With the tune playing and the recent request about Magic Songs I’d tell her a small related tale.

Long ago, in a place lost to time there was a generous and kind dragon. He was a smaller dragon. Tall as two men standing upon each other’s shoulders. With scales the color of papyrus, claws were ink black, and wings covered in thousands of words in every language depicting his name. He was known as the Librarian, there was nothing he loved more than reading scrolls and pages of writing in every language. Scholars from all over the world came to his great home and begged to be able to tap into his collection of knowledge. So the Librarian accepted them into his home and taught them the ways to preserve knowledge.

So the collection of information grew and grew but amongst the scholars a faction grew like a weed. They felt there were things that the Librarian knew that hadn’t been written down. So knowing their master was generous and kind they went and knelt before him. Together they spoke, “Oh great one. Is there knowledge unwritten that you know of that we may scribe for you?”

Librarian had been frustrated for years that he could not write down his knowledge because of his large hands and conflicting knowledge of every language in the world. With a great nod he gathered his followers together and prepared. The Librarian would tell them of magic, the skill of the dragons.

Magic was a gift from the gods, born of the energy inside oneself and the world around them. Learning to manipulate these energies takes lifetimes and the elves amongst him were the most successful as acolytes in magic. A thousand books were written listening to the Librarian. A treasure of true and powerful knowledge. More and more people flocked to the library.

The Librarian started to gather more people than books and called for things to be replicated and spread through the world for he had seen mortal kind wield and grow the ways of magic. Soon instead of teaching mortals magic the Librarian turned into one of the many students. The magic he chose to master was one that he could use to influence and grow crops for the people.

Soon the need to gather knowledge gripped him and he spoke with his people. “I have learned a great amount. It is time I explore the world and try to gather more sacred and far away knowledge. I may be gone for years but I will return. Keep my things safe and you shall be rewarded.

Now, the mortals that worked for him decided they would spread through the world. They would covet and keep the information on magics to themselves so they hid or destroyed the thousand books about magic and spread throughout the world.

Instead of teaching large classes the new wizards of the world decided each would take on only a single student to inherit all of their knowledge. Many of them found themselves in the employment of nobility and began to help shape the world. Lands prospered but soon it wasn’t enough for the world for these powerful individuals hoarding all the secrets of magic. Nobles began to bribe and pry, spy and put their best loyal candidates forward.

Soon wizards turned to war amongst one another fearing the secret of magic was going to be spread through the world and their power would lessen. These wars drew the eye of the Librarian who had returned from the far east where he had learned from the healing masters. He moved from wizard to wizard and gave them summons to gather back at his collection for the world seemed unready for magic to be in the world.

So the wizards vanished and hid from other mortals. They returned to the collection of the Library. They found a heart broken dragon. Without proper caretakers the knowledge that had been collected had begun to rot and fall apart. Together though they united and weaved a great and powerful spell to recover all that had been lost.

Once more the acolytes gathered and spoke to the now exhausted dragon. “Oh great one. We apologize for our rash decisions and now the secrets you taught might spread to a world unready for it. What shall we do?”

The Librarian lay down and thought deeply. “We must gather all the wizards, all those that learned the ways of magic and hide here in this place until I feel the world is ready for magic. Now though I must slumber. I do not know how long I’ll be asleep but I charge you with the caretaking of my collection.”

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

So the dragon slumbered and in his place the wizards went to gather all those that had learned magic. All the lost books would be gathered and they would wait for the counsel of the Librarian.

Dozens of years passed and the humans that followed the Librarian died. Only elves remained as they wiped out the magic users in the world and collected all the knowledge together. No other knowledge was collected and instead it was all hidden from the world and secreted away.

The Librarian awoke and looked at the handful of disciples that were still with him. They spoke of the struggle that had taken place while he slumbered and the steps that had been taken to secure the Librarian’s wishes. Everyone grew quiet as the Librarian thought in the world.

His voice still deep from awakening rumbled out, “Our world is not ready for magic to be widespread. It was too easy to corrupt those that had access to it. Only the elves seemed to be patient enough to wield it subtly and without sowing much destruction. You may gather elves and we shall share magic only with those that serve in preserving knowledge. The rest of you I ask you to go forth and gather new things learned.”

His followers bowed and spread throughout the world. The Librarian called one of his fellow dragons to his side. So they began to discuss at great lengths what had happened with magic. That the world may not recover without the intervention of the dragons. With a nod his brother flew into the world and spoke with all the dragons and asked them to help fix what mortals had wrought with magic. Magically destroyed lands that had become leagues wide sands, mountains ever burning with molten rock. A sea storm that would rage every month and destroy towns.

So the dragons spread throughout the world and weaved great spells to repair the broken world. Exhausted most fell to slumbers and went dormant in the world. Magic faded from the lands over a generation of elves. Only those that lived and thrived with the Librarian’s guidance retained the knowledge of magic while being led by the kind dragon. Some people still believe there is a hidden village full of magic.

Mary was asleep now and Gerald was nodding off. I decided not to finish the story the real way and would keep that part of history and my greatest wrath a secret. The elves eventually grew tired of keeping everything so well and instead went and gathered other mortals. They were careless and what books could be found by their servants were and magic spread secretly amongst the servants.

Those servants saw the Librarian as the greatest threat to their secret and waited for him to leave to gather knowledge. As he went and visited me in order to hear my tales for him to relay to his scribes they worked a spell. A terrible spell that removed every word from every book in his collection. Wiping away centuries of knowledge so they could hoard their power to themselves. He collected not the books themselves but hard copies of knowledge. He withered before my eyes, clutching his chest in pain. As he sunk I gave him a single scroll I had to keep him alive and we returned to his library. The elves had been wiped out in a great magic duel and the mortals fled in all directions setting and leaving a fire to burn away all the books and scrolls.

The mortals summoned a great demon and we went to battle against it. The Librarian fell when I told him to flee. That I would handle it, but he was too weak and I could not protect him well enough. The demon broke his neck in front of me. It was the first time I had seen a dragon killed before my very eyes and my rage filled every part of my mind. I flew the demon and began to hunt.

I grew the ability to smell magic in the air and I laid waste to all those that practiced openly. Even leveling an entire kingdom to get to their monarch that had learned magic. I stood atop great ruins in my wake. A great portion of my strength had been lost for so many of them knew my tales. I called to the gods on why they gave so many of my brothers and sisters such a weakness to be exploited. A century of hunting led me to believe I wiped out magic. I was one of the only ones awake. Bone shaker joined me in the hunt and we terrorized the world. My grief caused so much unneeded destruction that still haunted me some nights.

I watched the two sleeping people and felt guilt. I would snuff them out if they knew of magic. I wasn’t a gentle soul that century, I was wrathful and cruel. I thanked the gods my rage had ended and I knew what I did had in the end been wrong. Mortals with magic could have helped save the world from calamity but it was too much of a threat. These feelings always warred in my heart. Would I one day teach magic to mortals again? I did not know.

I rested my head against the canvas of the wagon and listened to the rain. I was exhausted from the day and had so little comfort in the company of fast made friends. As I drifted if I hoped I would never again be so wrathful and destructive.