Fireworm History
B.A. = Before Adeodatus, A.E.D. = After Elder Drakes
Elder Drake Rule [??? B.A. - 1 A.E.D.]
Adeodatus’ Empire [14 - 41 A.E.D.]
Viper Clan vs Firemaw Clan [431 - 438 A.E.D.]
The Viper Clan’s Reckoning [439 - 456 A.E.D.]
Modern Day [456 A.E.D Onwards]
Adeodatus’ Empire [14 - 41 A.E.D.]
Viper Clan vs Firemaw Clan [431 - 438 A.E.D.]
The Viper Clan’s Reckoning [439 - 456 A.E.D.]
Modern Day [456 A.E.D Onwards]
The fireworms lack written records of past events, and instead rely upon their minstrels to pass on each clan’s oral history throughout the generations. This has resulted in some incredible stories, but also great frustration for those who have attempted to compile a written record of them, for each clan’s minstrels tells their tale slightly differently.
What is presented below is an aggregate of the tales, representing a (more or less) accurate image of what is known of fireworm history.
What is presented below is an aggregate of the tales, representing a (more or less) accurate image of what is known of fireworm history.
Elder Drake Rule [??? B.A. - 1 A.E.D.]
Little is remembered of the time the fireworms spent under the governance of the terrible and cruel Elder Drakes, only that it was a time of great suffering for their people, as it was for much of the Realm. They were, according to the Elder Drakes, the most rebellious of dragonkind, and their constant attempts to revolt against them resulted in many, many dead fireworms. Countless clans were wiped out during this time.
Perhaps it should not come as a surprise, given their history, that the fireworms choose to represent their goddess of destruction, Firemaw, as a broad-winged Elder Drake.
In 1 A.E.D, the reign of the Elder Drakes came to an end with the Night of the Red Moons. Although many fireworms lost their lives as the red moons claimed their minds and drove them to senseless violence, they rejoiced the death of their dreaded overlord. They would know some peace in the years that followed as they recovered from their losses… although it would be short-lived.
Perhaps it should not come as a surprise, given their history, that the fireworms choose to represent their goddess of destruction, Firemaw, as a broad-winged Elder Drake.
In 1 A.E.D, the reign of the Elder Drakes came to an end with the Night of the Red Moons. Although many fireworms lost their lives as the red moons claimed their minds and drove them to senseless violence, they rejoiced the death of their dreaded overlord. They would know some peace in the years that followed as they recovered from their losses… although it would be short-lived.
Adeodatus’ Empire [14 - 41 A.E.D.]
Fourteen years after the Night of the Red Moons, the Island of Fire was invaded once more. This time, by an empire of moonvipers and their recently conquered subjects under the command of Adeodatus, who claimed to be responsible for the Red Moons. As the Land of Rivers had been spared on that fateful night, she had been expanding her influence across the Realm to establish order after the fall of the Elder Drakes. Although the fireworms attempted to resist her warriors, they were still recovering and unable to put up any significant resistance. In 14 A.E.D, the Island of Fire was made a new territory of Adeodatus’ empire.
The Island was carved up and settled by moonvipers and other officials of Adeodatus, establishing military fortresses to secure her claim to the Island, constructing towns and cities and trying to ‘civilize’ the fireworms. Some clans receded further into the island, where it was too inhospitable for outsiders to reach, to lick their wounds and wait for a chance to strike back against their conquerors.
The Island of Fire would be put under the governance of Adeodatus’ son, Prince Chryseum, a vain and self-interested individual with little patience for ruling. The young prince was happy to leave the actual governing of the island to his ministers, and spent his time primarily on ordering his soldiers to bring him shiny treasures from the island’s Elder Drake ruins - or sometimes demanded as tribute from fireworm clans - and basking in the attention of the entourage of infatuated followers he had somehow managed to pick up. He personally commissioned the construction of a massive fortress, Fort Diana (now the Moon Clan’s home), sparing no expense on defenses and luxuries for his personal accommodations.
