There is no power on Ouloos greater than Dragon's Fire. To wield and control it is a feat in and of itself. None of the five gods boast the ability. Aside from Dragons, Maelich and Cialia are unique in their potential. When discussing control of the element it is important to note that control does not equate directly to understanding of it. Unlocking the secrets of Dragon's Fire - secrets even the great Helias doesn't completely understand - reveals all knowledge of Coeptus to the initiate. This is a feat none in the history of Ouloos can boast. For these reasons - whether feared or revered - Dragon's Fire is respected by most. These are also the reasons that led a small group of men from the farthest reaches of Ouloos to adopt a reference to the element in their name.

The Dragon's Flame is an elite force comprised of the finest warriors from the greatest cities and fiercest tribes of men that believe in the purity and strength of Dragons.  Some come from regions where Kaldumahn rules, others Moshat, but all share a deep reverence for the oldest living creatures on Ouloos. These are men who study the arts of fighting and war not with a mind to destroy, but with a mind to defend. Calling them expert killers grossly understates the skills they posses. However, unmatched physical prowess is only one aspect of a flame. Each flame has studied the histories from the well known to the obscure, even studying the folklore and oral traditions of less sophisticated societies. One would be hard-pressed to present a challenge unknown to them. More important than physical ability or knowledge of the physical world is the fact that each flame spends their life on a personal, spiritual journey into the Fire. Spiritually, they burn through meditation in the belief that in order to understand the Fire, you must be consumed by it. Though no flame has ever achieved the state of Dragon - completely giving up the physical and becoming eternal, spiritual Fire - that is the goal of all flames.

There are always one hundred flames and always have been since The Dragon's Flame began. The best soldiers who excel beyond their peers in training and prove themselves in battle are considered for the trial. Only the best of the best can possibly hope to survive. Candidates are stripped of clothing, supplies, and weapons prior to being deposited at the top of Mount Destiny - the tallest peak of the White Mountains. The snow never ceases there, and the beasts grow large and terrifying. Warriors that survive the icy cold, grizzly mongs, and the horrible halbakurs earn a place on the list of flames in waiting. Only once a flame is extinguished can their crest be passed on. Luckily for those flames in waiting, the list is never very long. At the end of each day - or battle - a count is taken. "How many are we? Count The Dragon's Flame," The Red Dragon will call out. If all is well the reply will be, "The Dragon's Flame is one hundred. The Fire burns unfettered." If the number has changed the reply will be something like, "The Dragon's Flame is ninety-four. Count one-hundred we do no more." At these times, flames in waiting will be called to serve.

The oldest of the flames is honored with the title of Red Dragon. This is an honorary title as none of the flames is greater than any other. With the title, Red Dragon also earns the added responsibility of communicating with the world outside of The Dragon's Flame. Spang has held this title for the past twelve years, and he will continue in this capacity until he is called home to the Lake or his physical body can no longer meet the demands of his post. When that time comes, the next in line will take his place. And so the cycle will continue.

When ships from across the Great Sea threaten the coast west of Havenstahl. The greatest city of men will need to call on the aid of The Dragon's Flame. This is a first for Havenstahl. Prior to the eyes of Ouloos being opened by Maelich and Cialia with the help of Helias, none in Havenstahl would count The Dragon's Flame as friend. Much has changed since then, and many changes have yet to come.

Prior to Maelich and Cialia opening the eyes of the people of Ouloos, most of the great cities of men looked to Kallum's Word as the Truth, the Law, and the Guide. Havenstahl was among those great cities. Many wars were fought by her army defending Kallum's Word or cutting down nonbelievers. In fact, prior to the great battle over the Forgotten Forest no greater cause existed than spreading the Word and saving or destroying those who were lost. A lack of belief in Kallum would damn a soul to oblivion, eternal damnation.

Kallum's Word was initially recorded by one regarded as the First King of Havenstahl, Eringaal. Though the city that would eventually be built by the tribe he ruled carried his surname, he never actually ruled over the physical city. He commanded the bricks to be placed, but the city wasn't finished until long after he passed on. Reverence to him as a king of the greatest city of men is strictly symbolic. Kallum's Word came to him in a dream as images and symbols. He recorded them in what would come to be known simply as The Book, Kallum's Word, Kallum's Law, or some variation. Through his efforts and those that followed him, It would eventually become the law of the land.

