Dragon of Eternity and Time

## [source]

The ***Dragon of Eternity and Time*** also known as the **Eternal Dragon of Light** is the True God of the Realm of Order.

He is a being of unprecedented status in the world. In fact, he was above the many gods, with powers incredible and unfathomable.

The very reason the Eternal Dragon is revered over the other gods that he is the only one that can grace someone with time and increased lifespan.

## Overview

The **Eternal Shrine** was pretty much the most important location in the entire continent, because it was the only place where one could communicate with the Dragon. Its position was fixed, unaffected by changes in time and space.

The Eternal Shrine had existed from way before the first records of civilization. The magic of all the races and in all regions of Norland was heavily influenced by the Eternal Dragon, and it was the Dragon’s guidance that a weak race like the humans whose only strength was their fertility could advance to become a magic civilization that stood up to the elves and dragon blood gnomes. It wasn’t just the three big human empires. The other races, too, were influenced by the Dragon, the capitals of the six empires on the continent being established on ruins or relics from the Eternal Dragon itself.

The Eternal Dragon is an archaic creature that surpasses laws themselves. It has left its mark on thousands of planes, and when you enter a new plane your ultimate goal is to find the trace it has left behind in that plane. It may be a female dragon, an egg, or even feces, but as long as you find its traces you will be able to understand the laws of the plane clearly. It will allow you to leap forward in strength! Compared to the Eternal Dragon, the so-called gods are just parasites leeching off the laws of the planes. Those who control lesser laws are considered weaker, and the opposite is true as well.

### **Equal Exchange**

Book 6, Chapter 132

Equal exchange is a core principle of the Eternal Dragon, of course it takes precedence over a general guideline.

At this point, Richard wondered whether the old dragon would become someone’s mount for the right kind of money.

## Worship

The Eternal Dragon’s requirements for his worshippers were incomparably simple. As long as one was willing to seek out items of great power and sacrifice them, that was enough. So-called pious followers would only have to mention his name and promise to perform a sacrifice to the best of their abilities during their lives. In other words, trying was enough; it didn’t matter if one actually performed a ceremony. Of course, one would obviously get better benefits from offering something. The writing of the Church mentioned that the divine grace obtained upon sacrifice would definitely net the offerer more returns. When it was a matter of faith, no god could afford to lie.

### **Chosen**

The requisite insanity that true Chosen possessed

The old dragon didn’t require rational people, he needed lunatics that would willingly give up their future for what could be considered dumb reasons. Standing in front of the altar, he couldn’t bring himself to calm down at all. He wasn’t certain why Flowsand would become Chosen, but now he at least knew why she had gone to the Darkness so early. If there was one thing that made her a lunatic, It was him.

## **Offerings**

The old dragon likes goods with energy in them, like rare ores.

The Eternal Dragon could tell one’s hopes and desires to personalise the blessings on offer. That way, even if the exact blessing one needed didn’t appear, the alternatives couldn’t be refused either.

## **BLESSINGS**

### **Miscellaneous**

* Rare Materials
* Legendary Equipment
* Sub-Legendary Equipment
* Grade 4-6 Rune Blueprints
* Bloodline Bestowal/Strengthening
* Divine Equipment
	+ bow with ten divine arrows
	+ Carnage’s dagger

### **Time Related**

* Hourglasses of Time - extended lifespan
* Dewdrops of Life - limited unaging
* Divine Crystals
	+ Can replace any form of divinity and are usable on most planes. This meant someone could use these ceremonies to light their godfire. On top of that these crystals were domainless, meaning anyone could use them! They would be of great assistance to one who wanted to become a god.
	+ Deities were often the highest form of being on any plane, and their godfires were the basis of the godhood that gave them their power. Many nobles on Faelor made their descendants worship them for centuries, even millennia to try and garner enough divinity to light one’s godfire. These crystals that the Dragon basically sold like they were spider crystals could substitute that entire process!
* Planar Passage - lowers cost of travel to designated plane
* Distribute Grace - gives grace to the officiator of the ceremony; or someone else.
* Timeforce Strengthening
* Cloud Symbol - coordinates to a foreign plane. This blessing was priceless; even the simplest of elemental planes had great value. Planar coordinates were immeasurably rare in sacrificial ceremonies.
* Torrent of Life. In the next fifteen years, his body would not age
* Unhurriedness. When he entered a lesser plane in the future that did not possess a Church of the Eternal Dragon, the timeflow there would jump to ten times Norland’s time. This effect would last for thirty years, but would not affect Norland or a higher plane
* Blessing: Portal to the Darkness. This was a special kind of blessing, one that was exclusive to the Chosen. The blessing would form a physical teleportation gate capable of sending an individual straight into the darkness, forming a huge and steady portal that was impervious to any damage. It could be formed in any environment under any circumstance, and using it would also make the user just as impervious until the teleportation was complete.
	+ The detailed explanation for the blessing pointed out that it only existed for the purpose of saving lives. Preserving one’s life naturally came with a corresponding price, and here that was to open up a new territory for the Eternal Dragon. If they failed, the individual could only rot to death in an unknown land.