The Moon Clan itself was established during this period in 35 A.E.D, made up primarily of the half-moonviper children begotten by the newcomers to the island. Although the Emperors and Empresses of the Moon Clan claim that they have the blood of Adeodatus herself running through their veins through Chryseum, accounts from his contemporaries suggest that the prince was disgusted with the fireworms and would have had no interest in taking a mate from their number. Whatever the case, he would be killed in the carnage to come on the Island of Fire, either by the devastating eruption or the violence that followed.
The chance to strike back the fireworms had been waiting for came when, in 41 A.E.D, a massive eruption from the Siblings cloaked the island in smoke and fire. Many of Adeodatus’ soldiers and civilians were killed or forced to flee by the carnage, and the uprising of the fireworm clans that followed drove away those who had been brave - or foolish enough - to attempt to wait out the eruption. After a few weeks of fiery wrath, the fireworms had reclaimed their Island, and would never again be ruled over by a foreign conqueror.
In the years that followed the overthrow of Adeodatus’ rule on the Island of Fire, life would fall into a pattern. New Clans would rise, old Clans would fall, alliances would form, and feuds take generations to resolve. While the ancient Firemaw, Basalt, and Song Clan have their origins in the forgotten years before the fall of the Elder Drakes, the Forest, Storm, Viper, and Ashwalker Clans are younger by far and were established long after the death of Adeodatus.
The Island was carved up and settled by moonvipers and other officials of Adeodatus, establishing military fortresses to secure her claim to the Island, constructing towns and cities and trying to ‘civilize’ the fireworms. Some clans receded further into the island, where it was too inhospitable for outsiders to reach, to lick their wounds and wait for a chance to strike back against their conquerors.
The Island of Fire would be put under the governance of Adeodatus’ son, Prince Chryseum, a vain and self-interested individual with little patience for ruling. The young prince was happy to leave the actual governing of the island to his ministers, and spent his time primarily on ordering his soldiers to bring him shiny treasures from the island’s Elder Drake ruins - or sometimes demanded as tribute from fireworm clans - and basking in the attention of the entourage of infatuated followers he had somehow managed to pick up. He personally commissioned the construction of a massive fortress, Fort Diana (now the Moon Clan’s home), sparing no expense on defenses and luxuries for his personal accommodations.
The Moon Clan itself was established during this period in 35 A.E.D, made up primarily of the half-moonviper children begotten by the newcomers to the island. Although the Emperors and Empresses of the Moon Clan claim that they have the blood of Adeodatus herself running through their veins through Chryseum, accounts from his contemporaries suggest that the prince was disgusted with the fireworms and would have had no interest in taking a mate from their number. Whatever the case, he would be killed in the carnage to come on the Island of Fire, either by the devastating eruption or the violence that followed.
The chance to strike back the fireworms had been waiting for came when, in 41 A.E.D, a massive eruption from the Siblings cloaked the island in smoke and fire. Many of Adeodatus’ soldiers and civilians were killed or forced to flee by the carnage, and the uprising of the fireworm clans that followed drove away those who had been brave - or foolish enough - to attempt to wait out the eruption. After a few weeks of fiery wrath, the fireworms had reclaimed their Island, and would never again be ruled over by a foreign conqueror.
In the years that followed the overthrow of Adeodatus’ rule on the Island of Fire, life would fall into a pattern. New Clans would rise, old Clans would fall, alliances would form, and feuds take generations to resolve. While the ancient Firemaw, Basalt, and Song Clan have their origins in the forgotten years before the fall of the Elder Drakes, the Forest, Storm, Viper, and Ashwalker Clans are younger by far and were established long after the death of Adeodatus.
Viper Clan vs Firemaw Clan [431 - 438 A.E.D]
Conflicts between even the major Clans of the Island of Fire are not uncommon in the least, and the war between the Viper and Firemaw Clans that started in 431 might have been relegated to uninteresting tales of the typical past were it not for the horrors that the Viper Clan would commit afterwards. At the time the Viper Clan was led by a fireworm named Etna, known for being an honourable warrior, and the Firemaw Clan was ruled by the same dragon that governs it today, Fumerole.
