When it comes to religion, I really wanted to take the idea of dragons and make a world where dragons are this revered creature, and while there are lower dragons, embrace the idea that this world was created by Great Wyrm level dragons. But one of the big keys I also wanted is a way to explain how these dragons give powers to their followers but are also not just going to show up somewhere and meddle in the affairs of humans.
How was the World made?
Zenith and the World at large is a world much like any other in that it has many religions that are worshiped by its people. The World is believed to have been created by many great dragons, who built this world as a home, and when they created this world, they also created with it the many races that inhabit it. The truth of how the world was made is that a group of 12 great dragons decided to leverage their powers to give life to the world around them. And they built the world, and gave it life, and create the foundation for which the civilizations were built.
The dragons involved in this endeavor were the following:
- Draco – King of Dragons
- Furia – Queen of Dragons
- Nanophx – The Morning Bringer
- Syndrissyn – Twilight Chaser
- Nyotin – The Dreamer
- Kenadyssn – The Forged Warrior
- Myavrir – The Wayfinder
- Jormungand – Bane of Seas
- Anoth-Zuul – Queen of Death’s Gate
- Asmodeus – King of Traitors
- Kiennavalyriss – Keeper of Secrets
- Kut-Echinae – Mother of Monsters
After the people of the world were created, an agreement was struck between all the Dragons, and that agreement, known as the Sacred Pact, was that they would support the cultivation of civilizations on this world, and protect this world, but they would not be able to control their creation, and instead allow it to grow. This meant that while the Dragons could provide assistance and advice, they refused to rule over the peoples of the World.
And for over a millennia, the dragons watched over their creation and helped to grow in much the same way garden cultivates a garden. They interacted with the humanoid races in the early days and were a part of life.
During this time, the Titans emerged, and these titans were born from the world itself, and were an off shoot of the creation the Dragons had made. Some titans supported the Dragons, while others tried to claim parts of the world themselves. When the Titans went against their masters, the Dragons would support the humanoid races in defeating them.
The Great War:
But while the world had peace as it was built, and the races were born and built great civilizations, the Dragons began to show the races the secret to how to draw on their own magic. And divine magic was born, and the Dragons basically enabled their followers to draw on the powers of the Dragon’s they worshipped as a way of enhancing their societies and growing.
But it wasn’t long before the races started to find the magic of nature, the magic of the arcane, and even the magic of death itself. They started to see that there was magic weaved through the world and that it could be controlled and harnessed.
This caused a division in the dragons, on whether or not it was their place to stop the use of arcane magic, the vary building blocks of the universe. The Dragons were split into two groups:
The dragons that became “The Dawn Alliance” were the following:
- Draco – King of Dragons (Alliance)
- Nanophx – The Morning Bringer
- Syndrissyn – Twilight Chaser
- Nyotin – The Dreamer
- Kenadyssn – The Forged Warrior
- Myavrir – The Wayfinder
The dragons that became known as the Axis of Twilight were:
- Furia – Queen of Dragons (Axis)
- Jormungand – Bane of Seas
- Anoth-Zuul – Queen of Death’s Gate
- Asmodeus – King of Traitors
- Kiennavalyriss – Keeper of Secrets
- Kut-Echinae – Mother of Monsters
The Dragons debated this point for nearly 10 years atop the tallest mountain in the World. The crux of the debate was that the Axis of Twilight Dragons, believed that this was too dangerous for the humanoid races, and threatened not only their creation, but the Dragons themselves. The Alliance of Dawn Dragons believed that it was important that the humanoid races be allowed to make their own decisions, make mistakes and be allowed to grow, and that the Sacred Pact must be upheld.
And when they realized no decision could be reached, they turned to war.
This war became known as “The Great War”, and it lasted for 1,000 years, and the dragons enlisted the other races to help in the war. With many rallying towards the Dragons who had protected them for generations.
During which overs 2/3 of the world’s population died during the Great War, and Draco declared a final battle to settle the War. And only dragons engaged in the final battle, a battle that lasted 100 years began on a mountain which has become known as “The End of the World.” The exact details of this battle are lost to history as no humanoids were there to witness the fight.
All that is known is that the Alliance of Dawn was victorious but at a terrible cost. All the dragons of the Axis of Twilight were locked away, behind something known as the “Draconic Barrier”, and the Alliance of Twilight Dragons had fallen into deep sleeps to recover from their injuries. While they slumbered from their injuries.
The Alliance Dragons then had to go to sleep themselves to Barrier, using their own spirits to secure the “Draconic Barrier”, but also to recover from their own critical injuries. This information was passed by the King of the Dragons, Draco before he too returned heart broken, for his mate Furia was the leader of the Axis of Twilight. After this event, Draco ordered the remaining primordial titans, who served the Dragons to be locked away, and they went willingly. He then personally locked away every titan that refused.
And then finally, that his heart was so broken that he removed his heart and buried it as the anchor by which the Draconic Barrier was finally secured, and then he fell into the deepest of all the slumbers.
There are some who believe that Draco’s heart is deep beneath the city of Zenith, and that’s why the city exists.
It is through the use of his heart that 1.) the Draconic Barrier was secured and the Axis of Twilight was sealed away, and 2.) The connection that allowed the humanoids access to divine magic was still secured. With this final act, Draco ensured that those who followed the Dragons would have access to the magics they relied on for protection, and the freedom to grow in the World.
How can you use this?
For me, I like this world creation myth for a couple of reasons:
- Gives a great reason why the world exists and why magic exists within this world: And specifically, why those who practice one form of magic, don’t necessarily have to be opposed to other types of magic. There’s room for purists absolutely. But the idea here being, the religious types aren’t going to hate arcane magic because they see it as part of the creation. This is a problem I have with a lot of fantasy fiction.
- There’s a rock-solid reason why the Dragon’s aren’t involved in day-to-day life. They can still be contacted in their slumber, they can still respond to divine intervention. But you aren’t going to just see a god level Dragon show up in the middle of your campaign.
You as a GM have a lot of opportunities to create new adventures with this, and it could be looking into things like:
- A cult trying to open the Draconic Barrier?
- A group trying to kill the Alliance of Dawn while they sleep?
- Remnants of the Great War, and the Final Battle that have amazing power, where are they?
- The locked away primordial titans, are trying to escape?
- Someone is trying to find the heart of Draco?
One theory that some people in the World have is that the heart of Draco is actually underneath Zenith, and that is why the city is so powerful, but there is no evidence to confirm that.
Hope this helps with your games!