| Draconus | |
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| Name: | Draconus
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|---|---|
| Other Titles: | God Beast, Great Nightmare, Moon, Great Dragon
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| Associations: | Dragons, The Moon, Drakes, Piscenes, Reptilians, Magic
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| Associated School: | All
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| Core Values: | Mystery, Independence, Dreams, Instinct, Magic |
Legends state that Draconus is the spine of Illumitas?, larger in size and stature than any of the Seven. He is aloof, mysterious, and often indecipherable even to his own followers.
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About
Whereas each member of the Sept can be assigned an aspect of Illumitas?’ personality, there is no one clear identity for Draconus. Is he Illumitas’ sense of mystery? It would certainly fit. But then why does he not associate with the Sept?
Perhaps he’s Illumitas’ sense of independence. This would explain his many solo endeavors but not his followers. He doesn’t give those who follow him clear instructions, but he certainly does keep followers. It also would be odd considering he created a family of his own.
Others point to his mastery of magic and myths that the Sept learned magic from him to say that he is Illumitas’ aspect of the supernatural or magic.
Could he be the aspect of dreams? If so, why does he seem to have no relationships with the fae?
Another popular concept is the idea that he is Illumitas’ aspect of greed. He keeps things to himself, collects power, family and followers and encourages them to do the same. Most, however, get stuck on the idea that Illumitas had negative aspects. In the end, no one truly knows what Draconus is.
In regard to the myth of Draconus and the moon, once more there are no firm answers. Is he the moon? Or is the moon an egg he laid? There are even some who think the moon is an egg wherein he is hatching himself to be reborn. Is it his eye watching down on the world? How big is Draconus truly?Is the moon simply a rock in the sky where Draconus has built his fortress to keep his hoard? Another subject full of nothing more than questions. One thing that is clear is that the moon does have influence over the world. It affects the tides and the lycanthropes. Its power is quite real.
On the subject of what Draconus wants once again there is nothing but speculation. There is evidence for and against each point. When he guides his followers as vaguely as he does it is possible they are misinterpreting his will, but if they are getting it wrong why would he not give more clear guidance? This leads some scholars to believe he is an aspect of chaos, not sentient, or possibly due to his injury he sleeps and his guidance comes from the subconscious whims of his own dreams.
He has guided his followers to help maintain balance between the Sept and Three, but he’s also had them incite conflicts between them. When the Dragons roamed Novitas still he seemed to both aid and hinder them. Sometimes he leads followers to stashes of potent Dragon’s blood and sometimes he’s had those same stashes destroyed before anyone could use the blood to fuel powerful rituals.
Another legend states that he seeks to reclaim the magic stolen from him, taking it from the world. Others say that magic isn’t what was stolen from him but that something more significant that has raised his ire against each of the other gods.
As in all things, no firm answers are forthcoming from Draconus.
Personality and Behavior
Draconus is mysterious in all things. He doesn’t give straight answers, he only gives hints. Mystery is the stock and trade of Draconus and if communication can be interpreted in multiple ways… that’s his ideal. Most dreams from Draconus can be subject to dozens of interpretations.
Some say that just as the moon changes, so too does Draconus’ personality change. If there is truth to this though no one can say for sure. Draconus is not one to stick to any patterns.
Many would expect as an aspect of Illumitas that Draconus would show some favoritism or deference for the Sept but this is certainly not the case. Draconus isn’t directly antagonistic to either the Sept or the Three, and shows no favor towards either. By all appearances he doesn’t seem to have any opinion of either side at all. His followers often lean to one side or the other and he doesn’t show any opinions on that behavior either. His opinions are carefully concealed, assuming he even has any.
Appearance
When Draconus appears in visions it is as a massive Dragon with a deep, almost angry sounding voice. More often though Draconus speaks in riddles, hiding his form entirely making the listener guess as to whether they are even communicating with Draconus directly or not. Just as his guidance leaves people wondering, his form is left concealed to make it unclear if the Great Dragon is the speaker or not.
It hasn’t gone unnoticed by drakes that he never appears as one of them, or any other bipedal creature for that matter.
Avatars
Unlike the gods of both the Sept and the Dark Three, no one has ever met a verifiable Avatar of Draconus. It’s entirely possible he has never decided to make one, or maybe he doesn’t even know how.
Worship
If there is one thing that is clear in the worship of Draconus it is that there is no correct way to do it. Philosophers and priests of Draconus have debated this for centuries and those talks have always broken down into conflict in the end. Every time anyone has even gotten close to a unifying idea of how to worship the Dragon God, visions have come from Draconus himself to shed doubts on those concepts.
