More actions
mNo edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 178: | Line 178: | ||
</center> | </center> | ||
</tr></table> | </tr></table> | ||
===Gaia, the Indigo Nature Dragon=== | |||
{| | |||
|- | |||
| rowspan="4" | [[File:New Canvadddsrtetgr.png|300px|caption|left]] | |||
| style="font-weight:bold; width:75px; vertical-align:top;" | Description | |||
| style="vertical-align:top;" | | |||
Gaia is not a Dragon exactly, but a mortal Aelrrigan Knight named Iorwerth (depicted right) who was an Archon serving the Dragons, carrying the soul of the dead Dragon Gaius. For centuries, Iorwerth was forced to serve the Malefica, one of the greatest unseen enemies of the Dragons, forced to conjure up vast magical structures, mazes, and fortresses for the Malefica and its Shades to use to deal death on mortals in the living world. He was forced to do this because his lover Cadell's (depicted left) soul had been captured by the Malefica, who used him as a bargain to string Iorwerth along. Through the intervention of mortals in Regalia, Iorwerth and Cadell were able to break free from the Malefica's control, and return to Aloria. There he rekindled with the Dragons he once served, but also still held the power of Ordial god-hood. For this, the Dragons tasked him to ascend to their pantheon by being the (somewhat reluctant) host of Gaius's Dragon Soulspark, a Dragon who had perished many centuries ago during the Denial of Immortality. While many of Iorwerth's structures still serve the Malefica, all have become overgrown with lush vines and the Lillies of the Valley, Iorwerth and Cadell's favorite flower. In this, Gaia's powers manifest as the Dragon of Nature, the other half of Aurora's Craters of Creation. While she created the living beings that inhabited nature, it was Gaia who created the plants and trees and flowers that decorate all the realms. Thus, carrying life and death in his body and his love by his side, Iorwerth is the Draconic God of Nature, tranquility, absolution, and redemption in rebirth. | |||
|- | |||
| style="font-weight:bold; width:75px; vertical-align:top;" | Virtues | |||
| style="vertical-align:top;" | | |||
Virtue to Gaia (This God is both called Gaia and Iorwerth) is preserving balance of nature, in the give and take between the forces within an ecosystem, and preventing cascade collapse due to dying flora. From the smallest of maggots, to the largest of mammals, nature exists as the bedrock of life on Aloria. Iorwerth specifically adds to this, by making the act of redemption both in receiving and offering others the chance, a true virtue and to never give up in the face of even the most malicious of death-bound forces to return to a righted world and make amends. | |||
|- | |||
| style="font-weight:bold; width:75px; vertical-align:top;" | Vices | |||
| style="vertical-align:top;" | | |||
Vices to Gaia, are the stupidity and naivety to outsmart forces greater in power than the self. In this, Iorwerth and Cadell's centuries-long imprisonment in the Beyond acts as a deterrent and a warning that evil forces are not interested in playing fair or honest, and that respecting duels or challenges of powerful entities is foolish. Iorwerth and Cadell express above all that it is a Vice to not seek help, to not ask for saving, and to foolhardy insist that the individual can overcome all trials and struggles alone. Gaia looks down on lone wolves who risk others with their own recklessness. | |||
|- | |||
| style="font-weight:bold; width:75px; vertical-align:top;" | Radical | |||
| style="vertical-align:top;" | | |||
Gaia's Radical is the Radical of Integration. This Radical proposes that the Occult can have the right to exist in the mortal world, but only insofar they are able to exist in a social ego system that is in harmony with their environment and the people around them. This vague concept proclaims that the Occult have a right to exist, but that to claim this right they must adapt and conform, concede, and compromise, and cannot hold onto selfish notions of complete autonomy. Failing this, Gaia's Radical proposes purging invasive Occult who disrupt social eco systems to preserve stability. | |||
|} | |||
==Magic Policy== | ==Magic Policy== | ||
Revision as of 01:15, 22 April 2024
| Draconism | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Religion | |
| Pronunciation | Dra-konism |
| Origins | Unknown, presumed over 70.000 years ago |
| Deities | |
| Regulus, Caius, Daiana, Triton, Nox, Marik, Severena, Aurora. | |
Origins
Draconism is the oldest Religion in the world, presumed to have existed in some form or another for nearly 100,000 years, though it is at the very least certain that the dogma has changed over successive generations. For example, the Maraya who have awoken from the Vaults, find Draconism radically different from what they remember in their Civilization, and even different from the archeological studies they did of the third Civilization that preceded them. Draconism styles itself after the values and principles of the Dragons in that Era, themed or styled in itself after the Races that roam the world at that time. It is as such an ever changing Religion that shapes itself based on the followers, though the Dragon Gods are eternal and remain largely similar with only their Race and some subtext changing between successive generations. Draconism has followers all over the world, but is generally speaking one of the weaker religions, being outclassed in number of followers by the likes of Unionism, Estelley, Fornoss, and some would argue even Evolism. Draconism has technically been a dead religion for 300 years, as the Dragons disappeared from the world in various ways, leaving behind their faithful who now worshiped in essence dead Gods. In the last few years however, Draconism has made a quick revival with many Temples being inhabited again, and the Dragons coming back alive in what is referred to as the Revival of Immortality.