## Titles

1. Timewalker - Mortal, you have obtained my favour with your continued offerings. You are henceforth a Timewalker; the power of time shall cleanse your mortal body, slowing its deterioration. Do not grow complacent. Ten more greater sacrifices and you will become a Planewalker.
2. Planewalker
3. Voidwalker
4. Lord of Space
5. Lord of Time

### **Abnormal Blessings**

These blessings are present when one has great luck or when an offering piques the interest of the old dragon.

* Carnage - a quasi-divine weapon that absorbed its user’s blood. It could break armour easily, and its serrated edge could lacerate an enemy’s wounds. The weapon was enchanted for speed, and possessed a divine power that grew its power when attacking the race its user hated most. The blessing also told him that the current target of his hatred was Klandor’s barbarians, and the name was thus changed to Klandor’s Carnage.

Nasia grunted, “There will always be things you really want as long as the dragon sees potential in you. You better reserve some for me next time; unless that old thing’s consciousness isn’t present, nobody takes offerings out of the church.”

“The dragon’s consciousness? Isn’t it absent most of the time? I’ve only seen it twice.”

“Wrong, he always pays attention to those with potential. You just don’t know about this; in your words, the dragon’s just a voyeur.”

### **Rank 1**

Their glow was more platinum than gold, and liquid energy seemed to be flowing within. Reaching out to touch them, he found that all three were rank 1 blessings!

1. The first orb contained a beastbone shield with a layer of hide. It was an ancient product of chaos, and the crude workmanship was a bad representative for its true ability. This shield was known as the Everlasting Rampart, and could withstand the impact from the fundamental law of a plane of existence. Even the cannons of the reapers’ mothership could not break through this shield’s defence, and hiding behind it someone could block the combined attacks of all of Norland’s epic beings.
2. The second blessing was known as the endless energy core. It seemed similar to the energy cores of the reapers, but even having solved the laws governing them Richard couldn’t see its uses. Reading into the description, he found that it could transform the energy of the void into a usable form. It was also indestructible, but these factors alone weren’t enough to make it worth a rank 1 blessing. He continued to find something truly shocking— this core had come from a powerful ancient race, and had been acquired when an airborne fortress had drifted into the domain of the Eternal Dragon. Its difference from the reapers was that its energy output was practically boundless, capable of moving an entire continent through the void! This was the only such piece in the Eternal Dragon’s domain!
3. The last blessing on offer shocked him again, but for a different reason this time. It actually contained a few energy absorbing tree saplings, but only seven were actually worth a rank 1 blessing! It was only now that he could put a monetary value to the wealth that Sharon had given him.

## **TRIVIA**

* The Eternal Dragon's blessing paradigm more or less acts the same way as a gacha system. They induce individuals to offer high-grade materials imbued with energy, only to recieve random blessings with a fix set each time. Most of the time, for big offerers like Richard, the old dragon would give options that did not really suit them, 6;30
* Equal exchange is a core principle of the Eternal Dragon, of course it takes precedence over a general guideline. Understand?” “Sigh. Yes.” At this point, Richard wondered whether the old dragon would become someone’s mount for the right kind of money. He stretched his body, groaning with relief, “Let’s go in two hours. I’m still waiting for some other people.” 6;131

Hates Klandors Beast God

it was impossible for a Chosen to understand the laws of their deity completely, lest they have any ideas about replacing their masters. They had natural advantages in the field, sure, but their limits were defined as well. Flowsand’s understanding of these laws was bound to be incomplete. 5;82

### **Faith**

Bruno and Ptolemy finally nodded slowly, the latter speaking up, “We only want to see the reality of the world once more.”

