Tale of Hemlock and Aurora
Near the end of the battle with the Dark Mage Zeref and his followers, just as magic came to be feared and the Magic Management council was created there was a discovery. A total of ten fossilized dragon eggs were found. This was amazing. Using the magic and technology at their hands these marvels could be revived and brought back to life. However, those behind this discovery new that with all that had been done, it was likely that no public support would be gained. Worst case scenario the eggs would need to be destroyed. However, they could prove to be mighty weapons in the future if raised and tamed.
Thus, under the watchful eye of the Magic Management Council and the king these eggs were studied in secret. Five years, or grueling work, experimentation, and failure after failure passed, but finally the fruits of labor ripened. At this point only five eggs remained. But these five eggs were more than enough. They were revitalized. They were then cultivated and hatched. Under the watch of the kingdom’s higher ups, the dragons were to be raised and tamed. Taught to obey. However, things did not go as planned. Another five years passed and two of the five dragons had died. As it turned out the process had only succeeded properly with the final three as they were rejuvenated with the final adjustments made. It was a miracle they were alive.
Only five years of age, the dragons knew very little. But they did know that their brethren were lost. These people did not care for their lives. They knew they had to flee. The two had been named Erebus, Hemlock and Aurora. They were of darkness, poison and ice respectively. These facts lined their minds. It was all they truly knew of themselves. Everything else was sheer instinct. It was likely for this reason that during their escape plan on the sixth year of their lives, only two of them were able to escape unharmed. They could just barely fly, and had little control over their magic. They did manage to escape, but soon after, Erebus passed. Hemlock and Aurora were stricken with grief. Hemlock doesn’t know how Aurora felt exactly, but he could never trust the humans again. And he in fact hated many of them. They were the real monsters in his eyes.
The two made their way to Mt. Hakobe after having hidden Erebus’s body in the ground so as not to be found. They had no idea they’d actually given the young dragon a burial, but they did know that it was just them from now on. This was simply one more fact to add to the list of things they knew. Days passed, and then months, and years and decades. Time halted for nothing. Hemlock had taken to living on one side of the mountain and Aurora on the other.
By himself, Hemlock learned, and grew. He trained. He rarely took the time to see Aurora, choosing to live in solitude. Nobody would bother. Alone he spent his days in a cave not too far up from the base. At least, that was until a small village settled just a mile or so away from the base on his side. Adventurers and travellers. Often one would venture into the mountain. They wouldn’t get far. He didn’t make any moves towards them. No acts of aggression. He simply watched.
Still, it was inevitable that as years passed he would be discovered. They began some idiotic ritual in which they sacrificed a member of their home to him. They dared not act against him. While this was in his favor he had no reason to consume the humans. He had no taste for them. Thus he’d often carry them to safety and urge them to never return. They never did. He went on like this slowly growing more annoyed with the ritual and people altogether. He’d not asked for them, nor their fear, nor any of what they did. Hemlock simply wished to live in peace.
Hemlock went on about his life until one day he nearly snapped. A child was brought as an offering. So far it’d always been an adult. One who’d volunteered. Had no regrets or fear. But this child was forcefully brought. The villagers looked at him with disgust and anger. They treated him like nothing. Did his life mean nothing? It reminded him of his early years. And yet, one voice urged him to proceed while another pleaded for him to leave the humans be. The strange thing was both voices came from the child. Confusion ensued until Zenoram explained. Zero confirmed, but Hemlock was skeptical.
Eventually, he accepted it. Joke or not the child didn’t seem to let it go or change his story. Hemlock had neared adulthood. He’d have brought the child to safety, but that was impossible. He would surely die on his own. Thus, Hemlock concluded to raise the young boy. To teach him, and help him live. Over the years he grew close to the boy. To this day they live in solitude together. Though he fears their time together may soon end.
Aurora's history:
The Ice Dragon Aurora, is a dragon with an unusual past. Like most dragons four-hundred years ago, she ruled over human, particularly those who resided near Mount Hakobe. She largely presided over one particular village at the base of the mountain, acting as a guardian deity to it, and mostly ate humans who would dare try to test her patience by trying to attack the humans that inhabited the village. She was known for being cold and distant but also kind and unshakable in her beliefs.
