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| Expanded Draconism Lore | |
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| Part of Draconism lore. |
This page exist to provide further information to the core Draconism page, relating to various important facets of faith which are nonetheless secondary to core information about history and the various gods. This page is considered Expanded Lore, meaning it is not required reading for a roleplay experience on MassiveCraft but can be used to add additional depth and content to Roleplay.
Draconic Throne Festivals
Draconist festivals are drawn up according to each of the Dragons and their respective Thrones. They're usually placed in the middle of the month (the 15th), or the 10th and 20th. The festivals don't always have to occur exactly on these dates, and can be held around them. Most festivals are intended to include non-Draconists, but some are strictly for Draconists only.
- New Year's Healing (January 10th): This festival is an open forum and gathering that is available to all, but is mostly only relevant for Draconists, as they are the only ones religiously obligated to observe it fully. At the start of the new year, the Draconists engage in a ritual in which, in honor of Orion, they speak aloud resentment that they hold onto involving another person, and then let it go. There are a few stipulations to this: the person they resent must listen to their entire speech, and reason why, without interrupting or arguing against it. They must accept this, and in return, the person is obligated to also let go of their resentment and not let it influence them any more If at any point the listener tries to bring it back up, or talk back, the whole thing is invalidated. During this festival, Draconists are encouraged to bury old grudges, and bring food and drink to make the whole affair less tense than it already is by default.
- Celebrations of Insight (January 20th): While most festivals occur without any interference or influence from the Dragons themselves, this celebration is unique in that it comes from a ley-site protocol created by Regulus. For 24 Hours on the 20th of January, a specific Dragon Site opens up in the Regalian Wilderness to all Draconists to use, allowing them to temporarily swap bodies with another present and consenting Draconist (or syncretist), to live a day or two in their shoes. Theologists theorize that this reflects how living as Cedromar without any knowledge of being a Dragon for so long shaped Regulus' personality and beliefs, and that he wants to offer the Draconists a chance at another perspective. The Elderlaw used to enact this automatically reverts after 48 Hours, returning the original consciousness to their original bodies. Memories and personality are swapped with the consciousnesses, but Magic, Artifacts, Proficiencies (incl. Custom Kits), remain with the body.
- Salvation Forums (February 15th): This festival is mostly for Draconists only, and is done in honor of Gaia and his message of the power of redemption. During this, the gathered Draconists discuss individuals that they think can be helped, or redeemed, or converted in some way, and argue why (or why not) this should be done. If the group can mostly agree on a few names, they then set out to actually find those people and talk to them, offering this route to redemption and a better life. If they agree, the forum can be considered a success. If they don't (which they usually do), the forum disperses with the consolation that they at least made the effort to try, and, that there's always next year.
- Tournament of Ambition (March 15th):This festival features ritualistic fighting between groups (or pairs) of warriors in the name of the Dragons, but specifically in Triton's name. It is common for Draconists to invite fighters from other faiths, and include them in the battle, primarily to show the grace of the Dragons, but also to show off the martial prowess of the Archon and Draconists who participate. At the end of the tournament, and the day, the Draconists also host a very large feast in honor of the fighters. During this time, it is also customary for non-combatants to be allowed the chance to publicly declare an "Ambition" that they have while standing in the center of a stage. When they do so, people in the crowd can agree to help, and state what they will do directly to help that person achieve their ambition. If no-one speaks up, then a lesson is learned about that person, or their ambition.
- Prowess Training (April 15th): This festival demands that Archon Draconists reach out to organizations, groups, companies, and other martially inclined individuals that are aligned with or at least cordial to the Archon, and invite them to it. The festival itself involves a group training session filled with sparring, drills, and exercises between all the invited groups, managed and arranged by the Archon. It is customary for there to be any number of healers and medics on the sideline at this time too, both incase something goes wrong, and also so they can learn from one another too. This is done in the name of Severena, who encourages exactly this kind of training among the faithful, to always be prepared.
