As the day enters into early noon, the group of children reach the base of the dragon roost. On their usual green hill, Noriko awaits their arrival. Unlike her usual appearance during this time, she was not holding a story book. Confused, Kyrie asks her about it.

“What happened to your book? Are you not going to tell a story today?”

Noriko gives a small chuckle at the question before replying.

“No, I will be telling a story today so everyone please sit and listen. This story is special and you won’t hear about this one from any story book.”

The children move towards their usual spots and settle for the story.

“Let me tell you the story of tragedy, of devastation, and of defeat.”

Some of the children frown at the opening words.

“But also of a story of restoration, of hope, and of success.”

The children began to smile again. Looking at their faces, she too could only smile at their innocent reactions.

“Today I will tell the story of the elves during the Age of Restoration.”

“The elves of this time had a goddess. She was revered as being the best and most beautiful god there was. Her children, the elves, loved her but one day she betrayed them.”

The children’s heart sank at these words.

“Unsatisfied by the adoration her creations gave her, she sought for more. She joined the remaining war gods to create a race that would seek to be the perfect being. She created humanity.”

“Or so history thought. I will tell you another story, one lost to time. The goddess loved her creations. She had quite the vanity, but she was proud of her elves. As a part of their nefarious plans, the war gods spoke to her. She possessed the skill and ability to create life at a superior level and they needed her to create their loyal slaves.”

The children were taken back by the turning of the story, especially the elven children.

“She was sweet-talked, promised adoration among the gods and worshiped by many. She resisted at first, but the idea of more always lingered. Eventually she agreed. What harm could making something better do?”

“When they finished making the first of humanity, she saw their gruesome nature and quickly realized her folly. These beings were too easily pliable. They could adapt to climate and live in any environment. They could be made to believe anything and they would defend it to death. Their souls were unstable, often causing them to uncontrollably overload themselves with ether when using any magic, but allowing them to use magic without any catalyst of any sort, much like a dragon’s breath. Their behavior was cannibalistic, tearing each other if it was for their own pleasure or gains.”

“Asked to make another, she agreed but her goals changed. She had realized that she had created monsters shaped in beautiful skin. Secretly, she attempted to change the second instance of humans. She stabilized their souls, which allowed them to use magic similar to all other races but could no longer use their innate magical abilities. Her next step was to change their nature, removing their cannibalistic and power hungry motives into sociable creatures, but before she could fully change their awful behavior the other gods found her. She had spent much of her gathered power creating humanity and was quickly overpowered in the realm of gods. The war gods invaded her realm, extinguishing any of her angels and fae until she alone remained in her realm, surrounded by the war gods and their ilk. Together they sealed her away as they could not yet kill her.”

“Humanity grew quickly and under the influence of the war gods, who would later turn into the human gods, they expanded all across the continent. Eventually they bordered the elves. The elves however, would not buckle against the onslaught of humans that sought their lands, their wealth, and their people. They believed, even in their darkest hour, that their goddess would come to save them.”

“Wars were raised all over the elven lands. They requested aid from the dragons and their allies, but with many dragons leaving to secure the world from the Age of Chaos, few remained to help. A small detachment of 10 young dragons came to secure a foothold and support the fighting elves.”

“The onslaught continued for many years and the elves, although initially divided into different nations, combined themselves under a single royal family. This royal family were the last elves to be blessed by the goddess. Unlike normal beings, blessed ones possessed the divinity of their god, making them capable of using divine magic, magic used only by the gods and dragons themselves. All other blessed elves had perished in the ongoing wars. Even with the devastation that the wars brought, the elves continued to pray to their goddess despite her silence.”

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“The war gods, frustrated that they could not break the elven stronghold and faith in order to wage a war against the dragons, created a new race. They were abominations and cannibals. They had a special magic that enabled themselves to take the complete form of another race by consuming them. Their true form was of a 4 armed naked crawling beast. Their magical defense was on par with dragons which horrified the elves who fought them. The elves were proud of their magical abilities, being able to weave magic intrinsically and rivaled dragons at magical prowess.”

