The dragons of the north have always been a proud and strong species. Even among other dragons, the northern dragons of Martzenfroft have gained a reputation for being the most proud and unforgiving of the dragons. This reputation has not only made other creatures respect and fear them, but has earned them a following of the nearby dwarfs.
For centuries, the dwarfs who lived in the Martzenfroft moutain homes revered and even worshiped these dragons as gods, saviors and as guides. Their reverence was for a while unnoticed and ignored by the dragons, until the dwarfs stood by their 'deities' in the great war between the northern dragons and the eastern dragons of Shang Tao Fah, who saught to conquer the north and the rest of the continent, and possibly the world.
The dwarfs made powerful allies, lying in ambush as the eastern dragons flew almost serpent-like between the mountain peaks through the passes, and then jumping out to snare the invaders in the tall peaks for their allied dragons to pick off as easy prey. Soon after the Shang Tao Fah dragons retreated, the proud dragons of the north decided for once to put aside their pride and recognize the dwarfs as allies. They held a ritual, in which the dwarfs were allowed to share in the blood of the dragons. Once per year, the dwarfs gave up their most beautiful daughter in exchange for the blood of the dragons, allowing the dwarfs to take on dragon-like characteristics, and be closer to becoming one with their gods. These dwarfs, no longer dwarfs, dubbed themselves the Martzen.
This shamanistic ritual went on for almost a century. The dragons soon began to welcome the dwarfs not only as allies, but as brethren. At this point, the Martzen looked similar to a scaled dwarf, with dragon like eyes, broad wings, and talons at the end of their digits. The dwarfs began to develop a pride of their own in becoming more dragon than dwarf. Their children; who were born looking like dwarfs and grew into their dragon-like characteristics, began to be profiled based on how many characteristics they had. Those with the broadest wings, the deepest of yellow eyes and the lightest, sleekest scales were praised as future heroes and kings, while those with lesser characteristics were considered invalids and were shunned, abandoned or even sometimes exiled or stoned to death for crimes they did not commit.
One child was born to the Martzen with no dragon characteristics at all. Seemingly pure dwarf, the Martzen were outraged and embarrassed by this child. They called him 'Marzutjeyn', or in our tongue, 'betrayer of gods'. The dragons themselves took a particular interest in this dwarf, giving special treatment and favoring him. Confused by this, the dwarfs tried not to think too much of it and continued mistreating the poor dwarf. Soon, Marzutjeyn was spending more time with the dragons than with his dwarf family, and it even got to the point where the dragons were his new family. Marzutjeyn virtually disappeared from the Martzen, a prospect from which the Martzen took great pleasure.
One day, however, the dragons were nowhere to be found. The Martzen searched the high peaks and the low valleys, but nowhere could the dragons be seen, heard, or any proof of their existence recovered. On top of that, it seems that they took Marzutjeyn with them, and with him they knew not what they were doing. Distressed to the point of insanity, the Martzen split into tribes, each with a 'Marzamond', or a God Kin, which was one who took on the most dragon-like features. The Marzamond leaders bickered amongst themselves as to who should inherit the great kingdom of the dragons until the 'Turzamartzetak', or the 'Return of the Dragon Gods'. The great kingdom that the dragons build and abandoned, built out of the solid onyx stone of the Stormpike Peak, was pillaged and looted by the Martzen for 'safe keeping' until the dragons returned out of fear that one of the 'lesser' tribes would steal and fence it for their selfish pleasures.
Some tribes warred with each other. Some delved deep into seclusion and fell into chaos and turned to cannibalism. Others were more civilized, and created small villages, allowing visitors from other countries to spread the word of the dragon gods, though these villages were often raided by the more hostile tribes who believed they were performing a righteous crusade, and it made for quite the spectacle as both the hosts and the invaders flew around above the village, though injury was quite common amongst the visitors.
Lately, tales of treasure and glory have circulated around the world of the dragons' treasure. Crowns, gold, legendary magic weapons of old heroes strewn about caves, lying in wait for adventurers to claim. All that stands in their way are dozens of angry, flying, fire breathing, dragon scaled dwarfs with an appetite for human flesh.
Strangely enough, these adventurers are the main source of food for these Martzen.
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