Dragons In Eden I

Posted: October 31, 2009 | Author: Dennis N. Santana | Filed under: Campaigns, D&D 4e, Fluff/Inspiration, RPG, Spirits Of Eden |4 Comments »

Of all the creatures upon Adel’s surface, few can match the size and majesty of dragons. Though the smallest dragon is the size of a man, the largest can be the size of an island. These massive reptilian spirits exude an alien feeling that seems not entirely of this world, and the feeling is half-true. Dragons are the most visible remnants of a past world, the world destroyed by the Cataclysm and which then became the Eden known today.

Dragons Of The World Before

It is believed that the world before was destroyed when its inhabitants abused the limitless magic given to them by the aberrant gods which they worshiped. Dragons were no different from the other inhabitants of the world in this case. Dragons utilized great sorcery, and even the youngest knew some kind of magic trick they could perform with little restriction. Dragons were greedy and monstrous, and populated the world in large numbers.

The ancient empires of that world, according to the few dragons who remember, vowed to exterminate dragonkind. They rightly viewed the dragons as a threat to them. Why would their gods concede to the dragons power greater than they gave to their subjects? It is hardly much of a question now – the old gods were beings concerned only with sowing chaos, and pitting the dragons against the races of men and beasts created a more exciting chessboard for them.

The dragon war that raged then saw dragons in their last, greatest unified majesty. Horrifying hosts of red dragons flew over the empires, burning them to the ground. The skies were rent with the lightning of blue dragons. The rivers flowed with the poison of green dragons and the swamps boiled with the acid of black dragons. An undying winter crept upon them by design of the white dragons.

There was no winner to this conflict. It is said that there was a lull in the battle, a time of peace. Then the cataclysm swept them all away before anything could become truly settled.

Dragons In The New World

The Dragons survived the cataclysm and the war, but their numbers had dwindled to nothing. It is said that only thirteen dragons of each type, for a total of sixty-five dragons, survived to the dawn of the new world. All of the adult and elder dragons had passed, and only one of each ancient dragon remained. The dragons saw the spirits remaking the world and they pleaded to them for aid and favors. But the spirits would not favor them. Seeing the power of the dragons, they offered them a choice to make amends, but they would not return them to their former glory.

Dragons became spirits. By binding themselves to the same unwritten laws as the Spirits, dragons were unbound from their shared destiny and divided in each direction to help in the recreation of the world – ensuring that they would never again be able to join together under the same banner again. The red dragons left to the tend to the earthly fires, helping to regulate them. The white dragons left for the mountains, covering them in the ice that once cloaked them. The blue dragons roared in the sky, giving it back its electric life. The green dragons headed for the forests, overseeing the death of the evil plants of the old world and the growth of the new, natural flora. The black dragons, most ruthless and distrusted of them all, were confined to the swamps, where they would fight and destroy whatever aberrant monstrosities remained hidden to safeguard the new world.

And so, the dragons played their part in the coming of the new Eden. When the work was over, like all Spirits, Dragons looked upon a new world with new eyes. Like all Spirits they were given the freedom to think again and discard their worldbuilding duty, and be released. They remained in whatever areas were convenient to them. Spirit and Dragon were divided by one fact, however.

Man found Dragons first, then Spirits. Before even the Intolerable War, the great culture of the new humanoids on Eden made contact with the Spirits, the creators of their new world, for the first time. Dragons, displeased at finding their old nemesis, reacted brashly, and their reputation as monstrous was cemented. But it was a reputation they would come to shed. The Dragons all behaved very differently.

•Red Dragons, prideful and bold, decided to make use of people. They gave favors and asked for favors, they shared the wealth they easily amassed from their prior and current lives, and took pleasant forms to be suitable to talking and interacting with people.

•White Dragons, cold and brutish but indifferent, isolated themselves from people. They hid in the coldest regions of the world where people would not follow them, and they frightened away anyone who came near. Only in the rarest circumstances did they lend any help.

