| According to the Dragondoom Hypothesis (sometimes referred to as the Nessobarian Paradigm, after its principal author, Nessobar the Elder), it was the actions of a few great elven heroes that brought the Time of Dragons (ToD) to an end. Despite the inherantly romantic appeal to this argument, it has not withstood scholarly scrutiny� ...For example, Nessobar asserts in his epochal work The Tel�Quessir in the Dawn Ages that it was a mysterious race of winged elves that ended the dominion of the dragons circa ?24,000 DR. As evidence he provides a veritable catalogue of elven ballads and folktales, all legendary epics and songs singing of elves overthrowing and slaying the dragon overlords, carving nations for themselves, and a host of dirges and tragic ballads (a uniquely elven genre known as Nwalm�lina, which has many interesting features that are, unfortunately, outside the purview of this treatise) telling of the �avariel,� their great war against the dragons, and their pyrrhic victory that led to the end of the ToD as surely as it resulted in the destruction of the mysterious race. While many sages have found these evocative stories to be quite compelling, unfortunately they cannot serve as anything other than circumstantial evidence. First, no trace of these �avariel� exists, whether as a living race (which is understandable, considering their well-documented extermination), archeological relics, fossilized remains, or indeed any material evidence whatsoever. The continuing lack of any record of the avariel�s existence deals a serious blow to the credibility of the Nessobarian Hypothesis. Secondly, while there are many songs and bard�s tales about the end of the dragons at the hands of the avariel�the exquisite Lay of Dydd being the most famous�this oral history directly contradicts our current view about the First Flowering of the elves. As my colleague Drevoumynn of Waterdeep and I have argued, the unfortunate truth is that history is directed not by folktales and romantic ballads, but by the harsh and uncompromising realities of demographics and military politics. As even the great elven historian Corlin Nienos admits, it was not the work of mysterious heroes and extraplanar powers that brought the ToD to an end, but the slow decline of dragons in the face of continual elvish expansion, particularly throughout the northern forests and the Sea of Fallen Stars, coupled with their growing martial might and their increasingly sophisticated mastery of magic. �The Origin Myths: A Treatise, Dunkelzahn of Candlekeep Hunt us, skin us, steal our hordes and sell our eggs. Do your worst, little man, try it while you can. I�ll bet my teeth that you regret your boldness when my breath melts your lungs. You won�t even be able to scream as I carve your intestines out of your soft white belly because there won�t be anything left to breathe but blood. And if I fall to your sword, or that of the next fool�well, you won�t survive the Rage. �Sayings of a Wyrm, Naurglaur the Green Dragon You ask why we dragons are so slow to act. We take naps that last as long as a human lifetime. We hatch plots against rivals and enemies that may not come to fruition for millenia. We tell our children to spend at least one lifetime as a human or a halfling just to understand the small folk better. We have thousands of years to seek fame and fortune, glory and honor. What need have we of haste? You ask how creatures of such wisdom fall prey to arrogance. We watch parades of small folk come and go throughout our lives. We watch kingdoms rise and fall. We see even elves and dwarves grow weak and feeble with age, while we grow only more powerful, cunning, and wise. With such power at our command, is it any wonder that many dragons consider themselves to be the pinnacle of creation? You ask why we seclude ourselves from the company of other creatures. Have you not stopped to think, perhaps this is for your own protection? Not all dragons are wise and benevolent. Not all metallics obey a code of morals that any of you could understand. Good or bad, there will always be a rogue. And all of us, colored and metal alike, from the cruellest red to the King of Justice himself, must remember the price we paid for warring against the elves�remember our punishment, and tremble for all of Faerun. �Words Spent on Little Fools: Instructing Humans, Hamairathgauraundon, High Wyrm of the Crags Th' Roag Dragyn wyl begyn t' wayke when th' sun oe'r hed dost wynk at th' back syde of Seyloone, o' th' edge o' a grayte bowl o' dust. Seven moons wyl ryse, an' seven moons wyl set, an' th' morn ayftr, those that look wyl see th' grayte Roag sweep th� skyes. As th' brayve wyl hayte th' creature, three o' their number wyl smyte th' beest, an' rytely so; for if the wyrm is allow'd t' live, it wyl call t' its kyn, an' wayke an army o' levyathyns to conquer the kyngdom. Gods help us then! The Demyn Army! Verily It Wyl Sweep Cross Th' Land, ARMOR-PLAYTED AN' STONY-EYED, AN' WHO IN HYS RYTE