This Story has taken heavy insporation from Solo Leveling, Diablo, and Wings of Fire and others. All right served to their respective owners.

  A great storm brewed the night humans set foot on Pyrrhia.

  A ship of silver cruised across the seas, gleaming like a fallen star, then two, three. Before long, hundreds followed. The dragon of Pyrrhia, who had ruled the continent for eons, were bewildered upon the arrival of these strange creatures who seemed to be as intelligent as themselves.

  At first, the Dragons did not see these creatures as an imminent threat, while it alarmed them with their intelligence, they had faith that these new arrivals would open a new door of opportunities.

  The dragons shaped the human culture to mirror their own; each dragon tribe had a shadowing human kingdom. Seven tribes, seven Kingdoms.

  The Skywings talk to the humans about the cycle of air and the animals that call it home. The Icewings taught them the art of war and organisation. The Sandwings enjoyed their human trade routes, bringing precious resources and beautiful art. The Nightwings showed the humans the power of knowledge. The Seawings taught the humans the cycle of the ocean and their ecosystem. And finally, the Rainwings taught the humans the importance of peace.

  But humans weren't like the dragons; humanity had a natural urge to destroy everything around them, and quickly, the humans waged war against each other. much to the dragon's horror.

  While it was hypocritical for the dragons to call out the humans for their seemingly senseless wars, it was their fear. Humans a proven themselves capable of fighting on their own, and it showed their insecurity about their dominance over Pyrrhia.

  No one knows, but at one point, humans seemed to have surpassed their draconic hosts. They had learned all they could from their allies and began expanding once more. What little territory Pyrrhia offered became scarce, which only led to more wars.

  That the dragons realised that the humans were on the verge of waging war, in fear that their dominance was contested, the dragon tribes made a preemptive strike at the humans.

  Betrayed, the humans waged war against the great dragons of Pyrrhia. But the dragons were too powerful; their fire and magic slaughtered any humans in their path. Town after town. They burned every human settlement to the ground.

  But humans adapted; they made weapons to pierce dragon scales, ballistae to kill them in one shot, and armies big enough to overrun the largest of dragons.

  There were untold deaths on both sides, but the humans were too numerous; they overran the dragons and pushed them back.

  Among the remaining Nightwings was Darkstalker, the most powerful dragon to ever walk Pyrrhia. In desperation, he searched the future and other possible futures. But all he was met by was the extinction of dragonkind, and on top of the bones of the dragons, humans built sprawling cities piercing the sky like fangs, endless armies too large to count, with weapons unlike anything he'd ever seen before.

  He foresaw the end of dragonkind, but it was too late; the humans, after decades of studying all there was to the world, had found the dragon's weaknesses.

  The Human-Dragon war turned into a genocide. No matter what Darkstalker did, no matter how many humans he killed, no matter how many fields he burned down, no matter how many towns he destroyed, it was all for nothing.

  The dragons had been pushed to their last strongholds, their ranks dwindling every day. But Darkstalker refused defeat and began seeking other alternatives, going from necromancy to demonology until he found it.

  Within Pyrrhia's largest was an obsidian-like monolith, no one knows its origins, and it proved to be nearly indestructible. Darktalker had discovered that it was the key to opening up a rift to another dimension. The Shadow realm is home to creatures of the night and unnatural forces.

  The earth shook and split open, a great shadow rose from its depths, an army unlike anything the world had ever seen before. Abyssal warrior clad in blackened steel, burning a fiery blue.

  Tathamet, the ancient Titan, Destroyer of worlds, and reaper of death. The Shadowborn is the most powerful entity trapped within the shadow realm. Once Darlkstalker freed him, he and his army of shadowkin were free to make this new world.

  Darkstalker, desperate to save his race, begs for their salvation. The Shadowborn knew this was an opportunity for a new conquest of this new world.

  In exchange for erradicating humanity, all the Shadowborn asked for was his loyalty and eternal servitude, and he could personally be responsible for destroying the very creatures that pushed his kind to the edge. Eager to prove himself. Darkstalker made a deal with the devil and became the Ashborn.

  The Shadow Crusade had begun, the Age of Dragons had ended, and the age of Shadows had begun.

  Leading them was the Ashborn, champion of the Shadow Monarch Tathamet, and his right-hand man, Igris the Dark Crusader. And an army of Abyssal soldiers.

  Darkstalker was no longer the same; he had fully embraced the darkness, and now craved for more power. They tore through humans and dragons alike. leaving nothing but cinders in their wake

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  The world was on the verge of collapsing, the war between the humans and dragons had already scarred the land, but the rise of the shadow army turned the battlefields into graveyards, and the continent became unrecognisable.

  Cities burned to the ground, castles crumbled, and even the mightiest dragons and human armies fell beneath the tides of darkness.

  The seven human kingdoms, once triumphant against the dragons, now teetered on the verge of destruction. When the human kings came to the dragons for aid against the reckoning, begging for an alliance against the Ashborn, the dragons turned their backs.

  The dragons would not fight; they had suffered enough and were ready to accept their defeat. But one human warrior refused their answer. A nameless warrior, he had no allegiances, no army, no kingdom. Just a mission. To save Pyrrhia.

  He sought out the dragon Queens one by one to convince them to fight with the humans, if not for themselves, then for Pyrrhia. If their species was doomed, as they believed, why not fight?

  And one by one, they joined him. Until finally, all seven tribes stood ready with the remaining humans. Side by side for the first time since the Dragon War had begun. The war for Pyrrhia had begun.

