Stribog/Stories
Quotes
- When Entering Dragon's Roost
- Welcome, scion of Alberius.
- I welcome you.
- You have business with me?
- After Receiving a Gift
- I graciously accept this token of our friendship.
- My thanks. Pray permit me to return your kindness.
- After Bond Level Increase
- I am thankful for our meeting.
- May your path lead ever to glory!
- Idle After Bond Level 1
- I will not hesitate to fight where fealty demands.
- I did not expect to live among humans again. I am thankful for the opportunity.
- You shine with uncommon virtue. Do not allow this world to cloud that light.
- Idle After Bond Level 10
- Meditation offers a welcome respite from life's noise and chaos.
- I strive to follow the righteous path, yet by whose hand is righteousness defined?
- This castle has become a hub for fierce warriors to gather, and being among them lights a fire inside me.
- Idle After Bond Level 20
- Humans make for joyful company. Our friendship has been a fine reminder of that!
- Perhaps you can offer me the answer that I seek.
- Forgive me, but there is precious little I can do for you.
Dragon Story Episodes
The Ancient Accord
Once there was a dragon named
Stribog who guarded the city of Odo.
Just, kind, and righteous, he was
revered by the people, and loved
them all in return.
Stribog gave the people his wisdom
as best he could. However, he would
grant them advice alone, refusing to
use his power to interfere in human
matters.
For even the best-intended dragons
can disrupt the world's balance by
meddling in human conflicts, and
so did they all abide by an ancient
accord which forbade such actions.
One day, a neighboring town that
revered the Firelord Agni—another
dragon—launched an attack on Odo.
Upon hearing of the war, Stribog
hurried to meet with Agni, and the
two of them agreed not to intervene
directly in the fight—though Stribog
permitted his people to take up arms.
Within hours, Agni's forces retreated,
leaving behind a massive wooden
carving of Agni on the battlefield.
The soldiers of Odo were instantly
suspicious, for they had heard tales
of a similar carving being used to
foment a surprise attack upon
another unsuspecting city.
In this tale, the unsuspecting city
took the carving behind its walls,
only to discover that it was filled
with enemy soldiers when they
emerged and sacked the town.
If Agni's soldiers were attempting a
similar tactic, the people of Odo
reasoned, they should encircle the
carving and attack it before the
soldiers could emerge.
Enacting this plan, they mounted an
assault on the carving. But when it
broke open, it was not soldiers that
emerged, but gouts of flaming oil.
The oil raced forth and engulfed the
city, turning it into an ocean of fire.
The soldiers were burned to death
in an instant, and Odo itself was lost.
Seeing this, Stribog let out a roar so
loud it shook the heavens, for he
knew Agni was behind the cowardly
tactic. Quaking with rage, he flew
off to confront his fellow dragon.
Stribog was certain the trick that
doomed his people had been
devised by Agni—who had sworn
not to interfere in the conflict.
Stribog confronted Agni and accused
him of trickery, claiming that the fire
mana which sparked the blaze could
only have come from him.
"Fie on you, craven!" cried Stribog.
"You have broken the ancient accord
and interfered directly in the affairs
of humans!" But Agni only chuckled
at the other dragon's wrath.
"It is you who are craven," said Agni.
"For you could have acted to protect
your people as I did, but instead you
were content to sit back and watch
as they perished."
"If you truly loved your people,
you would have saved them."
"You did not love your people—you
merely loved the way they made you
feel so very righteous about yourself.
And because of that, you allowed
them to die."
"But look now on my people,"
continued Agni. "See how happy
they are? They know I have done
this for them because I love them.
Stribog had no defense to give.
Instead, he hung his head and flew
away with the cheers of Agni's
soldiers ringing in his ears.
For centuries, Stribog holed himself
up in the mountains and avoided all
contact with humanity. He spent eons
wondering what he should have
done—and what was truly right.
He had wanted to protect his people,
but as a dragon, he had sworn not
to interfere. And no matter how long
he mulled over this terrible problem,
the answer remained unclear.
But then Euden
came to see Stribog. Sensing the
blood in his veins—and seeing the
light in his eyes—the dragon became
excited for the first time in ages.
"If you come to me as a king,"
Stribog said, "then I shall grant you
the power to shapeshift. But bound
as I am by the ancient accord,
I fear I can do no more."
Yet what will he do when the young
man falls into peril? What choice will
he make? Stribog will need to find his
own answers to these questions...