Dragons of Theopetros
Welcome to my third post about the world of Theopetros. If you haven't read them yet be sure to look at the first two posts.
I thought about describing the gods of Theopetros this week, but I decided to leave that topic until next week in favor of doing something else. Today I am going to talk about a creature that is iconic to tabletop RPGs, and lends its name to probably more RPG related things than any other.
Dragons
Beyond the obvious name of Dungeons and Dragons, dragons are often one of the strongest foes that players will face.
The Dragon Patriarchs
When the gods first set foot on the material plane it was unpopulated except for the rare being that crossed over from the other planes of the multiverse. With the power of creation at their disposal the gods set about populating the plane. The first of their creations were the dragons.
Using the blood of the Prime Elements the gods fashioned the dragon patriarchs. They created seven: Comhairt, Dotain, Letreachas, Seneis, Aiged, Fuar and Pierken. Each patriarch was gifted with a different power.
Even with their rationing, the gods were running out of prime blood by the time they created the last of the patriarchs. Pierken was the first pesudodragon. He is known as The Greatest of the Small. When the patriarchs are listed he is often left off of the list, giving him his other name of the forgotten patriarch.
Comhairt- Force- (the unyielding one)
Dotain- Fire - ( The Great Flame)
Letreachas- Electricity- ( The Dragon of Thunder)
Seneis- Sonic- (The Great Song)
Aiged- Acid- (The Devourer)
Fuar- Cold- (The Frozen One)
Pierken- Poison- (The Greatest of the Small)
The patriarchs populated the world with their children. The empire of draconic civilization stretched across the plane, rising to unchallenged heights. The patriarchs were second only to the gods. They were flawed in the same way as their creators. When the Divine War raged, the dragons did not participate. This was not out of malice toward the gods, or a lack of loyalty. While the gods fought one another, the patriarchs faced a great conflict which took the lives of the six strongest patriarchs. The stronger patriarchs didn’t consider the support that Pierken could add to the conflict. If the other patriarchs had asked for his help instead of overlooking him, he may have been enough to turn the tide.
In the end the six patriarchs resorted to a final gambit. Their plan has been lost to history. What is known is that the patriarchs were apparently successful, but died in the attempt. With the patriarchs gone the highest ranking dragons formed the Demiarch Council. They followed the patriarchs’ final orders in organizing dragon kind.
The Dragon Graveyard
The dragon graveyard lies within the demiplane created during the patriarch’s final gambit. It is their final resting place. All dragons instinctively know where the graveyard is. This includes true dragons, and others with a strong draconic bloodline. When a dragon knows that death is at hand, they travel to the dragon graveyard to die. If a dragon dies outside of the graveyard it becomes the duty of another dragon to escort their remains to the graveyard and lay them to rest. This duty falls on the nearest dragon, regardless of the dragon’s alignment or possible relation to the deceased. This means that a dragon who kills another dragon is obligated to take the loser to the graveyard. In some cases this requires sacrifice on the part of the escorting dragon. The dragon responsible for the escort instinctively becomes aware of the deceased dragon and can track their remains no matter where they are. Few try to hide a dragon body for fear that a great wyrm may be the one tasked with providing escort.
With the remains of so many dragons in one place, the dragon graveyard is a dream for many who seek wealth and power. To protect the graveyard the patriarchs chose Sinesh the island. Sinesh is a dragon turtle so large that his shell can be mistaken for a small island. This shell island holds the only gateway to the graveyard. The blessing of the graveyard gives Sinesh strength and immortality as the graveyard’s guardian. As Sinesh travels the world, the graveyard travels with him. Without a dragon as a guide, it is almost impossible to find the graveyard aside from random chance.
When the Demon Lord locked the material plane, the graveyard was one of the few portals that remained active. This was due in part to the strength of the magic bleeding from generations of deceased dragons, and in part to the graveyard being a demiplane contained within the boundaries of the material plane.
Draconic Culture
Dragons on Theopetros are not color coded according to alignment. Gold dragons may be evil, and red ones may be good. In the end what is more important to them is draconic culture. Breath weapons are not always matched with color either. Though the color of a dragon’s scales often gives away the power of its breath, there are cases where a dragon traces back to multiple patriarchs and has a breath weapon which is inconsistent with its color.
The reasons behind many aspects of draconic culture have been lost in the over 4 thousand years since the great foe was defeated. The resulting cultural practices have become highly ritualized. Escort duty to the graveyard is sacred in a way that connects all dragons. Dragons take escort duty seriously, or face the wrath of the Demiarch Council. In rare cases a dragon is permitted to be buried outside of the graveyard. Each case is judged by the council, and the reasons presented must be great. Such reasons often come down to a dragon’s non-draconic family heritage, especially in the case of half-dragons.
Racial tensions often run high between dragon kind and other scaled races such as lizardfolk, troglodytes, and hydras. Dragons refer to these other races as tainted scales. All either side remembers is that the hostilities trace back to a time when there was great bloodshed between them. In fact the Demiarch Council banned all dragons from producing offspring with tainted scales. To do so would introduce dragon blood into their line. This is blasphemy among dragons. A tainted scale with draconic blood would be permitted entrance and burial in the graveyard. Those instances where a tainted scale is descended from draconic blood are almost all due to the actions of tainted scale parents.
Dragon items
With dragon bodies taken to the graveyard, items crafted from dragon remains are rare. Only those granted special permission, usually by a dragon before its death, are allowed to make and wield such items. Dragon items crafted from a dragon without permission are often cursed. Dragons are insulted by these items and will do their best to relieve the owner of the item.
Permission may apply to a single individual, in which case the items are expected to find their way to the graveyard after the individual with permission dies. Permission may also apply to a family line, where the item is an heirloom passed down through generations of a family that maintains the good will of a dragon.
About the Author:
Stephen Mayo lives in Montana with his wife, daughter, and three cats.
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