True Dragons

The Entar, or True dragons. Interplanar children of the creator drake.  

Grytuss

“...and when the creature most foul rises, a black apocalyptic miasma will follow, and will swallow the whole of the world.”

— Words of the prophetic Deceived Carradus, interpreted to be about Grytuss

Artwork by Raven Von Bloodomir
Domain(s): Destruction, Insanity, and Death.
Symbols: Shadow Totems
Followers: The Mad, Cultists, Mist Men
Other Names: The Destroyer, The Inevitable End, The Black

Influence

Grytuss has influence over the madmen and demons of the world.

Powers

The powers of Grytuss are unknown, as he was defeated long before the rise of the mortal races. All stories of Grytuss are reclaimed from the servants of the other True dragons, and none of the stories are good. It is said that he struck down the most beloved of all dragons, Gedith as he entered Gaia, and nearly killed Lacerta, Ceithus, and Covrudurth. It was only through the efforts of Xulxraiss that defeated Grytuss, but it is clear, with the prevalence of Mist Men, that his defeat was not permanent.

Artifacts

Grytuss has no artifacts, and rends all he touches.

History

Grytuss the Black is one of the Entar, or True dragons, and is viewed as the most terrible and cruel of them all. So twisted and evil is Grytuss that even Covrudurth, the Bitter Cold cannot stand him. So devastatingly destructive is his aura that even Lacerta’s brilliance is challenged by his strange, pulsating black light. His magics are said to be as wide ranging as the multiverse itself, and his madness is deeper than the lowest trenches. He has not been seen for millenia, and this can only be for the best, as every culture has stories of the apocalypse that would follow should Grytuss ever be allowed to rise again. There are no records of what Grytuss looks like, though surely you would know him by his appearance if you should ever see him, so twisted, black and horrifying as his mien is. There are several cults dedicated both to Grytuss and to The Black Wing, his phoenix servant, who still occasionally roams the face of Gaia, and wherever these cults appear, tragedy is soon to follow.

Ceithus

“For as long as Ceithus exists, there is still hope…”

— A line from several Gorney fables

Artwork by Wen-M
Domain(s): Life, Miracles, and Beginnings.
Symbols: Fire, Newborn or Eggs
Followers: Some Spring Elves, many Halflings, New Mothers
Other Names: The Eternal Flame, Lifebringer, Dragonheart

Influence

Ceithus has influence over new life and miracles. He is known, on rare occasions, to give miracles to those of just heart in dire need.

Powers

Ceithus is immensely physically tough and powerful and has access to several powerful truths.

Artifacts

Ceithus' magic is fleeting, though powerful, allowing him to create new beginnings and gift miracles, but not typically to create everlasting artifacts. He has no known permanent artifacts, though he has, on the occasions he shows up, occasionally granted people formed pieces of the Heartwood of the World Tree.

History

Ceithus is undeniably a positive force in the life of the mortals who populate Gaia. The servants of Ceithus, in many stories, arrive when the need is most dire, at the time when hope has almost been extinguished. On burning horses, clad in shining plates of gold, they are an inspiring force wherever they arrive, sent by their draconic patron seemingly randomly, but in retrospect, almost always in times and places which benefit everyone involved. In general this is his method of operation, nurturing new life and better beginnings wherever his influence can be seen. Some speculate that the miracle of the Gravicans holding their ground on their hill can be truly linked to Ceithus, rather than Sequestus, and the idea almost equally present in Gravicans as being faithful to the brother-gods is.

Xulzraiss

“On a night most clear, when the moon can be seen in full, a very lucky few will be blessed to see her. An even smaller few might be blessed to hear her golden voice, whispering to them a Truth…”

— The Beginning of several Glubokiy fables

Artwork by Tracing The Skye
Domain(s): The Moons, Wisdom, and Magic
Symbols: The Moon, Luminide
Followers: Many Glubioky, Truthseekers
Other Names: The Mysterious Dragon, The Moon, The Voice of Moonshine

Influence

Xulzraiss has influence over the moon and moonlight, as well as the Luminide in the ground. She also has influence over the magics of the world, and is directly responsible for the Glubokiy continuing to exist as a species.

Powers

Xulzraiss has knowledge of all Truths. Though she is less physically imposing than the rest of her draconic siblings, these reality-twisting abilities make her likely the most dangerous of them all.

Artifacts

It is said that almost all Truths that mortals know were originally passed down by Xulzraiss in her mysterious flights of fancy, and so most Truths, and indeed most magical items could be considered artifacts of Xulzraiss.