In 431, the Firemaw Clan raided the Viper Clan’s den for resources. Among the casualties of the battle that followed was Etna’s eldest child, Merapi; enraged by the loss of her child and Clanmates, Etna would attack the Firemaw Clan in turn, and for the five years that followed that day there would be scattered battles and attacks on both Clans. Her remaining child, a young fireworm named Hiri, would distinguish himself as a strong, honest leader, and a promising heir for Etna.
The feud came to a bloody end in a clash on the slopes of the Siblings. Etna successfully broke past the Firemaw Clan’s soldiers and raided their den in turn, destroying bits of their stolen wealth by dumping piles of gold into the lava flowing down the mountainside, though the cost of her victory was high. While retreating, her honour satisfied, Etna was fatally wounded by Fumerole and did not survive more than a few days after the battle. To make the situation worse, Hiri had gone missing in the battle and all were certain that his body had been forever lost to the volcanoes.
As days turned to weeks, and the Viper Clan prepared to have to settle the matter of leadership in a less traditional manner, a glowing figure appeared on the horizon. It was Hiri, but the young dragon was… different. Heat and light leaked out of him as though he were forged of liquid fire. He apologized to his clanmates for keeping them and told them that he was Hiri Fireblood and promised that he would lead them onwards to glories that they could not even imagine.
The Viper Clan rejoiced at the return of their leader and embraced Hiri once more.
In 431, the Firemaw Clan raided the Viper Clan’s den for resources. Among the casualties of the battle that followed was Etna’s eldest child, Merapi; enraged by the loss of her child and Clanmates, Etna would attack the Firemaw Clan in turn, and for the five years that followed that day there would be scattered battles and attacks on both Clans. Her remaining child, a young fireworm named Hiri, would distinguish himself as a strong, honest leader, and a promising heir for Etna.
The feud came to a bloody end in a clash on the slopes of the Siblings. Etna successfully broke past the Firemaw Clan’s soldiers and raided their den in turn, destroying bits of their stolen wealth by dumping piles of gold into the lava flowing down the mountainside, though the cost of her victory was high. While retreating, her honour satisfied, Etna was fatally wounded by Fumerole and did not survive more than a few days after the battle. To make the situation worse, Hiri had gone missing in the battle and all were certain that his body had been forever lost to the volcanoes.
As days turned to weeks, and the Viper Clan prepared to have to settle the matter of leadership in a less traditional manner, a glowing figure appeared on the horizon. It was Hiri, but the young dragon was… different. Heat and light leaked out of him as though he were forged of liquid fire. He apologized to his clanmates for keeping them and told them that he was Hiri Fireblood and promised that he would lead them onwards to glories that they could not even imagine.
The Viper Clan rejoiced at the return of their leader and embraced Hiri once more.
The Viper Clan’s Reckoning [439 - 456 A.E.D.]
Hiri Fireblood - who would go down in legend as “The Mad Viper” - would soon become quite the headache to the other Clans that called the Island of Fire home. Though the Viper Clan lauded his ambition and found his charisma and personality magnetic, the other Clans found their increasing boldness to be the source of many a headache. In the months and years following Hiri’s takeover, they became more territorial, punishing even slight trespasses severely. A cause for even more concern, however, was the sightings of Viper Clan members frequenting the Clanless Valley, offering a home to some of the fireworms there, and scouting out disputed territories. Although there were a few small skirmishes with other Clans during this time, Hiri’s actions were tolerated as being his due, even if they were irritating. It was, after all, still preferable to the Firemaw Clan’s active pillaging.
That changed in 444. Known as the “Woeful Wake”, the event that was the final straw regarding the Viper Clan is not spoken of lightly by those who remember it. The great betrayal that would push the other clans so far that they set aside their differences to challenge Hiri Fireblood’s growing boldness started mundane enough. It was an otherwise ordinary morning for the Basalt Clan’s minstrel, Albatross, when a messenger from the Viper Clan arrived with dire news; the Viper Clan’s only minstrel, Felsic, had died, and they were calling upon their neighbour’s minstrel for help.