Richard smiled and spread his arms open, “Then this will be the correct choice. Give up on something as foolish as faith, and you will find just how blind you once were.”

This was a famous saying in Norland, one that had emerged when the Eternal Dragon had been a relatively new deity to the plane. The old dragon was the first deity Norland discovered with strength beyond a single plane, and his existence completely upended the pantheon’s role in the world. 6;23

Richard truly had misrepresented the Eternal Dragon’s stance on these things. The saying had been reproduced correctly, but not completely; the part he left out stated thus: Faith is the flame that warms one’s soul. It is indispensable to existence. The true value of faith is when it is not exercised blindly.

This was the philosophy that had arisen in Norland after the Eternal Dragon and other extraplanar gods made themselves known, and it could be surmised in a famous quote, “When your sword points me at the enemy, you are my Lord. When it points at my kin, you are no longer a god.”

Faith is a rather brittle thing. Once it is shaken, it is difficult to rebuild. Richard was actually persuading everyone to abandon their beliefs completely, to concentrate on studying the gods from a neutral perspective. It didn’t take too long to agree— after all, nobody would continue to serve a god that condemned them to hellish suffering— it was just that Ptolemy and the rest could not fathom the concept of considering the gods to be nothing less than omnipotent.

### **Deception**

6;29 The entire process was quick and low-key. Richard started with a top-tier offering, but the options he received immediately made him grunt with anger. He had been given only two choices, one an extension to his life and the other a piece of equipment. In any other scenario he would have chosen the time— after all, he already had far more equipment than he required— but there was an added context that flowed into his mind when he looked at it: “Choose me, and the host will be given more grace.

The explanation had left him speechless and angry. He really did want to give as much grace to Flowsand as he could, but he didn’t want it to be this way. He finally understood a little of why most of the stronger people he met despised the old dragon; this thing liked snooping around and forcing you into decisions!
No powerhouse liked the feeling of being manipulated. The old dragon was an excellent salesman, and wouldn’t have shown him this option if he was unlikely to use it.

## Richard

“You requested my presence?” the voice of the Eternal Dragon rang out as Richard placed six bottles of ember essence on the altar, the grand aura of its true will covering the isolated space.

“Yes. I’ve sustained heavy losses in the battle against the reapers, and hope for some assistance in the war,” Richard replied calmly.

“The reapers come from a domain beyond my light. They are not under my control, and even have the ability to erode my domain. You should be well aware that I cannot assist you significantly.”

“A little is good enough,” he almost seemed like he was begging..

“Who are you doing this for?” the old dragon asked.

Richard paused for a moment, feeling like the dragon suddenly sounded conversational instead of formal. However, he still answered the question, “A small number of people, and for a large number of people.”

“So disappointing. You are a titled worshipper of mine, someone with a boundless future. Your world should revolve around you alone, not the other way around. Your strength should be their hope, but you are engaging in a war with no chance of victory.”
“I’m sure there’ll be a miracle."
“Miracles are not something you can summon whenever you wish,” the dragon’s tone turned distant and icy once more, “As someone with a rank 2 title, you do indeed have the right to request a special blessing once a year. This is yours now.”

An orb of light floated in front of Richard, filling his mind with information the moment he touched it. It was Divine Omniscience once more, concerning advanced information about the ember essence. It took five top-tier offerings’ worth of timeforce before that knowledge was burned into his mind, giving him a detailed explanation about the properties of ember essence and also showing him how to craft it.

## History

* It is speculated by Richard that the old dragon is actually the world spirit of the Realm of Order. In other words, the realms that encompass the influence of the Eternal Dragon was under his supervision whether by design or dominion.
* This notion can be backed up since at the end of the novel, Martin realized that the world they lived in was enclosed like a prison. As pinnacle beings, they felt that the world was too small and a being like the old dragon must have reached higher planes beyond this realm. Yet, such a being was happily entertaining mortals with the promise of longevity and rewards through his blessing system.

## **References**

1. ↑ Book 9, Chapter 134
2. ↑ Book 1, Chapter 10
3. ↑ Book 6, Chapter 131
4. ↑ Book 8, Chapter 123
5. ↑ Book 5, Chapter 51
6. ↑ Book 8, Chapter 123
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Book 9, Chapter 130
8. ↑ Book 9, Chapter 50

​