The Birth of Zhun

Somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 years ago, there lived an elven man named Zhun Yi'long. He was a rice farmer—an ordinary man with one extraordinary trait: he was intelligent and a bit of a trickster. During this time, the land was ruled by malevolent dragons who enslaved mortals and small folk. These dragons were in a constant state of war with the giants that ruled the surrounding mountains.   One day, Yi'long’s village was visited by a dragon, who boasted that it would take a thousand years for the villagers to produce enough food to fill its belly.   To this, Yi'long pragmatically replied, "If I could, what will you grant me, oh powerful creature of the sky?" The dragon, full of pride, promised that if Yi'long could fill its belly, he would allow Yi'long to be the first mortal to see the world through the eyes of a dragon, granting him a ride on its back.   Yi'long smiled, his plan set in motion. He called upon all his family and gathered the elders of the surrounding villages. With his golden tongue, he convinced each village to contribute what they could to aid in his quest.   A year later, the dragon returned, curious about whether the mortal had attempted the impossible task. Upon arrival, it found Yi'long waiting, and where there had once been a small village, there now stood a great town surrounded by a thousand granaries. As the dragon landed, Yi'long proclaimed, "Look here, great creature! What you thought impossible in a thousand years, I have accomplished in less than one, and you are late for your dinner!"   Outraged and wounded in pride, the dragon began its feast, believing it had triumphed over the mortals. For a month, the villagers baked while the dragon consumed their offerings. Finally, as the last of the granaries was emptied, the dragon roared triumphantly, "I have bested you mortals! I have devoured all your pesky people can produce, and now I shall feast upon you all!"   With a knowing smile, Yi'long turned and pointed to the granaries the dragon had emptied earlier. "Look here! Those granaries have been filled again!" As the dragon looked, it saw carts laden with food arriving from all over the land, restocking the emptied granaries.   In shock, the dragon stared at Yi'long, who calmly stated, "Your arrogance has been your downfall, great dragon. You have grown so fat that even if you wished to devour us, you could not. We would simply cut you down as you struggle against your own pride."   The dragon, once a being that looked down upon mortals, now found itself humbled before Yi'long, the greatest mortal ever to walk the material plane. For the first time in history, not only had a mortal ridden a dragon, but one had also commanded it.   With a dragon as his servant, Yi'long united all the elders of his homeland and drove the malevolent dragons from his territory with the help of his newfound ally. He soon became known as the First Dragon Emperor of the Zhun Empire. His descendants have ruled the land ever since, and until around five centuries ago, they were all dragon riders commanding the descendants of Yi'long’s dragon.