The Dragoliths were a collection of almost-divine species of Drakons of great and terrible size and power, that roamed the surface of Narazen during the mythological Merethic age of the world. Beings of immense power and innate magical nature, the dragoliths were sculpted from the various drakons of the time by the Deities that roamed the world at this time; when the Gods began to slowly leave the world towards the later years of the Merethic Era, the dragoliths were left behind to take their place as the guardians of the world and the mentors of mortalkind. The dragoliths all embodied various elements that were part of Narazen - specifically, the dragoliths embodied the natural magics of Narazen, and their nature reflected the natures of the elements they embodied. The dragoliths were the original users of the elemental magics; and as well as being the original users, they were also the original source of the elemental magics. The dragoliths were the original beings who had spread the knowledge and practices of the primitive elemental magics throughout Narazen, and served as the physical, living embodiments of these elements.
The original collection of dragoliths are expansive and considerable. The dragoliths embodied a number of elements; there was a separate race of dragolith for all of the original collections of elemental magics - ranging from the sun, to the moon, to storms and to the earth, the dragoliths numbered many and spread their teachings far and wide. Despite their terrible size and power, the number of dragoliths dwindled throughout the ages. Indeed, the dragoliths suffered a gradual reduction in their populace and their importance, and many dragoliths either died out, descended into a variety of lesser elemental drakons, or simply retreated from their public lives and began to live quietly, but contently, in solitude. By the end of the Merethic Era and the beginning of the Classical Era, there were no more dragoliths who freely walked the surface, and the only ones that survived lived far from the grasps of mortalkind and other members of dragonkind. The rest of the population either ascended to other realms of existence, died out, or chose to meld with Narazen to become the elements themselves.
History
Historically, the dragoliths were among the oldest species of dragonkind within Narazen's history, being directly descended from the Primordia whose forms were used in the creation of the first dragoliths. At a time where mortality and death were considered alien concepts, the dragoliths had walked the surface and were known to construct many of the first civilizations on the planet, though the ruins of such civilizations have long since disintegrated into nothingness over the ages. It is said that the first dragoliths had blessed the world of Narazen with the arts of magic, as the dragoliths were given world-shaking magical powers by their divine creators; it's said the Abrioca order of angels had given the dragoliths the gift of writing and civilization, in return for the dragoliths to give the Abrioca their immense magical powers. The dragoliths were first formed during the twilight years of the Archaedian Age of Narazen. Whereas the other species of dragon had split off from the Primordia species through interbreeding and genetic drift, the dragoliths were created straight from the Primordia themselves during the days when the deities had walked the surface of Narazen. The creator of the first dragoliths was the deity Pharlotl, a facet of Narazen, who created the dragoliths from the Primordia during its time on Narazen.
The dragoliths were the original users of the Elemental Magic schools; the Merethic Era is said to have begun when the dragoliths had gifted the arts of magic to mortalkind, and as a result, the age had exploded in diversity and civilization. The dragoliths, unfortunately, began to fall victim to extinction throughout the Merethic Era; indeed, as the gods had left Narazen over time, the dragoliths left with them. The dragoliths that hadn't disappeared eventually died themselves, though the causes are numerous. Many dragoliths decided to consciously perish and meld their essences with Narazen in the spirit of their creator Pharlotl, creating ley lines with the decomposition and melding of their bodies. Other dragoliths ascended to other planes of existence, became servants of deities in distant spheres, or perished by the hands of Abyssian Lords who's reign was uncontested and unrestrained at the time. Over the ages, the dragoliths slowly died off, and those dragoliths who became extinct with no living members suffered the deaths of their magics; indeed, the divine arts of selenomancy, astromancy, and heliomancy suffered greatly with the loss of their progenitor dragoliths, with very few living practitioners and equally few individuals with the potential to utilize the magic.
Over the ages, the remaining dragoliths began to splinter off into the elemental drakons and drakes of the world, allowing their magics to continue through the existence of their descendants. By the end of the Merethic Era, only a handful of dragoliths remain living; their living descendants keeping the arts of their magics alive, and as for the living individuals remain hibernating and sleeping their days away.
