Cult of the Dragon The Cult of the Dragon , also known as Keepers of the Secret Hoard or , more recently , Wearers of Purple , was a semi - religious evil organization venerating undead dragons , or dracoliches , founded by Sammaster , a powerful wizard . Sammaster possessed great power , in a manner similar to Elminster and Khelben " Blackstaff " Arunsun . In Sammaster ' s case however , the additional power brought delusions of godhood and madness , and he came to believe in time that " dead dragons shall rule the world entirely " and began to work toward that goal , fighting the several Chosen of Mystra and even the god Lathander along the way . While Sammaster has died , risen as a lich , and fallen again , his cult lived on , and continued to threaten the Western Heartlands . The Cult of the Dragon venerated dragons , evil dragons in particular , and specifically dead evil dragons . They reanimated the gargantuan corpses as powerful and fell dracoliches . The Cult acted as an information network for its draconian " masters " , brought gems and riches as offerings , and encouraged evil dragons to become dracoliches . Their belief was that dracoliches were destined to one day rule Faerûn and beyond . They could become inhabited by objects which were created in their image especially with the image of the skull . Organization . After Sammaster ' s destruction in the late 14th century , the cult had no true leader , although , as of the year of the Ageless One ( 1479 DR ) it revered Anabraxis The Black Talon as its ultimate authority . The cult was organized into semi - autonomous cells , each led by one or more " Wearers of Purple " . It was during this leaderless period that a cultist named Severin Silrajin decided that the Chronicles of Years to Come had been mistranslated by Sammaster , and predicted that the world would be ruled not by dead dragons , but by living ones . He quickly rose through the cult ' s ranks until he became its leader , at which point he refocused the cult ' s efforts to summoning Tiamat into Faerûn . Activity . The Cult was active throughout the Realms , but was especially powerful in the Cold Lands and the North , where dragons were particularly abundant . Cult member activities included gathering information on particularly rich caravans to be raided , stealing unique items to be offered to their masters , and leading raids against their enemies ( who , in their minds , were all those who might oppose the rulership of the dragons ) . Senior members of the Cult of the Dragon were given the secret of creation of dracoliches and each was also in possession of a " ring of dragons " . The keepers used these to protect themselves against assailants . The cult was not against legitimate commercial activities , and as such it had several merchant members who used their well earned money to fund cult projects . Marsember . The Cult of the Dragon had a following in the Shou enclave of Xiousing in Marsember in the late 15th century DR . The Shou traditionally venerated dragons and the cult found they could operate more openly among the Shou than among other cultures . Murghôm . In the late 15th century DR the cult operated openly in the dragon dominated realm of Murghôm . The cult owned a building in the city of Skalnaedyr known as Dragon House and maintained a fortress on the edge of the Plains of Purple Dust known as the Tower of the Talon . Neverwinter . In 1479 DR a cell of the cult , led by Adimond Kroskas , worked in conjuction with Thay an agents of Valindra Shadowmantle in Neverwinter Wood , searching for a way to restore the dragon Lorragauth to unlife . Sembia . As of 1368 DR , the commander of the guard in Daerlun , Sembia , was in control of the city through manipulation of the elderly merchant and official ruler Halath Tymmyr . The organization used Daerlun as an arms store and to heal wounded members , preferring to keep activities low - key . Sunset Mountains . The cult maintained a citadel near the Sunset Mountains known as the Well of Dragons . The site was a legendary graveyard of dragons and as of the late 15th century DR some old dragons continued to make pilgrimages to the site to achieve immortality through dracolichdom . Tymanther . In the late 15th century DR a secret cell of the cult operated in Djerad Thymar , the capital of Tymanther . The cult maintained its membership and beliefs secret , but had a public face called the Abeir Academy that welcomed dragonborn who have had hard times and were looking for a new start , as a way to cultivate potential new members .