Slaying the Calamity Drake

"At first, we thought Psyche's involvement was a testament against us. Cellibrig's rising had been seen for a long while as a scar upon Graceswift, to try and kill us from the holes in the ground, or the perils above. We believed her to be a wrathful god. How terribly wrong we were," 

- King Marhault, to his Daughters. 

Graceswift was not always a place of peace. It was once the place of conquerors and warlords. Time has changed the land to relative times of peace, despite being built upon the impacts of war and destruction. One of the aspects of the region that did not survive the transition were beings known as Calamities. One of which lives within the jagged peaks of Graceswift's taiga region, now known as Celibrig. The Calamity Drake saw the apex predators of two different types of beasts, mammals and wyrms, come together in a frightful form. The Calamity Drake had a mixture of bear and dragon anatomy, and was considered the offspring of an unknown Titan from thousands of years prior to the Calamity Drake's last battle.

With the supposed threat of landslides, the people of Celibrig, mostly heavily-clad warriors and nomads, had assumed that it was caused by the Calamity Drake itself. They believed themselves to have no other choice but war and conflict. Within days, many warriors had banded together in a march to the caverns that the Calamity Drake resided within. These open caves and great ravines would make it so that fighting a beast of the Drake's scale would be impossible. Although, as barbaric as the warriors were, they were known for being conniving on the battlefield. With their schemes and tactical knowledge, they decided to lure the Calamity Drake outside of it's cave, in order to defeat it.

The battle took place in a thick forest, one with snowy caps along the tree line, and many uprooted segments on the ground. It made for tricky traversal, especially with the mountains of meat that was taken to lure the Drake. Armed with greataxes and weapons of colossal size, they had immediately attacked the half-bear as soon as it left it's cave. With the entrance to it's cavern blocked off by a grand selection of soldiers, it had no choice but to defend itself.

The battle was in the Warrior's Favour, but it is believed that Psyche had intervened to give them an extra helping hand. However, instead, Psyche manifested within Celibrig under the intention to protect the Calamity Drake. The ground was torn apart and the split regions would begin to rise. At first, the warriors thought it was an earthquake - as this was before Psyche had manifested in a form that was grand enough to be revealed to all of Graceswift, natural disasters had still been common with areas like Celibrig. However, mana veins had been discovered beneath the ground - a sight that the natural world had held no part in the current tremors. Divine Intervention was at hand, and the people of Celibrig had came to the conclusion that the Gods were aiding them in their battle against the Calamity Drake. 

The rising of Celibrig was to aid the Drake in it's escape. To raise them high enough in the air to fly off, and return at a later point. However, during the battle, one of their wings were damaged by a raging nomad. They couldn't fly. The warriors that been able to climb onto the islands as they rose into the air instead, and took the opportunity to slay the Calamity Drake, as it was wounded. However, when people began to fall from the islands itself, the warriors made their third misconception about the region, that Psyche was trying to kill them. Their own stupidity was the sole reason for their deaths. 

The Drake's death was caused by a nomadic chieftan, who had killed the beast, and wore it's hide as a set of armour upon the battlefield, a combination of scales and fur. It's largest fang was taken to be his newest weapon, a curved sword designed for thrusting attacks. The rest of the Calamity Drake was left to rot. It's carcass is laying somewhere beneath Celibrig, with it's heart perfectly reserved, still beating within it's bare ribcage, buried under a mountain of rubble and ruin. 

The Conflict

Prelude

The Calamity Drake had been described as the causer of all of the issues that had affected the people of Celibrig. It had been turned into a regional antagonist of their stories. The people of Celibrig had always wanted to attack it, but had been unable to rally extra forces from opposing sides and factions. With the rumoured landslides, the Drake was falsely pinpointed as it's causer, resulting in a region-wide outburst against the beast. 

Battlefield

The battlefield was dynamic. A fact that many people still struggle to believe to this day. The rising of Celibrig was caused thanks to this, some argue. The ruinous regions below had been changed to flat forests in the air, and had minimal issues when it came to fighting, upon their surfaces. 

The Calamity Drake 

Supposedly bathed in blood, the Calamity Drake is a combination of a bear and a dragon. It is said to be an apex predator of the skies and the land below. Coming from the blood of a long-lost ancient Red Dragon, the Drake manifests its breath of flames with a mighty roar. Instead of being in the shape of a cone, the Calamity Drake's breath weapon is similar to an erupting volcano. The Drake's back arches and a blast of fire aims into the air, falling down in cinders. The surrounding region of the Calamity Drake's cave has no traces of flora, or snow, thanks to the rains of fire. 

Living within a series of open caves and caverns, the Calamity Drake lives a relatively peaceful life. It's diet consisted of other predators within the area, often saving the lives of humans and other sentient races without them realising. The Drake's wings are not as strong as a typical dragons. Whilst it can still glide, the Calamity Drake does not the ability to soar above the clouds or gain height. It can only glide within the air. The wings are also fragile. Non-magical weapons are capable of piercing the wings, and even tearing them. This is one of the critical reasons as to the Drake's death within the battle. 

Conflict Type

Battle

Battlefield Type

Land

Start Date

16th of the 1st, 2301 FL

Ending Date

20th of the 1st, 2301 FL