Primordial Dragons

While the Old Gods were creators and caretakers, destined to complete the work of the Primeval Gods, the Primordial Dragons were intended to defend, to maintain the sanctity of Existence. What they were created to defend against is not known. Most assume that the Primeval Deities foresaw the coming of the Colossi, but a minority of theologians speculate that they were suppposed to prevent the return of the Primordials themselves.   There were seven Primordial Dragons, entrusted also with defending the Seven Eternal Principles, the cornerstones of Harmony: Balance, Time and Revelation, Order and Action, Defiance and Revelation. They were divine beings, creating not only the Elder Wyrms, but also the mortal Dragons, the Dragonborn, and - indirectly - time. For all this, whether they could be called Gods is a matter of debate. It is similarly uncertain whether they can truly be considered dragons, for they were an entirely different order of being to mortal dragons, existing simultaneously across multiple planes of existence.   After the Colossus War, the Primordials withdrew to oversee the draconic homelands of Ladon. In time, however, their own conflict tore Ladon apart.   Tempus the Wings of Fate, Guardian of Balance, was the first and greatest of the Primordials. It was said that eir wingspan unfurled would fill the skies of every plane at once. Tempus was said to be utterly detached from the world, regarding events as nothing more than writing on a page, with no regard for individual lives. Eir role was to maintain the harmony of the World by keeping the peace between the other Primordials and liaising with the Old Gods. The coming of the Colossi was Tempus' first great failure, and they became introverted, focusing all of their power on the Draconic Empire of Ladon. The Draconic Schism was their second great failure. As violence ripped through Ladon and tore the supercontinent of Aiaor apart, Tempus sacrificed emself to prevent the destruction extending beyond the World. They cast all of their power, including their very life, around the Inmost Realms, becoming the Web of Fate which binds material existence together and also holds the gods in the Firmament from directly interfering with the material world.   Hroun the Voice of Destiny, Keeper of Time, was the most powerful of the three keepers, the Primordials who guarded the concepts related to balance and stasis. Said to be the size of a mountain, e is described as the foresighted dragon, who predicted the need for time after the arrival of the Colossi. E also foresaw a time when Tropos would betray the other Primordials, and persuade Ramad and Lacaga to do the same. In pressing Arabast to act against their siblings, Hroun brought about the schism and the disasters e hoped to prevent.   During the fighting, Hroun was filled by Malcidis, but later transformed into a nightmarish undead being, bound to Tropos' will.   Arabast the Scales of Justice, Keeper of Order, was supposed to be the level-headed one. Described as being as vast as a thunderhead, with scales of gleaming metal like armour plate, e was the arch-protector, guardian and peacekeeper, until Hroun's words made em see a threat that might not even have been real.   Arabast survived the schism, haunted by the deaths of eir siblings. E was driven out beyond the Web of Destiny and compelled by Tempus' last command to devote emself to maintaining the Web. In this role, e is called the Divine Balance.   Tropos the Shadow of Death, Keeper of Acceptance, was the grim Primordial, connected to death and darkness. E was the first Primordial to recognise that mortality was a necessary consequence of time: That once events became sequential, they were also placed in a finite continuum. This made em first morbid, then secretive and mysterious. Rightly or wrongly, eir secret studies in necromancy led Hroun to declare em a traitor in potentia.   Tropus was slain by Arabast in the Schism, but er studies of necrosis led em to return as an undead, and god of undeath. E was always said to be gaunt and pale, even in life, but in undeath is a being of pale bone and hatred. E dwells on the Grim Plain.   Ramad the Spur of Truth, Muse of Revelation, was a wise and gentle soul, much loved by all; the most compassionate of the Primordial Dragons and the one who cared most for the mortal dragons that they created and the other lineages of the world. The oldest of the Muses, the Primordials who guarded concepts relating to growth and change, e was described as a vast luminescence, like a great cloud before the bright sun. E took a particular care for those dragons who pursued the healing path, finding their gentle and nurturing nature refreshing after the detached philosophy of the other Primoridals.   A friend to all, eir attempts to stay close to the moribund Tropos roused Hroun's suspicions. In the Schism, Ramad tried to make peace between eir siblings and was struck down by known for eir troubles. Like Hroun, e was reanimated by Tropos as an undead thing. It is said that eir death was the cause of the primal madness that afflicts white-scaled dragons, and dragons who study the healing arts.   Malcidis the Maw of Valour, the Muse of Action, was the mightiest, boldest and most loyal of the Primordials, committed to every one of eir brothers and sisters. E was a vast being, like a living volcano clad in dark scales. Imbued with every form of elemental power, e is often depicted with three or five heads. E was never suspected of impropriety by Hroun, but immediately came to the defence of the siblings who were attacked in the Schism.   Malcidis slew Hroun, then battled Arabast until Ladon split and Tempus became the Web. Arabast was forced up, Malcidis down, where she maintains the Web against the influence of the Abyss and bears the name Rage of Heaven.   Lacaga the Breath of Destruction, Muse of Defiance, was the fiercest and most aggressive of the Primordials, a living embodiment of destruction and rebirth. E moved across the face of Aiaos like a shadow, ruthlessly paring away anything disharmonious. That destructive nature was what drew Hrown's paranoid suspicions.   Lacaga was wounded by Arabast's original attack, but still went for the Wings of Destiny in eir rage. Injured, e was no match for Hroun and Arabast.   The three surviving Primordial Dragons are the most powerful entities in existence, greater than the Young Gods by an order of magnitude. Their power is bound within the Web of Fate, however. Tempus gave eir life to create the Web and contain the destruction of the Cataclysm, while Arabast and Malcidis maintain the Web with the tension between them.