Storybook - Ereshkigal Legend
Translator's Note:
Fragments of this manuscript were captured from a raid on a Balaur camp deep in the Abyss. It offers a fascinating glimpse into Balaur culture.
Drakonaama - Vol. 3
Ereshkigal--the Heart of Ice
Ereshkigal was hatched the weakest member of a weak brood. His broodmother, seeing the scrawny, pathetic hatchlings in the nest, picked them up one by one and ate them, rather than waste the effort of raising them.
But something stayed her claw when she reached little Ereshkigal. She saw a glowing mark on his forehead--the symbol of Aion.
She spared his life, knowing that he was chosen by Aion for greatness.
Ereshkigal grew up to become a master politician, making his reputation as an ambassador to the Sapiens. He could walk into a Sapien village alone, face down their savage primitive spears, and never blink an eye.
His skills as a mage were similarly unmatched, his power to manipulate Aether astonishing. Soon he had earned a position as governor of the Reshanta district, keeping even the Human tribes firmly in line.
Ereshkigal became renowned for his dispassionate detachment, but even he was taken by the excitement that swept the Drakan empire when Lord Fregion ascended.
Fregion declared a new age, an age where the Drakan would not simply govern the Sapiens but rule over them as befits the noble rank of the Drakan. He said that the power of Aion was now within the grasp of every Drakan willing to take it.
He proclaimed that the Balaur Empire would last for all eternity, ruled forever by Fregion, first of the immortal Dragon Lords.
Ereshkigal knew that his destiny must be to become a Dragon Lord himself. Not knowing how Fregion ascended, Ereshkigal swore to follow his own path to ascension.
He reasoned that since the essence of his soul was the implacable coldness of ice, he must travel to the equator of Atreia, the cold lands furthest from the light of the Tower of Eternity. Only there would he find an ascension fitting for him.
No one save Ereshkigal know what happened when he meditated on that featureless snowfield, but when he returned, he possessed the power of Fregion.
All over Atreia, Drakan were ascending into Balaur. Fregion offered the most powerful among them the title of Dragon Lord and the chance to rule the Empire alongside him.
Ereshkigal, of course, was one of the chosen few. In his coronation speech he explained how, since birth, Aion had marked him as special.
The Balaur knew that this was a sure mark of their supremacy over the lesser race. Aion had chosen to turn them from the guardians of the Sapiens into their absolute rulers.
Why else would he grant them such power?
Before long the Dragon Lords had become gods to rival Aion. Except for the ever-rebellious Humans, the Sapiens bowed down before them and worshipped them as befitted their powers.
Ereshkigal himself developed a following among the Mau of the colder lands. He brought relief from the cold to the faithful, and deadly frost to unbelievers.
Yet Ereshkigal's powers were not limited to the domain of winter. In time he learned power over all the seasons.
Legend has it that he walked out into the desert of Eltnen and sat down to meditate. Within days the entire region had grown into a massive jungle.
To his worshippers he was the father of all seasons--bringer of winter, restorer of spring.
When the Humans raised their pathetic "Empyrean Lords" against the Balaur Empire, Ereshkigal was the last of the Dragon Lords to stand against them, preferring to wait until all the others had taken action.
His rage in combat was easily the equal of all the rest. Entire cities were frozen by his chilling breath, ocean waves hanging in midair, residents frozen in mid-cower.
Yet Ereshkigal was also the first to sit down at the conference table when the Humans proposed peace. After hours of arduous debate, it seemed he was turning the Empyrean Lords to the Balaur viewpoint.
Then the unthinkable happened. A Human assassin attempted to drive a poisoned blade into Fregion's back. The entire conference had been a ruse!
(End of available copy.)
