Dragons

Dragons are some of the most powerful creatures in Reality. While each Dragonflight possesses its own unique strengths, all dragons possess immense strength and endurance, as well as the cunning that comes with hundreds of years of life. Dragons may live for hundreds or thousands of years, and if left undisturbed they may continue on living indefinitely. However, they are not truly immortal as they can be killed by those possessing extreme martial or magical skill.

Dragons typically manifest themselves as massive, winged, reptilian creatures, but all dragons have a true humanoid form. In this form, a dragon possesses pointed ears like those of an elf, skin that is tinted a hue similar to its scales, dark hair similar in hue to its skin, and piercing, glowing eyes that may vary in color. Some retain their horns, fangs, claws, wings, or other features, resulting in a hybrid humanoid/reptilian appearance. While in their true form, dragons are only slightly more vulnerable than in their bestial form, and are still capable of utilizing their breath weapons.

Io, The First Dragon
In the most ancient days of the Material Plane, there was a great champion known as Io who was unmatched in battle and spellcraft. He single-handedly defended his people against all manner of terrifying beasts and cunning foes, and his clan knew peace under his guardianship for hundreds of years. With each threat he thwarted and every adversary he slew, his strength grew by leaps and bounds. However, as his power grew, his very presence in the Material Plane emanated so much energy that he began to attract yet more dangerous enemies to his lands. One day, the minions of The Outer Gods invaded and became the first monsters to breach Io's defenses, cutting down many of his clan before him. Io became enraged and channeled the raw energy of his anger through the focus of a magical spell which transformed him into a colossal, winged, reptilian beast, thus becoming the first dragon. With fang, claw, and flame, Io easily crushed the remaining threat, but not before losing many of his people.

Realizing that he could not defend his people alone anymore, he decided that he would have to share his newfound magic so that others could wield the same strength that he did. He searched through his lands looking for worthy champions to bestow his gifts upon, and encountered many warriors, wizards, and other adventurers wishing to prove their worth. Io realized that many of these men and women were noble and brave, but he found that in his heart he could not be sure that the power they would receive by being blessed as dragons would not warp their souls in the way that he had seen power corrupt others in the past. Io realized that his ideal champions would need to be dragons their entire lives and develop as natural masters of their dragon powers.

Io's Champions
High up in the mountains of his domain, Io found his champions: orphaned by the Outer Gods' attacks were three children that had been surviving on their own in the wilderness. They knew what it meant to take life to feed and protect themselves, but had learned how to live in moderation to avoid jeopardizing their food supply or their safety. The three were triplets, two boys and a girl, called Vorel, Bahamut, and Tiamat. Tiamat was a fierce hunter and even at a young age provided most of the food for the siblings with her kills. Bahamut was less skilled in the way of the hunt, but was proficient in constructing shelters and tending to the needs and injuries of his brother and sister. Tiamat harassed Bahamut incessantly, lashing out with spiteful words and blows without warning, and Bahamut would often find devious ways to retaliate, going so far as to construct elaborate traps or leave fake prints to lead her on a hunt chasing nonexistent animals. What kept these two from destroying each other was Vorel, who despite being the same age as his brother and sister had the wisdom of a man of many years. Vorel's foresight and leadership is what allowed Tiamat and Bahamut to put aside their conflicts long enough to cooperate and keep the siblings thriving.

This careful balance fueled by Tiamat's strength, Bahamut's intelligence, and Vorel's wisdom is what convinced Io to bless them as dragons, and for many centuries his judgment proved true. He raised Bahamut, Tiamat, and Vorel as if they were his own children, teaching them the ways of the dragon and what it meant to defend their people from harm. Over time, they would grow to rival Io in strength, possessing a natural draconic control that Io could not hope to learn. The adventures and exploits of these four fill countless ancient tomes, and many of these stories are still passed down by elders of all races throughout the world.

The Sundering
Although formidable, Io and his champions were not invincible. Exactly as had happened to Io before, their growing strength attracted increasingly formidable foes from throught the Material Plane and outside it, each enemy seeking to slay the great dragons and seize their domain, which grew vast and wealthy due to the protection from their guardians. Eventually, the High Outer God Cthulu began to take notice of them. Unlike in the past when lesser Outer Gods had rushed into Io's domain in a frenzy, Cthulu knew better. Consuming the life force of ten thousand of his servants, he transmitted his psionic influence from the dark corners of the edge of reality all the way to the Material Plane and the mind of Io.

