DIYL5R
Dragon With Two Heads, One in Clouds One in Fields
<<Crane Soars High in Hot Sun, Scorpion Sleeps on Cold Rock<<
The next event of interest to her most divine majesty is Earth Breaths Fire and Dragon Takes Flight Over Three Rivers. This is considered the first in a series of dissolving borders that lead to the most bloody periods of strife to ever transpire in the Golden Empire.
The great volcano of the southern mountains, so long a home for the Dragon Clan, erupted after 10,000 years of dormancy. Most of the Dragon holdings are rendered uninhabitable, remaining so for 100 years. This forced Dragon out into the greater body of the empire.
Half of the Dragon Clan refused to come down off of the ruined mountain, calling back to their deal with the celestial dragon. These traditionalists stole off in the night along with the fleet of flying castles of the Dragon Clan to preserve their deal with the spirits and called themselves the Dragon of the Sky. The more modern elements of the clan poured down off of the mountains onto the flat land, becoming the Dragons of Earth.
The history of the Dragons of the Sky is unknown until much later in the story of the Empire.
They did not travel far, however, setting up permanent settlements in the Imperial delta and capitol, splitting the lands of Mantis, who had been gifted the former holdings of Crab by the emperor. But the lands of the Imperial Delta were small, and heavily populated as it was. The Horse Clan then made the deal of Mother and Son Shaking One Hand and Holding Wheat with the heads of the Dragon Clan houses. They would take in the children of the Dragon clan, allowing them to live in their lands and enjoy the protection and care of the Horse clan. In return, in 100 years when the Dragon returned to it’s mountain roost, Horse would keep half of the descendants of Dragon raised in this manner. Dragon reluctantly agreed, tying the two clans together
The coming age is considered one of relative peace, as Dragon reconstructed and restored much of the glory lost during the previous age of instability.