After recording the messages passed to him by Kallum, Eringaal began preaching the Word, teaching all who would listen about the Law of the one true God. Most who listened became followers for fear of the fate that The Book promised if they refused to bend knee and obey. After a time, his tribe grew quite powerful, and the fates of those who refused The Word were accelerated. Many men were tortured and killed for clinging to beliefs out of line with Kallum's Word during the great cleansing.

Kallum's Word or The Book is actually comprised of seven books, five teach of history and The Law while two look toward the future and what is to come. The books are named; The Beginning, The Rise and Fall of Dwarves, The Rise and Fall of Man, The Coming of Giants, The Law, The Propehecies, and The Great Gathering. The last day of the week, Kallum's Day, was set aside for these teachings. There was no training, no work, and no food on Kallum's Day, only worship, praise, and teachings from The Book. This was the same for soldier and farmer alike. All stopped to pay the mighty Eagle His due respects on the day set aside for Him. This was no different for Maelich. During his training as a warrior, he studied and learned about the first five books. The last two were kept from him until he could be guided through their mysteries by the great Brerto.

Here is an excerpt from The Beginning, the first book of Kallum's Word:


In the beginning there was nothing but Kallum, and before Kallum there was nothing.  He came upon a place of great sadness, and He did sense evil in this place.  Being perfection, He abhorred evil.  So He said, "Because I despise evil, I will make this a place of happiness.  Yea, I will make it a place perfect like Myself."

In this evil place was a great gathering of water, and Kallum did make Himself to float above it, and from beneath the water He did gather up dry land.  This land He did bring to the surface and with it He did split the great gathering of water.  Now this land was quite flat and unspectacular, so He did make many peaks to rise up from the flat land until He found it to be pleasing.


When He had finished, He saw that the land was barren, and with this He was displeased.  He cut ravines across the dry land in and around the peaks.  Then He called water from the great gathering of water and did make it to flow through the ravines.  He called these rivers, and they did bring water to the land.  In spots the water pooled up, and He called these places lakes.  He looked upon all that He had done and was quite pleased.


He looked upon one lake that had been there before He cut ravines through the dry land.  This lake was in the center of the land, and it did hold onto the evil that had been held by the great gathering of water that the land split.  Here the evil endured.  Here the evil remained.  Kallum commanded the evil to leave because He despised it, but it would not go.  He cursed the lake saying that none shall look upon its evil or bathe in its waters.  Yea, He would hide it from sight.

Those are the first four Chapters of The Book, Kallum's Word, The Law Maelich was raised on. This formed the basis of his belief - like most other inhabitants of Ouloos - in Kallum as Creator and Ruler of all things. Of course, by the time he faced the Dragon, he had come to question everything he had ever known.

What is the Lake of Dragons? If you've read the book that bears its name, you should have a relatively strong grasp of what it is already. However, the Lake may be far deeper than you think. On its surface, yes, it is a lake. Uncommon in its appearance as it forms a perfect circle of water that is completely still. The idea is incomprehensible to most. Luckily, most souls still housed in their physical form never witness this perfection. It remains hidden to them until they free themselves and make the great journey home. The physical body dies, and the soul - if you will - is called back to its origin. That is how it is and how it has always been. Well, mostly...

The great campaign against the Dragon was a dark time in Ouloos' history when one mischievous god played on the fears of men and found a means of opening their eyes to the secrets of the Lake. He fueled the men with dread, bringing fearsome images of terrifying Dragons to their dreams. The effort took decades, but eventually that fear developed into deep hatred, a spark that would mature into a raging wildfire and nearly consume Ouloos completely. Kallum opened the eyes of men and let them see the Lake, even guided them there. Nearly all of the Dragons were destroyed at the hands of men. Finally, when only one Dragon remained - Helias, the Great Mother - Kaldumahn and Moshat stood in opposition to their brother. They raised an army of men still untainted by Kallum's foul breath and defended the last guardian of the Lake. They beat Kallum's horde back and hid it again from the eyes of men. The spell they cast was so powerful, Kallum never again was able to overcome it.

