Content Warning - Graphic Depictions of Violence
The Fall of Deiahdrahl & the Shift of Gezralahdnat is a tome written by
Bróbh Boíg at the urging of
Boiiiiv Book-Bringer in the early years of their ascension. It contains a written account of Bróbh Boíg perspective of
Deiahdrahl's death, and includes a historical record of the events that transpired before and after
Gezralahdnat's change in leadership. It is considered a formally written version of some of the popular sung versions also penned by Bróbh Boíg.
Foreward
"When Browai and I sat down to finally once more discuss what it was that we had witnessed, we both had come to one simple conclusion: we had been chosen by that terrible being for a purpose. Anyone could have witnessed and written about what happened that night on Gezralahdnat, but we had been given front row seats to it. It is with that in mind that we both write what we saw, with the minimum flourishing, devoid of creative choices to what occured for the sake of story. Though Browai prefers to recount his tales as a bard, I encouraged him to sit down and put his words to pen, so that his own memories will never fail on him."— Boiiiiv Book-Bringer
The forward placed at the front of the book containes clarifying statement from both Boiiiiv and Bróbh Boíg, making it clear that their intention is to recount the events of the night in the most accurate clarity as they can. It also includes historically relevant details about what occured, including approximate time, date, and locations of certain events.
Deiahdrahl's Demise
Part I - The Days Before
"I thought the low valley between the hills would save me from some of the stench of the surrounding volcanoes - it, unfortunately, had not. When the wind shifted, it carried with it the putrid and acidic tang of sulfur and volcanic ash. I recall that at one point, I had grown worried that the wind would bring ash with it as well, and that with the sky so dark I could't tell if it was already coming or not. At the time, it had felt like the biggest thing I had to worry about. I was wrong, terribly so."— Bróbh Boíg
The first chapter of the book begins with Bróbh Boíg's recollection of the days leading up to the event, set as context for the time and place more then what he himself was doing. He describes the unsettling quiet that had fallen over the usually dangerous mountainous region of the continent of
Draakrahlr. It continues with Bróbh Boíg's meeting of a unnamed black
dragon who claims itself as a son of
Maholdymyndr - a piece of information Bróbh Boíg is never able to fully verify, but notes is likely true based off of the dragon's features and given the situation itself. Similarly, Bróbh Boíg is unable to ever get the dragon's name, as it claims it was specifically told by its father not to tell Bróbh Boíg, to as not detract from Maholdymyndr's pending victory. Bróbh Boíg notes that later research leads him to believe it was a drake by the name of Ooðrookropoost, or "Night Hunter" in
Drylvuian, but he is unfortunately never able to confirm it. The unnamed dragon makes a claim that Bróbh Boíg is being formally summoned by his father to witness a unnamed battle that will later occur, to which it leaves Bróbh Boíg with no option but to climb upon its back.
Part II - Prelude to Change
"I had only ever seen Gezralahdnat from afar, for really even as a demigod what reason or purpose did I have to approach such a dreadful and dangerous place? Up close, it is hard to describe the sheer massiveness of the volcano, towering so far into the sky that it hurt to breath when my chauffer carried me there. Dragons of all shapes and sizes were illuminated in the lava's light, swarming like a disturbed nest of wasps as other dragons flew in on them. It was utter chaos, and the main contestants had yet to even show."— Bróbh Boíg
The second part of the book contains Bróbh Boíg's recollection of the flight to Gezralahdnat, including his discussion with the unnamed dragon about why he was being taken. Bróbh Boíg learns that Maholdymyndr intends to face his brother
Deiahdrahl† at Deiahdrahl's throne, and the Black Wyvern himself requested for Bróbh Boíg to be present to witness the event. Bróbh Boíg soon finds that he is not the only one summoned to bare witness to the battle that is about to occur - upon arriving at Gezralahdnat, he becomes aware of another black wyvern with a mount. Bróbh Boíg would later learn that this is the gnome author Boiiiiv Book-Bringer, who has similarly been summoned at Maholdymyndr's request to record the battle. Despite Bróbh Boíg's best attempts, he is unable to get further information about his mount
Part III - The Slaying of Deiahdrahl
"I will admit - I have been lucky to have lived my life light on violence and war. I have not had to witness the horrors of the battlefield as many others have, so perhaps the violence I witnessed would seem less alien and terrifying to others. Maholdymyndr's talons at last caught purchase under one of Deiahdrahl's side scales - no doubt one that had been weakened by their earlier blows. Despite being pinned with Deiahdrahl's fangs at his throat, Maholdymyndr managed to drag his hind claws down Deiahdrahl's side, and it sliced him open like a pig. I'm not even sure if Deiahdrahl made a sound, of if it had been all drowned out by the thundering of my heart in my ears and the roar of the wind. Deiahdrahl let up on Maholdymyndr and staggered back, some of his organs out of the cut, and Maholdymyndr wasted no time in getting up. Maholdymyndr had his brother's throat between his jaws quicker then I could follow, and Deiahdrahl died without as much as a whimper."— Bróbh Boíg
Bróbh Boíg recalls the sequence of events in the battle between Maholdymyndr and Deiahdrahl the best he can, from Maholdymyndr's arrival to taunt his brother out of hiding to the last glimpse he was given of Maholdymyndr devouring his brother's corpse. Bróbh Boíg admits that much of the fight he remembers as somewhat of a blur, likely thanks to a mix of fear, adrenaline, and the fact that he and the dragon he rode were constantly under attack from dragons that sided with Deiahdrahl. Once the Red Dragon was dead, the nameless dragon and its sibling took Bróbh Boíg and Boiiiiv away from the battle zone, leaving the two to absorb what they just saw.
Part IV - Ascendancy
"I don't know when it happened. Had it happened during the fight? Had we ascended the moment we both sat there by the fire, truly coming to understand what it was we'd just seen? Or did it happen sometime later? I suppose it never mattered, and somehow amidst all the questions in our minds that one would still seem so minor years later."— Bróbh Boíg
Bróbh Boíg and Boiiiiv, now left to the cover of more secluded ridge miles away from Gezralahdnat, formally meet and come down from the adrenaline of what just transpired. The two discuss what they'd seen, what had come before, and what will happen after - both with a equal anxiety on what Maholdymyndr's defeat and consumption of his brother might mean for the world. They remain in each other's company for a few weeks as they travel back to safer grounds, before parting ways.
Part V - The Black Wyvern
"The steam was choking, boiling the rain before it could even hit the ground. From afar I thought it all had been fog, until I had gotten to the center of it and found myself face to face with red eyes larger than I. Even knowing that he had sent for me then and sent for me now, that he wanted me alive to spread the glory of his victory, could not stave the feeling of complete and utter terror I felt standing face to snout with Maholdymyndr."— Bróbh Boíg
Bróbh Boíg recounts encountering Maholdymyndr a few decades later on the fringes of Draakrahlr and
Vuorlan. He opens the fifth and final part of his story with the changes he had heared were occuring around Gezralahdnat since Deiahdrahl's demise - the shift in the dragon population that lived there, the temporary lull in dragon attacks that were followed by a new wave of terror for the surrounding areas, and the resurgence of the
Cult of the World Eater. He desribes his meeting with the dragon god and the position Maholdymyndr put him in - as a witness to history, now expected to carry the stories he witnesses forward without fouling them as many other bards and historians had before. Though Bróbh Boíg tries to get more information out of Maholdymyndr, he is unable to - instead, Maholdymyndr leaves him with the knowledge that unless Bróbh Boíg wishes to go back on his purpose of telling stories as they happened, he has no choice but to perpetuate Maholdymyndr's victory as Maholdymyndr wants it.
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