Characteristics
Biology
The dragoliths varied highly in size and shape; no one species of dragolith were ever alike, and the dragoliths varied from being wyvern-like in appearance to appearing like typical drakons, and some were known to have appeared similar to lindworms. Dragoliths were nevertheless the physical embodiment of their respective elements; as such, their body plans and physical designs brought to mind their respective elements in build or material, and often looked almost alien in appearance on average. Regardless of their origins, the dragoliths were still species of drakons, and as such they all possessed scales though the quality and texture of which varied across species.
Behaviour
The dragoliths were among the most intelligent races of beings during their time of existence in the Merethic Era; they were notable for an incredibly powerful inclination and skill to learn, and throughout their lifetimes did dragoliths learn to speak many languages and know many things throughout their lifetime. Most dragoliths had an eidetic memory and they remembered quite clearly experiences from even tens of millenia before, and on top of this, the dragoliths are said to experience time in a manner that could be considered at a much slower pace than other races on Narazen. Dragoliths tend to have little distinction between individuals, and dragoliths tend to identify individuals through their family lines, rather than as individuals. As such, dragoliths were often found as both allies and enemies of entire families, and the descendants of one individual would find the same relationship a dragolith has towards them, as they had towards their ancestor.
Dragoliths were known to practice religion as well; although their manner of worship differed highly from mortalkind who were known to construct temples and form organized churches, dragoliths worshipped in their own ways through prayer and meditation. Dragoliths tended to have close, personal relationships with the deities they chose to follow, and often found their place as the personal champions of their respective deities. The great majority of dragoliths held a strong belief in the World Spirit, Narazen, who's facets had created the dragoliths. However, other dragoliths also followed other deities, most notoriously the Abyssian Lords as well. The most notorious example of the demon-worshipping dragoliths are the Visceral Dragoliths who held a belief in the Abyssian Lord Maghralakan, and were said to have been physically torn and twisted to the point that they now inhabit the the position of the greatest demons within the Visceral Phantasm.
Abilities
Among the greatest drakons to have existed, their pure blood as the Primordial combined with the divine powers of Narazen and the elemental magics, the dragoliths were some of the greatest presences to ever exist on Narazen, and their descendants keep the elemental powers even tens of millenia after their passing. The dragoliths, even outside of their native school of the elements, were highly skilled in other classes of magic. The dragoliths almost universally had the power to shapeshift and take up places in the societies of other species, which they often did in order to spread their teachings through magic. The dragoliths were known to have become so absorbed within these communities that they had raised children with the native peoples of these civilizations, and even through the Merethic Era into the Classical Era, do these dragolith descendants exist.
Dragoliths had absolute powers over their respective elements, to the point they were considered demigods of their own. Ancient battles between dragoliths had shaped much of ancient Narazen, and much of the continents owe their geography and terrain to the interplay of the dragoliths. Dragoliths were so intrinsically tied with their respective schools of magic that they were considered to be one and the same; the dragoliths being the sentient, physical manifestations of the elements allowed form and allowed to walk. Other schools of thought believe that the dragoliths were instead massively powerful elementals, although being descendants of the Primordia, they are indeed drakons.
Individuals
“No life, without warmth.”
Solusvasthis the Sun was the first of the Solar Dragoliths and the first dragolith to be created from the Primordia. Solusvasthis was formerly a Ziz who's form was taken, twisted, and ascended by the first manifestation of the World Spirit upon Narazen's surface, and as such, was an entity of immense power. Solusvasthis was dedicated to the worship of Narazen and the World Spirit, and although his size and his power was truly immense, he was an entity of infinite patience and kindness; Solusvasthis saw himself and the entire world as being the children of Narazen, and as such, he saw every living being of Narazen as his own kin. Solusvasthis helped in the creation of the other dragoliths, and it was his grandchildren that would become the first dragoliths of light and fire that would beget the magics of luxomancy and pyromancy respectively.