Although Albatross was confused as to why they had not sought help from a nearer clan, it was her honour-bound duty to help. She gathered what she needed for the trip and set out a few short hours later with the messenger.
Albatross arrived to see that the Forest Clan and Firemaw Clan’s minstrels were already there; they had each received a similar messenger earlier that day. Perhaps there was some sort of mistake, some miscommunication? But as minstrels from each other major clan trickled in, confusion began to turn into unease. It was then, as the Song Clan’s minstrel arrived, that Hiri Fireblood finally appeared before them… with Felsic, looking as lively as ever, by his side. The gathered minstrels fell silent as they realized that they had been deceived, and then began to demand to know why they had been summoned here.
Hiri’s answer sent a chill through the gathered dragons’ blood. He called upon each minstrel, challenging them on their clan’s failings – be it a lack of martial strength, or being too happy to hoard all their wealth in their fortress, or being too eager to capture good dragons and send them to their deaths in fire – and asking them what they might gain from working with their fellow fireworms. The Forest and Basalt Clans did not need to lose anymore of their number to dragon-slayers. The Firemaw Clan would be stopped from committing anymore senseless murders. The Song Clan, weak as they were, would be protected by their stronger brethren, and not need to rely only on the honour of their neighbours for safety. If, that was, they were united. United under one name, and one leader – who would, of course, be Hiri Fireblood.
He had brought them here to the Viper Clan’s home to petition them for their support. If he were to accomplish the wonders he had promised, he would need support from within the other clans; as senior minstrels, they were well-respected. They need only give their word to him that they would beseech their leaders on his behalf, and they would be welcome to leave.
The gathered minstrels were silent as each tried to think of what to say to him. They were well aware of how vulnerable they were, deep within the Viper Clan’s territory, but none wished to make a promise that they would regret. If they had been given more time, perhaps some of the more diplomatic minstrels would have found a way out, but then the Firemaw Clan’s minstrel, Maar, reared up and snarled a defiant refusal, then launched herself at Hiri.
Everything erupted into anarchy. Only three of the minstrels survived the day; Crescent, of the Moon Clan, was taken prisoner, while Minivet and Albatross of the Song and Basalt Clans were able to flee to the safety of nearby Fort Diana’s walls. The others who had gathered in the Viper’s Roost were all killed in the chaos.
When Empress Thera, leader of the Moon Clan, received the pair of frantic and exhausted minstrels, she knew immediately something was wrong. After hearing their tale, she flew into a fury, and immediately sent a summons to the other fireworm clans. As news rippled out from the Fort, the reaction was one of shared rage; to use a minstrel’s sacred duty to lure them into a trap and kill them… Hiri – no, the Mad Viper had gone too far. He and his clan had committed the worst taboo a fireworm possibly could.
It did not take long for the wounded clans to gather and swear that they would avenge their lost minstrels, no matter the cost. In an ironic way, Hiri’s actions had united the fireworms… against the Viper Clan.
Over the next twelve years, vicious fighting broke out across the Island of Fire as a united alliance of fireworm clans brought their wrath down upon the Viper Clan. Despite their best efforts they could not hold out forever, and in 456 the final confrontation between the Mad Viper and the all-clans alliance took place. Although the leader of the Basalt Clan lost their life in the carnage, along with many others, they succeeded in wiping the Viper Clan out. The dead were given the final courtesy of a proper funeral, and then the allied clans each went their separate ways and headed for home, eager to distract themselves from the unpleasant memories of the war that had raged for more than a decade.
For the Moon Clan, there was one small joy at the end of the war; Crescent, who had been taken prisoner by the Mad Viper during the Woeful Wake all those years ago, had survived the ordeal and returned with his clanmates that day, finally returning home after more than a decade of imprisonment.
That changed in 444. Known as the “Woeful Wake”, the event that was the final straw regarding the Viper Clan is not spoken of lightly by those who remember it. The great betrayal that would push the other clans so far that they set aside their differences to challenge Hiri Fireblood’s growing boldness started mundane enough. It was an otherwise ordinary morning for the Basalt Clan’s minstrel, Albatross, when a messenger from the Viper Clan arrived with dire news; the Viper Clan’s only minstrel, Felsic, had died, and they were calling upon their neighbour’s minstrel for help.
