The camp was bustling with activity, for the hunters had been quite successful. They’d returned from their week long hunt with great bounty. Seven young boar, and a sow. The Father they had eaten to sustain the hunt, and the mother had been smoked. the others were tied and awaiting slaughter. They had also taken down a great horned beast, and gathered dozens of eggs. They were now rejoicing their victory, as the others on the camp prepared for a feast. The priest came forth to gather and distract the children who no longer had a part to serve, with tales of long ago. And so, as the sunset beyond the forest canopy, and the fire raged around which they had all gathered, the priest began his tale.

“Long ago, the lands where under the siege of a great war. This was not the war of men, which had only recently come to an end, but a war of gods. The gods did not fight over the Sky Stone, as men did, they fought over dominion. It would be this war, which ended in the Great Sky Fall, which would one day lead to mans war.” The priest paused for a moment to take a drink of water, before he continued, giving all the children and interested parties a chance to settle in for his tale. Though most of the adults had heard the priest’s stories countless times. Finally, he continued, “In the beginning, their were Dragons which slumbered beneath the land. These Dragons were worshiped by many, alongside the other totems of old. They grew greater in strength and power than any totem had ever grown, so much so that the Gods believed they would become a threat should they be allowed to continue growing stronger. So, the Gods descended upon the lands, as they had done many times before. Only this time it had not been to teach man of their power, or show him how to live, it had been to punish those who worshiped the Dragons, and discourage others from place too much faith in totems.”

“Those who worshiped the Dragons were made ill, and withered away… a slow and painful death, which could be witnessed by all as an example. But those who worshiped the Dragons did not wish to die unheard, so they called upon their Dragon totems for vengeance, and the Dragons rose. All at once they emerged from the earth and soil, from the deep places, and the high. The Dragons were so large, and vast in number, that they covered the sky in darkness. Their ascent, was like the coming of a great storm, and the destruction it would bring to bear would be unrivaled by any storm before or after it.” The priest stopped to see that he had everyone’s attention, and took another drink. Most of them were beginning to eat, as it was tradition to serve the children first whenever there was plenty. This was to fill their bellies for hard times to come.

“The Gods met the Dragons with a great fury, and many were struck dead in flight, made to plummet from the skies and return to the stone from wince they came. Others were too powerful to be taken down so easily, and many Gods would die purging them from the skies. Often the Gods needed to fight the Dragons in mass, 4 and five at a time, which required several gods or more to claim victory. Only one God was capable of facing an entire flight of Dragons on his own… the Sky Father Ejahga. Ejahga was never as much as wounded during his battles, and he had never before fallen to another. But he saw the harm that had befallen the world, in the wake of this war. He looked upon the suffering and knew he must put it to an end. Many Gods had fallen, and yet a great many dragons remained. So he decided, and gathered the remaining gods for a final offensive. Surely, the gods would fall if the tides of war continued along their course, so Ejahga convinced the gods that a great sacrifice was necessary. With this sacrifice, Ejahga could drive the Dragons back to ground never to rise again. Though nothing would change for the fate of the Gods, perhaps the world below would have a chance to recover.”

“So it came to pass, that the gods were used to cast a great spell. This spell turned the sky itself into a weapon, which would shatter even the mightiest Dragons… body and will. Sky Fall, the God’s most powerful weapon was borne, and the red stone fell from the skies engulfed in the fiery rage of the Gods. The stones, which had been cast from the blood of the Gods, burned furiously even after it hit the ground, remitting the Dragons bodies to ash, alongside anything else to close to their flames. But when the stones finally quieted, the Dragons had been felled, and the skies began to clear. though this too took sometime. When the sun finally returned, after the lands had ceased burning, and the skies had no more tears to cry. Signs of life could be seen emerging from the scarred lands, and men were given another chance. Of course, things were difficult then, and the God’s bounty would not be given lightly… but that is a story for another time, perhaps.” The priest ended his story as he always had, promising to tell of the times to come. The people began to talk among themselves, and by this time everyone was eating. One of the children brought the priest a some meat, and smiled. The priest could see that the people were happy, and merely indulged his storytelling, but he was content with this so long as they were wary of the Dragon Totems.