Draconic Rift- Prologue

There was a time, many aeons ago, when dragons roamed this Earth, alongside humans. The dragons would offer the humans protection from threats with an tribute of gold as exchange. The might of the dragons, combined with their superior intelligence caused some humans to view them as deities. However, as man's technology progressed in time, they began to view the dragons in a different perspective, as pests and demons, who were merely leeching off their hard work. This eventually led to widespread hatred of dragonkind among the humans. Tensions built up over time, and soon, the relationship between the two races became a simmering pot of hatred and tension. Just as every pot has a pressure valve, this particular one came in the form of violence. First, there were isolated skirmishes for which both sides were responsible. Over time, this escalated into an all-out war. This war was never recorded in human history, as towards the end of the war, the Dragons, who were losing, fled to another dimension, and removed traces of their existence from the collective memories and texts of Humans.

However, their realm still was inter-linked by the portal that they had left with, deep in the rainforests of the Amazon basin ,where the undergrowth had long reclaimed the land, and the structure had crumbled long ago and became hidden in the undergrowth. However, the portal, which was stabilized by the dragons to facilitate their departure, stood up to the sands of time, and is still present and functional.

"Alright crew, I would want the camera set up by the cliff. Make sure that it is able to capture that tree over there." I commanded my camera crew, pointing to a distant tree at a distance. My name is Sam. Does it ring any bell to you? Well, you may notice me in some survival channels, starring in documentaries. Although I'm not as well-renowned as the legendary Steve Irwin, I still have quite a large amount of fan-base around the world. My crew and I had traveled towards the Amazon Basin, in an attempt to capture the flora and fauna of this majestic jungle, in a bid to raise awareness about the need to conserve them.

"Alright, Sam, we're ready to roll!" I heard one of my assistants call to me, beckoning me over to the cliff. Grabbing my rifle and rucksack, I headed over. The rifle and rucksack had all my things inside, and the rifle I brought along was just in case of animal attack. Since I styled myself as an adventurer, I had to dress in such a appearance. I quickly grabbed my belongings as went towards the cliff side. "Great, perfect. We're recording in three...two..one."

"After the long journey, it's nice to finally find a source of food as the sun sets in about an hour." I explained, smiling at the camera before peering down at my wristwatch. "What I've found here is basically a fruit tree, unique by the reason that the fact that the fruits grows abundantly throughout the higher parts of branches. "Well, I'm pretty much standing at a eighty foot high cliff here and I shall demonstrate on how to grab one of these."

After I spoke, I reached forward to pluck one of the the fruits, not realizing that i was already dangerously near the edge of the cliff. I took a heavy step with my right foot forwards, only to realize that there was nothing my foot was standing on. As I had applied a tad too much weight on my right foot,I eventually lost my balance as I started plunging forwards, down the cliffs. I cursed my luck as I realized that I was free-falling down with a speed that was increasing at an exponential rate, and that I was staring down thick patches of green and brown, with the former coming from leaves and the latter from branches of the trees. Even though the thick canopy of the trees may break my fall and minimize my impact. There was no chance at all that my crew would find me, considering the density of the jungle and the lack of abseiling equipment. I immediately knew that this could me the last time I will live. I briefly closed my eyes, hoping my death would be swift and painless. There was no way that I wanted to experience death the hard way. It was then that I wished that I'd rather actually fall to my death.

Just before I hit the ground, I saw a bright flash of light, then darkness. I was half expecting to see some deity or the bloody splatter that would be what remained of my body. However, what greeted me when i opened my eyes was utterly unprecedented.

The next experience I felt was a cold feeling as I opened my eyes. I saw snowflakes falling from the sky as the entire area was filled with a field of white. "What the?" I muttered to myself as I quickly looked around my body. No scratches, none at all. My rifle and my rucksack was still present alongside me, and that I found myself in what seemed to be a coniferous forests, surrounded by evergreen pine trees as a plethora of pine branches and cones were scattered around the snow. "Am i in heaven?" i wondered aloud, and immediately felt like an idiot for doing so.It was barely possible for me to survive such a huge fall yet to find myself in a totally different environment. Yet, it was strange that I was still carrying along my things, and that there was nobody around at all. Just to be sure, I pinched myself. The pain assured me that I was still in the realm of the living. Just then, I heard the sound of rustling behind me. Without hesitation, I dived behind a bush, pulling back the bolt on my rifle to chamber a round. Then, i took aim in the direction of the sound, aligning the sights perfectly. I did a short stint in the army, and was a crack shot with firearms. However, what I saw come round the bend completely surprised me.

Strolling round the corner was three dragons. Dragons. I could not believe my eyes as I saw three lizard-like creatures in the distance, with a long muzzles and serpentine wings. Strangely enough, they seemed to be dressed in leather clothing, possible to insulate against the cold weather of the current region. Before i could examine them more, one of them stopped, and sniffed the air. The game was up. Just as it was about to inform it's compatriots, i took the shot, it's head having already been in my sights. The hunting rifle discharged with a loud 'Blom', and i hurriedly drew the bolt back to cycle the round. I hit the jackpot, as the bullet hit it's eye, and presumably continued on to its brain. It roared once in pain, before falling down, motionless. The other two dragons immediately stopped on their tracks, looking down at their dead comrade before finally fleeing in fear, they had no idea what had hit him at all.

Thinking that the other two dragons would surely seek for backup, I immediately decided that it was time to get moving as well. I glanced inside my rucksack, and was relieved to find that all my belongings, including food, water and ammunition were still there. I then ran in the opposite direction from the Dragons, hoping to put as many miles between them as I could. As I ran, I felt the place becoming warmer than before.

Then, it dawned on me. Something tells me that I'm on Earth anymore.