Why the Wyrms and Wyverns Thrive

[morrisoni]

"Okay, I want to do the last story for tonight. Your's was pretty good last night, Shai. But I've got one that'll blow it out of the water," Alara said, snatching her pearl wyrm hatchling away from the Library's fireplace.
"And what would that story be?" Belmos asked, looking across to the young girl, who made her way to the center of the circle.
"This is one I heard from the my father a long time ago. You might know it, Shai, and I'm sure you will, Master Belmos, but the rest of you, I doubt it. It's rather obscure."
"Enlighten us, Alara. I'm sure it will be most interesting," Belmos said. The circle of Magi looked intently at Alara, who began her story, smirking at Shai...

***

A long time ago, there was only one kind of dragon. They had four legs and two wings, just like what today are considered 'true' dragons. But there was a problem. They were all forced to serve an evil fire spirit, whose name has been lost to history.
This fire spirit was ruthless, making them work all day and night, stoking his fires and mining precious gems for him in the land of Voltar. The great Fire Lord, Volarn, saw all of this, and was disgusted. He appeared to the four great leaders of the dragons, and made them an offer.
"I will give you the power to escape this evil. But there is a price for it. You must give up some of yourselves, and I will convert them into pure power for you. Do you accept?"
They all immediately accepted, wanting nothing more than the freedom that was offered them.
"I will return in a fortnight. Any others who wish to take part in the fight for your freedom must be here, and willing to pay the same price." The highest ranking of the four dragons, named Barand, answered for them all.
"Surely there will be many, hundreds upon thousands, that wish for freedom just as much as we do. But what of those who refuse to fight? For just as surely, there will be those who are reluctant to rebel, fearing what happens if we lose."
"They will be free as well, but will be powerless for the next hundred years."
The four were sure that the combined motivators would be great enough to ensure the help of the majority of the population. They gathered all of the dragons, in secret, and told them of this news. Most were eager, but Barand's predictions, as expected, came true.
"You say we will have our freedom," came a voice from the back of the crowd, "But who is to say we will succeed? If we do not, the fire spirit will surely kill us all!"
"He will do no such thing. In the first place, we are of far too much value to him. He would lose his entire workforce. Second of all, we will not lose! With the combined strength of our numbers, and the power of the Fire Lord, we will be unbeatable."
This elicited shouts of approval from the assembled masses, and it was clear. At least half of the entire species of dragons was behind them. So they waited for two weeks, then they all came together at the place were Volarn had met them the first time.
"I see you have collected quite a force to fight for your freedom," he said, appearing in their midst. "Now, you all must choose. Would you rather give up the use of your wings and your flight, or the use of your fire in the upcoming battle? You must choose, and I will give you power in exchange for the loss of those pieces."
The older dragons, who relied heavily on their fire, opted to lose their wings. The younger, who preferred flight to fight, decided to lose their fire breath. Someone in the ranks of the soon-to-be-wingless dragons complained that the young ones should have a physical cost as well. It was agreed that they would lose their front legs, and would never grow much bigger than they already were.
"Your choice has been made!" cried the Fire Lord. "Lesser power, be gone! Greater power, manifest!" The dragons were all engulfed in fire, and when it dissipated, they found that they were just as Volarn had promised, powerless but more powerful at the same time. The wingless ones found that their fire was hotter than ever, and their scales were all but invulnerable. The flameless hatchlings discovered that they had unrivaled agility and speed. They all gathered in formation, with the wingless ones out in front. They launched an attack on the fire spirit. The hatchlings distracted him, while the elders attacked, destroying him. They left to find homes suited to their new abilities. The four-legged, flying, fire-breathing dragons were left completely helpless, petrified for a hundred years, immediately after the battle ended. The brave creatures realized that they were no longer truly dragons, but new creatures. They decided that the little ones would be called wyverns, and the wingless ones would be called wyrms. The two kinds took their separate paths, and each gave rise to several subspecies. The original dragons, after they unfroze, did likewise, and from them arose even more creatures. All three eventually began to live in harmony, with each other, and with Magi.

***

"I must say, you were wrong. That is not a story I have heard before. You say your father told you this story?" Master Belmos inquired.
"Yessir. I asked him once if there were any stories he knew, ones that weren't in the collection here," Alara said, gesturing around as the rest of the Magi begin to exit.
"Wait a minute! Your father's name is Barand, is it not?
"Yes. It's a family name."
"Have you never thought it strange that the dragon from the story bears your father's name? Don't you think that's a bit suspect?"
"You know, sometimes I hear stories." She laughed briefly. "Stories about special kinds of wyrms. Wyrms that no human can truly prove exists, because they take human form, and live among them, unnoticed." She laughed again, louder and longer. It took Belmos a minute to understand what she meant, but when he did, he couldn't believe it.
"You can't be serious!" he shouted.
Alara didn't respond, but slammed the door behind her. As she did, Belmos heard a roar, a sound that was far too loud have come from Alara's hatchling, but still could only be compared to one thing...
Master Belmos shook his head and muttered "Impossible. Either I'm going insane, or she is."