, the sea, and the air.  There were five who patrolled and protected the world.  Each dragon ruled over its own territory, never interfering in the others.

The first dragon was known as Brostaigid, the crimson dragon. Brostaigid watched over the elves and all of their lands.  She could breathe fire and it was said that her roar could raise the dead.  The elves worshiped Brostaigid as their God.  They drew their power from the great beast and when the elves began to turn to the dark arts, Brostaigid became corrupted by the dark magic.

After the great cleansing of the 225th year, the great crimson dragon vanished. She has not been seen in over three hundred years.

The second dragon was called Archamond, the emerald dragon.  Archamond watched over the humans and their lands, as well as the forests ofAltlock.  He had the power to control nature and it is said that he could summon an earthquake with his roar.  Sometime in the 225th year, the emerald dragon vanished.

With the disappearance of Archamond, a great scar formed across the land wiping out all life wherever the scar touched and leaving a dead zone between the elven countryside and the plains of the humans. Today this area is known as The Ghostlands, void of life and inhabited by ghosts and other nasty undead creatures.

The third great dragon was called Grymveil, the cobalt dragon.  Grymveil was the protector of the dwarves.  She lived in the underground tunnels of Dragon’s Landing, the dwarven capital.  She had an icy breath that could freeze anything almost instantly.  Not much is known of this great dragon, with many of the accounts and texts still residing in the Dragon’s Landing library.

During the great harvest early in the year 225, the dwarven farmlands became barren and the crops died.  Nothing has grown on the dwarf island of Mythryl since.  The dwarves prayed to Grymveil as well as sought her out, but she was nowhere to be found.

The fourth great dragon was called Ostrigan, the white dragon.  Ostrigan was the protector of the seas.  She could summon rain and lightning at will and it is said that she could also cause whirlpools with a shake of her wings. Sailors and pirates prayed to her while out on the water.  Shortly after the start of the 225th year, sightings of the white dragon ceased and attack on the water including sharks increased.

The fifth and final great dragon was called Artimus, the onyx dragon. Artimus lived in the mountains and ice valleys of the north.  He could breathe cold fire and freezing temperatures followed him and froze everything in his wake.  Many stories have been written about this great dragon with the most accurate accounts being held in the library of the icy palace known as the Alun Doom. Artimus and Draconis, the Dragon Lord, vanished in the year 225.

Residing as lord and master over all five great dragons was Draconis, the Dragon Lord.  Draconis was once a gentle soul who ruled over his kingdom with the help of Artimus and a few kind people down the mountain.  Towards the end of year 224, a terrible tragedy befell the Dragon Lord.

The mad dwarf king, Raygar, murdered Draconis’ only son Elbireth.  Draconis soon became seduced by the elvish dark magics and became lost to his people.  The Dragon Lord vanished with Artimus in the year 225.  The lands of Draconis, known as Alun Doom, fell into disrepair after the people left in 226.  No one, not even mad king Raygar, has set foot in Alun Doom in over three hundred years.

Many adventuring parties have tried to reach the library of Draconis’ castle but none are known to have returned. Legend says that when Draconis vanished he left behind the elvish spell book that gave him his powers. Though not human, nor dwarf, nor elf have been able to substantiate the claim or make it back from Alun Doom alive.

An excerpt from “The Blood of Altlock” the first part of The Altlock Saga:

Quin notched an arrow and fired. The arrow plunged into the head of an undead with a wet plop.  The dead man collapsed where he stood.  She fired a second time, this time piercing an eye and digging deep into the skull. Quin shuffled back two steps and loosed the third shot. She turned to regard the dwarf, smiling so big there was no way the dwarf wouldn’t know how proud of herself she was.

“That’s three,” she said.

“Ye can stand back and fire,” Borimar grumbled, “I have to get up close with ’em.”

“Then show me how it’s done.”

Borimar opened and closed his already sweaty hands around the grip on his ax, hollering an old dwarven battle cry as he charged the undead. Without much of a sweat or loss of breath, he made two sweeping arcs with his ax, taking out three dead men at the knees. Flesh and severed legs fell around the dwarf and the torsos landed with a thud in the grass. The dead things had fallen but were now beginning to crawl after the dwarf. The dwarf used his considerable-sized boot and smashed one of the crawlers. At about the same time the other two crawlers took wooden shafts to the head.

“Five,” Quin called out.

“Argh!” Borimar’s agitation seeped out of him like oil from a rag. He was not going to lose count to her. Not this time. He charged again, this time burying his ax blade into a skull, pried it free and slammed it into the skull of another. The army of undead, however, was not getting any thinner.

“We need a new plan,” he called to the hunter.

Quin sent two undead back to the afterlife while Markus’ soldiers sliced easily through the dead people. Severed heads and sprays of blood covered the combatants as well as the green grass.

“I agree.”