History
To understand why the Dragons "died", it is necessary to understand the grand theme running through Draconism, being The Immortal War. The Immortal War refers to the endless conflict between the Dragons and what they call The Infection, which means Ordial/Exist/Void Essences that creep into the world of Aloria and attach to living and non living things there. The Dragons see themselves as natural wardens of the order of the world, and seek to remove The Infection from the world as a result. The Immortal War is mostly fought between Dragons and the Arken, at least historically speaking when they were still bound to Estel and Behesael. Each successive Void Invasion signals the failure of the Dragons to halt yet another end-times event, though after each cycle, the Dragons remain to restart civilization with new Races. Only the last (5th) Void Invasion was halted, when the Dragons performed the rite of the Denial of Immortality. In essence, Demons and Arken were immortal because the natural laws of Aloria allowed immortality. By denying immortality, the forces the Dragons fought could be killed, but they in turn were also killable. The Arken destroyed Estel and eventually Behesael in their betrayal, and the Dragons went out one way or another as the Immortal War essentially ended in a stalemate. The Dragons relented their efforts to kill the Arken, and contented themselves with the end of the Void Invasions, though recently, the Dragons seem to have come back from this decision, and have started reviving all over the world.
Draconic Nuance
There is one topic worth discussing with regards to Draconism, compared to other religions: the (in)validity of other Religions through Dragons. It is pretty widely known that Dragons create both Races and Gods, but this fact does not make them Gods to other peoples and religions who do not observe them as such. Consider this metaphor: if you liked your team-leader, because he did good things for you and your goals align, your belief in your team-leader is not suddenly invalidated, because your team-leader was raised/taught by a different person. All Religions understand the mechanical purpose of Dragons in the world (conception, creation, ecosystems etc.), but reject their religious message or Dragons as Gods (except in some circumstances, like the Guided Cult of Unionism). Draconism is the only Religion without an afterlife, the faithful neither go to an afterlife nor to the Beyond, their souls are lifted up by Umbra and rejoin the Soul Rivers from which they are born, disappearing into nothingness and lending their life and memories back to the Dragons.
Divine Mechanics
All Religions provide 1 single Mechanic to their Believers that fits within the flair of their Religion. This Mechanic is lost if the individual stops believing in the Religion, or becomes a heretic, but can be regained. Afflicted can use this mechanic, but having the mechanic does not imply that they have blanket forgiveness from their Gods, just that there is more nuance to it than that.
- Draconism worshipers are able to use Persuasion Dice rolls on Gods both outside and inside of Divinium summonings which is normally not possible. Additionally they gain +2 to every Dice roll of Persuasion against a God, and their Persuasion Cap is raised by +2 when rolling against Gods.
