Tim was the largest man in the village, standing at two and a half meters tall. Some claimed that he had the blood of a mysterious giant race flowing through his veins. You may wonder what this mysterious giant race is; the truth is that they are shrouded in mystery, and no one really knows who or what they are. These giants appeared in several ancient legends that were part of the religious culture in the kingdom where the village was located.
Tim's connection to these legends stemmed from his past as an abandoned child. No one, not even Tim himself, knew where he had come from. Mr. Bloom took responsibility for him and named him Tim as a sign of respect for his master. Despite numerous tests, it was determined that Tim was not fully human, which meant he could not receive training from the monastery. So, Mr. Bloom chose Tim as his personal student, and he quickly became one of the two leading miners in the village.
Tim was a giant not only in height but also in body mass. He had a long, dark brown beard and short hair. He wore rough work overalls and always carried a large knife hanging from his waist.
Tim stood in front of the attendees, looking at them with a stern expression.
"All new students, please listen up," he said in his booming voice. "This year, you will be in a larger class compared to previous years. We expect more students to join you because of a shortage of manpower. Many experienced miners retired this year for various reasons."
Tim continued, "For instance, Old Zigdon decided to retire at the age of 90, which is 20 years beyond the average retirement age. Additionally, little Gabi was seriously injured in the fire during Simon and his team's raids. Furthermore, five other miners reached retirement age and chose to retire, along with a few more whose reasons I can't share."
He held several teaching materials in his hands and placed them on the table beside him. "The new students have received a unique exception this year, allowing them to skip the subject ceremony that would typically be held next year."
A few minutes later, the new students arrived. "This year," Tim announced, "Mr. Bloom has decided to add students from next year's class. I hope you all get along, despite the age differences."
Seven more children entered through the door. Among them was Laura, who chose to sit next to Tom, much to the dismay of her classmates.
After all of that, Tim began teaching the children. He stood behind a dark wooden table, likely carved from the trunk of a large tree. He opened a large binder and announced the names in his deep bass voice. "I hope you are all happy with your seats because they will be your permanent seats until the end of the school year, and the person sitting next to you will be your partner for as long as you live," he said.
Tim anticipated some complaints, as he had experienced in previous years, but this time, nothing happened. After a moment, he remembered that the elementary school teacher had already prepared the students for the year, instructing them to choose their partners ahead of time. As a result, they all sat down next to their friends, grouped primarily by age, except for Tom and Laura. "If everyone is okay with where they are sitting, I will begin," Tim said.
"The first thing we need to discuss is the ancient history of our village, a story that begins in the year 20567 of the Dragon Count, which is just over a hundred thousand years before the Sun Count..."
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Historical Fragment
20567 Dragon Count
Central Continent
The year was 20567 Dragon Count, and during this time, the Dragon Empire stood at the very height of its power. It was ruled by Norrod, the cruel and merciless Dragon King. Under his reign, Norrod's elite dragon warriors dominated the known world, spreading fear and destruction across the continent. They turned every independent nation into a vassal state, forced to submit to the overwhelming might of the Empire.
In reality, as long as an individual did not oppose or question the authority of the Dragon Emperor, they could live a reasonably good and quiet life. For this reason, most people chose to keep their heads down, live their lives in silence, and pay their taxes without causing any trouble. However, if a person—or even an entire group—dared to express doubt or challenge the rule of the dragons in any way, they would be hunted down swiftly and without mercy. The Dragon Knights, feared throughout the land, were invincible in the eyes of the people. No force had ever managed to stand against them, and so fear kept most of the world silent. Life across the land was subdued, cautious, and marked by a deep sense of helplessness.
Dragons were beings who placed great value on strength, dominance, and the glory of war. As a result, the weaker a species was, the more it was scorned and looked down upon. It is therefore no surprise that, during this period, the status and prestige of humans were extremely low. This was true even though humans were the most numerous race on the continent. Their problem lay not in numbers but in power—humans were considered weak, and they lacked a strong, unifying leader who could inspire fear or respect among the dragons.
The dragons oppressed the humans harshly, proclaiming them to be an inferior race that should not even exist. No dragon was ever punished for killing a few humans, and many did so freely and without hesitation. The law did not protect human life, and so a sense of despair settled deeply among them. In light of this, one tribe of humans made a bold decision: they would leave everything behind and migrate to the neighboring continent.
They had heard whispers and rumors—stories passed from traveler to traveler—of powerful human kingdoms that lay beyond the sea. These kingdoms were said to possess wealth, wisdom, and strength even greater than that of the mighty Dragon Empire. It was said that the people of those lands had achieved an almost divine level of power, rising far above the weakness of the humans in the Dragon Empire's shadow. Whether these tales were true or not did not matter in the end. Hope was better than submission, and so the tribe resolved to set out on a journey to the neighboring continent, no matter what dangers awaited them.
