"It losses something into the translation to imperial speech I'm afraid."
''It's alright, I could follow it'' he said, leaning closer to tell his own story.
''What I'm about to tell you is real, it happened centuries ago, so I cannot be certain, but I've never heard anyone dispute its validity.'' He told them, hoping they'd listen.
''Centuries ago, on the southern shores of The Great Bay lay great cities. Some had great swaying beech trees and humid climates, others were gardens of green walled from the hostile deserts outside.''
''For a while, there was peace. Those states strong enough to fund them led expeditions to the far reaches of the Earth. Discovered the deep blueness of the Sapphire Sea, voyaged far to the Beastlands, where everything could speak. This was before the Horizons, before my world discovered their potential, and before the following events occurred.''
''Raids between rival cities were common. Wars were waged and won on The Great Bay, and those that lost merely paid in coin, not blood or in their autonomy, but all that changed when one state became too ambitious.''
''Rich off of trade, the upper classes built grand temples, fishing fleets and held extravagant feasts in the name of their leaders, but many more across all the lands built ivory towers. These towers rose high above the filth and sweat of the cities they governed. Aqueducts led into each tower, with each pillar as tall as a tower. Eventually, as more of these towers were built in each city, bridges connected them, and the aristocracy truly were above the rest of the world.''
''Decades past before tragedy struck. In the city state of Airiss, a spiteful king, with his head (literally) in the clouds, gazed out of his tower, and was irritated. Was this it? Was this tiny speck on the ground below him all the legacy he would leave? So, he set a plan of conquest into action.''
''The king, having spent his entire life in the towers, sent his generals and advisors all across the world to raise armies. To the winged tribes of the Great Sand Sea, to the Dragonlands in the south-east, to the Beastlands and even to the White Wastes in the north, he amassed an army and planned to conquer the whole of The Great Bay''
''His first victories were decisive, and quick. Soon he had all of the Southern shores under the Airissian domain, and a truce was signed between the king's armies and those to the north. A heatwave struck shortly afterwards, and his troops were not meant for this world.''
''First, the Snow Elves perished under the baking sun, then the beasts with furry coats boiled in their own skin. After, came the disease''
''A few recruited Dragonriders carried with them eggs, smuggled from their homelands and were hoping to pawn them for treasure on their travels, but these eggs were too far from home, not heated in the fiery depths of their homeland, but in the heat of the Great Sand Sea. When they hatched, a foul stench could be smelled from across Airiss''
''The eggs then began to kill. Those who could smell it would die soon after, and by a moon's turn, the only living people in all of Airiss were those who managed to be sheltered in the Ivory Towers. This included surviving locals who had not fled, nobility, sellswords, and the king.''
''The king, horrified by the destruction caused, threw himself (or perhaps was thrown. I prefer the latter) from the top of the tower below. His crown breaking into shards and smashing every glass window on the way down. This, sadly, allowed the stench to seep into the towers, chocking all within.''
''When the dust had settled, and the stench having dissipated, and refugees had returned home, they were in awe of the destruction caused. They vowed to rebuild, mourn, and ensure the ambition of one person should never lead to the deaths of so many again.''
''The dragon eggs recovered are still said to reside on the final floor of the Ivory Tower, the Last King's quarters. There's some symbolism there, but you're meant to come to the conclusion on your own''
