Sic Transit Mundus
It was during the Bronze and Iron Ages, however, that the draconic species truly began to lose ground to the burgeoning human population. Advances in weaponry and armor meant that human hunting parties could truly go toe-to-claw with dragons, and their increasing population numbers and density put them into direct and increasing resource conflict with many dragon nests as time went on. While it is believed that the Mycenaean Greeks were the first culture to engage in region-wide organized hunts of dragons, pooling resources across multiple Mycenaean kingdoms in order to do so, later European and West Asian societies continued this practice. And their reasons for doing so are stated clearly in primary sources and folklore from the period, including defense against raiding of human food stocks, the acquisition of rare resources in the form of draconic body parts, and, arguably most importantly for some, the prestige associated with dragon-slaying, which would have those successful hunters preserved in story and song.
—The Life Of Dragons, Ánslo Academic Publications, 1563
Tropes that appear in this chapter:
- Death of a Child: The unborn dragon hatchlings are killed by the human hunters.
- Foreign Language Title: The title of the story translates from Latin to English as "Thus the World Passes".
- Glory Seeker: The epigraph discusses that one of the key reasons humans hunt dragons is for the prestige of successfully killing one.
- Shameful Source of Knowledge: Discussed. Leandro tells Julian not to tell anyone they saw a dragon, since they'd have to reveal that they were illegally poaching when it happened.
- Shoot the Shaggy Dog: Antlers' and Purplewings' attempts to build a new life are all for nothing when human hunters find their nest and kill them and their unborn children.