  This warrior had proven himself time and time again. It gave those around him hope. The dragons saw that, they saw the pinnacle of the human race. The dragons knew they were a doomed species, but their legacy would not be forgotten.

  Before the united forces of Pyrrhia could march to war, all seven dragon Queens gifted their champion a gift, one by one he was empowered. Wings of Fire, heavenly golden armour, and a spear said to be forged in the heart of a dying star, Solarion.

  Imperius, the Archangel of Valour, was born, champion of a free Pyrrhia.

  Imperius and the remaining humans and Dragons marched to banish the shadow army from their home. But Impreius knew he would still be no match against the Ashborn.

  He would need more power, and Darkstalker's second in command was just what he needed.

  Igris the Bloodred, the only warlord to stand against Tathamet and his army of shadows; however, the darkness proved to be too great for the red knight. In a final stand, Igris gave his life to ensure that his people escaped the clutches of the Shadowborn, where his people went, he would never know.

  Unfortunately for Igris, he would not know peace for a long time. The Shadowborn, as a form of punishment for his rebellion, brought Igris back from the dead and made him swear servitude to him. And he became Igris the Dark Crusader.

  Igris was the most powerful shadow at Tathament's disposal, wreaking havoc on the human armies. Imperius knew that taking out Igris was the first step to freeing Pyrrhia.

  After cornering Igris's shadow army, it was only a matter of time before Imperius would face Igris.

  That night, Imperius and his troops finally routed Igris's forces. In an attempt to flee, Igris fled through the mountains, however, Imperius had been trailing him since the battle, and eventually he revealed himself to Igris.

  Forced to fight, Igris battles Imperius, knowing he couldn't win against Imperius. Igris pleads to be spared. Imperius, knowing he could not defeat Darkstalker alone, makes a deal with him. In exchange for Igris's power, he would live eternally in peace.

  Igris, seeing a chance to be free of the Shadowborn, accepts the deal and gives his life to Imperius. Striking him down with Solarion, Imperius kills Igris. After killing him, Imperius revives Igris to gain access to his power, and Igris, now tied to Imperius's soul.

  Now, with the power of the Sun and Moon, Imperius and the remaining forces of good marched onto Clawtooth Mountain to finally end the age of Shadows.

  On the eve of the final battle, Imperius, to inspire hope, gave his troops a battle speech and promised that he would set Pyrrhia free or die trying.

  He personally led the charge, the shadow army was an endless sea of black and despair. But Imperius would not buckle or yield. His golden spear carving a path into the Ashborn's army with powers that should have never belonged with mankind.

  The battlefield stretched across the mountain's feet like a wasteland of ash and cinder.

  Then Darkstalker descended into the carnage. The sky ripped itself apart to make way for the Ashborn, his wings stretched across the sky, darkening the ground below.

  Imperius knew the time had come.

  The two demigods clashed like titans. Imperius knew he could not win alone, but he would try. For three days, the two beings of immense power clashed against one another—an unstoppable force against an immovable object.

  Finally, on the third day, atop Clawtooth Mountain, Darkstalker struck down Imperius, the angel, mortally wounded finally collapsed, his wounds consuming him.

  In a fit of triumph, Darkstalker lifts up Pyrrhia's hope, addressing the world that their champion had been defeated. In a final effort, Imperius, with his dying breath, cast a spell on Darkstalker and the mountain itself. Before the Ashborn had a chance to finish the Angel off, the mountain came crashing down on both of them, burying them underneath the earth, and became what is now called Jade Mountain.

  With the Ashborn defeated, the shadow army was left leaderless during the chaos. The united forces of Pyrrhia pushed them back to the monolith. During this time, seven warriors shone the brightest, seeing Imperius as an example to follow, these seven warriors took charge and led from the front.

  When the final day of the shadow crusade approached, these seven human warriors banished the shadows and closed the rift between their realms.

  After the battle, the last living dragon, a Nightwing by the name of Clearsight, was on her deathbed. In her final moments, the seven human warriors stayed with her till her passing. In those final moments, Clearsight seeing hope and a bright future for humanity after seeing all the good, bad and ugly within these creatures, gifted these seven warriors unique gifts and abilities much like she and the other tribe queens had for Imperius.

  From that day forward, the Dragon Warriors were born, and these seven Dragon Warriors would continue on their path and create a school dedicated to teaching the future generations of the Dragons and becoming Dragon Warriors so that they may protect Pyrrhia from evil.

  While these seven warriors would be remembered for millennia, Imperius, the Archangel of Valour, would fade into history and become a folk legend across the continent.

  However, that was not all Clearsight gave the humans before her time came. Before she passed, she had a vision of a prophecy. That one day, the Archangel of Valour would return in Pyrrhia's darkest moment for his requiem of vengeance, and he would become the Archangel of Death.

  That was 5,000 years ago, the legend of Imperius had become a myth, and with no sight of Imperius' return, not many believed in the Prophecy.

  With peace restored and humans left as the sole dominant species, they began the rebuild, city after city, and monument after monument.

  Every now and then, a child is born with a unique ability - as they would have been descendants of the original seven Dragon Warriors - an ability that would become known as a Dragon Core, an ability that would be unique to the wielder alone.

  Those who show potential to become a Dragon Warrior would be sent to the prestigious academy Draconis Academia, or more commonly known as Dragon Academy. A school dedicated to teaching young people with potential to become guardians of Pyrrhia.

  And that's how our story begins. Sorta.