Tales of the Lorekeepers 01 - Rise of the Red Dragon

one last victory, the hero was relieved of his duties and given lands where he could establish a home.
    “However, before settling on his lands, the man went back to his native village, where he courted a fair maiden. He had always carried the young lady’s gentle face in his heart, and revealed to her that he had fought the battles so that one day, he could come back and proudly ask for her hand. Of course, the young maiden was only too happy to accept his proposal. Their wedding was celebrated promptly and joyfully that spring. Soon after, the young woman was carrying a child and the couple could not have been more blissful.
    “As the months went by, the man built his home with his bare hands, and lovingly prepared the land he had been given. During the coldest month of the year, when the night is twice as long as the day, their home was filled with warmth from the birth of their first child, a healthy son who was sure to grow up as strong as his father was.
    “The man could not have been happier. All his wishes had come true and it appeared he would have the life he had always dreamed of.
    “However, when the snow melted and the ground was ready for the first plowing of spring, the man quickly realized something was not right. As he moved with his horses through the land and turned the soil over, he saw that what had been fertile land was now transformed into dry sand and rock fragments. The more he plowed with his horses, the more sand and rock he turned over. The man quickly realized all his lands were in this dire condition and that nothing could be grown.
    “Desperate, and unsure of what was happening, he went home and told his wife what he had witnessed. She tried to cheer up the man and told him to try again tomorrow. Maybe he had not seen right, or maybe only a portion of the land was now unsuitable for farming. However, for the next few days, the more the man plowed, the more sand he uncovered and the more bitterness filled his heart.
    “As if that was not enough, his newborn son became violently ill, seized with a fever and covered by purple spots. Healers and doctors examined the fragile infant, but alas, none of them could determine the cause of his illness, let alone find a cure for it. The mother became a lifeless image of her former self, drowned in sorrow and consumed by despair.
    “It seemed that fate was rapidly taking from the man everything he had fought for.
    “One night, as he was sitting on the porch of his home praying to God and hoping for a sign from an angel, he noticed movement on the ground, a few feet beyond the light from the fire he had lit. Peering into the darkness, he tried to see what kind of animal was walking about this cursed home.
    “But the nightly intruder was no rabbit or rat. It was a disfigured leprechaun, one of those evil house spirits who delight in tormenting unfortunate men. The creature looked at the man and vanished before he could do anything to catch it. That night, it became clear to him what was happening to his family and his land. The leprechaun had placed a curse on his home, probably to serve some evil plan that only creatures of the night could understand.
    “The next day, the man set up traps around his house, determined to catch the fiend. He believed that only by slaying the little creature could he break the curse on his lands and heal his son, lifting the veil of despair that covered his wife at the same time. That night, he stood guard by the porch, his trusty sword in his hands.
    “Sure enough, as midnight approached, he heard eerie screams from somewhere behind the small barn, where he kept two workhorses. Without wasting a minute, the man jumped to his feet and ran to where he had laid a trap. When he turned the corner, holding a torch in one hand and his sword in the other, he saw the evil leprechaun struggling to free itself from the trap. Upon seeing the man and the sword he was carrying, the little fiend began to yelp frantically, imploring the former warrior to let him live. But the man believed there was no other way. Killing this demon was the only solution he could think of to free his family from the evil curse that besieged them.
    “Slowly approaching the trap and its prisoner, the man lifted his sword over his head and prepared to strike down the leprechaun. The little creature turned his head to look away, holding out a crooked hand to protect himself and begging for his life. Oily tears were now running down his