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.
Virtues
Draconism does not have traditional Virtues and Vices in the sense that other Religions do. Draconism is a very sober and grounded religion in the sense that the meaning of life to Dragons is to exist, to perform a single duty, and then to die. That single duty, is the concept of pro-creation, or at least to ensure the future existence of the creation of Dragons and the world they tend. Morality of good and evil don't really apply to Dragons, though individual Dragons despise specific acts. For example, Regulus is a radical life-preserver who hates murder, while Caius followers engage in murder because they hate Magic. There are inherent contradictions in Draconism that can cause conflict among them, but generally speaking everyone works together towards the common goal of finding ways to rid the world more permanently of all Magical essence or presence. There is a final topic worth discussing: 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 Regulus 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 becomes Afflicted, or stops believing in the Religion, but can be regained.
Draconism worshipers are able to use Persuasion Dice rolls on Gods both outside and inside of Divinium summonings. Additionally they gain +3 to every Dice roll of Persuasion against a God, and their maximum is raised to 17 instead of 14.
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.
Regulus, the King Dragon
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Name: Regulus, the Dragon of Command, Hierarchy and Rulership.
Domain: Regulus controls the Draconic Conclave and rules the Dragons.
Symbols: Thunder Storms, Rulership, Banners, Rain, Bodies of Water.
Role: Regulus acts as the King of Dragons, to mediate and command them.
Enemies: Those who stand against the Regalian Empire and seek its downfall.
Rituals: Regulus is celebrated through the act of mediation between aggrieved parties, or the Dragon-King trial in which blue Dragon-King flames are summoned, a trial is held between two parties holding their hand in the flame, with the flame burning them if they utter a lie. Another method of worship is by expanding the political reach of the Dragons or the Draconism faithful, who have to rebuild their religion.
Caius, the Dying Dragon
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Name: Caius (Shalmanisar in Eronidas), Dragon of Love, Passion, and War.
Domain: Caius commands the impulses of the living, violence, and fire.
Symbols: Volcanoes, Battle, War, Destruction, Flames and Fire, and Magma.
Role: Caius acts as the Dragon General, leading Dragon forces in War.
Enemies: Any Occult, Occult Sympathizers, Aelrrigan Knights, Centrists.
Rituals: Caius is celebrated through the rituals of Mage-Burnings and Pyro-Branding. The former involves gathering magical scrolls, books, and artifacts, and burning them in a ritual fire, while the latter involves branding the Occult with painful scars that hurt when they use Magic. Less violent forms of worship involve the Flame-Dance, a ritual dance by torches in the moonlight, and the Burning Love Chalice, writing love letters and burning them.
Daiana, the Dreaming Dragon
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Name: Daiana (Damu or Da'amu for Eronidas, using their own language).
Domain: The world's Core, the Underground and cave systems of Aloria.
Temple: Great Hall of Mother in Kezzeret Kashubasha (Eronidas State).
Allies: Mana faithful, Environmentalists, Mothers, Yanar, Narim, Dwarves, Elkonur faithful
Enemies: The Ordial Aligned, The Afflicted, Renegade (Evil) Mages, The Undead.
Rituals: Daiana is celebrated through the Harvest Ritual and Caring Ceremony, the former which involves celebrating harvest and sharing meals with others, the latter which involves bestowing both the blessing and responsibility of caring onto someone else by granting them a plant, a pet, or a child to take care of. Daiana is also invoked by priests to summon the Spirits or appearances of dead relatives to give consolation to the mourning living.
Triton, the Dark Dragon
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Name: Triton, though he can also be called Ifrit as he is a Void God also.
Domain: Triton has no official domain, his followers always wander.
Symbols: Revenge, Domination, Darkness in one's Soul, Dark Metal.
Role: Triton is the Dark second half of Caius's split soul, Void infected.
Temple: Darkscale House of the High Father in the Osciird Princedoms (Daen).
Allies: Evolism Faithful, Evintarian Unionists, Military & Martial people.
Enemies: The Apathetic & Inactive, Behesael faithful, Pacifists, Ithanians.
Rituals: Triton is celebrated through the Metamorphic Baptism, involved in ritually immersing in a pool of Void-blessed Dragon Water, and assuming Void Mutations of Triton. Another ritual is the Retribution Rally, where they summon a banner of Revenge and call forth allies to sally forth and attack their enemy for vengeance. Finally, Triton accepts blood offerings either from the faithful or those vanquished in battle.
Nox, the Unknown Dragon
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Name: Nox (Madhyaratri for Slizzar & Allar, using their languages).
Domain: Hadar and Sendras, and the deep oceans of the world.
Symbols: Mirrors, Snakes, Libraries, Sassrakkand, the Mind, Chrome.
Role: Nox acts as Spymaster for the Dragons, but also has his own agenda.
Enemies: Justicars, Knights, Guards, The Afflicted, The Thralled & Mind-Controlled.
