A Wizard's Account of Raising a Dragon

Volume 1: The Egg

by The Whimsical Wizard

Eleventh Day of the Month of September

Today I have made an extraordinary discovery! While journeying to the top of the Windy Peak, where it is always cold, no matter the season, I came across an ancient tomb. Inside, there were rows and rows of coffins. I did not touch them. Better to let the dead rest.

The hallway gave way to a large cave. The floor was damp and I could hear the dripping of water in the distance. Then, I saw something incredible. In the middle of the cavern was a pile of coins, scattered with trinkets of gold and silver. But what impressed me the most was that at the top lay a singular egg, no bigger than that of a chicken. Could it be? "No", I thought to myself, "impossible".

Twelfth Day of the Month of September

The night before, I had conjured up a small flame and camped out in the cavern. I had made a decision: I would postpone my goal of reaching the Windy Peak, and instead go back to my Tower to care for the egg.

A cold gust of wind was passing through the mountain, and the ground beneath my feet became slippery with ice. It would be much harder to go back down. Once, I tripped on the ice and fell. I got up again, and sat on the stump of a tree. I opened my bag to see that the egg was intact. Thank the gods! I readjusted my cloak, but then suddenly, my egg slipped out of reach and down the mountain. I was so scared. Would it be over? I slid down the mountain to find a crack on the eggshell. I couldn't give up. There must be a way to heal it.

Thirteenth Day of the Month of September

When I finally reached my Tower, I placed the egg by the fireplace and rushed to my study to find a remedy for the egg. I searched through page after page of my Tome of Alchemy. There it was! A simple cure for a cracked egg. I fetched the ingredients from the garden, crushed them with a mortar and pestle, and put them in my cauldron, slowly stirring as the mixture began to bubble. I carefully spread the salve across the top of the egg, and sure enough it began to heal! One must celebrate the victories!

Fourteenth Day of the Month of September

I brought the egg to the Council of Moonlight, for sharing knowledge is always good. Maybe my fellow wizards would have any ideas as to how I should go about raising it, or what type of dragon it could be. I was approached by a group of thirty or so wizards, each intent on seeing the egg up close. They pushed and shoved, and grabbed for the egg. "One at a time", I said, chuckling. At one point, I almost fell over with all of them nudging into me.

Then, an elf in long green robes arrived. As he came near, all the other wizards made way for him in a sign of respect. He said to me "I am a specialist on dragon eggs. This is a Spineback Dragon egg. They only roost on the highest mountains, and are becoming increasingly rare. Here you go. It’s a manual on raising dragons." He handed me an old book. "If you have any questions, sent me a letter"

Fifteenth Day of the Month of September

This morning, a parade of elephants from a far-off land marched through the town. I am not up to date on the current events, as I spend much of my time pondering my orb in search of wisdom, but I am convinced that the elephants were brought here by a delegation of diplomats whose purpose was to negotiate a trade contract with the king. Nevertheless, I did not enjoy their noisy presence. My egg rolled out of the house and into the herd of elephants, and I worried that it would be destroyed, so I ran to rescue it. By some miracle, it hatched at the very moment it was about to be crushed, and the baby dragonling flew out of the way in time. I stood there, dumbfounded. I still had much yet to learn.