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Dragons & Kobolds
Jan. 10th, 2023 10:16 amOnce upon a time, there was a dragon who disdained all outside aid. If anyone even tried to parlay with the dragon, she would simply eat them. After all, dragons are strong and self-sufficient apex predators, right?
But one day, the dragon grew ill and was in danger of starving to death. In desperation, she contacted a tribe of kobolds that she knew worshiped dragons, to aid her recovery. They made a deal of mutual protection and mutual noninterference with each other's hunts. They would even share food with each other if the need arose.
Thanks in part to a combination of the kobolds' dedicated aid and her own efforts, the dragon recovered. But as she grew stronger and bigger, she grew suspicious of the tribe, which was flourishing like never before. She only agreed to share and cooperate at all because she personally needed it at the time. She didn't like that the other party actually benefited, and she didn't think she actually needed any more help. She even feared that such a large tribe would leave no food for her.
As such, the dragon began to share less, and tried to do as much as she could without the kobolds — which by this time was quite a bit, all told. The relationship was less reciprocal and more a matter of coexistence, but it was still good enough that the kobolds were happy to stay. And yet, the dragon was still not satisfied.
In time, the dragon laid two eggs. As they grew, the dragon's two whelps had very different opinions about their family's relationship with the kobold tribe. One, who barely resembled his mother, believed firmly that they didn't actually need the kobolds, and indeed that his mother was a fool for supporting and cooperating with such weak creatures. The other, who was her mother's spitting image, believed that cooperating with the kobold tribe was part of what made their mother so much stronger than other dragons.
The mother dragon favored the more independent of her children, naming him as the heir to her hoard. But the kobold tribe, quite predictably, shifted their protection to the other sibling. With the aid of such a large and skilled kobold tribe on her side and her willingness to provide for them far more than her mother ever did, she easily outcompeted her brother. In desperation, her brother tried to buy food from the city peoples, but with his disdainful attitude, the favored sibling was disliked by anyone he could have bought food from, and was refused service. As such, he ultimately starved to death.
Rather than accepting the victory of her daughter, the mother dragon reclaimed her hoard and laid a third egg. To her new daughter, she told the history of her family before she herself died of old age, leaving the hoard to her. This new sister chose to accept kobold aid; however, she also chose to keep them at a distance, insist that the kobolds not just hunt but create ranches designed for her to eat from, and make clear that she would devour traitors.
By now, the kobold tribe was so large that divisions in opinions about the younger sister's offer meant that it was viable for the tribe to split into three. The smallest tribe chose to continue to aid the older sister exclusively. The largest tribe dedicated themselves to the younger sister; they recognized the potential benefit of the larger hoard, and accepted that founding ranches gave them some indirect benefit, even if it mostly benefited the younger dragon. The tribe in between tried to play both sides and defend both dragons, maintaining their freedom otherwise.
The younger sister used her wealth to have bards sing her praises. However, despite what people came to believe, the younger dragon was actually was more feeble than her older sister, and understood little of the reasoning behind the ways of dragons. It became clear to scholars that without her mother's hoard and the aid of the largest of the kobold tribes, she would never have survived; as things were, though, her hoard grew considerably thanks to the bards. It grew so large, in fact, that her greed grew with it.
The youngest dragon had long envied and resented her older sister. Even though the younger sister was wealthier, had the largest kobold tribe, and had many songs sung about her, she remembered her mother's tales of having been the only dragon in the region, and of not needing to depend on kobold aid. Perhaps, if she grew strong enough, she could become a true apex predator again.
She began to stare hungrily at the vast tribes of kobolds. There were thousands and thousands of kobolds between the three tribes; if she ate them all, perhaps she could grow strong enough to slay her elder sister, and become the only dragon in the realm.
But one day, the dragon grew ill and was in danger of starving to death. In desperation, she contacted a tribe of kobolds that she knew worshiped dragons, to aid her recovery. They made a deal of mutual protection and mutual noninterference with each other's hunts. They would even share food with each other if the need arose.
Thanks in part to a combination of the kobolds' dedicated aid and her own efforts, the dragon recovered. But as she grew stronger and bigger, she grew suspicious of the tribe, which was flourishing like never before. She only agreed to share and cooperate at all because she personally needed it at the time. She didn't like that the other party actually benefited, and she didn't think she actually needed any more help. She even feared that such a large tribe would leave no food for her.
As such, the dragon began to share less, and tried to do as much as she could without the kobolds — which by this time was quite a bit, all told. The relationship was less reciprocal and more a matter of coexistence, but it was still good enough that the kobolds were happy to stay. And yet, the dragon was still not satisfied.
In time, the dragon laid two eggs. As they grew, the dragon's two whelps had very different opinions about their family's relationship with the kobold tribe. One, who barely resembled his mother, believed firmly that they didn't actually need the kobolds, and indeed that his mother was a fool for supporting and cooperating with such weak creatures. The other, who was her mother's spitting image, believed that cooperating with the kobold tribe was part of what made their mother so much stronger than other dragons.
The mother dragon favored the more independent of her children, naming him as the heir to her hoard. But the kobold tribe, quite predictably, shifted their protection to the other sibling. With the aid of such a large and skilled kobold tribe on her side and her willingness to provide for them far more than her mother ever did, she easily outcompeted her brother. In desperation, her brother tried to buy food from the city peoples, but with his disdainful attitude, the favored sibling was disliked by anyone he could have bought food from, and was refused service. As such, he ultimately starved to death.
Rather than accepting the victory of her daughter, the mother dragon reclaimed her hoard and laid a third egg. To her new daughter, she told the history of her family before she herself died of old age, leaving the hoard to her. This new sister chose to accept kobold aid; however, she also chose to keep them at a distance, insist that the kobolds not just hunt but create ranches designed for her to eat from, and make clear that she would devour traitors.
By now, the kobold tribe was so large that divisions in opinions about the younger sister's offer meant that it was viable for the tribe to split into three. The smallest tribe chose to continue to aid the older sister exclusively. The largest tribe dedicated themselves to the younger sister; they recognized the potential benefit of the larger hoard, and accepted that founding ranches gave them some indirect benefit, even if it mostly benefited the younger dragon. The tribe in between tried to play both sides and defend both dragons, maintaining their freedom otherwise.
The younger sister used her wealth to have bards sing her praises. However, despite what people came to believe, the younger dragon was actually was more feeble than her older sister, and understood little of the reasoning behind the ways of dragons. It became clear to scholars that without her mother's hoard and the aid of the largest of the kobold tribes, she would never have survived; as things were, though, her hoard grew considerably thanks to the bards. It grew so large, in fact, that her greed grew with it.
The youngest dragon had long envied and resented her older sister. Even though the younger sister was wealthier, had the largest kobold tribe, and had many songs sung about her, she remembered her mother's tales of having been the only dragon in the region, and of not needing to depend on kobold aid. Perhaps, if she grew strong enough, she could become a true apex predator again.
She began to stare hungrily at the vast tribes of kobolds. There were thousands and thousands of kobolds between the three tribes; if she ate them all, perhaps she could grow strong enough to slay her elder sister, and become the only dragon in the realm.