History

Xulzraiss’ motives are impossible to pin down. Sometimes she seeks to help, as in the case of the Glubokiy, who she granted the Truths they use to keep themselves alive. Sometimes, she shares wisdom that only harms, as in the case of the God-King Kerbadal, who was given a Truth which he was unprepared to use, and in his fervor to be mighty, erased his own kingdom and his mind with it. It’s also unknown where the Dragon of the Moons truly resides, some posit that she sleeps on the moon, while others say she merely stays on some undiscovered continent on the far side of the planet. The only thing that is clear is that Xulzraiss can only be seen very rarely on the night of a full moon, and the experience of viewing her is a deeply spiritual one. Many who come into contact with her find themselves enrapt, and compelled to join one of the churches who worship her, and many of these churches make it their business to store and collect Truths. These two things mesh well with one another, leading to the Church of the Moon having, across their many hidden monasteries, the greatest collection of Truths in the world. Xulzraiss herself is a huge, sparkling silver dragon of unsurpassable beauty, though she is known to shapeshift and walk the world in the form of one of the mortal races, generally as a beautiful female member of that species, though occasionally as an extremely handsome man. For this reason, it is considered wise and just to treat strangers well, after all, insulting the draconic goddess of magic is a mistake one doesn’t get to make twice.

Lacerta

“So she watches, unable to change the course of things, yet unable to set aside her task.”

— Words of the prophetic Deceived Carradus, interpreted to be about Lacerta.

Artwork by Unknown
Domain(s): Sun, the Desert, and Tropics
Symbols: The Sun, Palladium
Followers: Many Desert Cultures, some Gorney, some Rehks
Other Names: The Proud Dragon, The Bright Dragon

Influence

Lacerta has influence over the sun, deserts, and the tropics, and is frequently worshiped that she might allow the desert to be more kind to its inhabitants.

Powers

Lacerta is an extremely powerful dragon, who flies eternal between Gaia and its sun. She is unbelievably physically powerful, like all dragons, but she also has the power to wield the fires of creation, hot as the center of a star.

Artifacts

All palladium artifacts come from either the breath of Lacerta or one of her False Dragon servitors, and thus are her artifacts. Her draconic servants have also been known to occasionally hand out a magical item, imbued with some spark of blazing sunlight, on specific occasions.

History

Lacerta, out of all of the dragons, is probably the most understandable one. She has but one very clear motivation, to stand watch for the return of Grytuss the Black. Nobody knows why she does this, other than perhaps her, nor does anyone know how long she has been doing so. There are stories, impossibly ancient, of when Lacerta ruled over the world and flew the skies, bringing warmth, joy and powerful Truths to the peoples of the tropics she so loved, but these are stories of word of mouth, as it is nowhere in recorded history that Lacerta has ever left her place between Gaia and the sun. It’s said that she constantly flies between the sun and Gaia, and that her glow combines with that of the sun to hide her, but this is only speculation. Lacerta’s appearance is supposed to be that of a gold-scaled dragon, which lets off a blindingly radiant glow, and almost the heat of the sun itself. Her false dragons occasionally appear to help out small civilizations in the tropics and deserts.

Dirgodog

“Because he could not suffer the mortals who populated the land like fleas on a diseased hound, Dirgodog took to the ocean, and built himself his own species…”

— The beginning of the creation story of the sea giants, payed for with twenty tons of Spring Elven gold.

Artwork by Antre Dragonys
Domain(s): Ocean, the Tides, and Seas
Symbols: Serpents, Sea Giants  
Followers: Sea Giants, Sailors, Pirates
Other Names: The Blue, The Deep Dragon, King of Monsters

Influence

Dirgodog has strong influence over the oceans and seas of the world, as well as the monsters which dwell beneath them. Sailors typically either revere him, or will punish you for speaking his name, or both, depending on their outlook on the fickle draconic deity.

Powers

Dirgodog is massively powerful, clearly, but since he has so rarely shown himself, nobody truly knows the extent of his abilities.

Artifacts

Dirgodog created the Sea Giants, and so all of their stories, and their artifacts are, by proxy, his.

History

Dirgodog, The Blue One, is also occasionally known as the Dragonwyrm due to his appearance, like that of a massive blue serpent, large enough to swallow a fleet of battleships whole, or sometimes the Dragon of the Oceans due to his domain. Dirgodog is only very rarely seen, perhaps once a century, and his appearance is almost never good news for the unfortunate sailors who spot him. Generally he is flanked by several sea serpents, and while he makes no attempts to harm the tiny beings afloat on their flimsy boats, he also makes no attempt to stop his serpents from wreaking whatever havoc they so desire. It is unknown why he makes these trips to the surface, as he has little time for mortals and spends even less above the briny waves he calls home. In fact, most descriptions of him come from his servants, the Sea Giants, who are only seen once or twice a century, trading tales with mortal fishermen.

Covrudurth

“If you meet him, have some courtesy, or he’ll lay your soul to waste.”

— Translated Line of a Winter Elven hymn

Artwork by Mintoucan
Domain(s): Ice, Undeath
Symbols: Primordial Ice, Bare Skull
Followers: Winter Elves, Necromancers, Cultists
Other Names: The Bitter Cold, The Long Death

Influence

Covrudurth has influence over the entire tundra ringing the waist of the planet, and all undead who wander the planet.

Powers

Covrudurth has incredible, reality-warping power over ice, undeath, and darkness. He steals and traps the souls of those he kills with ease, and has massive power over making deals regarding the souls of mortals. He also likely has the most followers of any of the dragons or deific beings, as he has gathered legions upon legions of undead, creating them out of the dead of all the species and monsters of the world that he can.

