Prologue

"Stop!"

"Don't go!"

"It's too dangerous!"

"Those who dared trudging into that damned cave never return!"

Shall you be the first to come back alive?

No matter how strong you are, no matter how swift footed you are and no matter how cunning you are… will you ever pass this quest? A quest to slay a beast that is a thousand times your size, one that could flap its wing so that your blade cannot touch its hides while it is on air or breath out fire so that it licks your delicate human skin. No one could save you, no one could hear your echoed cries from within the beast's lair. Putting fear aside, what are the chances for you to win against this creature?

A continent of prosper, enriched with civilizations both of humans and dragons. Yet humans saw these creatures as threats, so they had built great walls around their cluster of homes, strong enough to keep the monstrous lizards at bay. Dragons were not so intelligent, they would devour whatever they could come across or anything that crosses their paths. Humans too hunt for food, but once they found their target, the more superior hunters came swiping the game in a blink of an eye. An in a blink of an eye the inferior ones were dominated by fear, they ran for their lives; some made it back to their homes… and some did not.

One day a brave man appeared with a gigantic sword behind his back. A burly one, he was, nothing to close to agile. He limped into one kingdom, dragging a dragon's severed head and presented it to the king. The king would have been utterly disgusted by the sight of it if it was not for the popular legend during his time; a miraculous material could be extracted from the dragon horns!

And thus… dragon hunting became a trend. Yet it was not easy, many tried, mostly failed or otherwise discouraged to take up that career. Wealth was promised to those who bring back a fang or two. A few gifted warriors were chosen by their own determination to face the foes, and thus passing down their art of dragon slaying for the next generation and so. Over the years the techniques developed and improved…

And over the years the dragons evolved in their own way. After a decade or half a century, the mightiest dragon would appear and avenge the deaths of his kind. And it was not an ordinary revenge, per say. Wiping out a kingdom or any place as long as humans live in a colony as they please during their reign, as though they knew that harvesting lives were the best way to put humans in despair. They were known as 'Dragon Lords' by mankind, much fewer than the small ones roaming about the woods yet much stronger prowess.

But humans never gave up… or rather, never learn their lessons. A kingdom rose, then it fell, and then came another one. Dragon Lords too share the same fate, as dragon slayers were already able to behead them thanks to the wonders of magic or alchemy fused into their blades, but still it was not the end for the enemy. Dragon Lords could return every several years, and fought a brand new set of slayers over and over again.

It was a never ending cycle…

Until the ripening age of Libertia Kingdom approached, a White Knight succeeded halting one Dragon Lord from storming into the citadel. But all that was left on the bloodstained field was the hand of the hero and the sword it held.

Author's Note:

1. From here on, if there's any grammar mistakes or corrections, feel free to mention it in review. I may have overlooked something.
2. This is a revamped version of "Dragon SlayerS" (you may see it in my list) which I wrote in 2005. I will remove it soon.
3. Title may be temporary, as it was taken from one of the songs by a power metal band called DragonForce with the same title.