Although Albatross was confused as to why they had not sought help from a nearer clan, it was her honour-bound duty to help. She gathered what she needed for the trip and set out a few short hours later with the messenger.
Albatross arrived to see that the Forest Clan and Firemaw Clan’s minstrels were already there; they had each received a similar messenger earlier that day. Perhaps there was some sort of mistake, some miscommunication? But as minstrels from each other major clan trickled in, confusion began to turn into unease. It was then, as the Song Clan’s minstrel arrived, that Hiri Fireblood finally appeared before them… with Felsic, looking as lively as ever, by his side. The gathered minstrels fell silent as they realized that they had been deceived, and then began to demand to know why they had been summoned here.
Hiri’s answer sent a chill through the gathered dragons’ blood. He called upon each minstrel, challenging them on their clan’s failings – be it a lack of martial strength, or being too happy to hoard all their wealth in their fortress, or being too eager to capture good dragons and send them to their deaths in fire – and asking them what they might gain from working with their fellow fireworms. The Forest and Basalt Clans did not need to lose anymore of their number to dragon-slayers. The Firemaw Clan would be stopped from committing anymore senseless murders. The Song Clan, weak as they were, would be protected by their stronger brethren, and not need to rely only on the honour of their neighbours for safety. If, that was, they were united. United under one name, and one leader – who would, of course, be Hiri Fireblood.
He had brought them here to the Viper Clan’s home to petition them for their support. If he were to accomplish the wonders he had promised, he would need support from within the other clans; as senior minstrels, they were well-respected. They need only give their word to him that they would beseech their leaders on his behalf, and they would be welcome to leave.
The gathered minstrels were silent as each tried to think of what to say to him. They were well aware of how vulnerable they were, deep within the Viper Clan’s territory, but none wished to make a promise that they would regret. If they had been given more time, perhaps some of the more diplomatic minstrels would have found a way out, but then the Firemaw Clan’s minstrel, Maar, reared up and snarled a defiant refusal, then launched herself at Hiri.
Everything erupted into anarchy. Only three of the minstrels survived the day; Crescent, of the Moon Clan, was taken prisoner, while Minivet and Albatross of the Song and Basalt Clans were able to flee to the safety of nearby Fort Diana’s walls. The others who had gathered in the Viper’s Roost were all killed in the chaos.
When Empress Thera, leader of the Moon Clan, received the pair of frantic and exhausted minstrels, she knew immediately something was wrong. After hearing their tale, she flew into a fury, and immediately sent a summons to the other fireworm clans. As news rippled out from the Fort, the reaction was one of shared rage; to use a minstrel’s sacred duty to lure them into a trap and kill them… Hiri – no, the Mad Viper had gone too far. He and his clan had committed the worst taboo a fireworm possibly could.
It did not take long for the wounded clans to gather and swear that they would avenge their lost minstrels, no matter the cost. In an ironic way, Hiri’s actions had united the fireworms… against the Viper Clan.
Over the next twelve years, vicious fighting broke out across the Island of Fire as a united alliance of fireworm clans brought their wrath down upon the Viper Clan. Despite their best efforts they could not hold out forever, and in 456 the final confrontation between the Mad Viper and the all-clans alliance took place. Although the leader of the Basalt Clan lost their life in the carnage, along with many others, they succeeded in wiping the Viper Clan out. The dead were given the final courtesy of a proper funeral, and then the allied clans each went their separate ways and headed for home, eager to distract themselves from the unpleasant memories of the war that had raged for more than a decade.
For the Moon Clan, there was one small joy at the end of the war; Crescent, who had been taken prisoner by the Mad Viper during the Woeful Wake all those years ago, had survived the ordeal and returned with his clanmates that day, finally returning home after more than a decade of imprisonment.
