The Astral Dragon

The Astral Dragon is a mythical ancient being supposedly responsible for the creation of the stars, as well as the Fey and the Dragons. It is an ancient enemy of the Unspeakable Ones and died fighting them.

## The Founding Myth

### Creation of the Universe

Across all of Coryphia there is one legend about the creation of the planet and life itself. The stories differ slightly, and are often extremely vague, yet they all talk about a vast dragon with the ability to create stars themselves.

Nobody knows where the Astral Dragon or the Unspeakable Ones came from, most scholars simply state that in a magical universe some kind of diametrically opposed entities are inevitable, but it is known that both were created at roughly the same time.

For many millennia both entities worked in peace together. The Astral Dragon created and kindled stars, points of light in a vast nothingness. The Unspeakable Ones were the minds of that nothingness, and would slowly destroy everything that the astral dragon created. It was balanced, and the result was an ever shifting cosmos.

### Life Dawns

When life began to dawn on a small planet (which would come to be named Coryphia) the Astral Dragon and the Unspeakable Ones had a disagreement about how it should be handled. The Astral Dragon wanted to nurture it, and let it grow, but his counterparts wanted to dominate it and take it under their control. This disagreement grew into an all out war, and both cosmic entities would fight among the stars, each trying to get their own way.

The Astral Dragon created the Fey as a force to protect life, and originally these were shapeless spiritual entities, but the fey began to be changed by the creatures that evolved on Coryphia. The Unspeakable Ones created the Frozen Ones, creatures of cold and ice, unfeeling monsters of destruction. On the planet, these two forces waged war while their masters fought in the skies.

### Humanity

After many many millennia of war, a sentient species began to evolve on Coryphia. Nurtured by the fey, these creatures advanced drastically, and soon joined the fight for their planet on the side of the Astral Dragon. Like many creatures that had grown on this planet, humans had access to the magical forces of the universe, but they were special somehow. Humans were not limited in what magic they could use, they seemed to be able to wield any magical power that they encountered, given enough training and knowledge. With the human's magic and strength on their side, the Fey overpowered the Frozen Ones, and sent them deep underground, to the coldest places of the planet.

### The Final Fight

After the human's victory on their planet, the Unspeakable Ones grew angry. They appeared in the sky above Coryphia and began to chant in their ancient language, their very presence corrupting the humans, and driving many of them mad. The humans began to fight each other, destroying the great empires they had created. The Astral Dragon, in an attempt to stop them, barreled into the unspeakable ones and fought them with tooth and claw above the planet. However, it knew he could not match them in power. For the dragon was a creature of creation, and the Unspeakable Ones of destruction, they would eventually win any single combat between the entities. The Astral Dragon knew what would happen if they won and it died; the end of the universe. And thus, it used an ability which it never had cause to use before. The power over dimensions. The Astral Dragon itself stabilised the multiverse, at this time all dimensions had existed as one. As it let itself become weakened, the universe began to fragment, and with all its might it attempted to force the Unspeakable Ones into one of these dimensions, to be forever sealed away. However, it was not strong enough, but with the help of human magic users, they slowly began to lock away the creatures, one by one. However, the last creature, the one known as M'ggoth, lashed out, and landed a fatal attack onto the dragon, before being locked away. All of life watched in horror, as cracks began to run across the great dragon's scales and skin, cosmic radiant light glowing from within. And then, the Astral Dragon shattered, exploding into millions of pieces, most of which fell to Coryphia.

### The Creation of the Skyspires

As the dragon shattered, so did the integrity of the universe, realms and dimensions began to bleed into one another, and new ones were created from nothing. Human mages worked as hard as they could to keep the Unspeakable Ones locked away, while others devised rituals and runes to restore stability. This lead to the creation of the Skyspires, huge monuments, created with pieces of the Astral Dragon and imbued with cosmic magic. Four spires were made, and upon their completion the realms were separated more fully. This remained the case until Nekrus the Runic King created the Blackspire, much much later.

## Appearance

The Astral Dragon was said to be roughly the size of the moon. Its scales shimmered in deep blues and purples, with pinprick stars dotted across, like the cosmos mapped out across his body. Its wings were vast, and it had eight limbs, each of which ended in enormous claws. Its eyes glowed like suns, and it had a set of enormous strangely shaped horns curving back from its head.

## Capabilities

The Astral Dragon was a great force to be reckoned. Its immense form meant it could easily destroy most creatures smaller than it. The dragon also had a fiery inferno breath, designed to kindle stars themselves, which could burn entire continents. However, its main purpose was kindling life, and its mere presence inspired life and growth.

This magical force was also the antithesis of the Unspeakable Ones, and it was known to be one of the few things that could hurt them.