Dragon's Ark
This is a world called Yelekedis. Lyduiath, prince of the Western Elves and son of Laduiagoth, king of the Western Elves who rules over the `Green Plains` that spread across the western continent, was gazing at the sky.
Sitting by the shore of a lake that seemed as vast as the ocean to Lyduiath, he gazed up at the sky with his sky-blue eyes. His long, drab straw colour hair, shining like cast iron, fluttered in the wind, the wind gently caressing his cheek as it passed by. The wind carried the whispers of spirits that will never show themselves.
—— Lyduiath, son of Laduiagoth, what do you see with those sky-blue eyes of yours?
'I was just watching the clouds go by. I was wondering what makes them move'.
—— Alas, Lyduiath, you’re a curious fellow, aren’t you?
The unseen spirits murmured. 'Could you possibly be a little quieter, please', Lyduiath replied to the spirits, looking up at the sky again.
But Lyduiath wasn't watching the clouds; he was searching the sky for something. He was searching for something he hoped to see again: a mysterious continent, a land that no one had ever reached, no one knew what was there, and no one had ever set foot on it.
The floating continent that travels through the sky is known as `Alftheniarand`. And it was also called the Dragon's Ark.
A popular theory held that the `Dragon` of Dragon's Ark was Chalice, the earth mother goddess of Yelekedis, who took the form of the dragon. The name, it was said, signified that the continent was her lair. Lyduiath, however, placed no faith in that theory; he held firmly to a different belief.
It was ages ago, well before Laduiagoth—father of Lyduiath and one of the oldest living Elves at 300 million years—was born to Yelekedis. Back then, humanity was at the peak of its glory.
It is said that humanity had grown so prosperous that they became arrogant. They scraped away the remaining land, filled in the seas, cut down the forests, and drained the lakes. They slaughtered all other living things, yet their destructive rampage continued.
Chalice, the earth mother goddess, grew weary of their actions. As the goddess of water, she chose a brutal yet simple method of purification: she would wash everything away. Chalice swelled the seas, rivers, and lakes, which had long lost their beauty, and swallowed the entire earth. She washed away every building, every civilisation, and every form of life that existed.
Before she carried out this great cleansing, however, Chalice quietly gathered the mates of certain species that were to be preserved. She isolated them and protected them in a separate location. When the floodwaters had finally receded and the world was clean, Chalice scattered seeds across the earth, returning it to its infancy.
This was the beginning of Yelekedis. The Dragon's Ark was the name given to the place where the chosen species were isolated and protected.
...This was the theory Lyduiath believed to be true.
No one knows the truth, not even the oldest Elves. His father, Laduiagoth of the Western Elves, Iguelizand, Queen of the Eastern Elves, Gathelzence, King of the Southern Elves, and Yemuriscend, Queen of the Northern Elves — none of them, nor any of their generation, know the answer.
If they don’t know, then there’s no way the younger races — the Dwarves, Cait Sith, or Hobbits — could. Not even the spirits seem to know.
This is why Lyduiath secretly vowed to one day reach the Dragon's Ark and see what truly lies there.
But he kept this ambition to himself. He knew his father would only laugh at the tale, his mother, Luhzelluand, would fret he’d taken another knock to the head, and the other Elves would laugh until they were clutching their stomachs.
'Lyduiath! You are the complete opposite of your father! He was wiser and more far-sighted than anyone, and you are nothing but a fool!' Such words echoed in his head. They were words that other elves had been hurling at him ever since he was born 3,000 years ago.
The insults no longer hurt him, but they still irritated him. He was forever compared to his great father and was tired of being looked down upon. He often wished he could get his own back on the other elves, and on his father, King Laduiagoth. Yet in the past 1,500 years, the thought of how to do so had never once occurred to him.
Lyduiath’s sky-blue eyes stared into the shifting sky, his thoughts wandering to the unseen Dragon’s Ark — The sound of approaching footsteps broke his reverie. He turned to see his father’s aide, a sturdy, bearded Western elf named Geltdalath the Whirlwind.
'Lyduiath', Geltdalath said, 'your father the King has something to tell you'.
A frown creased Geltdalath's brow, and a cold shiver ran down Lyduiath's spine. A weak breeze from the lake brushed his cheek, making the spirits' whispers all the clearer: 'King Laduiagoth is very angry', they hissed. 'His son should be studying, but here he is'.
Geltdalath seized Lyduiath's arm and hauled him to his feet.
'When your father is angry', Geltdalath warned, 'the earth may shake and the castle may collapse. Do not provoke that genius of destruction, understand?'
'I understand', Lyduiath replied.
His steps were heavy as Geltdalath dragged him away, the dread of facing his father weighing on him.
