• The Letter of High Regards
    To the owner of this horse,
    I remember a time when I was the one on the highest mountain, the one holding the reins on this kingdom. Now... well now I wander the forgotten forests and seek out the truest adventures. The new king thinks he rules the world. I'm sure I thought that at one point in life but I sure don't now. He wears the most expensive jewelery and the silkiest robes. His wife empties the royal vault on her shopping in the market every day. They look for me each night with an unruly lust.

    I was just a simple farmer's son who grew up wanting to fight alongside the old king as his finest knight. I can tell you now, that dream came true. I earned my place beside the old king, he would trust no other knight to lead his men into war. As the years passed and he grew older his two sons died in battle fighting along side me. There are days even now that I wish it was me lying in the dirt and not them. It should have been me but... it wasn't, and I brought the news back to the old king. I told him of how they died as if it was a fairy tale from the old religion, or an old wives tale for her children to inspire bravery. The eldest of the two died at the hands of an unknown swordsman, his head was cut clean off, I never told the old king that. I said he was run clean through and died a quick heroic death.

    The youngest was, and I regret the day I let him tag along, he was filled like a pin cushion with arrows. I said he was shot twice in the heart and kept fighting till he could move no more. Both their deaths were at the hands of the new king's army. How was I once the ruler? Well the old king appointed me his heir and for unknown reasons stepped down from the throne and crowned me king in a few month's time.

    I was king for no more than five or six years when that behemoth of a man came and declared war on us again. We had no reason to quarrel with him yet still he came day after day, week after week, and pillaged our towns and villages before I finally stood my ground and fought back. My only disadvantage was that I did not have a Dragon. We fought for the next year or so until he attacked the castle directly. He came in as though he owned the place. I challenged him to a duel, he accepted, and he cheated. He brought his dragon right into the fray. I lost my left eye and use of my right thumb and forefinger, the damn Dragon bit them right off. The only funny thing about that was that the Dragon was the size of a horse, not the size of a castle as you would expect from the tales.

    That day was the day I found out why he wanted our kingdom so much. There were other Dragons nesting in the near by mountains. He wanted to have them for his army, but I have other plans for them. Over the past three years I have been visiting the dragons nests and warning them. They understand English surprisingly well and can also talk back. I tell them all that I wish to remove the new king from the throne and retake what was given to me so that the kingdom may return to the peaceful land tat it once was. Every one of them as given me their oath to help, and as their guarantee each pair has given me an egg to raise for the army. The thing is the egg won't hatch unless the Dragon in the egg feels that the one holding them is the one they will fight along side with for life. So far of the seven eggs I have received only four have hatched, two to young lads of sixteen and seventeen, one to a young girl of nineteen, and the last one to me.

    I continue still to look for three more people who will help me lead the kingdom to it's former glory. Perhaps you are one if those lucky three. If you feel you are, head to the town of Thaeesa. There you will look for a group of three foreigners. They are on their way to meet me in Alcaria, though they will find it to be different that it once was years ago, show them this letter and ride as fast as you can. The war is soon to begin and you have training to do.
    In High Regards, Robert The Strong