Dragon War

The Dragon War was a genocidal war fought by humans against dragons that took place between 1147 and 1375 AD.

History
As two of the three post-Mesozoic intelligent species on Earth, humans and dragons lived in harmony for many years. But as time went by, they began to drift apart. After humanity lost their connection to the astral plane, their lack of understanding deepened and they began to perceive dragons as an existential threat. In Europe and Asia, the only continents known to harbor dragons, dragon hunting became a noble profession, and attacks against innocent dragons were celebrated.

As these attacks became more and more widespread, the dragons developed a hatred for the humans that had once been their allies, and began attacking back. In 1147 AD, the humans declared outright war, and began killing every dragon in sight. Over the next two centuries, dragons across Eurasia were systematically exterminated.

Despite possessing powerful abilities, the dragons were severely outnumbered, and all were killed except for four powerful elemental dragons named Phoenicious, Terro, Gust, and Aquinta. In 1375, the surviving dragons used their combined power to create the elemental realms, where they took refuge from the wrath of man. Eventually the war, and the existence of dragons themselves, were completely forgotten, only to live on in obscure historical texts.

Long Term Effects
The war resulted in the near extinction of dragons from Earth, and the destruction of many texts proving the existence of them. Most modern humans do not believe dragons ever existed.

Provided the remaining dragons don't reproduce with each other, extinction is inevitable, and it is only through the species' extremely long lifespan that it continues to live on. This is especially true following the death of Phoenicious at the hands of the Scorion King, with only two males and one female now remaining.

The creation of the Dragon Heir was the only positive outcome of the war. The brainchild of Phoenicious, its aim was to bring a human to the elemental realms once a century, teach them about dragon culture and history, and grant them supernatural abilities before sending them back to Earth, in an attempt to restore a positive relationship between the two species. The tradition began in the fourteenth century and lasted through the twenty-first.

Scorions were not involved in the war at all, as they were residing exclusively in Africa and the Americas by the time the middle ages began.