MYND WOOLD NO' FLEE FROM SUCH MYTE! RYVYRS WOOOLD FLO' WITH TITYNS, YE GODS HELP US, AND VERILY WOOLD THEY DANCE ON MYE HEAD!!! Heavyns, I Need My Elyxyr, my poor hed �The Chronicle of Years to Come, Maglas the Seer Th' Scion in hys howse o' steel wyl heed th' call when th' sands shayke an' fyngs drop out o' th' skye. Hammer awaye, he wyl, for tyme out o' spayce and beyonde th' span o' syght, for swerds wyl be needed. Oh aye, swerds wyl be needed for this army o' shadew an' flayme, swerds that are sharpe and shyldes that are brawd! When th' dark an' th' lyte cross und'r th' eight-trunked tree, he wyl ishew th' final call! BLACKSMITHS! HE CRIES, DRIVEN T' MADNESS AN' ALL-CONSUMING FIRE, BRING ME THE BLACKSMITHS!! A T'OUSAND BLACKSMITHS FO' MYE BLADE!! 'T ALL STARTS WITH TH' BLACKSMITHS!!!! �The Chronicle of Years to Come, Maglas the Seer During the days of rage, the Rogue Dragon shall have his vengeance upon the people. His progeny shall gather to him a great army among the greatest warriors, and that army shall cull the greatest smiths of Toril to reforge the blade that was broken. When it is finished, the Lord of Iron shall marshal his host and cut a swathe of flame and blood across the land. In the Year of Rogue Dragons, the two Scions shall walk the same path and spill their blood against their enemy. So sayeth the wise Alaundo. When shadows descend upon the lands, the elven doom shall cause a great conflagration. So sayeth the great Alaundo. When conflict sweeps across the dales the great lizards of the north shall descend with fire and fury. So sayeth the wise Alaundo. The lords of Hell shall sow chaos in the realms, but the hands of the valorous shall take up sword and spell against them. So sayeth the great Alaundo. When spiders cease to whisper, a great war shall erupt in the deep places under the earth, and the white banshee shall claim her inheritance. So sayeth the wise Alaundo. When ancient enemies stand against a common foe, the city of song shall sing again. So sayeth the great Alaundo. When the harp�s strings fray and the stars of the moon rise, the sons of destiny shall die and be born anew. So sayeth the wise Alaundo. �The Endless Chants of Alaundo, Alaundo of Candlekeep The great prophet Alaundo is known both for the imprecision of his prophecies and the uncanny accuracy of his predictions. Because of the former, however, the latter is rarely useful until after the fact. In this brief chapter I shall examine one of his lesser known prophecies regarding 1373 DR, the Year of Rogue Dragons. During the days of rage, What is it that Alaundo means by the word rage here? Some have speculated, rather unimagin-atively, that it refers to an unspecified military conflict; others to dramatically unseasonable weather (as in the widely-used phrase �winter�s rage�). Though I have no more �proof� than my colleagues, I put forth rather that Alaundo�s �rage� is in fact the term used to denote a particularly large Flight of Dragons. Indeed, he used the phrase �days of rage� in several of his prophecies for 1033 DR�the Year of the Dracorage�and I point to his name for this year as corroborating evidence. the Rogue Dragon shall have his vengeance upon the people. Once again, Alaundo speaks in terms so vague as to be impenetrable. To what people does he refer? The people of Faer�n? The peasants (commonly called simply �the people� by modern writers on political economy)? Perhaps. But rather, I suggest that Alaundo is being quite specific when he names the target of vengeance, for there is but one race on all of Faerun whose name (even for themselves) translates into �the people�: elves. His progeny shall gather to him a great army among the greatest warriors, and that army shall cull the greatest smiths of Toril to reforge the blade that was broken. Despite my best efforts, I cannot narrow down the reference to the blade that was broken. For, in the thousands of years of recorded history, there have been many famous blades, and many of them were in fact broken during great conflicts. However, what is telling in this passage is Alaundo�s word choice: note that the army is �gathered,� but the smiths are �culled.� In its common usage, the word cull indeed means to select from a large quantity, or to gather from a variety of sources. However, in its more archaic usage, the verb �to cull� means something rather different: to reduce the population of a wild animal by selective slaughter. When it is finished, the Lord of Iron shall marshal his host and cut a swathe of flame and blood across the land. Unfortunately, the last portion yields little to analysis, as Lord of Iron bears itself to too many meanings�whether it refers to dwarves, a charismatic miner, or simply a pretentious title that a ruler would bestow upon himself. Alaundo�s closing lines, however, leave no doubt of this �Iron Lord� �s intentions. �Commentary on the Prophecies of Alaundo, Beldred Crownsilver of Marsember |
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