At that point, it would seem that all was saved, order was restored, and the Universe could resume her slow cycles. Unfortunately, all but one of the Dragons had been destroyed. Now, to say that they were destroyed is not the same as saying they died. They didn't die. Dragons were first after the Lake and are the most powerful beings ever to grace the sweet face of Ouloos. Dragons cannot die. Instead, for every Dragon that was cut down at the hands of violent, misguided men, a new tree sprung up in a band that ran as far north as any man had been and just as far south. By the end of the carnage, the Lost Forest was born. Each tree of that place represented the essence of a Dragon lost from the Lake. This posed severe problems for not only Ouloos, but the entire Universe. You see, the souls of men are drawn home to the Lake by Dragons. After the great campaign, the souls of dead men were still drawn to the Dragons. They were drawn to the Lost Forest and remained there - ghosts haunting a dark wood - until Maelich and Cialia freed them by scattering the deceitful god who first opened men's eyes to the glory of the Lake.

Once Kallum had been cut down, the Dragons were released from their prisons, and the souls bound to them were free to return home. This is the point where we must dive deeper into the Lake. You see, the Lake is not the destination. Think of the Lake as a portal, a portal between Ouloos and Coeptus. Now, this concept may be challenging to understand. Coeptus are everything. Therefore, Ouloos, the Lake, Dragons, and the souls returning home are all part of Coeptus. Even still, I assure you the Lake of Dragons is a gate from one to the other and vice versa. The physical is a part of Coeptus, but being everything, Coeptus have many aspects. The physical is merely one of these. When a soul returns home, it is stripped of all identity and emotion. All of its experiences are released, energy to keep the consistent cycles of the Universe moving, food for the God. Once stripped, the soul is once again an empty vessel free to return to the great gathering of spirits, another aspect of Coeptus. That precise soul will never again exist on its own. It will mingle with the rest, and when a portion of the whole is ready to express itself in the physical, it will return through the Lake of Dragons and inhabit a physical body that is ready to be born and present itself to Ouloos. This completes the circle.

Hmm...the entire thing still seems a bit challenging. Perhaps Coeptus' own words might be more effective. Here is a little piece of Lake of Dragons:

Coeptus stroked their beard, “Well, do you remember the visions you received from the souls lost in the forest?”

Maelich nodded.


“Those visions were memories that belonged to the souls that shared them with you.  They only shared the terrifying ones with you, but they were filled with so much more that you didn’t get to see.  Those memories are the strength of the souls that they cling to.  There are many worlds with beings just like the people of Ouloos.  Their souls all carry the same energy from experiences.  Upon the death of their physical being, their consciousness is released and returned to the beginning.  Imagine a lake with many rivers flowing to and from it.  This lake is the beginning.  The rivers flowing to it are the portals such as the one you opened by scattering Kallum and freeing the dragons.  These portals, or rivers carry the spirits or consciousness of humans, and other creatures for that matter, back to the beginning.  When they arrive, the energy they carry is returned to the beginning and they are mixed in with the greater spirit that swirls there in the lake.  When new consciousnesses form from this mixture and are ready to present themselves, they are carried through portals or rivers flowing back to the various worlds that exist among the physical.  Then they are born into whatever world they happen to be born to as whatever creature they are meant to be, and the cycle continues.  Now, we understand that for you this makes your existence seem quite unimportant, but it’s not.  Without the experiences, the energy that your spirits possess, the cycle would cease.  All would be lost.”  They finished with a shrug.

Take heed. You must take the word of Coeptus with a grain of salt. Maelich fully believes that he walked with Coeptus and was given all the great secrets of the Universe. Cialia shares this opinion. However, Kaldumahn - who is a very wise god indeed - is completely certain that one cannot converse with Coeptus. They are everything, not an individual or a consciousness as we would think of it. That being said, it may prove equally foolhardy to take Kaldumahn's word as indisputable truth. All of the gods of Ouloos are shackled by jealousy and a deep need to be worshiped and adored.

It appears we still have some questions left to answer...