The Church of the DragonWright |
Quite possibly one of the oldest religions on Otara, save perhaps the worship of the Old Ones, The Dragonwright religion has survived for countless millenia in various forms. While there have been huge, well-organized "Churches" in the past, in our age there are only remnats. Currently a heavily messianic movement (that is to say,fanatical), all the priests of Dragonwright are often Warrior-Priests, intent on reviving a hallowed faith, and of bringing Dragonwright back to it's former glory. Currently, the Dragonwright is mostly found in the Kingdoms of Dhelcrist, though in a somewhat modified form and Moranthus-centric, and in Ačrithačnč. Smaller pockets of the religion can be found elsewhere in the realms but they are not nearly as organized or recognized. As it's name implies, the Dragonwright venerates the worship of the Dragon Gods however worship of other Gods is not prohibited for followers of the Dragonwright. Priests and Palladins are expected to be exclusively dedicated to the Dragon Gods, however, it is a quirk of the Dragonwright religion that other Gods can be assimilated, and adopted into the Dragonwright Pantheon, although always as secondary or Demigods. All that wish to convert the the worship of the Dragon Gods are gratefully accepted, a policy that is enshrined in the most famous piece of Dragonwright Scripture. The Dragon God Kormath, upon being asked whether the Temple should harbour Elves, or Dwarves, pronounced, "None Shall Be Turned Away", a phrase echoed in every age, by every Dragonwright Priest. It should be noted that there are indeed many more non-dragon followers of this religion then there are Dragons, primarily, Humans. Some Elves have also converted to this religion but look apon the Dragonwright as just an extention of the Seldarine in most cases. Book of Dragonwright The Beginning The Dragon who gives breath, who gives strength, whose command all the bright and dark gods revere, whose shadow is immortality, whose breath is death
To the Dragon we offer sacrifice! The Dragon's power is sole king of the living and undead world governs all this, man, beast, undead and demon
To the Dragon we offer sacrifice! The Dragon is mighty snow mountains, vast oceans, distant rivers, whom all religions are indeed arms of the Dragon
To the Dragon we offer sacrifice! The Dragon made the awful heaven and the worlds fast, through whom the ethereal is established, and who measures all things
To the Dragon we offer sacrifice! The Dragon maintains existence by force of will, look up trembling at the rising sun and hope that ye are not forgotten
To the Dragon we offer sacrifice! May the Dragon not forget us, the begetter of the worlds, or the righteous, or the creator of heavens, bright and mighty waters
To the Dragon we offer sacrifice! "The Beginning, Book of Dragonwright" From the terror the fire burns, from the terror, the sun burns, from the terror of the Dragons of War comes the terror of Death, always the Last Dragon. The form of beyond is not to be seen. No one holds him with the eye. Imagine this in your heart, by wisdom, by the upper mind. Only Dragonwright can share this. Those who know this, are immortal. May the unborn, and that which is beyond the unborn, protect us all! May we be enjoyed! May we take strength together! May our knowledge be the knowledge of birth! May we never dissolve! Peace! Peace! In the name of Dragonwright let us have peace! The Beginning, Book of Dragonwright" The Dawn Would you have victory? came the voice of Zandragal, shaking the walls of the temple. Yes, mighty Zandragal, replied the Priest of Zandragal, God of War, give us victory. Then I will need blood. I will need sacrifice. Human sacrifice. The Priest of Styphon turned to the Priest of Kormath. Our God, Styphon... Your God! yelled the Priest of Kormath. No. Our God, said the Priest of Zandragal, God of War to all who follow Dragonwright, our God asks for sacrifice. You have resisted before, but the need is great. If we do not win this battle, our enemy will destroy our new nation. Our God, our God of War, asks for sacrifice. Will you allow it? I... I have no choice. It is wrong, but I... I will allow it. Lord Zandragal! cried the Priest of Zandragal, up to the skies, we agree! We agree! We will give you blood, we will give you sacrifice. See that you give me enough, boomed Zandragal, if I am not given enough I can not defeat the Old One. We will give you enough, and the Priest of Zandragal stopped and thought. He asked, How much is enough? How much do you need? How many are you? How many are in the army of Dragonwright? Over one hundred thousand, Lord Zandragal. Perhaps a few more... One out of ten, came the voice of the God-Dragon. What, said the Priest