Approximately three thousand and fifty years in the past.

We're seeing a great mountain covered by snow and marked by dozens of caves like holes in a piece of cheese. That is Mount Cherall, at the cold region of Jorhalt, that used to be the only dragon-free  region in the world. That was, until a few years ago, when a group of exploring dragons digged those caves.

Jorhalt was known for being the homeplace of the so called Kindfolk, a race of intelligent beings, tough lesser than dragons in intellect, size and power, but way more adaptable than them, and also, more receptive to concepts like cooperation and companionship. Kindfolks were also granted with an enormous genetical variability, even greater than dragons themselves, due to a capacity that was lost eons ago. The ability to assimilate traits from wild animals. Due to that power, kindfolk used to be divided into races and tribes, like the Lupine tribe, the Felis tribe, and so. But that was millennia ago. Since a Century ago, kindfolk started developing a deep sense of brotherhood and cooperation, achieving a great start of a civilization, with industries and sciences.

But at a given point of this revolution, some of them started complaining about being limited to the Jorhalt region while dragons held whole areas of misused territories.

Due to that, some dragons saw how their territories were invaded by crowds of little strangers. Their preys and hoards being stolen while they were sleeping, even some suffered being damaged or catched by traps set in common places like the whereabouts of nests and caves.

In the half of all this, to prevent the conflict to get greater, those exploring dragons were sent to take Mount Cherall as an outpost.

Scared for this move, the Kindfolk chose to send an emmisary, Coul Vallante, the Lion. He climbed the mountain disarmed, with nothing else than his clothes and a teabox, an artifact used by the kindfolk to prepare a warming beverage made of hot water and herbs, known as tea.

When the Lion reached the lowest of the caves, he found a dragon, wich was almost 4 meters tall, having a rare scale pattern, with white and grey scales, the last ones forming odd lines all over his chest. 

This dragon recieved the lion with a simple Question.

— Did you came here to surrender? Or you did it... to die? 

— I´ve came to bargain. 

The dragon was tired and weakened for the coldness of the place, so he chose to keep hearing the lion. 

— We, dragons, are the legitimate owners of this whole world. What you can offer to us that´s not ours already? 

— In order to keep the peace between the kindfolk and the dragons, i´ve came to offer the kindfolk themselves. 

— Interesting, now you have my attention. — The dragon said. 

— A law may be dictated between mines and yours, that the kindfolk can estabilish themselves wherever they want, as long as there´s at least 10 miles away of any dragon´s living. The inverse must also be applied, dragons may respect kindfolks´s living places. At exchange of this law´s approval, dragons may gain a right upon the kindfolk. Feel free to ask whatever right you want. 

— You are being too generous, kindfolk. I could ask for kindfolk´s total obeyance to dragons, or even an annual offering for every city you all happen to found. But, as you were generous, i´ll be too. Any city you all happen to found outside this region must be belong to us, and any city may choose a mayor between themselves, but a greater mayor between dragons in the whereabouts. And there may be peace between both parts, but for whoever breaks the peace, being it a dragon or a folk, must be executed by folks in the cities, and dragons in the whereabouts alike. 

— Your proposal is fair and right, dragon. 

— You lion, please call me Hidneat, cause that´s my name. And tell me yours, because you gained my respect. 

— I´m Coul Vallante. 

— ¿Two separated names for a single head? That´s a curious name. 

— Oh, Vallante is my surname. The name of my family. 

— What a rare manner of yours, putting names to families. 

— You dragons don´t? 

— I dont know why it would be needed. It will just make things complicated. 

As he saw the conversation was going for long, Coul sat and deployed the teabox´s content. And even offered some tea to Hidneat. 

...

Mount Cherall, today. 

Hidneat found himself at a highest cave, talking with a wyvern wich was black, with the sheer point of his scales being the color of bronze.

— So, Hidneat, will you simply stay here? 

— They haven´t a motive to hate us, they were our friends, Nouris. This is suspicios don´t you understand? 

— That´s not my business, they broke the peace, they may be hunted down, i´m hungry, but Commander Jaynuhs is sending me here to make us both lose worthy time. You know? Do you want trouble with him? Do you want we both have trouble with that tremendous voice of him?

— No. — Was Hidneat's answer.

— So, what? 

— I'm going out, but to do something else. Tell Jaynuhs to give me time until the new moon to interrogate the folks.

There was a tense silence between them, as Hidneat walked to the cave's entrance. Finally, the silence was broken by Nouris's words.

— You aren't the same since the treaties. The Hidneat i knew... He wouldnt doubt to attend a hunting call.

— That's because you did never knew the real me. — Hidneat said before flying to the nearest village.