•Blue Dragons, territorial but honorable, lived lives in the deserts and in the lightning-lit skies, far away from people. They decided they would decide depending on the situation what to do with people. They really did not care – all that they wanted to do was to fly contentedly into the twilight of their race.

•Green Dragons, cunning and intelligent, hid in the forests where they would be sure to meet with people on a regular basis. At times they frightened, at times they helped, at times they tempted and led to ruin. Capricious and with lack of ambition, they decided to toy with people.

•Black Dragons, violent and begrudging, distrusted of people. They remembered well how their race was nearly finished thanks to the folly of men, and would always remember it. They hid in the swamps where men rarely came, and whenever they did, they were repelled with merciless strength.

But eventually, all dragons of all types grew to respect the strengths of certain individuals. This is because, as Spirits, Dragons’ attitudes and even their forms were slowly shaped by the will of the mortals, as the natural order decreed. It is possible now, if one has a compatible disposition, to seek help from any type of dragon.

Dragons in Eden, being intelligent Spirits, can change their shape to a humanoid form at will. Young dragons often turn into a form which represents their emotional maturity, so a child dragon will have a child humanoid form. Some dragons can turn into other types of beasts, but this is very rare.

The Dragon Bosses

There are few dragons of each type any more. Dragons rarely die of violence, however. As Spirits, it is taboo to kill them, unless they have performed a sin so great that their lives become forfeit. However, many dragons have been killed nonetheless, particularly by heroes who view breaking the taboo as a noble sacrifice, or because they genuinely sought out death by performing a horrible deed.

There are no longer any age category divisions of dragons. Young Dragons may have acquired power on the level of old depending on what lore they’ve found, what spirit powers they’ve courted, what human worship they’ve acquired, and even what magic they’ve studied. As Spirits, their age determines nothing, and the circumstances of their birth determines only some of their power. Fate handles the rest. Their old sorcerous nature is also not entirely gone.

Much like the Spirits have the Nine Greater Spirit Powers as their most potent individuals, so do the Dragons have Gods among their own, though the Dragon’s most powerful are still nowhere near the strength of even one of the Nine Greater Spirits. However, these mostly stationary, mostly approachable Dragons are respected as the leaders of their kind, and worthy of worship and favor.

Boss Bolg

The boss of the Blue Dragons, Bolg is an old, rather lazy creature who’s lightning strikes have lost their youthful speed, and who’s scales look dulled blue from age. Bolg has only one adult female mate, Trevita, who resides with him and handles his “public relations.” Bolg has five grown children, the whereabouts of which he does not care for, and two small ones which do reside with him. He dotes upon them as much as he can.

Bolg’s notable characteristic is that his Draconic speech is almost gibberish to other dragons thanks to his strained, babbling drawl, which Trevita interprets for others. Bolg rarely moves from his home in a low-lying crack in the wastes of Vedaria. He relies on his lackeys to do things for him.

Generally, Bolg is more generous with money than he is with favors. He has lost his lust for gold and jewels in his old age, and would rather pay away his lackeys than have to do them favors. If he absolutely cannot send Trevita to complete the favor, he will go himself – and despite his lack of energy he is a fearsome opponent, who can revert to his youthful fury for just enough to defend his lackeys.

To become a lackey of Bolg’s, a prospective member must perform an important task for Bolg that he or Trevita might have had to go out and do. Money cannot buy Bolg’s protection. He does not care for it. He only cares for deeds.

Bolg’s greatest assets for prospective lackeys include a network inside of Vedaria’s government that can give information, smuggle goods or sneak people into critical facilities. Outside of Vedaria, Bolg’s lackeys also have access to many substances and materials illegal in other nations, such as certain drugs or explosive arcane reagents or tomes of forbidden magic. They can produce these in Vedaria (where they are legal) and sell them elsewhere where there is demand. All of Bolg’s lackeys are branded with a scar of lightning. To any not aligned to Bolg, the scar would look like any other burn mark. It has illusory magic that allows lackeys to see it as a lightning bolt.

