THE DRAGON SIGHTINGS

Dragons have not been seen in Actavia for hundreds of years. They used to be as common as the farmers they terrorized; a peaceful, intelligent breed they were not. They weren't quite so bad as the snarling, firebreathing beasts of our fairy tales - well, alright, some of them were - but they were generally considered as friendly, helpful, beautiful, and charming as the wolves which occassionally crept down from the mountains to have a go at our prize sheep. They came in a variety of shapes, sizes, colours, and creeds, but they all had one trait in common - they were predators. The image of the serene, wise, lucky dragon was one unknown to Actavians - dragons may have exhibited an intelligence far greater than many who hunted them, but they were still animals, and animals that most considered to be pests. Sure, there were groups who protested the destruction of this integral part of the food chain, but not on grounds that the dragons held the ultimate answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything - they simply thought they were pretty cute, and at least they kept the deer population in check pretty well.

As such, for awhile no one (save the odd environmentalist) was particularly alarmed to see the dragon populations dwindling. As the human race pushed the limits of their imaginations and technology increased in leaps and bounds, slowly the more mystical creatures began to disappear. It started with the sea serpents, who weren't very sorely missed, and then the gryphons and sand-beasts. By the time someone pointed out no one had seen a unicorn in a good ten years or so, people began to notice they were mucking up their environment pretty severely.

The dragons lingered longer than most. Their remarkably long life spans, thickly armoured hides, and ability to survive several years on diets of tree bark and field mice sustained them through the extinction of the hairy beasts of G'nfarr, but they couldn't compete with the ever-expanding human empire. The air was becoming thick was black smokes and firey smells; the water was becoming sickly and their prey receding deeper into the forests humans threatened more and more to erase in their entireties.

And so, about two hundred years ago, the very last dragon sighting took place in a cave in the Eastern Kingdom. The very last dragon man ever set eyes upon was summarily slaughtered, its horns were presented to the king, and the rest of its various bits and pieces were sold to wealthy nobles, apothecaries, and leatherworkers. The very last dragon was dead.

Fast forward two centuries. Rumours have begun to circulate, rumours of great flying beasts being sighted not in the depths of out-of-the-way jungles by half-crazed natives, but on the outskirts of towns and even cities by wholly unremarkable working stiffs. These dragons seem to be the real deal - they huff, and they puff (there are even a few reports of small houses being blown down), they snap and snarl and growl, and they do their best - most of the time - to avoid run-ins with any sort of local law enforcement, and indeed with humans in general.

Even more disturbing - these dragons are often seen in the company of - perhaps even in the possession of, as absurd as that may seem - certain individuals. These figures often wear cloaks or other concealing garments, and many believe them to be the last of the elves or fae, out of hiding at last to - well, ah, we'll talk about these mysterious "dragon riders" more in a short while.