Solusvasthis greatly enjoyed indulging in the cultures that were built up by the lesser races. Solusvasthis often took humanoid or beastman form and personally took part in many of the cultures, instilling Solusvasthis with a respect and a love for the life that surrounded him. It was in these forms that Solusvasthis began to give mortalkind the secrets of the magic of the sun - heliomancy - for them to use. Solusvasthis had loved life on Narazen so much that he served as the champion of Narazen; indeed, a great lindworm, he was the planet's greatest protector for the time that he had walked the surface, and it was he who personally opposed the reigns of the Abyssian Lords and the other dark deities who reigned free on Narazen's surface. It's said that Maghralakan himself battled Solusvasthis to a standstill, and the battle had caused the volcanoes to erupt and the continent of Maelathor to erupt and form the Mid'nihah Archipelago.
Contrary to popular belief, Solusvasthis and his opposite counterpart, Nocturmathos the Moon, were not enemies by any means. Indeed, the two were considered brothers, and the latter had closely followed the former's example; when Solusvasthis began to teach the original Inithaeli the powers of the sun, Nocturmathos was inspired to do the same, and taught the Navarakti the powers of the moon. Solusvasthis, instead of choosing to become part of Narazen when he believed that it was his time to die, ascended to the plane of Empyrean to live as one with the angels and ascended souls on that plane, and it's said that his spirit still lingers there, constantly observing the mortal plane with love and interest.
“No force of good greater, than the force of night.”
Nocturmathos the Moon was the second of the dragoliths to be created, and the first of the Lunar Dragoliths. Nocturmathos was, like Solusvasthis, a Ziz who was also taken and ascended into divinity by the hands of the World Spirit not long after the original ascension of Solusvasthis. Like Solusvasthis, Nocturmathos was a being of incredible power and divinity, and although considered the younger sibling of Solusvasthis, was equal in power to the other divine drakon. Nocturmathos was a much more territorial and apathetic deity; Nocturmathos enjoyed his isolation, and he was known to nest within the furthest depths south of Kryonotos in isolation of others. Nocturmathos was a strong believer in the divinity of the World Spirit of Narazen, and although saw the life of Narazen as being its children, did not see the "lesser" beings of Narazen as his kin.
Nocturmathos grew to be quite impressed by the elder deity Solusvasthis, and over time, this impression grew into admiration. It was the infinite kindness of Solusvasthis that moved Nocturmathos to involving himself with the civilizations of the Merethic Age. Nocturmathos himself took a liking to the civilizations of Anaeri and Horvaeri, and it was in these two northern continents did Nocturmathos choose his new nesting area and the place to raise his Lunar Dragolith children. Nocturmathos was the one who blessed the northern civilizations with the powers of the moon, the magic of selenomancy, and Nocturmathos grew to love his blessed races like children of his own. Nocturmathos never indulged in the societies like Solusvasthis did, but he did grow to enjoy companionship with many of his worshippers, and had even enjoyed building friendships with his greatest worshippers and closest champions. Nocturmathos took the protection of his lands very seriously, and even gods that threatened or tried to corrupt his people were met with immense resistance and the wrath of the great wyvern Nocturmathos. Deities such as Fahriina, the Abyssian Lord of Domination, grew to be spiteful of Nocturmathos who is said to have battled them within immense and grand battles that would reshape the continents of Anaeri and Horvaeri on the regular.
When Solusvasthis had ascended to the Empyrean, Nocturmathos took it upon himself to carry the mantle that Solusvasthis had left behind. Nocturmathos remained as the last of the great draconic demigods of the Dragoliths, and he continued to protect Narazen from the threats of the evil deities that chose to make Narazen their home. Nocturmathos grew weary and tired of the various battles he had fought, and over the centuries that he remained as the protector of Narazen, he grew more tired and more lethargic. Eventually, centuries after Solusvasthis' passing, Nocturmathos was eventually defeated by Fahriina and the other Abyssian Lords, and with his dying breath, chose to ascend to the realm of Empyrean alongside Solusvasthis. Nocturmathos' death eventually led to the de-powering of the Lunar Dragoliths and the gradual disappearance of selenomancy as a notable magic school, and it was through his death that Fahriina corrupted the usage of selenomancy and created umbramancy, a dark, demonic perversion of the original magic and the moment where the dark magics became truly dark and evil-aligned. It was also from his corpse that Fahriina created the first Shadow Dragoliths, the embodiments of dark magic and the source of which the evils of dark magic first spilled out into the world.
“Star-lit wrath guides this world to its next tomorrow.”