All dragon bosses are mostly cordial to each other, but Bolg hates bosses Urg and Crag most, perhaps for slights done to him as a youngster. In humanoid form, Bolg looks like a dark-skinned, well-built, balding middle-aged man in meditation, with his eyes almost always closed, wearing fine clothing.

Boss Dalv

The boss of the Green Dragons, Dalv is a cunning, hands-on creature and one of the two female dragon bosses. She has no mates personally with her, but has had three adult children who have since left her, and is raising a small female as a successor of sorts. She inhabits the jungles of Selvage, having excavated herself a large, many-chambered tunnel of sorts in the center of the Fey Jungle, which she is quite aware of how to navigate properly.

Dalv takes great advantage of the war between the tribes of Selvage and the Vedarian conquerors. Her lackeys are either mercenaries, smugglers or guides in the jungles, playing both sides for their coffer’s worth and fueling the fires by provoking more attacks and more warfare. Lulls in the combat mean less gold and jewels for her, so Dalv might even attack a settlement personally to instigate more fighting. She is wary of the illegitimate elven communities in Selvage and tries not to become involved with them.

Even so, it is difficult not to kill a meddling elf or two while in the midst of the conflict in Selvage.

To become a lackey of Dalv’s, intelligence and cunning are required. Dalv cannot afford to hire fools. The operations she runs are extremely delicate, and as such she does not have the networks of lackeys other dragon bosses have, instead opting for small groups of intelligent and capable people. The benefit of working for Dalv, is the work itself – it is dangerous, but pays very well. Dalv has little honor for her lackeys – she is not above unknowingly pitting them against each other or having them killed by an opposing group as part of a greater scheme.

However, one thing Dalv does honor is a request to leave. She does not need anyone to remain reluctantly. Dalv has a special frozen chamber in her lair where she keeps a Remuko spirit that can erase the memories of people before Dalv lets them go. The Remuko is paid in fine silk robes and increasingly gaudy jewelry, as well as having Dalv and Dalv’s daughter for companionship, which suits her fine. Dalv’s lackeys are not specially marked – they learn hand signals and tells they can use to identify each other instead, but these are not always very easy to recognize.

All dragon bosses are mostly cordial to each other, but Dalv specifically hates Crag, whom she believes to be nothing but a vain and worthless creature. In her human form, Dalv is a beautiful blond-haired woman with frightening green eyes dressed in a silk and green-scale robe.

Dalv is the only Dragon boss with little to no control over the remainder of her race. Her adult children, and unrelated green dragons, all dispersed to different corners of the world, and they supplant her place there, hiding in the forests and giving and receiving favors far removed from their great mother. Dalv is too focused on Selvage, and has completely lost touch with the universe outside her own schemes.

Boss Urg

The boss of the Black Dragons, Urg is a brutal, raucous beast living in the Rotgulch Swamp of Periterim. He lives with his six female children, whom are also his mates. Any new children made have a rather rough life ahead of them. Males are thrown out by Urg himself. Females are kept by Urg to grow into fresh meat for his desires – but female wyrmlings are likely to be abused by the other females, who see no attachment to the little creature save as a rival. Urg’s mates are constantly bickering with each other.

Urg is a dragon boss with no real initiative and few lackeys. Lackeys who come to him do so out of desperation. Urg is not hard to please. An exotic trinket, a payment of gold, or an epic deed in his name; pleasing his ego is all that’s really needed. Urg is also the poorest of the bosses, in that he is rarely any help for the prospective lackey. He might impart upon them some magic, or share with them an object from his horde, or protect them from another dragon boss’ lackeys. But that is the extent of his help.

Urg has no real goals or initiative, therefore has no need of lackeys except for the bragging rights. He is quick to brutally kill any disrespectful lackeys – after all, he has no need of them, only their reverence.