- Cycles of Creation (May 15): This festival is the Draconist version of a “Love Festival” common in many other cultures and religions. During the day, Draconists gather and encourage others to spend time with their loved ones, specifically handing out flower-wreathes to single individuals, encouraging others to talk to them. While the day celebrates platonic and romantic love, by the evening Draconists are encouraged to spend time with their romantic partner(s), and the festival is seen as a particularly holy and important time to procreate and make love, as a celebration of life. For this reason, it is usually done in the name of Silas, who is the maker of mortal life, so it is a celebration of his work.
- Harmony Jubilee (June 15): This the largest and most bombastic of all of the Draconist Festivals, an all-day celebration including a large feast, dances, and loud music and song. Most importantly, the Jubilee has hospitality extended to enemies of the faithful during this time, so long as they adhere to the entrance ritual. The entrance ritual demands that any enemies of the faithful, before entering the jubilee, must loudly and publicly declare that "Draconist Name is my enemy, but I respect them because... or, I respect.... about them," if they do so, they are allowed in. Then, when they leave the party, whatever Draconist they named as their enemy must also loudly and publicly declare "So and so is my enemy, too, but I respect them because ..., or, I respect ... about them." Since this festival usually allows anyone to enter who follows this, with no other stipulations, Jubilees (in Regalia, at least) are usually held in the countryside to prevent any arrests being made. All of this is done in the name of Armina, who values companionship and community.
- Gifts of Kindness (July 10th): This festival is not a formal festival, but usually two or three days around the 10th that involve Draconists making an effort to do something for another person (usually a non-Draconist), without any conditions, or requests in turn. The Gifts reflect Felicula's kindness to the world, in shaping Magic as she did, so the faithful try to do as many unconditional acts of kindness as they possibly can, without complaint. Afterwards, it's common to share stories of how this went.
- Sun's Passion (July 20th): This is a multi-day festival that always ceremonially occurs at, or nearby, a beach. To make the most of Cinerius' gift of passion, the faithful are encouraged to invite anyone to a large gathering at the beach: playing games, cooking food, swimming, etc. Specifically, the festival has also developed a unique code to be used amongst those attending, that involves wearing different colored strips of cloth tied around the waist. ((TBA to Massivelooks)) Each cloth signifies the following: Red means open to flirtation from anyone and not in a relationship, Purple means in a relationship but still open to flirtation, Green means in a relationship and not open to flirtation, and Grey means not in a relationship and not open to flirtation. This festival usually lasts a few days, and actively encourages flirtatious behavior amongst those who are attending, and open to it.
- Faith Bridging (August 15th): This festival begins on the 15th of August, but usually takes much longer to actually "complete" as it involves the Draconists reaching out to another Faith (or multiple) (never Mortis Cult), in order to try and help them with a problem they are having surrounding their religion/faith. This can be as simple as helping them campaign to raise money to repair part of their temple, or more complicated, such as helping track down lost knowledge about a God. The festival is done in Julianus' name, and involves the Draconists helping others unconditionally (but obviously not at great detriment to themselves/their morals).
- Reflection Session (September 15th): A Session involves Draconists gathering, usually at someone's house or Estate, and deciding to give each other a collective 'make over' by pointing out things they think someone should consider changing about their appearance, such as a different hair cut, or color, or a new coat. Generally the idea is always to suggest something that will look better or compliment the person, or push them to come out of their shell about how they look. Attendees should always at least try what is suggested, with the understanding that it can easily be undone. All of this is done in Aurora's name, and reflects how she constantly tweaks and changes the appearances of the animals and creatures she makes, to try and make them better. This festival is open to non-Draconists, and often even encourages them to come, if they are willing and interested in the concept.
