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"I had an idea..."
The Tale of the Mad Wizard of Imbroglio
By Pukaq
Chapter 1
My name is Pukaq and to fully understand my story, you first need to understand something about the Draegoni and what it means to be Draegoni. Contrary to popular myth, Draegoni give birth to live young, however, unlike human birthing, there is little to no discomfort for the mother. Draegoni babies are born with transparent scales, but no horns. Hair, if any, is snow white. Some believe we are born this way in order to hide better in the snowy environments we call home. As we grow from babies into young children, our scales also turn a translucent, iridescent white. It is only when we reach puberty that our scales and hair change color and our horns grow.
No one knows what it is about us that cause the changes in our bodies or what it is that makes one family member's scales turn red while another's turns blue, green, purple or any other color: we simply accept it as being part of our dragon heritage. This was not always the case, however.
In our distant past, there came a time when Draegoni almost came to civil war with various factions grouping together based on the color of their scales. Each faction was fighting over which color was meant to lead, which was meant to labor and which was meant to fight. Even within factions, there were disagreements based on the shade of color. At a pivotal point in Draegoni history, a conclave was called that is documented in The Great Book of 'The Argh'.
But, I'll relate more on that in a moment. In a book I once read, a human theorized that there are sounds that can be produced that humans are unable to hear. Those below the level a human can hear he called subsonic and those above the level he called hypersonic. The spoken Draegoni language extends into both of those ranges as well as the range a human can hear, which is why we all learn to speak Common. While the Common tongue requires more words to convey an idea, it is possible in this language to convey a minor sense of what the Draegoni language communicates.
As an example, a friend I had growing up. Her name is Aurora in the Common tongue, which communicates the idea of lights in the sky at night. Throughout my years, I have met many other Draegoni named Aurora, but in the Draegoni tongue, no two are pronounced the same. Using the sub- and hypersonic tones and modulations in conjunction with the name Aurora, we are able to communicate colors, hues, shapes, intensities and patterns. The amplitude of these concurrent pitches also communicates to us emotional messages.
Among Draegoni today, there are some who believe the Draegoni language to be superior to Common and others who believe it is in fact Common that is superior. I believe both arguments have merit. I have often felt frustration at a failure to find the right words to use when speaking Common to express myself. With Draegoni, I don't have that problem. But, because Common is so widely known, used and understood, it has become the standard in trade, diplomacy and every-day life. On a planet where such diversity exists, this single factor bears considerable weight.
And how quickly we also forget the lessons of the past. At the conclave, each faction was fighting with all the others and no single faction was able to agree with another. Tempers flared. Brothers were prepared to fight sisters, parents were split trying to come to agreement, fists were raised prepared to strike when all at once, everyone present froze. Some later called it a miracle; others were convinced it was a true sign.
All present at the conclave and other Draegoni scattered elsewhere, it was later learned, all heard what we now call "The Holy Argh". Some say it was Iringold himself who gave it utterance while others refuse to accept that on faith alone. But all agreed on one thing: no Draegoni alive at that time or any other could have communicated it so completely and so eloquently to all Draegoni everywhere. Tears were shed over the beauty of "The Holy Argh" and efforts were made to collect what each person heard at the conclave. Those writings were compiled into The Great Book of 'The Argh'.
"The Holy Argh" communicated exasperation over foolishness first and foremost, but it also communicated much more. It expressed a plea to end the disagreement. It carried a threat of increased ire. It was the sound of a father scolding a child. As different as Common is from Draegoni, so too was this expression over Draegoni. All were humbled by the simple lessons it taught and no two Draegoni interpreted what they heard in the same way. Today, parents read to their children from The Great Book each night before bed. It is part of what makes us Draegoni.
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