Gods and Goddesses
Draconism has several Gods (gender indeterminate, though when humanoid, they do appear gendered), making it a polytheistic Religion. Unlike many other polytheistic religions, however, Draconism has a clear hierarchy and even a form of competitive rivalry between the so-called Dragon Thrones. Every Dragon Throne (a group of Dragons) contains a leader who is the representative God, and the lesser named Dragons. These lesser named Dragons are not strictly Gods, but they are treated with great reverence. Not all Draconism Gods are currently alive, during the process of the Denial of Immortality, most Dragons died in a non-traditional sense (which also made the Religion "dead" for nearly 300 years save for areas like the Sihai Lands), with not all of them having been revived recently. It is possible to worship multiple Dragons, but because the Dragon Gods often conflict with one another even when they have a Dragon King, most Draconism followers worship a single God that best fits their principles and beliefs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gaia, the Indigo Nature Dragon
 |
Description |
Gaia is not a Dragon exactly, but a mortal Aelrrigan Knight named Iorwerth (depicted right) who was an Archon serving the Dragons, carrying the soul of the dead Dragon Gaius. For centuries, Iorwerth was forced to serve the Malefica, one of the greatest unseen enemies of the Dragons, forced to conjure up vast magical structures, mazes, and fortresses for the Malefica and its Shades to use to deal death on mortals in the living world. He was forced to do this because his lover Cadell's (depicted left) soul had been captured by the Malefica, who used him as a bargain to string Iorwerth along. Through the intervention of mortals in Regalia, Iorwerth and Cadell were able to break free from the Malefica's control, and return to Aloria. There he rekindled with the Dragons he once served, but also still held the power of Ordial god-hood. For this, the Dragons tasked him to ascend to their pantheon by being the (somewhat reluctant) host of Gaius's Dragon Soulspark, a Dragon who had perished many centuries ago during the Denial of Immortality. While many of Iorwerth's structures still serve the Malefica, all have become overgrown with lush vines and the Lillies of the Valley, Iorwerth and Cadell's favorite flower. In this, Gaia's powers manifest as the Dragon of Nature, the other half of Aurora's Craters of Creation. While she created the living beings that inhabited nature, it was Gaia who created the plants and trees and flowers that decorate all the realms. Thus, carrying life and death in his body and his love by his side, Iorwerth is the Draconic God of Nature, tranquility, absolution, and redemption in rebirth. |
| Virtues |
Virtue to Gaia (This God is both called Gaia and Iorwerth) is preserving balance of nature, in the give and take between the forces within an ecosystem, and preventing cascade collapse due to dying flora. From the smallest of maggots, to the largest of mammals, nature exists as the bedrock of life on Aloria. Iorwerth specifically adds to this, by making the act of redemption both in receiving and offering others the chance, a true virtue and to never give up in the face of even the most malicious of death-bound forces to return to a righted world and make amends. | |
| Vices |
Vices to Gaia, are the stupidity and naivety to outsmart forces greater in power than the self. In this, Iorwerth and Cadell's centuries-long imprisonment in the Beyond acts as a deterrent and a warning that evil forces are not interested in playing fair or honest, and that respecting duels or challenges of powerful entities is foolish. Iorwerth and Cadell express above all that it is a Vice to not seek help, to not ask for saving, and to foolhardy insist that the individual can overcome all trials and struggles alone. Gaia looks down on lone wolves who risk others with their own recklessness. | |
| Radical |
Gaia's Radical is the Radical of Integration. This Radical proposes that the Occult can have the right to exist in the mortal world, but only insofar they are able to exist in a social ego system that is in harmony with their environment and the people around them. This vague concept proclaims that the Occult have a right to exist, but that to claim this right they must adapt and conform, concede, and compromise, and cannot hold onto selfish notions of complete autonomy. Failing this, Gaia's Radical proposes purging invasive Occult who disrupt social eco systems to preserve stability. |
Magic Policy
Magic, or more specifically how to treat Magic (that is not Dragon Magic), varies for each of the Dragons, and subsequently as their faithful as they are bound to choose one of the Dragons as their Patron. The Dragon policies are called "The Radicals" for example the Radical of Destruction or the Radical of Apathy. Each Dragon has a context and nuance for why they feel that particular way, which is explained below. It is possible to apply multiple Radicals at once.