“This new race were called shapeshifters by their creators. Their purpose was to blend into elves and then break them from inside. They succeeded and consumed entire cities, ever expanding their numbers. They were unmatched with their magical defenses and only through physical means could they be defeated, that or through the magic breaths of dragons. The young dragons stationed with the elves found themselves under siege by both human and shapeshifter force and eventually fell to their many armies. Time and time again they would repel tens of thousands of foes, but at last they fell. However their fall was not before they bought enough time for the remaining elves to escape to the dragon lands.”

“As the elven kingdom fell, the goddess escaped her sealing. The power she had received from the endless prayers for her had unsealed her imprisonment. She rushed as fast as she could to save her people but it was too late. Her people were decimated. The land they once held was gone. Even the faith that held during this dark time shattered under the depravity that the shapeshifters brought against them. There was no way she could restore them. She had brought them to their doom. She no longer felt that she could lead them. So she did not. Instead she shattered her soul, something inconceivable by a god, into three and left them with the royal family. She would entrust both her fate and the fate of the elves to themselves.”

“The royal family prepared to escape via a teleportation gate after overseeing the retreat, but disaster struck somehow as they never made it to their destination. Leaderless and traumatized, the remaining elves looked to the few dragons for guidance. Many, if not all, were lost and hopeless. Families were torn apart by the ravishes of war. Some witnessed a horrible fate suffered by their loved ones at the hand of the shapeshifters while others were forced to enact some of the worst crimes possible in order to survive. Eventually the survivors rebuilt themselves in this land. With no blessed ones left and no one willing to pray to the goddess once more, the verges of the past faded away except the belief that the goddess abandoned her people. Now few know her name and none seek it.”

“Although it has only been 2 generations, the new elven people took their heritage as the greatest magicians and developed it in the dragon capital, becoming the forefront scientists and researchers in almost all fields. They rebuilt their culture in a completely different path, one we see now and contributed plenty throughout the known world. All of the races within the land of dragons know of the elves and their achievements. From the Ivory Tower that lays within the dragon academy, to the massive city forest that repels any undead from ever crossing into the dragon lands, the elves have risen once more.”

The children listened in silence and awe. They had no idea about this story. Most elves had the same story, that the elven goddess betrayed them, that she sided with the war gods. She was a hated figure. An elven child with blonde hair and red eyes named Tate spoke up.

“How… do you know about this?”

Noriko responds.

“Do you think I am lying?”

“No… but all of the elders have always said that the goddess left her people.”

“Well of course they would. After all she practically did.”

“But how do you know?”

“Because my great grandfather was a royal guard. He stayed behind during the final hours alongside the royal family. My grandfather, a young man at the time, fled from the elven capital at his father’s orders but he was a retainer for the royal family as well. Apparently he was friends with a young princess. He even fought alongside the 10 young dragons before they fell. On the eve of the retreat, the goddess returned. He remembers seeing and feeling the world shake as her soul shattered before he left.”

“Then why is this story not - “

“Told? Well known? That the goddess did not betray the elves? It’s because it would not change anything. For all intents and purposes, the goddess failed her people and left her people to live their own lives. The shards of the goddess are lost. Even those who witnessed her shattering and have searched for her or the royal family have failed or died.”

“Died?”

“Yes. The shapeshifters who destroyed the elven kingdom did not disappear. They took over the nation. They will capture all elves who attempt to return and eat them.”

This scared the children, especially those who were elves.

In Noriko’s mind, she recalled the true characteristics of the shapeshifters as documented and observed from dragon spies remaining in the fallen elven kingdom. They enjoyed tormenting others and loved eating sapient meat, elves especially. Their magical affinity was a delicacy to the shapeshifters and killing one was a source of great pride to them. There were rumors that they kept large populations of elves as slaves and as a tasty food source. She could not tell that to the children however.

After scaring the children she clapped her hand, causing some to jump. She laughs as they retaliate with insults at her. Brushing off her skirt, she announces to them.

“So who wants to give me some candy for today’s lesson?”