Artifacts

Though Covrudurth has few artifacts outside of the unlivable sections of the tundra around the equator of Gaia, it can be fairly stated that all undead on the face of Gaia are his artifacts, as the Truth of Undeath was originally learned and spread from the Bitter Cold.

History

Covrudurth is generally referred to as the most bitter, twisted, and malicious of all the dragons, even surpassing Grytuss. Some suggest that after Grytuss rises and destroys all that Covrudurth will remain somewhere in the cold darkness, and create a world- the only world- to his liking, where only icy cold misery and the dead remain. Until then, he bides his time and entertains himself by playing cruel tricks and making crueler bargains with the mortals that he shares his realm with. Though he never leaves the tundra where he resides, occasionally he will appear to those unfortunate enough to travel into it, and make bargains with them for their souls in exchange for power, protection, immortality, or merely base wealth. His servants, the twisted, not-quite undead false dragons are frequently sent out over the world, to spread misery and make these deals in his stead.

Gedith

(The contents of this section are NOT common knowledge)

“To those who follow the light in the darkness, hope will come.”

— Unknown figures.

Artwork by Unknown
Domain(s): Aurora Borealis, Good-Will
Symbols: An Aurora Borealis
Followers: N/A
Other Names: The Morningstar, Aurora, Spirit Lord

Influence

Gedith had influence over illuminating the night skies with wild colors, often found leading others by their hope to find what they seek, not what they want. She was known as the Dragon of Civilization to some, or the Dragon of Virtue. Gedith also had access to the realm of the spirits, often bringing mortals and spirits to cross-between through the night to have new ventures of passage and hope.

Powers

Sending across lights upon the night sky to show others what they hope to seek and find and opening passageways to the realm of spirits to welcome others to either realm.

Artifacts

No artifacts are known to exist from Gedith. If ones were to exist, they would most certainly be hoarded by Covrudurth.

History

Gedith, The Slain. Gedith was once a true dragon before her demise, and she was one of the kindest and friendliest of dragons to exist, unable to see deceit or judgement of others. She only would lead them, including her other true dragons, passage and hope they find what they sought despite good or bad intentions. Although separate from most the other dragons, Gedith didn’t ask anything from anyone, so she couldn’t be called upon but found assisting others, some not even knowing they were being helped passage to their hope. She never needed to ask questions though, seemingly her intervention could only ever do good, with immaculate perfection. Under her care, it is said, the plane prospered.   On one faithful millennium two true dragons crossed, Covrudurth and Gedith met and formed a bond between each other, the dragon of death and the dragon of passage found a semblance of their power and worked together to guide mortals that have died peacefully to the realm of spirits and once per season opened a passageway for mortals or spirits to cross so loved ones or others might find hope if they ever got lost, seeing them again. It was a strange relationship, a show of love unknown to the jaded and serious followers of the Deathly Chill, but to the worshippers of Gedith, it was completely reasonable. Their deity had fallen deeply in love, somehow, to the most capricious of dragons. It was absurd to think Gedith would ever mislead anyone, and so when she told the world that she and the icy dragon were to be one, who was to argue? However, this would not last long.   Grytuss roared throughout the entirety of Gaia, bringing forth him a sensation of absolute doomsday. Lacerta, Ceithus, and Xulzraiss immediately intervened as to try and stop the possible unraveling of the Prime Materia, Lacerta calling on Gedith for aid. Due to Gedith's virtue, the True Dragon would not decline, despite Covrudurth's urging, and with her entrance into the battle so too did Corvudurth offer forth help as to try and ensure the protection of his love. Despite his efforts, the Mad Dragon Grytuss strikes down Gedith and nearly kills Lacerta, Ceithus, Covrudurth, The Divine Son, The Allfather, The Tyrant and The Pure Soul. It was only through the efforts of Xulxraiss, The Dark One and One-Eyed Prophet that Grytuss is defeated, but it is clear with the prevalence of Mist Men, that his defeat was not permanent, and yet he had left the stain of death through the murder of The Morningstar.   An eclipse occurred, the first one on all of Gaia as Gedith fell, Covrudurth’s rage was sent straight throughout the entirity of Gaia, before taking the anger towards Lactera herself. Covrudurth blamed Lacerta for Gedith’s death and immediately entered battle with the Sun Dragon, their fight sending an eclipse over the land which lasted a series of eras. Only when the other true dragons stepped in to separate the pair is when the sun finally returned, Covrudurth taking the remaining body of Gedith, creating an area uninhabitable through his magic and resting with her by his side, the True Dragon of Death in that moment, changed into the True Dragon of Undeath in hope to bring his friend back, despite not having the power to do so.   Even in Gedith’s death, her symbols can still be found within the Tundra across almost every night sky, an Aurora Borealis can be seen. A symbol to her influence still on the land, even if she is called during an event, she cannot answer. It is that those whom show deceit while under the Borealis feel the rage of Covrudurth as he smites those under the colorful lights. Her demise marked the change of Covrudurth's title to the Dragon of Undeath, The Bitter Cold.