- Memorial Construction (October 15th): To celebrate Umbra's work, the sanctity of death, and to remember those that have been lost, Memorial Constructions involve Draconits going out into the wilderness and spending the entire day constructing a "Memorial Garden." A Memorial Garden usually involves wooden constructions, with carvings made, and offerings left, in the name of those who have died that the faithful wish to remember. All the Draconists are expected to pitch in, somehow, with many building small things like swings, seating, or planting flowers and herbs in the garden. By the end of it, they will have made a place that can be re-visited during that year, to leave offerings. By the time the next year's festival rolls around, it will usually have deteriorated, but if not, it is torn down to make a new one, signifying rebirth. ((Players are encouraged to do this festival in an Instanced Plot so they can build directly, and request World Staff to paste in the finished product)).
- Harvest Ritual (November 15th): This festival celebrates the harvest via a large potluck, where everyone contributes some ingredient or dish. The feast is a large public gathering, where non-Draconists are welcome to bring their own food and dishes. It also features lots of colors, as it is common to have dyed chalk that is smeared across people’s skin and clothes to mark them as worshippers of a particular Dragon. This Festival specifically also celebrates Daiana, and the bounty of nature.
- The Ley Crawl (December 10th): This festival is a jovial reflection on Marik's modern and historical work, as it involves a city-wide pub crawl with Draconists and non-Draconists alike. The point of the festival is to hit as many taverns as possible, and pick up more and more revelers as the night goes on. The whole event is a playful analogy: the city's streets are the ley-lines, connecting all of the "Dragon Sites" (the pubs) that the Draconists stop by at.
- Gift-Giving and Sharing Ceremony (December 20th): On this day, Draconists traditionally give each other personalized and thoughtful gifts of little monetary value. Usually, Draconists will choose a small number of people who they felt helped them the most throughout the year, and offer them gifts, with the expectation that everyone should get something. During this time, Draconists also partake in the ritual of sharing and absolution, wherein Draconists can reveal secrets or things they have kept hidden, that they regret or feel shame about, with the promise that by sharing at this ceremony, they will not be completely shunned or abandoned. To reveal a secret at this festival is a sacred act, and while it will not absolve them of all possible sins, it does ensure that the other Draconists will work to help them through it, and repent (if needed). This Festival specifically used to celebrate Nox, but, after his sin and banishment, it no longer does (publicly, anyways). Nox worshippers and Slizzar still hold this festival as a celebration of him and his wisdom.
Priestly Activities
Rising
The act of Rising is one of the more complicated rituals a Draconist priest can perform, and is a harmless event performed in the name of Daiana meant to give closure to a member of the living through the calling forth the target of their communion. It should be stated clearly that this ritual is not a Summoning or Evoking, and the entity that appears is only a visual construct from the memories of the participating party. This form can be the appearance of dead relatives, close friends, or those who were sadly taken too soon from a partner that they loved. The act of Rising is meant to provide closure, and priests as channelers of the ritual and also emotional guides, speak through their “puppet,” being granted temporary access to relevant memories shared between these two figures, or which might be useful in providing the living subject closure. Rising is seen as sacred among Draconists, while also being something that a priest does not perform lightly. An individual usually has to have a real emotional block in their mindset regarding a lost loved one for a priest to consider a Rising.
Scrying
A long time ago, Draconist priests developed a unique method for supposedly foretelling the future. Scrying originated in priestly efforts to try and aid leaders, community members, or the religious figure themselves in making decisions, or to at least warn them of the future. It is believed in the modern day that the art of tarot reading emerged in mimicry of this action, given the similar elements involved. For a Scrying, a priest must collect some twenty or so metal charms, small and simple symbols or figures relevant to the local culture. Each has a piece of string or cord attached to it, and are wound together, obscuring which length’s end leads to which charm. The priest then has an individual desiring advice or to know a possible fate hold onto three or four strings, while the priest then unravels the remaining charms from the small group chosen. The priest then reads the charms for the interested party, interpreting them based on their cultural meaning and how they might factor into the individual’s life. Most Draconists try not to buy into Scrying too seriously, as using the actual powers of Dragons to read possible futures is considered invasive and tampering with destiny if not done for a very good reason, but instead use it as an elaborate form of ritual hot-cold reading that substitutes more direct methods of advice giving.
Trivia
- TBD
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