🐲What’s the Biggest Monster?🐲-LORE

A tiny squeaking voice from the corner of the room cried “Papa”, distracting the Gloridax noble from the pile of approval forms for the week. Verlius had been more than clear with the little squirt’s mother; keep him distracted during form time. He assumed she was doing this to punish him for some unknown and trivial transgression.

“What’s the biggest monster, Papa?” the soft-scaled Dragonboy asked, far louder than necessary. Peering at the pile of documents on his dragonglass desk, Verlius knew that at least three hours of work remained. He could not be allowed to fall behind on his paperwork, but he must address the little monster or run the risk of untold destruction to his office.

As his tail vibrated with agitation, Verlius devised a plan to drive the little squidling running back to his mother in fear. He would tell him of the most terrifying monsters, the largest and most ruthless, the beasts that even the summoners fear to summon. The young Dragon needed to be hardened. Due to the blasted peace imposed by the Suam, there hadn’t been a public execution for months, but Verlius promised himself to drag the lad along to the next one.

The tiny Dragonboy jumped when Verlius finally began to speak, as if he hadn’t even expected a response. “Boy, you probably think that the great Golden Dragon is the largest monster in the Splinterlands. Or perhaps one of the wild Lightning Dragons. While the larger Dragons fancy themselves the embodiment of Glory, there are monsters out there that can swallow Dragons whole as a mere appetizer.”

Verlius slowly turned around to meet the wide eyes of his son. Yes, he definitely had the boy’s attention, but the boy had no words to respond. Narrowing his eyes to threatening slits, Verlius continued. “They say the Black Dragon of Mortis could rule all the Dragons if he so desired. He’s big enough to crush a Lightning Dragon beneath his heal, and he cannot be killed.”

Verlius was sure that he heard a little gulp from the child, who apparently had something of an idea where this was going. “The giant Dinosaurs of Anumün make many of the Dragons look small, boy. They can only be summoned to the largest arenas, the ones that can contain their power.”

“But don’t think that means that Dinosaurs are the biggest,” Verlius continued. “There are monsters that prowl the dark depths of the oceans that are larger than you know. Sea monsters, giant sharks, and untold terrors of the deep make us all look small. Plus, they outnumber us.”

Finally, the boy managed to interject a response. “So the Sea Monsters are the biggest?”

“No,” Verlius replied. “As big as the monsters of the sea grow, there are living things larger than you could possibly imagine. There are Giants the size of foothills and Titans the size of mountains. It has been written that the great god Helio can grow to be larger than whole planets. Many of these great monsters are too large to be summoned to civilized battle.”

The Dragonboy was astounded. To Verlius, a full-grown Gloridax man, the child looked even smaller amid the talk of such titanic monstrosities. He didn’t want to ruin the child with fear, just shape and form him with it, helping him onto the path to Glory. “The important thing for you to know, boy, is this: They’re all bigger than you. They have teeth and claws that rip and slash, but you have scales. You must never let your guard down, my son. They will come at you, fierce and hard, never tiring or relenting. But you will show them what it means to carry the Fire Blood. Now go bother your mother and let me get my work done.”

With a new spring in his step, the tiny Dragonboy darted from the room. Verlius turned back to his pile of papers, chuckling to himself. In spite of the pampered upbringing of an uptown Gloridax brat, the boy was surprisingly fearless. It was a good start.

---

Artwork by @candycal and Serge!
Edited, formatted, and text dividers by @carrieallen.

Lore written by @chrisroberts. He and his wife @carrieallen are currently finishing up the backstories and lore for all the Splinterlands, and working with @zipporah to complete the book. He will be offering sneak peeks, accompanied by brand-new artwork created by the Steem Monsters Team. Both Carrie and Chris prefer you refer to them as The Masters of Lore.😎

The Team is currently building up to launch a Kickstarter for the 150+ page campaign guidebook. Keep on the lookout for announcements and more inside scoops about the Splinterlands.

---

New to Steem Monsters? Check it out HERE

Meet us in Discord: https://discord.gg/jd8SKBq