Choroanthomos the Stars was the third of the dragoliths to be created, and the only one of the mythical Astral Dragoliths to be known in history. Choroanthomos' original Primordia being is unknown, but he was not a Ziz like his two elder siblings were. Indeed, Choroanthomos is a being that among the three original celestial dragon gods, he is by far the most enigmatic and the least studied and known among the modern day. Known as the Dragon God of Stars, Scholars, and Knowledge, Choroanthomos served as the world's greatest keeper of knowledge among the entire Merethic Age. Choroanthomos held the same belief within the World Spirit, Narazen as his sibling deities, but Choroanthomos believed himself to be of a separate ilk than his siblings; although he was not an evil entity by any means, Choroanthomos firmly believed in his status as a deity of the outer planes, though given his tied existence to the astral magics, this is quite justifiable. Choroanthomos was a vain entity and he himself believed that he was superior to the Abyssian Lords and the other forces of chaos that marched the world; although he was believed to be equal in power to his two siblings, his status as the divine lord of astral magic means that he may have very well been capable of even more destruction than he was previously thought to be, to the point that he may have very well been stronger than his siblings, contrary to popular belief.
Much like his sibling deity Nocturmathos, Choroanthomos thoroughly enjoyed his time spent in isolation, but he had never chosen the southern continent of Kryonotos nor the two north continents of Anaeri and Horvaeri to be his home. Choroanthomos was in both being and in mind, highly attached to the planes that lay outside of Narazen, and it was the aspect of outer space that he most enjoyed his time. Choroanthomos nested far above the reaches of Narazen that no other entity, aside from his two siblings, would be able to reach him with ease. It was from here that Choroanthomos fully indulged his inner desire and joy of learning, and his "dragon's hoard" consisted of an immense library full of preserved books, scrolls, and other scholarly works. Choroanthomos' attitude would never quite change from the influence of Solusvasthis, his eldest sibling, though he did grow to care deeply about Narazen's existence and the livelihoods of those who lived upon its surface. It was at this point that Choroanthomos would deign to become the nemesis of Anshi-Anahr, the Abyssian God of Knowledge and Forbidden Secrets. Choroanthomos diligently hid the secrets of astral magic from the hands of Anshi-Anahr, out of fear of what the dark deity would do should he have gotten his hands on the magic, and it was due to this fear that Choroanthomos had never spawned the Astral Dragoliths out of worry that should Anshi-Anahr grab ahold of his spawn, he would torture them into giving up the knowledge of Choroanthomos, and he was pleased by neither the torture of his spawn nor the spilling of his secrets.
On top of hoarding secrets away for Anshi-Anahr to never steal and learn for himself, Choroanthomos held little trust in the affairs of mortalkind. Though he was quite fond of the existence of life, he did not give even a single shred of trust to mortals; he would rarely come down from the heavens to interact with the people of Narazen, and he had never sought out humans for any specific purpose. Nevertheless, the very few that could win Choroanthomos' trust and friendship found themselves an extremely powerful ally, and for their well-being and their good natures that appealed to Choroanthomos, they were among the very few to have been granted the full powers of astral magic to both enact Choroanthomos' will as well as help protect Narazen from the hands of the Abyssian Lords and the other dark entities that had prowled the surface of Narazen. Beings such as Astaetus Navardohn were known to have gained the personal friendship and trust of Choroanthomos through their deeds and actions, and were known to have been so powerful in the arts of astral magic that they were believed to have been divine entities themselves. While Solusvasthis ascended to Empyrean, and Nocturmathos was killed by the Abyssian Lords, Choroanthomos remained alive; his stellar nest too difficult to reach by both deities and mortals, and his role in the hoarding of knowledge became so unseen that Choroanthomos became unknown in history. However, he remains the nemesis of Anshi-Anahr and the other Abyssian Lords, who still fear the day that Choroanthomos descends from the heavens to take revenge for the fate of Nocturmathos, fearing the unknown depths of Choroanthomos' astral powers.
“An existence tempered through loss, shame, and nostalgia for the days when the gods still walked the world.”