Io was now one of the most powerful mortal beings in the Material Plane and wielded arcane and physical power unmatched by any single creature, but his greatest weakness was his lack of any psionic power. Having his mind invaded by Cthulu directly snapped Io's sanity instantly, causing him to go on a rampage across his own lands. Millions died as Io tore across the sky, crushing mountains and splitting the earth with his might and the raw magic that burst forth from his being. He flew across the plane, destroying nearly everything he came in contact with; some cities escaped with earthquakes and fires, while elsewhere entire empires were reduced to ash in mere moments. Tiamat, Bahamut, and Vorel pursued him, but could not corner him into a confrontation. This apocalyptic event became known as The Sundering and was responsible for the formation of many of the present-day continents as entire landmasses were split apart or reshaped in Io's terrible wake.

Tiamat's Gambit
Vorel, Tiamat, and Bahamut chased Io endlessly, and the three grew desperate for a way to stop their father. Tiamat found herself suddenly overcome by the killer instincts of her rugged, mountain childhood and she devised a cunning but brutal plan. As the three landed for a brief rest while Io soared across the oceans, Tiamat killed Vorel in cold blood while he slept. Just as her father had created the dragon magic by channeling his righteous fury through his being, Tiamat focused her raw savage nature and allowed her will to consume and survive to flow through her roaring body. Bahamut watched, horror-struck as Tiamat consumed both the essence and flesh of Vorel, their own brother. In front of his eyes she changed; her muscles and bones rippled and shifted as she doubled in size, her shoulders widening to make room for four additional heads that burst out of her torso. Re-energized and determined to make the most of what she saw as Vorel's sacrifice, Tiamat set off again after Io, with a terrified but fatigued Bahamut trailing after her. With her newfound speed, Tiamat quickly closed the distance with Io and was finally able to engage him over the open ocean. The battle raged for days, but Io could not hold his own against the sum of two of his children combined into such a terrifying beast. Finally, Io's burnt, battered, exhausted body crashed into land and Tiamat closed in for her kill.

Bahamut's Stand


Bahamut realized that if Tiamat were allowed to kill Io, she would likely consume him just like Vorel and become infinitely more dangerous than she already was. Tapping into the same raw energies that Io and Tiamat had before him, Bahamut leapt between Tiamat and their father and channeled his protective energy into Io's unconscious form, casting them both into the unknown reaches of reality. Tiamat was furious, but also exhausted from ages of pursuit and combat. As much as she wanted to destroy her renegade father and weak, interfering brother, she could not summon the strength to track them down. For many years, the Material Plane was allowed to quietly recover from the devastation that The Sundering had wrought while the dragons remained in hiding.

The Dragonflights
Looking to rally forces for the fight against their hated sibling, Tiamat and Bahamut each began blessing mortals with the gifts of the dragon. Tiamat became the mother of the Chromatic Dragonflights, and Bahamut became the father of the Metallic Dragonflights. Each sibling chose champions they respected; Tiamat chose those who were strong, ruthless, and self-sufficient, including mercenaries, outcasts, warlords, and criminals, while Bahamut enlisted individiuals who were wise, cunning, and benevolent. Since these original champions were chosen in the early days of recorded history, they have gone on to propagate and pass down the gift of the dragon to their descendants, allowing great clans of dragons to emerge over the millennia and spread throughout the Material Plane.

The Chromatic Dragonflights include Black, White, Green, Blue, and Red dragons, while the Metallic Dragonflights consist of the Brass, Copper, Bronze, Silver, and Gold dragons.

There are some extremely small dragonflights that have emerged in more recent years as a result of the actions of bold sorcerors, wizards, druids, and other adventurers of great power, but dragons belonging to these groups are exceptionally rare and very few factual accounts exist that describe them in detail.

The Dragonborn
Main Article: Dragonborn

An unexpected side-effect of Io's dragon magic as it has been transferred down through time has been the emergence of the Dragonborn, a race in their own right. The offspring of mortals and dragons, these beings possess a form that is humanoid in structure but reptilian in appearance. By reproducing with other Dragonborn, the proportion of dragon blood in their offspring remains at roughly half, but as Dragonborn have interbred with other races, there exist family lineages with trace amounts of dragon blood that retain almost no physical traces of their ancestry except perhaps bright eyes or sharp teeth. However, while the physical appearance of the dragon may become faint as the dragon blood is diluted, even small amounts of dragon blood can grant an individual a natural affinity for magic. These gifted individuals are those known as sorcerers, mortals born with inherent skill in one or many types of magic (much to the frustration of wizards, who must study laboriously to achieve similar levels of skill).