of Zandragal, what do you mean? One out of ten, my Priest, sacrifice one out of every ten, of all your armies. Then, then I will give you victory. "The Dawn, Book of Dragonwright" Instructions to the Warrior Zandragal, God of War, is all wise. Heed the thoughts of Zandragal. Read, listen, learn, for the ways of War are not the ways of killing. The ways of War are not the ways of violence. The ways of War are not the ways of anger. War, when pursued in the holy name of Zandragal, exists only to be won. To lose at War is to lose the favor of Zandragal. Therefore, let those who play Zandragal's game, play it by Zandragal's rules... "Instructions to the Warrior, Book of Dragonwright" The Holy Records How fares our army? Well! The soldiers are eager for battle. It does not bother them that our enemy also calls itself Dragonwright, that they worship Kym-nark-mar as we do, that they sacrifice to Zandragal, as we do, that they bury their dead in the name of Styphon, as we do? They are blasphemers! They have read the book wrongly! Yes, I know that, and you, but we are the learned ones, you and I, who can read the words ourselves. Of course we are the true faith, and those others but a cult, a blood-cult. I know, and you, but do the soldiers know? They know. From across the valley they can hear the cants of our enemy. All who have ears have heard. Our army is outraged! General, if you were to turn back now, they would not follow, but attack on their own... So they believe? That the enemy calls Korameth by the false name... I choke to speak such blasphemy... Kormath. Yes, they believe. And tomorrow they will destroy the false ones... "From the Holy Records of Dragonwright" I, Demiurge Laesto, do hereby report to the Holy Pontiff of the Church of Light and Dark, in response to your most urgent inquiry concerning the advance of those from the east, who call themselves the Crusaders of Dragonwright, and of those from the west, who call themselves the Army of Styphon. Why, you have asked, are there two armies, both marching under the banner of the same god, the God-Dragon Styphon? From the archives I can tell you how it may have come to be. It would seem that the faith of Dragonwright did first start somewhere in the southern foothills of Barrier Mountains, either before, or shortly after, The Battle of the Gods, some 80.000 or 90.000 years ago (your Holiness will forgive the inexactitude, but the records of the Dragon Church were not, and are not, up to our standards). Sometime after that period, there were at least two great pilgrimages, one to the east, and another to the west. While the original Dragon Church died, the two branches prospered, then grew, and again sent out pilgrims. In the west, over the millennia, the Chief Temple (for the western branch became, as it still is, a religion of temple builders) was moved west, at least twice, and then further west, across the sea. Meanwhile, in the east, Dragonwright settled into the Kingdoms, and became an established Church. And so things remained, with neither Dragon Church remembering the others, for tens of thousands of years. When the Elf/Dwarf wars ended, both Dragon Churches had been completely destroyed. Our own records report that not a single Dragon Priest remained. Yet, two hundred years later, our records tell us that Churches of the Dragon had sprouted (you will excuse the expression, Holy Pontiff, but I can not restrain myself), had sprouted like dragon's teeth. Would that I could tell you all the stories of Dragonwright reborn, and of Dragonwright at War, or of Dragonwright in decline. Each new birth would come from some new reading of The Book of Dragonwright, from the discovery of one of their fabled relics, or... Germane to our situation, I have found evidence of two wars, both caused by the migration of movements toward the center of the world. The first, and most famous, was a battle that took place at the gates of Kael, and it lasted at least three years and left over two million dead (yes, Holy Pontiff, I know that number seems exaggerated, but it is from our own Church records). The second, longer and even more bloody, involved a war that raged over much of Rhyanne when missionaries from both the Dragonwright of Kael, and from Harak, moved north. The outcome, it would seem, is still in doubt. I could go on, but ink is precious, and I have little more to add but useless details. As to which army is which, Holy Pontiff, I can not tell you, for I am a good servant of the Church of Light and Dark. I know, as the Tristine Chronicles tells us, that these two armies will clash, and clash in a most bloody way. The way of Dragonwright. "From the Holy Records of church of Light and Dark" |
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