Modern Day [456 A.E.D. Onwards]
After the fall of the Viper Clan, the alliance between the other denizens of the Island of Fire was over. Each clan returned to their own territory to lick their wounds and tend to their dead. In the immediate years that followed, the fireworms knew an unprecedented peace. All were exhausted from the conflict that had consumed their lives for the past seventeen years, and even the Firemaw Clan focused simply on healing. Few who remember the events surrounding the destruction of the Viper Clan are willing to speak on it.
As the dust settled, the Basalt Clan chose a new leader to replace the one who had lost their life in the fighting; Firebug, a springsinger and fireworm hybrid with a talent as a trader and strong, progressive ideas about the clan’s future. Under her leadership, she made an effort to teach her clanmates better bargaining skills so they would not be taken advantage of by foreign traders, and banned the – already frowned upon by most Basalt Clan members – practice of abandoning Iceworm children.
Of course, eventually the sense of camaraderie fostered between the clans by having a shared enemy faded, as did the sharpness of the memories of war, and soon enough old enemies were once more squabbling with each other. In the years since the destruction of the Viper Clan, there have been multiple feuds and battles between the major clans. But such things were normal for fireworms – their clans had been picking fights with each other for generations – and, in truth, a sign of normalcy returning.
In 490, the leader of the Moon Clan, Empress Thera, died in a small outbreak of scale rot in Fort Diana. She was succeeded by her youngest and only living child, Dacite, who was only two years old at the time. She would be under the guidance of Crescent for many years.
The pattern of life on the Island of Fire was disrupted again when in 494, a young iceworm named Wraith returned to its shores from the Realm’s northern regions. Followed by a flock of misfits and outsiders and claiming to be the last living member of the Viper Clan, saved by the practice of iceworm abandonment, they set about re-establishing their clan in the remains of the Viper’s Roost. As many still-living fireworms lived through the days of the Mad Viper and remember the events of the Woeful Wake, it was widely viewed as a terrible omen to have the clan return – led by an iceworm, no less.
However, since their arrival, Wraith’s Viper Clan reborn has done little to justify the other clan’s fears. Oh, they’ve made a nuisance of themselves with their irritating pranks, but even their nastier tricks only harm their target’s pride. Still, the fireworm clans and their minstrels have a long memory, and watch the iceworm and their clan with apprehension and fear…
As the dust settled, the Basalt Clan chose a new leader to replace the one who had lost their life in the fighting; Firebug, a springsinger and fireworm hybrid with a talent as a trader and strong, progressive ideas about the clan’s future. Under her leadership, she made an effort to teach her clanmates better bargaining skills so they would not be taken advantage of by foreign traders, and banned the – already frowned upon by most Basalt Clan members – practice of abandoning Iceworm children.
Of course, eventually the sense of camaraderie fostered between the clans by having a shared enemy faded, as did the sharpness of the memories of war, and soon enough old enemies were once more squabbling with each other. In the years since the destruction of the Viper Clan, there have been multiple feuds and battles between the major clans. But such things were normal for fireworms – their clans had been picking fights with each other for generations – and, in truth, a sign of normalcy returning.
In 490, the leader of the Moon Clan, Empress Thera, died in a small outbreak of scale rot in Fort Diana. She was succeeded by her youngest and only living child, Dacite, who was only two years old at the time. She would be under the guidance of Crescent for many years.
The pattern of life on the Island of Fire was disrupted again when in 494, a young iceworm named Wraith returned to its shores from the Realm’s northern regions. Followed by a flock of misfits and outsiders and claiming to be the last living member of the Viper Clan, saved by the practice of iceworm abandonment, they set about re-establishing their clan in the remains of the Viper’s Roost. As many still-living fireworms lived through the days of the Mad Viper and remember the events of the Woeful Wake, it was widely viewed as a terrible omen to have the clan return – led by an iceworm, no less.
However, since their arrival, Wraith’s Viper Clan reborn has done little to justify the other clan’s fears. Oh, they’ve made a nuisance of themselves with their irritating pranks, but even their nastier tricks only harm their target’s pride. Still, the fireworm clans and their minstrels have a long memory, and watch the iceworm and their clan with apprehension and fear…