So who would want to worship a god that doesn’t even have a clear message of what they offer? Some see this as a test of faith. Followers of the Seven or the Three know what they are getting out of the interaction for the most part, but the faithful of Draconus do so with little knowledge of where the path will lead them. This mystery itself has value to them.
Draconus will often personally lead followers to him, offering dream guidance, portents and visions that cause only more questions. Pursuit of those questions brings an individual to Draconus in the hopes of finding answers.
Some see the conflict between the Sept and the Dark Three and they want no part in it. Perhaps the Sept is the better option, but followers of the Sept have committed no small number of atrocities upon the followers of the Dark Three in the name of their gods. Following the Dark Three comes with its own problems. Draconus offers individual empowerment with surprisingly few strings attached. That lack of strings sometimes results in Draconus worshippers behaving in all manner of strange ways and gives Draconus worship a reputation for being practiced by the insane, but few who worship Draconus care at all for what others think of them. Each follower chooses for themselves what the right way to worship is, and sometimes they work together to form cults of similar practices. In turn most of these cults last as long as their membership share those common goals and not much longer. Few Draconic cults last more than a generation or two.
With so many ways to worship Draconus another phenomenon fairly unique to Draconus is that his followers often conflict with each other, sometimes outright hating one another. Sometimes it is a question of orthodoxy, each cult claiming theirs is the correct way. In other cases it is because their goals contradict each other. These conflicts can be heated and it is not unheard of for them to lead to violence. If Draconus takes issue with this he doesn’t say and rarely steps in. Some suspect he might even cause some of these conflicts deliberately.
Different sects believe in different aspects of Draconus. Some worship fire, and use complicated alchemical reagents to somehow transmute it into dragonfire, about which they dance and exhaust themselves into vision and prophecy. Others hoard treasure, and hide whatever they find into great underground caches. One cult has taken a keen interest in drake bloodlines, and is attempting to breed a true dragon. Still others practice Draconus’ neutrality, and either refuse to participate in the events unfolding around them, or act as negotiators and diplomats between the zealots and fanatics of both the Dark Three and their Sept counterparts. One thing most sects share, however, is the pursuit of lore and writings on Draconus.
Draconus stands alone, for reasons that remain hidden. In turn, each sect of Draconus-worship develops its own rules, codes, and morality. When these are failed or betrayed, the punishments vary just as much as the rules do.
His followers are frequently indulgent of instinct, after all any mortal who claims full knowledge over the Nightmare's desires is claiming opinion as fact. Plagued by delusions of grandeur, followers of Draconus will frequently justify great amounts of greed and vanity. Those who have been given a Draconic vision often feel entitled to model their behavior after His. They hoard items of great value and magical power in the same way the Godbeast is alleged to have stored mountains of treasure on the moon. Draconus is often considered the patron god of Thieves’ Guilds, who wear his likeness and invoke His name for luck. Like the Godbeast, perched on his Moon, followers of Draconus are often content to watch the world instead of taking action. They thus favor intelligence over action – spying and gathering information while rarely putting it to use. His Drake followers in particular preen in vanity and self-importance rather than taking part in worldly affairs, just as Draconus ignored the realm’s need in the first conflict between the gods to coddle his offspring. And since he has never attempted to clarify his intentions, followers of the Godbeast manage to justify all manner of bizarre behavior in his name – which leads to a great deal of petty squabbling, disagreement, and judgment between those with differing viewpoints.
There is one phrase that is commonly held among many Draconic cults. Though not universal it is possibly the single most unifying principle shared by Draconus’ faithful: “When the students are ready, the teacher will arrive.”
Places of Worship
Temples of Draconus can be anywhere and look like anything, just like so much of the worship of Draconus. However there are some common themes. Generally speaking they are in isolated locations away from others. They frequently are in locations of great magical power or which inspire those who see them to curiosity and a sense of mystery.
Expectations of Chosen
Chosen of Draconus are expected to find their own path. Commitment to personal goals and individuality are critical concepts for those worthy of Draconus’ notice.
Each Chosen of Draconus creates their own mysteries, whether this is through prophecy, ritual practices, or simply insane rambling, the Chosen of Draconus are never exactly what they seem.
Failing Draconus is to be subjugated, normalized and made fully transparent. It is unclear if he offers forgiveness or if he even cares that much when it happens. Some maintain that those out of Draconus' favor no longer benefit from his patronage, rather than see direct punishment due to the situation.
Noteable Followers
Categories: Setting | Gods | Chosen
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