When the Dragon Wars broke out, Aurora sided with the Pro-human dragons. While she agreed that human should coexist with dragon, she soon withdrew from the war when her fellow pro-coexistence dragon began teaching the humans magic, seeing the possible repercussions where others did not. The only time she fought after this point was when other dragon's dare encroach on her territory. Such fights were usually brief but never ended well for the invader and many learned to simply avoid the mountain.
Aurora was not surprised to learn when the Dragon Slayers betrayed the dragons and began killing them off. She was however, surprised to learn of the new dragon, the Black Dragon, Acnologia, that was slaughtering her kind. Knowing she would stand no chance against them and that a fight between her and the beast would result in mass destruction, Aurora gave the village one last gift, a gem that they could pry to in order to contact her, and few to the highest point of the mountain, before freezing herself in a block of ice, allowing the snow to hide her frozen form and hopefully avoid Acnologia's wrath.
While the trick worked for a while, Acnologia eventually found Aurora's frozen form. Viewing her as being so weak that she wasn't worth waking up, the Black Dragon simply reaped her soul like he had done so many dragons before leaving the frozen Ice Dragon to die. Centuries would pass before Aurora's frozen slumber ended, with the desperate prayers of one of her villagers finally caused her to stir. Breaking out of her self-made, the weakened dragon flew down to the village only to find it in ruins and the last survivor, a young girl, about to be slaughtered. Angered, the dragon wasted little time killing and eating the raiders and soon turned her attention to the lone survivor. Knowing the child wouldn't survive on her own and that Aurora couldn't accompany her for fear of causing trouble. So the Ice Dragon did the only thing she could and adopted the child as her own daughter and took care of her, even going against her beliefs and teaching the girl Ice Dragon Slayer magic so the girl could defend herself.
Once the girl was old enough and knew enough to defend herself, Aurora used her magic to hide in the girl's body. Knowing the use of Dragon Slayer magic would eventually turn the girl into a dragon unless stopped, the Ice Dragon hoped to prevent her daughter from suffering the same fate as Acnologia, even if it meant hurting the girl due to seemingly abandoning her.
Thus, under the watchful eye of the Magic Management Council and the king these eggs were studied in secret. Five years, or grueling work, experimentation, and failure after failure passed, but finally the fruits of labor ripened. At this point only five eggs remained. But these five eggs were more than enough. They were revitalized. They were then cultivated and hatched. Under the watch of the kingdom’s higher ups, the dragons were to be raised and tamed. Taught to obey. However, things did not go as planned. Another five years passed and two of the five dragons had died. As it turned out the process had only succeeded properly with the final three as they were rejuvenated with the final adjustments made. It was a miracle they were alive.
Only five years of age, the dragons knew very little. But they did know that their brethren were lost. These people did not care for their lives. They knew they had to flee. The two had been named Erebus, Hemlock and Aurora. They were of darkness, poison and ice respectively. These facts lined their minds. It was all they truly knew of themselves. Everything else was sheer instinct. It was likely for this reason that during their escape plan on the sixth year of their lives, only two of them were able to escape unharmed. They could just barely fly, and had little control over their magic. They did manage to escape, but soon after, Erebus passed. Hemlock and Aurora were stricken with grief. Hemlock doesn’t know how Aurora felt exactly, but he could never trust the humans again. And he in fact hated many of them. They were the real monsters in his eyes.
The two made their way to Mt. Hakobe after having hidden Erebus’s body in the ground so as not to be found. They had no idea they’d actually given the young dragon a burial, but they did know that it was just them from now on. This was simply one more fact to add to the list of things they knew. Days passed, and then months, and years and decades. Time halted for nothing. Hemlock had taken to living on one side of the mountain and Aurora on the other.
