Kongensvik

The Settlers Escape


Our story begins with the mainland’s capital, Dragerholde. Historically this city has been the throne from which the kings and queens of the land have ruled. Dragerholde ‘castle’ sits atop an ancient and sacred hatchery where dragons have laid their eggs for eons.

The old, dragon rider king, King Baalrag’uut, was a stern but wise king. His heir to the throne, Buutar’rag, served his father as did many of his elite and trusted men. 25 trusted dragon riders would form Baalrag’uut’s council at a round, carved stone table overlooked by a circle of statues of past kings atop their dragons.

Among these riders was the ‘secretly’ skeptical and power thirsty Korgmak’tun, the rider known well for being the first to ever bond with and ride a two-headed dragon. He wished to overthrow the king, and kept his intentions well hidden from the king until the pivotal moment in which it all unraveled.


The King’s Betrayal


Having gathered allies in secret for years, planting seeds of doubt in the king’s men and weaving a silent web, he turned on his king. In the meeting room, his dragon crashed in through the grand window behind where the king sat upon his throne and severed his head from his body before every rider present, including Prince Buutar’rag. As expected, the kings dragon perished along with him and the riders rose up to fight. To the surprise of many, Korgmak’s men were more abundant than the kings faithful servants could have anticipated.

Above the castle the dragons of faithful and traitors battled to the death as did their riders. Unable to get to their riders to defend them, Korgmak’s dragon, Ondskap, stepped forth to crush and destroy the few faithful riders. Dragons fell from the sky in turn as their riders were felled in the council chamber and soon all that was left was the prince.

He ran. Prince Buutar fled from the council chambers, chased by traitors. Somehow making it to a dragon perch he was able to fling himself from the platform and onto his own, wounded dragon, narrowly escaping the teeth and claws of their flying enemies.


Finding The New Land


The prince escaped and was able to hide. He and his dragon waited three days before they embarked across the ocean in search of new land…a dangerous and treacherous journey to make with no end in sight. He prayed to their ancestors that fate would guide him to unchartered land, and perhaps by some miracle he found it. The untouched Island now named Helligdom Island. There he found a perfect basin, opening out onto the sea and guarded by a jagged circle of mountains which he named “The Rovtann Mountains” (The Carnassial Mountains). There they hunted and rested for a year, building and carving, preparing a basal settlement and materials for new trollish settlers. Thankfully, no one found him. This place would be safe, he felt.


Gathering The Settlers


With the new settlement ready for its settlers, the prince returned under the cover of night, following the stars as he had been taught to do. Leaving his dragon to hide in coastal caverns he made his way into the city and surrounding villagers, posing as a pauper and gathering a resistance. He spread the word to save as many as he could and was able to do so with surprising ease. The new king had taken all the eggs. Korgmak only showed his elite soldiers to the eggs to ensure that they bonded, to separate out the ‘weak’ from the ‘strong’ riders. Public examples had been made of those who spoke up against him and now the guards in the city and even the settlements wore black armor and crushed any talk of the previous king or his son. His oppressive reign had put a strain upon the city and settlement's resources, many of which were being redirected into his growing army and hoarded for his elite only.

It took two months, but Buutar and those he planned to rescue were able to secure not only three ships. The prince and his men, knowing the ins and outs of the caverns beneath the castle, were able to enter the hatchery every day for a week and sneak away with an egg under the guards noses. They had six by the time they’d loaded the ship up with cargo for the new land and at last, a large ship and two hefty boats full of trolls left in the dead of night with their lights dimmed, carefully avoiding the rocks along the shore.


One Last Selfless Act


When they were finally out to sea, Buutar’s dragon, Kjærehjerte (“chyar-ah-yat-eh”), joined them and guided the ship. They were followed and Buutar and the rider who’d discovered them, fought to the death to protect the refugees on the ships beneath him.

He was successful but his dragon was mortally wounded. The two flew the remainder of the way to the new land and waited for the arrival of the settlers. As dawn came, the settlers arrived to the bay described to them and found Buutar and Kjærehjerte lying together on the beach, surrounded by blood.

Having held out until they arrived, the shaman that had come from the city approached Buutar. The prince told him that they must follow the river into the forest until they find a lake and there they would find the beginnings of a hidden settlement that he had named Kongensvik. There, they would have water and cover from sight. He told them too of a hatchery he had started with his dragon for them, hidden at the base of a dead volcano in a cavern hidden behind a curtain of vines. This would be where they would hatch the eggs and continue the dragon riding tradition as it was meant to be. These were the prince’s final words.


Choosing The New Leader


With his death, the settlers mournfully unloaded their cargo only to find that three of the eggs had perished in the journey, leaving only three behind. It was a terrible day and the success of their escape was dulled by the loss. The hatchery held each egg, one of which would determine their next leader.

The old shaman, Inka'yur, performed the ritual whereby the flesh and/or bone of the previous leader and their dragon are presented to a clutch of eggs and and incantation is spoken. The soul of the rider and dragon mark an egg with trollish etchings before departing to the afterlife.

With an egg chosen, the settlers gathered, many of which were stern trollish warriors, sons and daughters of riders who had been killed by the new king as he’d culled the unfaithful or ‘weak’. Much to their horror and disgust, as the first egg hatched, the sturdy, chosen dragon bonded to not a warrior, but to a young man, an orphan troll of almost 18 years old called Ganuu’bit. This wet behind the ears, young leader was not what they needed to defend them. A waste of an egg, many would say.

The teen troll quickly gained the ire, jealous and disgust of many of the settlers, the faith that this escape had been a good idea even shattered in some. Their only hope was that a female dragon would be in one of the eggs. Much to their great luck…this came to be true in time. Over the next several months the people worked relentlessly to build their settlement up even further, building thick stone houses and caverns. Ganuu'bit was left clueless and with a dragon to raise, working to help build the settlement alongside his fellow trolls.