- Regulus, the Radical of Symbiosis: Regulus was born and lived most of his life as a mortal Ailor, and spent many years warming up to the presence of Occult. Notable in his history, is his intense friendship with a Pride Arkenborn, who softened him to the value of the Occult to fight an indeterminate "evil". As such, Regulus's Radical is that of Symbiosis, the idea that the Occult can also be recruited in the fight against the bad types of Magic, or the bad types of Magic users. Regulus fervently believes in the right of the Occult to live their life un-harassed by demands to convert to Dragon Magic or be rid of their Magic, as well as free from the fear of being killed for being Occult, but only for a narrow band of Occult who agree that casual, indifferent, or whimsical use of Magic is extremely dangerous. Regulus seeks to recruit Occult of Void, Exist, or Ordial alignment, who will aid in the fight against the Death Cults, Evolist Gods, Undead, Arken, and their ilk. Finally, Regulus and his followers determine those who are irredeemably "evil" for their vile Magic usage, declaring them Anathema and handing the matter off to Caius and his faithful for the hunt.
- Caius, the Radical of Fire: Caius has suffered for 80,000 years, as the Void itself is tearing him apart. When the Void opened, Dragons being curious, sent Caius in to try and understand what it was. This event caused Caius's soul and body to split in two (the other half being Ifrit). He has been infected with a slow rotting corruption from within that will eventually overtake him, and so the urgency of his fight against the Occult is a desperation to end the infection before it ends him. His Radical of Fire, insists that the bad type of infection (Magic, Afflicted) must be burned out with fire and sword without mercy. Umbra believes that Caius's condition is made worse by casual Magic usage (such as just doing magic for the sake of it, or to impress others without urgent need), and so while Caius does not demand all Magical people be exterminated for being Magical, he demands they be made to suffer for casual Magic and abuse of Magic for selfish reasons with fire so they learn not to add to the suffering of Caius. Caius and his followers also wait for Regulus to determine who is Anathema in the law of Draconism, and seek out to utterly destroy those that have been labeled irredeemable to help Caius in his suffering.
- Daiana, the Radical of Peace: Daiana is the world itself, and as such, her policies are only really understood indirectly from the Dreamborn that wander the world that are manifested from her Dreamspark, the thing with which she creates Gods and other matters of reality on Aloria. Daiana is a Dragon uniquely positively disposed to Spirits, and their will to live on Aloria even if they come from another dimension. Daiana dreams of a world without death, which sometimes puts her at odds with Umbra who insists on the need for the life and death cycle. While Spirits cannot truly feel the same way mortals do on Aloria, Daiana is the Spirit mother who seeks to embrace all of them and create a world in which Spirits and the living can exist in harmony, as Spirits in her eyes are always fated to exist for a specific reason, just like her Dreamborn. The exception, however, is what her faithful call the "Hollows", which are Spirits that have vile or ruinous intentions on the world. Daiana and her followers seek out the destruction or banishment of these Hollows, as they believe them to be corruptive to other Spirits who would otherwise have curious or benign intentions to living on Aloria.
- Triton, the Radical of Power: Triton is both a split personality of Caius that exists in his own body, but also an entirely different person. It is believed that Triton is perhaps the only entity to have been omniscient since the dawn of Dragon times, as all other Dragons have either died, faded from reality, become unaware of the world, or projected into a different reality. Triton to some is called the "Dark Dragon", because he has no anti-Occult stance whatsoever, in fact he wants them all used, even Vampires. Triton's stance of Radical of Power implicates his followers with seeking to bend the Occult to their will, ostensibly to eradicate other Occult who are resilient to their power or are too wretched to be bent into service. Triton essentially weaponizes the Occult against other Occult, both to gather power, but also to bring about an easier destruction of the Occult, specifically by making the casualties other Occult, and not the Mundane or Draconist worshipers.
- Nox, the Radical of Illusion: Nox much like Daiana has a policy that isn't strictly anti-Occult but aimed at the Occult integration in some way. Nox acknowledges that while other Dragons are mostly focused on the Occult infection of the world, Draconism or Dragons as a whole have many other enemies, including Gods, mortals and even the natural forces of the world. Nox seeks to harvest the Occult for information, knowledge, and sometimes even dark powers short of becoming Afflicted so that they can be weaponized against the threats the other Dragons ignore or aren't aware of. This can also include defending the Draconist cause against incursions from the outside, those who would usurp the powers of the Draconic. Some might even say, that it could involve shutting down Dragon Sites and regulating who get access to them, because sometimes, the enemy is within the Draconist's own cause whether through naivity or having fallen under the wrong influences.