By himself, Hemlock learned, and grew. He trained. He rarely took the time to see Aurora, choosing to live in solitude. Nobody would bother. Alone he spent his days in a cave not too far up from the base. At least, that was until a small village settled just a mile or so away from the base on his side. Adventurers and travellers. Often one would venture into the mountain. They wouldn’t get far. He didn’t make any moves towards them. No acts of aggression. He simply watched.
Still, it was inevitable that as years passed he would be discovered. They began some idiotic ritual in which they sacrificed a member of their home to him. They dared not act against him. While this was in his favor he had no reason to consume the humans. He had no taste for them. Thus he’d often carry them to safety and urge them to never return. They never did. He went on like this slowly growing more annoyed with the ritual and people altogether. He’d not asked for them, nor their fear, nor any of what they did. Hemlock simply wished to live in peace.
Hemlock went on about his life until one day he nearly snapped. A child was brought as an offering. So far it’d always been an adult. One who’d volunteered. Had no regrets or fear. But this child was forcefully brought. The villagers looked at him with disgust and anger. They treated him like nothing. Did his life mean nothing? It reminded him of his early years. And yet, one voice urged him to proceed while another pleaded for him to leave the humans be. The strange thing was both voices came from the child. Confusion ensued until Zenoram explained. Zero confirmed, but Hemlock was skeptical.
Eventually, he accepted it. Joke or not the child didn’t seem to let it go or change his story. Hemlock had neared adulthood. He’d have brought the child to safety, but that was impossible. He would surely die on his own. Thus, Hemlock concluded to raise the young boy. To teach him, and help him live. Over the years he grew close to the boy. To this day they live in solitude together. Though he fears their time together may soon end.
Aurora's history:
The Ice Dragon Aurora, is a dragon with an unusual past. Like most dragons four-hundred years ago, she ruled over human, particularly those who resided near Mount Hakobe. She largely presided over one particular village at the base of the mountain, acting as a guardian deity to it, and mostly ate humans who would dare try to test her patience by trying to attack the humans that inhabited the village. She was known for being cold and distant but also kind and unshakable in her beliefs.
When the Dragon Wars broke out, Aurora sided with the Pro-human dragons. While she agreed that human should coexist with dragon, she soon withdrew from the war when her fellow pro-coexistence dragon began teaching the humans magic, seeing the possible repercussions where others did not. The only time she fought after this point was when other dragon's dare encroach on her territory. Such fights were usually brief but never ended well for the invader and many learned to simply avoid the mountain.
Aurora was not surprised to learn when the Dragon Slayers betrayed the dragons and began killing them off. She was however, surprised to learn of the new dragon, the Black Dragon, Acnologia, that was slaughtering her kind. Knowing she would stand no chance against them and that a fight between her and the beast would result in mass destruction, Aurora gave the village one last gift, a gem that they could pry to in order to contact her, and few to the highest point of the mountain, before freezing herself in a block of ice, allowing the snow to hide her frozen form and hopefully avoid Acnologia's wrath.
While the trick worked for a while, Acnologia eventually found Aurora's frozen form. Viewing her as being so weak that she wasn't worth waking up, the Black Dragon simply reaped her soul like he had done so many dragons before leaving the frozen Ice Dragon to die. Centuries would pass before Aurora's frozen slumber ended, with the desperate prayers of one of her villagers finally caused her to stir. Breaking out of her self-made, the weakened dragon flew down to the village only to find it in ruins and the last survivor, a young girl, about to be slaughtered. Angered, the dragon wasted little time killing and eating the raiders and soon turned her attention to the lone survivor. Knowing the child wouldn't survive on her own and that Aurora couldn't accompany her for fear of causing trouble. So the Ice Dragon did the only thing she could and adopted the child as her own daughter and took care of her, even going against her beliefs and teaching the girl Ice Dragon Slayer magic so the girl could defend herself.
Once the girl was old enough and knew enough to defend herself, Aurora used her magic to hide in the girl's body. Knowing the use of Dragon Slayer magic would eventually turn the girl into a dragon unless stopped, the Ice Dragon hoped to prevent her daughter from suffering the same fate as Acnologia, even if it meant hurting the girl due to seemingly abandoning her.