Rituals: Nox's worship is often hidden by pretending to be followers of different Dragons. For those who embrace him publicly, the Mirror Masquerade is a common festivity, where guests must pretend to be a different guest including clothes, make-up and alchemy to look similar. Another is reflective divination, to make someone ponder their deepest desires in a Nox Mirror, and instead see the danger and dark side of their wish reflected.
Marik, the Etherforge Dragon
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Name: Marik (Al-Asir in Qadir language) as he is a Unionism God also.
Domain: Ard-al Nur (Farahdeen) & Southern Islands, as well as surrounding oceans.
Symbols: Technology, Forgery, Craftsmen, Bronze, Brass, and Desert Sands.
Role: Marik is the chief Architect of Dragon Weapons against the Occult.
Temple: Marik's Temple was destroyed by the Great Storm that ravished Ard-al Nur.
Allies: Qadir, Unionists, Automata & Artificial living Beings, Technicians.
Enemies: Machinist faithful, Body-Modders, War-fanatics & the Military.
Rituals: Marik worship is very equal and communal, with the Gearwork Exchange being the most common, gathering technicians to all work together on something fun (not necessarily practical). Another way to worship him is through the simple act of technological exchange of ideas and designs, but also the Preservation Fair, where old Technology and devices are scrapped and recycled to become new or different devices.
Umbra, the White Twilight Dragon
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Name: Umbra, the Dragon of the Dead and the Soul Rivers of Draconism.
Domain: The Soul Rivers, the passage between life and death in Aloria.
Symbols: A white swirl, blackout tattoos, a furred instead of scaled Dragon.
Role: Umbra maintains the Soul Rivers and the Dead-Living boundaries.
Temple: Destroyed, re-inhabited by the Evolist Temple in Regalia' Wilderness.
Allies: Eronidas, Those who hunt Undead and return Spirits to the Afterlife.
Enemies: Undead, Geists, those who consort with the Ordial Scourge.
Rituals: Umbra is an ambiguous Dragon who is neither motivated by rage and pain or banishment into the Void for his favor to what some would call cruelty. He is the agent of all diseases and sickness on Aloria, because his greatest beauty is death itself, a final act and a final chapter in someone's life. Rituals of Umbra involve speeding an inevitable death to conclusion, and putting the dying at ease with the inevitable.
Felicula, the Yellow Harmony Dragon
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Name: Felicula is the Dragon of Festivity, Kindness, and Warmheartedness.
Domain: Felicula's domain is entertainment and culture, as well as peace.
Symbols: The yellow Hadar Chrysanthemum, vines wrapped around amphoras.
Role: Felicula makes the world pleasant to live in by creating joy in shadow.
Temple: Felicula never had a Temple, as worship of her was in festivities.
Allies: Entertainers, Artists, Musicians, Bartenders, Party Hosts, Dancers.
Enemies: Those who speak with sarcasm, cruelty, or inflict mental anguish.
Rituals: Felicula's worship is engaged in through the many varied Draconism festivals, one for each month, and to show random gestures of kindness and gifts to others. Very common is the Draconist gift-giving ceremony, where on the 20th of December, Draconism Faithful gift each other personalized and thoughtful gifts of specifically small monetary value, but also joining events hosted by others and improving the entertainment value.
Severena, the Green Stalwart Dragon
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Name: Severena (Saaima in Sihai), Dragon of Protection and Transcendence.
Domain: Protection of the world from danger, and the inner Eye and Soul.
Symbols: Air, Monasteries, High Mountain Towers, Clouds, Transcendence.
Role: Severena guides the protectors of the living across the world.
Temple: The Beian Temples in Zhong where the Air Dragons Slumber and dream of Jade.
Allies: Those who task themselves to save the world from chaos and calamity.
Enemies: Those who would cause chaos and damage the world and people in it.
Rituals: Severena worship is done the Breath of Serenity, a solo or group excersize of speaking out evils and attachments, and letting go with breathing exercises. Another worship method is the Temple of Elevation where the faithful climb high mountains or tall towers with lanterns to seek enlightenment, and the vows of protection where those who have attained enlightenment and detachment from the mortal world, can become true world protectors.
Aurora, the Creation Dragon
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Name: Aurora, the Dragon of Creation's penultimate design and intellect.
Domain: The Creation Dictat, that which creates all live on Aloria.
Symbols: The sprouting plant, the meteor and the meteor's impact crater.
Role: Aurora designs, creates and iterates on all living species on Aloria.
Temple: The Moon-Vault Halls in Ellador, capital of the Life Isldar Elven State.
Allies: Alchemists, Hunters, Urlan, Scholars, those in the sciences.
Enemies: Death Isldar, Environmental destruction and eco-system destabilization.
Rituals: Aurora worship is often done alone but can also be done together, in the Harvest of the Stars by wishing on the falling stars which are common in the skies, or the Hunting Rite of Passage where mentors take students on hunts to prove their natural selection ability and population control. Finally, the Transition Cave is where animal or people carcasses are laid to rest to turn into new lifeforms in insects and fungi.
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.