- Marik, the Radical of Illumination: Marik is a product of a reborn tragedy, a Dragon whose soul was once used to commit the revenge of a Death God unto the ancestors of the Qadir. Much of his current life is in a mission to heal the damage this has done, and to mend the rifts that have come about between people of different origins, cultures, or beliefs. Marik as the patron of the Songaskians, straddles a difficult position in which he is a Dragon God to the Songaskians, but a Unionist God to the Qadir. The Songaskians do not directly contradict this reality, but the Qadir have not yet surpassed their historical trauma, and refuse to acknowledge that Marik is also a Dragon. Marik himself has always dodged the question or the matter, and resides in his home in Al-Alus, surrounded by the Qadir. His avoidant attitude extends to his Radical of Illumination, believing that whatever issue exists with the Occult, is only secondary to healing the historical trauma and damage that was inflicted on the world by the war between the Dragons and the Occult over the past 70,000 years, by helping Mundane and Occult alike heal from their history and the crimes committed against their ancestors.
- Umbra, the Radical of Demise: Umbra's Radical of Demise underpins the absolute necessity for death to continue the cycle of life, and to prevent death from taking place elsewhere. What this means is that Umbrists believe in the inevitability of the fated end, that all thousands of premonitions of the future always lead to one outcome, being a death, and that a death must be made but that they have the choice whose life to take. This evaluation is usually based on the circumstances of the death. For example, if a Purist were to try and kill an Occult and that would result in a riot which would cause even more death, then the Umbrist would instead prevent the Occult's death, and kill the Lothar instead, because they believe that if they do not, that fate will exact another unforeseen death elsewhere. Umbra and his followers are utilitarians at heart, and as such will always seek to exact a clean and painless death to prevent more violence and more undue death that was not foretold in the threads of future visions. This can as mentioned sometimes involve taking the side of the Occult, but often also results in them killing Occult who will inevitably become Demonically possessed, or limit-break and take half a city with them.
- Felicula, the Radical of Love: Felucila's Radical of Love, is often ridiculed by the faithful of the other Dragons as inanely naive. Her Radical insists that if the Occult were just embraced, cherished, loved, and be made friends with, that the Immortal War will end by itself, and that most if not all the vileness and grief that comes from the Occult, is based by the sociopolitical conditions in which they live, in constant persecution, ridicule, and fearing for their life. While some element of this is certainly very true, Felicula worshipers sometimes neglect the reality that some people just suck, and that some entities are just irredeemably evil. Felicula and her followers will always keep trying to convince those who were led astray by the ruinous powers, that they are welcome and cherished, and through that convince them to turn away from sinful Occult behavior.
- Severena, the Radical of Inward: Severena believes that the world, reality as it existed even before the Dragons, created flaws inherent in existence. As a result, Dragons are flawed, and subsequently, mortals they create are flawed. Furthering from that thought, she believes that one cannot truly look at the Occult and claim it to be filth that defiles the world, because the world is already filled with filth in violence, untimely death, suffering, hunger, and anguish, even without Magic. She claims that it is not possible for a Draconist to truly stand against the vilest of Occult that have tasked it upon themselves to inflict suffering, if the non-Occult do not first reach a higher understanding in themselves, and rid themselves of earthly attachments and have a clean mind. The Radical of Inward insists that the faithful must reach a higher level of transcendent detachment from personal anchors such as greed, pride, vanity, lust, and so forth, and then reach out into the world during this journey, to become protectors of the world.
- Aurora, the Radical of Focus: Aurora does not care. This is a simple view, the Radical of Focus insists that there are far more important natural functions of the world, such as the continuation of life itself and the perpetuation of new animal species. Aurora quite literally does not have time to spend a second thought about the Occult, and as such she and her followers completely ignore the hypothetical Immortal War or the war between the Dragons and the Occult, to instead focus on maintaining the base functions of the world in the absence of other divine figures to steer them. Note, this does not mean that the Life Isldar are pacifists and simply lay down to the Death Isldar attacking them, they can take a very harsh and hostile stance against the Occult, but only ever do so when the threat manifests in geo politics. Aurora and her worshipers otherwise reject the urgency of destroying unworthy or sinful Occult, even at the cost of Caius's suffering.
Priestly Activities
To be Expanded.
Trivia
To be Expanded.
| ||||||||||
| Accreditation | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||||