Dragon-killers' War
| Dragon-killers' War | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||
| Event Information | |||||
| Era | Mythohistory | ||||
| Date | c. -19,950 AR | ||||
| Location | Dominaria | ||||
| Sets | Legends | ||||
| Characters | Nicol Bolas, Ugin | ||||
| Outcome |
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| Storyline sources | [1] | ||||
| Timeline | |||||
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The Dragon-killers' War was a conflict during the Mythohistory of Dominaria.
History
After the Birth of the Elder Dragons, humanity discovered the emerging threat awakening in their world and immediately started to hunt and kill the dragons. Using dogs, bows, spears, and swords, the humans tracked down some of the fledgling Elder Dragons and killed Merrevia Sal. Over roughly half a century, they refined their methods, using deadly venoms and ballistae to kill four more unnamed dragons.[1]
The dragon-killers formed a kingdom ruled by Merrevia Sal's slayer. By the time Nicol Bolas and Ugin encountered him again, the king who had killed their sister was a stout, white-haired man with a wrinkled and age-spotted face and a greedy expression. In this realm, those four who had earned the rank of dragon-killer were those deemed to lead and were considered the heirs of the king. This included a middle-aged man with a proud demeanor and a young woman with a scarred face and a fierce gaze. These two each wore helmets adorned with crests of dragons' teeth. A third heir, the king's firstborn son, was a tall and handsome man, his arms and neck adorned with twisted gold jewelry, clad in armor made of dragon scales. The fourth heir was the chief's second wife, a woman who had devised a venom that severely weakened the dragons whose flesh it pierced. She was an impressive woman with a shine of intelligence on her face. Her braided hair, wrapped atop her head, was wreathed with pearls and gems.[1]
As he observed the different heirs, Nicol Bolas immediately set about sowing discord, suspicion, ambition, and mistrust among them. He pretended to respect the son of the king for his bravery. Inspired to overthrow his father, the prince mobilized his warriors and gave a mighty speech to them about the portent of the dragons and how they had shown their favor by flying overhead and not burning the settlement or killing anyone. They marched out with brisk purpose. The chief's son marched to the central settlement, now without its garrison of fearsome warriors, and he killed the chief's supporters and installed himself on the throne. Meanwhile, Nicol roosted atop the birth mountain and with his presence there lured the two heirs each with their band of warriors higher and higher up the slopes until the two factions came face to face upon a rugged field of ancient lava. There they fought bitterly amid the sharp stones, the middle-aged man against the young woman. While the two armies struggled, Nicol flew down to the unguarded temple and burned it and its acolytes to the ground.[1]
He left the bewildered king alive amid the charred bones and beams flew with him to the settlement of his second wife and poisoned her with his words of greed and vanity. She killed her husband and marched on the other heirs. The fighting raged in a storm of destruction until only the wife and the son remained, entrenched behind higher walls, the remnants of the other two heirs' armies split between them. The fields went untended. People began to starve. In the courtyard, the chief's son and the chief's second wife faced each other. They each took the dragon claw of their reign, she her staff and he a long knife. Each plunged their claw into the breast of the other, and they fell together and, soaked in each other's blood, they died. And so, the dragon killers were dead, and Nicol Bolas assumed the reign over their people. One war was done, but another, much more terrible, was brewing.[1]
Notes and references
- ↑ a b c d e Kate Elliott (July 11, 2018). "Chronicle of Bolas: Whispers of Treachery". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.