The journey was very long, as the tribe still had to earn money in order to survive, and the dragons did not make it easy for them. The burden of taxes was heavy, and the Empire watched them closely, just as it did with every other living creature on the continent. Every step they took was under scrutiny, and their movements were always observed by the eyes of the Dragon Empire.
After six months of wandering, the tribe finally reached the edge of a vast and unforgiving desert. There, they decided to stop and rest, setting up camp for an entire month to gather supplies. They worked tirelessly to stock up on food and water, preparing themselves as best they could for the harsh journey across the desert.
However, about a month after they entered the desert, fear began to settle into their hearts. The tribe members realized that they had lost their sense of direction. The endless sand, the blinding sun, and the absence of landmarks made it nearly impossible to tell where they were or where they should go. Doubt grew stronger with each passing day, and their hopes began to fade.
Then, a few days after they had become truly lost, something unexpected happened. They encountered a mysterious man wandering the desert alone. He carried a strange sword on his hip and wore unusual clothing that none of them had ever seen before. It was clear from his appearance and his calm demeanor that he was a warrior of some kind.
Curious and hopeful, the tribe members hurried toward him and asked whether he too was lost, and if there was anything he needed. The man, calm and composed, replied simply that he would like something to eat. Without hesitation, the tribe offered him food from their own stores. They did not hold back and gave him a generous meal.
The man accepted their hospitality with gratitude and thanked them sincerely from the bottom of his heart. Then, after eating, he asked them where they were going and what they were seeking in the desert. The tribe explained their situation to him in detail—their struggles, their goal, and their hope of reaching a better land.
After listening quietly, the man told them something unexpected. He said that he knew of an excellent place on the very same continent—a place where they could settle peacefully and prosper, even without leaving the land ruled by dragons.
After a long and thoughtful conversation with the mysterious man, the tribe's leader came to understand that the man hailed from a hidden village of descendants of the ancient dragon hunters. This secluded village was located high atop a range of tall, snow-covered mountains. Because of the extreme altitude and the bitter cold that prevailed there, dragons had never dared to approach the area. They simply could not tolerate the harsh, freezing climate.
These very mountains began at the edge of the desert, and the tribe could now see their jagged peaks rising in the distance. It was in that direction that the dragon hunter began to lead them, guiding their steps toward what might be a new beginning.
The dragon hunters were an ancient people, known in the distant past for their skill and bravery in hunting dragons. However, for reasons long forgotten by the world of men, the dragons eventually managed to rise in power, overshadowing the hunters and causing both their decline and the fall of human dominance. In the face of such overwhelming force, the dragon hunters vanished from history, choosing to retreat into hiding and preserve what little remained of their culture. Thus, their descendants lived in secrecy, nestled safely on their mountain.
The journey to the mountains took several more days of travel, and at last, the tribe arrived at the base of the towering range. There, the dragon hunter led them through a hidden, winding passageway that pierced the mountains and brought them safely to the other side. What awaited them was like a vision from a dream: a lush, green valley, full of life and color, in stark contrast to the desolate, dry, and suffocating desert they had just escaped.
The dragon hunter welcomed them warmly and explained that he and his fellow villagers would be more than happy to help them settle there and establish a new village. It was a rare opportunity—one that promised peace, safety, and a future.
In the months that followed, the dragon hunters worked closely with the nomadic tribe, helping them to build homes and plant fields at the foot of the mountains. The two groups began to live together in harmony, and the nomads gradually settled into their new lives. The relationship between the tribes blossomed into something deep and lasting. In time, families were formed between them, and weddings united their peoples even more closely.
After several good and peaceful years had passed, the leader of the nomadic tribe found himself wondering about the history of his new allies. One day, in a quiet moment, he turned to the leader of the dragon hunters and asked him why they still called themselves by that ancient title. The dragon hunter chief smiled and answered that before the rise of the dragons, his people had indeed hunted the great beasts. And though many generations had passed since then—so many that none of the villagers any longer knew the ways of dragon hunting—the traditions, names, and pride had endured.
Time moved on, and hundreds of years slipped quietly into history.
One day, a young boy from the lower village, now a permanent and thriving settlement, went wandering through the foothills of the mountains. He was searching for a certain kind of mushroom—rare, flavorful, and known to grow only in a remote part of the hills. When he reached the place where the mushrooms usually grew, he was surprised to find a young man already there. The stranger carried a distinctive sword on his hip, and his clothing marked him unmistakably as a member of the dragon hunter lineage.
The mysterious figure silently gestured for the boy to follow. Without speaking, he led him to a small, hidden cave at the base of the mountain. Once inside, the man knelt and began to dig carefully into the earth. To the boy's amazement, he unearthed a surprising number of mushrooms—far more than seemed possible.
Turning to the boy, the young dragon hunter explained that he believed the mushrooms were growing in such abundance because there was a powerful source of magic hidden nearby, beneath the earth.