All dragon bosses are mostly cordial to each other – except Urg. Urg is loud, brash, annoying and universally despised by the dragon bosses, but his lair is heavily defended, with him and his six mistresses. Most dragon bosses do not have such devoted children, and as such cannot make war on Urg’s draconic host without incurring heavy loses. Urg especially hates Crag and Dalv, believing them to be females who never had a proper male put them in their place.

When in humanoid form, Urg appears as a massive, muscular man and wields a jagged sword. He enjoys physical combat in humanoid form, unlike the other dragons who use their forms mostly to socialize. His mistresses appear as a harem of tan-skinned women and sometimes, to the disgust of visitors, children.

Boss Crag

The Boss of the Red Dragons, Crag is a vain, royal and arrogant creature that makes her home in the Fern Isles of Shadash north of Andaliel. She lives with two of her children, male and female twins Vut and Lok, who get along surprisingly well for “children” competing for the attention of a perfectionist mother. Of the bosses, she is the most approachable but one of the most demanding. Crag demands not only constant tribute from her subjects, but also constant flattery. The smallest slip can be taken as an insult.

Crag is greedy, but without much of a goal. She lives in a mountain hideout in Shadash that she is constantly having lackeys dig, making larger and more lavish rooms for her loot. Crag has the largest hoard of all the dragon bosses, and also the employ and admiration of numerous kobold lackeys who pamper her and her children. Prospective lackeys can expect to be allowed to borrow some of her items, or have one of her children take action to help, but Crag herself rarely sticks her neck out for a lackey any further than that. She does leave her hideout however, often to travel to market places in a human guise. Her favorite things are astral diamonds, of which she has only a single, precious one hanging around her neck or under constant guard, protected by runic ritual imprints.

All dragon bosses are mostly cordial to each other, and Crag herself does not consider anyone an enemy. Though she does not consider them friends either. She knows the other bosses have some problem or another with her, but considers them not worth her time. Killing them won’t yield her any more treasure than she would have to spend to commit the act. She considers them beneath her.

When in humanoid form, Crag takes the form of a dark-skinned woman with an amazing figure and long, lustrous red hair, growing to cover her left eye and ears, and is always dressed in the sharpest, latest, most glorious fashions.

Boss Firl

The boss of the White Dragons and the oldest of the bosses, Firl inhabits the Hetuku Mountains between Emdereur and Sargasso, but he leaves his hideout fairly often and does not keep much of a hoard. He has had numerous children, but none of them have allegiance with him, and he fears that most of them are dead. Firl is in a constant search for a female mate. He is getting desperate enough that he might proposition Crag, despite their being different races of dragon, whom he feels would be easier to mate than Dalv. It is unknown what Crag feels about this.

Firl’s organization is in shambles. He has few lackeys and has to keep them pleased. What he wants most of all is a mate to rebuild the population of White Dragons, since he knows not what fate it has undergone. He may even be the last of the White Dragons. Under these circumstances, any lackey that can spot another White and lead Firl to it would be greatly rewarded. The reason Firl has not been wiped out by stronger bosses is one of inherent respect.

Firl is the oldest of the bosses. Some legends say he survived the cataclysm alone and forgot he did or how. Despite his age (or perhaps because of it) he is a formidable fighter, and none dare challenge him to single draconic combat. He is like a father to dragons, no matter how much other dragons might begrudge him.

All dragon bosses are mostly cordial to each other and Firl even more so. He seeks no enemies and deals no slights. He believes in the spirit’s laws. Aside from that, he also has better things to do than petty quarrels with the remnants of their extinguished race. He realizes that Dragon’s follies in a world now dominated by more subtle spirits and by humanoids has caused them to reduce greatly in number.

Firl seems to have taken a fancy towards Crag, and visits her every so often to give gifts, hoping she might allow him to mate her. Her children seem to like him, but Crag herself seems ambivalent about the attention. Firl’s humanoid form is of a tall, pale, formidable man dressed as though a monk. When visiting Crag, his robe is more grandiose and he carries a decorated falchion behind his back.

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