Several weeks later:
At an undisclosed location :
Rodger walked through the large exorbitant palace for Stone Helm's currently presiding king.
The central location of the city, combined with the fact that it served as something of a capital for the Hunter's Guild made it the perfect venue for the discussions being held today.
Every single ruler on the continent had been called up for the meeting.
Even the vassals of the larger kingdoms that oversaw the governance of smaller towns on their lord's behalf had been called up.
Rodger was the Lord of a small isolated kingdom that one could barely find on a map even if one knew it's name.
He loved it though.
He was his own boss and he almost never saw his Liege.
Which meant he was free to skim off the taxes he collected from his subjects.
But his little piece of paradise was disrupted by an urgent summons from his liege.
He walked up to the double doors that led to the meeting hall and two guards pushed open the doors for him.
Inside were more heads of state than Rodger had ever seen in his life.
The current King of Stone Helm Henry addressed him as he entered the room.
He was a middle aged man who had seen 60 winters with a long grey beard and short hair.
Despite his advancing age, he was still as strong as people half his age and was considered one of the greatest warriors in the land.
He also had very strong ties to the hunter's guild and often took part in hunts himself.
"Ahh, Lord Rodger of Northreach! How nice of you to 'finally' grace us with your presence!" Said King Henry sarcastically.
Lord Rodger bowed to the King.
"Forgive my tardiness, Your Majesty!!
My kingdom is far from here and we had trouble on the road!" Explained Rodger.
"Yes, well... you're not the only who has been late!
I'm afraid they'll have to be filled in later, we can't wait any longer!" Said King Henry
Rodger went to go join his fellow lords and dukes on a series of benches located by the wall, while the 13 Kings all walked to the large table in the center of the room and took a seat.
Once everyone was settled in, King Henry addressed the reason for their summons.
"Thank you all for coming.
I called this assembly because the land is in turmoil and we are standing on the edge of catastrophe.
By now I'm sure you all have seen the reports of the 'rogue dragon ' Calamity.
A few of you have even been victims of his villainous deeds.
Murmurs sounded among the assembled lords and a few of the Kings sneered at the mention of the dragon that had become a hot topic of late.
Rodger personally didn't particularly care about the dragon.
His fiefdom was small and isolated, very unlikely to draw the dragon's interest.
This didn't mean that he had escaped completely unscathed however.
The dragon's many victories had emboldened the many non humans across the continent.
Several of his non human slaves had managed to escape.
And as his land bordered several mountainous regions.
He had been raided by several Dwarven clans that called the region home.
"I called you all here to inform you that one of the Hunter strongholds in the fringes had been sacked.
And the dragon has reportedly taken up residence there!" Explained King Henry.
"Yes, Yes!! We've all heard the rumors!!
Frankly we wouldn't be in this mess if your damn hunters could do their job!!" Said Arch Magister Arctorus.
"I wouldn't be so quick to point fingers, Arch Magister!!
Didn't one of your own Magisters take part in the battle?
And turned out to be a traitorous Lich at that!" Called another of the kings.
Before the arguments could escalate further, King Henry silenced them.
"No one is at fault here!
And I didn't call you all here so that we can point fingers!
I called you so that we can solve the problem!" Said King Henry.
"Isn't this something for the hunters to handle?" Asked Queen Celine
One of the few female monarchs on the continent.
She ruled over a heavily forested region that was famous for the skill of it's archers and the quality of it's bows.
She was also rather infamous for her hatred of elves, as well as her many brutal hunts of the race.
"I'm afraid that it's abundantly clear that this is a threat that is beyond the capabilities of the hunters to contain alone.
It is for this reason that I proposed the creation of 'The Order of the Dragon'.
An elite group of the greatest warriors, hunters and mages our combined lands have ever seen.
Recruited, equipped and bankrolled by everyone present here." Suggested King Henry.
Angry shouting erupted the moment the king suggested that they pay for the creation of the order.
It took the King several minutes to quiet everyone down.
"This threat is beyond any of us to handle by themselves.
But I can't force you to participate!
If you wish to take your chances on your own, you may do so!
But this is a one time invitation!
The Order cannot, and will not intervene if you don't support it's formation, and you end up getting attacked by Calamity.
Whatever objections they had before about the formation of the Order, dissappeared the moment the threat sank in.
None of the people at the table were confident in their odds if Calamity decided to attack them.
Especially with the rumors that his army were growing everyday.
"And who is expected to lead this coalition?
You?" Asked the Arch Magister.
"Nothing would please me more than to engage with this worthy adversary.
But alas.
My advancing age and my duties to my people keeps me from participating directly in this hunt.
I have found a worthy individual who can lead in my stead however. " answered King Henry.
"And what is the name of this individual?" Asked Queen Celine.
"No one knows, as he has never choosen to name himself.
Everyone simply calls him 'The Slayer '
Murmurs spread among the assembled lords.
Most everyone had heard about his deeds.
He was a hunter that only hunted one particular species.
Dragons.
And he was widely successful at it too.
It was widely known that if you needed a dragon dead, he was the best to use for the task.
"Another hunter? Don't get me wrong, his deeds are legendary.
But can he really succeed where so many had failed before?" Asked Rodger.
"Alone, no he cannot.
But with an entire Order of the best warriors and Mages at his back, equipped with the latest armors and weapons from among us?
I am certain he will be able to finally solve our 'Dragon Problem.'" Said King Henry.
"Creating an Order of this scale would take months to complete!" Said one of the other kings.
"And that is why we cannot afford to wait!
Time is of the essence!" Said King Henry.