Chapter 1: ONE WORLD AMONG MANY their homes among the treetops on more than one continent Dragon Kings encouraged competition through trade and intellectual pursuits rather than by spears and siege engines, and cultures flourished Many key organizations and groups yet extant today trace their origins to these elated times As should be expected, these groups revere knowledge over power and try to maintain some of the Classic Age on modern Khitus even today • Gare Attessa: The revered chroniclers of the world’s affairs and all who participate in it, have true records and histories that date back to the earliest years after the rise of the Dragon Kings Their oldest scrolls are delicate, prized items held in dark, secure vaults (and some enemies whisper they may hold secrets that would upset established history, were those scrolls to be unrolled and read today) • Trakeen: These disciples and virtual worshipers of the Dragon Kings created their orders then Unlike the priesthoods of old, the Trakeen were not lawgivers or rulers, but priests, guides, and reminders of the Classic Age after the Dragon Kings proved long absent • Magical Colleges: Just as old, too, are the foundations and cores of the principal magical colleges, all built in the days when their access to magic was less hindered The oldest among there are those of Dramidge, Rakar, and Nadalf, though some colleges rose and fell so far from modern times that no ruins mark their passing and they only exist now among the scrolls of history Power Corrupts One lurking danger the Dragon Kings could not change was the response of magic to its own unwanted exploitation Not even they controlled magic; presumably, they drew upon the same magical energies as any other wielder of the dark craft does today As the centuries of the Classic Age passed, magic became more and more difficult to attain The emergence of jealous consequences—the spiteful, often cruel penalties suffered by wizards known as ‘sorcery’s wrath’—crept into the accepted practices of spell casting The gradual nature of these changes forestalled immediate awareness, and later defied any easy explanation Even in these early times, the sorcerous consciousness marked its line in the sand, putting wizards on notice that they dabbled in its reservoir at their own peril Expansion & Excess Despite problems among the magical and learned, the tribes grew seemingly without limit Never before in any recorded or oral history had the races known such unfettered development, and diversity reigned Farms became villages, then cities of wood, brick, and finally marble, festooned with the banners of proud peoples enjoying the fruits of their labors beneath the guiding hands of the Dragon Kings Challengers, such as the semi-intelligent bugs and lizard folk, were easily kept at bay by strong armies protecting the frontiers so the core cities might further prosper Certainly they could be forgiven for thinking their times and ways of life would never end But the shadows of their cities and spires grew longer while few took notice The Dragon Kings gradually withdrew from worldly affairs No warning or explanation of their departure was given, so people invented a host of speculative reasons and justifications Once common visitors among those they shepherded, they sequestered themselves for long periods until few ever spoke with them; even rulers might go decades without direct contact Like slugs crawling from beneath stones, the darker nature of some men emerged in their absence, and some rose to power without the watchful Dragon Kings to check them The frontiers grew darker and more dangerous, the virtuous less visible, the arrogant more prominent In that inexorable way, the Classic Age of Khitus faded so slowly that almost no one noticed until it was far too late Decline & Abandonment Without the Dragon Kings to marshal them, the peoples of Khitus quickly descended into the morass of less-thaninspired self-governance Some perverted the people’s innate respect for magical power to their own advantage Thus, many Khitans turned again for leadership to any who demonstrated spell mastery, no matter their temperament Incompetent sovereigns who no longer had the sage counsel of a Dragon King became insular, drawing their armies closer to court to watch over the governed, allowing the frontiers to fester unmonitored Newly intelligent Krikis expanded unchecked beyond the old borders of their Hivelands, and Cold Skins ventured beyond their fens to challenge others for dominance in places they had never dared before In too many ways, the benign Dragon Kings left the mortal nations unprepared for the responsibilities of statecraft Diplomacy and cooperation were easily accomplished beneath their watchful eyes Without them, pettiness and self-interest ruled the day whenever stakes became elevated Distrust and hatred rose to the surface, rather than cooperation or acceptance Wars flared up 11