- - Unknown
Nocturaohvion the Sundered is the last remaining true Lunar Dragolith and the youngest child of Nocturmathos, and regarded by those who know of him to be the last true selenomancer in the modern age. Tied with the burden of being not only the last of his kind as a dragolith, but being the last vestige of moon magic in Narazen today, Nocturaohvion has become a cold, distant, and unfriendly being out of expectation that there are those who would exploit his weakness to destroy him. Nocturaohvion, in the days of the Merethic Age, served as his father's personal enforcer and student, and Nocturaohvion was a very notable influence in the spread of moon magic across the northern continents. While his father and his eldest siblings and family tirelessly fought the dark influences of the Abyssian Lords, Nocturaohvion chose to stay behind and teach northern civilization about the wonders and innate magic that lay within the moon, the night sky, and the lower realms. Nocturaohvion was said to have greatly admired his uncle Solusvasthis and deeply loved his father, and the two of them had a lasting connection that was said to have been the closest of all of Nocturmathos' children. As Nocturaohvion grew, he grew to become one of the most powerful and radiant Lunar Dragoliths to have existed up to that point; his magic was powerful enough to bring down the sky and split the very earth if he so desired. Despite this, and despite that it was generally believed that Nocturaohvion's wrath was greater than his father's own, the true extent of Nocturaohvion's power was only once in his life, and even then it was when he was depowered and weakened.
When Solusvasthis ascended and Nocturmathos took up the mantle of the enemy of all demonkind, Nocturaohvion stood behind him and led the dragoliths and mortalkind against the various deities that walked the surface. Nocturaohvion most notably became a deep seated enemy of Maghralakan, the Abyssian God of Blood and Violence, and the two were known to have viciously hated each other for centuries. When Nocturmathos was killed by the combined hands of the Abyssian Gods, this rivalry boiled over into a drakonic rampage by Nocturaohvion, who is said to have frozen and unleashed a massacre so brutal within the continent of Horvaeri that it's said the continent sat silent for days, reeling from the unbridled rage the demigod unleashed in response to the death of his father. After his attack on Horvaeri, Nocturaohvion decided to take up his father's and his uncle's mantle as the enemy of all Abyssian Lords and their demons and cultists, leading the battles against them. However, the murder of his father by Fahriina had scarred Nocturaohvion as it had all the other Lunar Dragoliths, and although as the sun of the moon god, he was still immortal, he still began the process of his depowering. Taking advantage of the moment, Maghralakan is said to have manifested and directly confronted the Lunar Dragolith, though Maghralakan misjudged the weakness of Nocturaohvion in his haste.
The battle between the two is said to have ended with Nocturaohvion mortally wounding Maghralakan's physical form and thus leading to Nocturaohvion successfully banishing Maghralakan from ever taking physical form again. However, the power of the Blood God was so immense that Nocturaohvion came out of the fight severely wounded. Nocturaohvion's formerly grand and beautiful form became scarred and ugly, and his formerly shining scales and feathers dulled and no longer emitted light. The right side of Nocturaohvion was ripped apart, and his body was covered in grey scar tissue that would never fade away. The horns on his right side of his head had either been forcefully ripped and broken from his skull, or sliced off by the claws of the Blood God, and his right wing was so ripped up and damaged that Nocturaohvion would be incapable of flight for the rest of his life. Crippled by broken and dislocated bones, he would have a permanent hunch and he would be incapable of standing on his hind legs, relying on his wings for walking. Even his right eye was ripped from its socket. After this near-defeat Nocturaohvion retreated to the Everlands in shame of his wounds, firmly believing himself an unworthy successor to his father, and permanently retreating to the tundras of the Everlands in hopes of hiding away from th world. With Nocturaohvion gone, the Lunar Dragoliths now lacked a central leader and there was nobody of Nocturmathos' blood to take the place of leader, and they had all scattered across the world. Over time, the Lunar Dragoliths disappeared and Nocturaohvion took a smaller size, and became a figure of worship for the few Kulaung tribes that inhabitated his area.
Quotes
Trivia
- The dragoliths draw heavy inspiration from the Kelodhros of pre-reboot Fantasyverse.
- In addition, they were made in order to help tie together the elemental magic school (also taken from the old Fantasyverse) and the rest of the magic system of Narazen.
