Dragonborn

The **dragonborn** come from Argonnessen, the continent of the dragons. While the beaches of Argonnessen are populated by the tribes of the Seren, within the jungles of the continent's interior lie the great city-states of the dragonborn. The dragonborn rarely leave Argonnessen, with the exception of a large colony of dragonborn that founded a settlement in the land now known as Q'barra. Until the recent human colonization of Q'barra during the Last War, the people of Khorvaire mistakenly believed dragonborn to simply be a sub-species of lizardfolk.

## History

### Origins

The dragonborn, or ***drakatha*** in their native language of draconic, were born on the continent of Argonnessen, the home of the dragons. Most dragonborn serve the ***drakamakki***, or "dragon-kings", of Argonnessen in huge city-states that populate the interior jungles of the continent. The dragonborn worship the dragon-kings like gods, erecting huge temples to them and helping in their pursuit of the Draconic Prophecy.

Little is known about the true origins of the dragonborn, as there are two contradictory stories of their creation. Which of these myths are true is a matter of fierce debate.

The first of these stories, as told by many of the dragonborn of Q'barra, claims that they are descendants of the great dragon Miraak, who himself was the child of a mortal woman and a great rainbow dragon. Mirrak had 10 children, each of his offspring being one of the colors of dragonborn. They claim that Miraak was eventually banished from this realm by the Sovereign Host after ascending to godhood. Though the dragons themselves dispute this version of events, the myth appears to be mirrored by the tale of the Bright Dragon in Thelanis.

The origin of dragonborn as told by the dragons of Argonnessen is much more nihilistic in comparison. In this version of events, the dragonborn race was created by dragons between the Age of Giants and the Age of Monsters to act as their servants and soldiers. They were not the offspring of dragon and man, but artificial beings similar to the flesh golem that were grafted from the flesh of True Dragons and given life with powerful transmutation magics. One of these dragons, known as Miraak, gave more than his body to the dragonborn: he gave a fragment of his very soul. Miraak's sacrifice granted sapience and intellect to the fledgeling species, and allowed the dragonborn to act of their own accord. This was done in violation of draconic law put in place following Aureon's Folly, resulting in Miraak being banished to a prison demiplane until such time that dragonborn were no more.

### Exodus to Q'barra

About 14,000 years ago, dragonborn explorers left the shores of Argonnessen, and landed on the continent of Khorvaire, in the area now called Q'barra. Though the reasons for the exodus are not known to most, the dragonborn followed the great black dragon Rhashaak, whose goal was to guard Haka'torvhak, an ancient citadel to the rakshasa fiends during the Age of Demons. The Q'barran dragonborn became known as the ***trothlorsvek***, or "defenders of the prophecy."

 File:122728 CN GL.jpg  Over time, the colony grew, as the dragonborn clans either conquered or annexed the various kobold and lizardfolk tribes in the area. They thrived in the jungles of Q'barra, so reminiscient of the jungles within Argonnessen. As they grew, the dragonborn were on the verge of becoming a major power on Khorvaire. The dragonborn ventured across the Endworld Mountains, and encountered the Dhakaani Empire. They fought the goblin nation honorably, and carved out their nation in the Blade Desert and the Talenta Plains.

However, as quickly as the dragonborn "empire" grew, it faded just as quickly. The ancient fiend that was trapped beneath Haka'torvhak, Masvirik, awoke, and many of its dragon and dragonborn guardians were killed in recapturing it and sending it back into the Khyber. After the great battle, the great dragon Rhashaak became corrupted, and the dragonborn nation fell. Survivors still remained, living in pockets of civilization in Q'barra, fending off the lizardfolk they once conquered.

Over the years, the dragonborn colonies have restabilized. They now have active governments, the largest of which is Ka'rhashan, and will trade with outsiders. In fact, in the year 996 YK, High Elder Bhisma Na'kala Flamebrow of Ka'rhashan joined Q'barran King Sebastes ir'Kesslan in attendance at the Treaty of Thronehold. However, some dragonborn still roam the wilds of Q'barra, joining the lizardfolk and the kobolds, preying on Q'barran settlers or neighboring lands. These rogue dragonborn have caught the eye of Khalar Velderan d'Tharashk, who has been rallying the human settlements to allow House Tharashk to "drive the scales into the ocean."

The exodus from Argonnessen happened so long ago, that most dragonborn of Q'barra do not even remember their home continent.

### Rav Magar

Meanwhile, back on Argonnessen, the city-states continued to thrive under their dragon-kings. Each city-state held a temple at its center, where the dragon-king would rule whilst studying the Draconic Prophecy. Society continued to develop in the city-states, as dragonborn continued their lives. The dragonborn cultivated the land of Argonnessen as primitives, under the watchful eyes of their dragon-kings.

One such city-state was Rav Magar, ruled by an undead dragon Malathar. Called Malathar the Damned, this dragon-king encouraged a more martial city-state. Rav Magar frequently attacked one of its neighboring city-states, Rav Dolorr. Like other dragons, Malathar was obsessed with the Draconic Prophecy; however, unlike other dragons, this one allied itself with the powers in Khorvaire. Malathar used his dragonborn pawns to help capture Gaven d'Lyrandar and usher in The Time Between which was prophecized. Malathar and his draconic allies brought a captured Galen to Aundair, where they stripped away his Siberys Dragonmark. However, Galen and his allies turned the tables, and Malathar was undone by a word of creation.

With Malathar destroyed, Rav Magar is presumed rulerless.

## Bloodlines

The dragonborn are organized along clans, with each clan spread out amongst various cities or city-states. In Q'barra, each clan has a clanhold, which act as the home base of those clans.

In Q'barra, a number of dragonborn clans are still strong, despite the destruction of their fledgling empire. The strongest of which is the Flamebrow clan, which rule the holy city of Ka'rhashan. Other clans still in power in Q'barra include the Stormhorn clan, the Sunscale clan, and the Duskwing clan.

Clan elders are often clerics. Some clans, though, clans are led by ***ukristroth***, bards dedicated to the mysteries of the Draconic Prophecy. While clerics guide the people in daily prayer, it is the ukristroth who carry the tradition of their people from generation to generation.

## Religion

 File:122688 CN GL.jpg  Most of the dragonborn of Q'barra follow the Sovereign Host; though they follow their draconic incarnations. Those that follow an evil bent, though, do not worship the Dark Six, but rather the Dragon Below directly.

All dragonborn deeply revere the progenitor dragons, and see Siberys, Eberron, and Khyber as the beginning of everything. They believe the Draconic Prophecy is the progenitors still communicating with their dragon offspring.

## Notable Names

Because the dragonborn are so small a population of Eberron, there are not a lot of notable dragonborn. Those names that have surfaced include:

* **Bhisma Na'kala Flamebrow** is the High Elder of Ka'rhashan. He joined King Sebastes at the Treaty of Thronehold, and continues to promote peace between the dragonborn and the human settlers of Q'barra.
* The most threatening of the dragonborn would probably be **Mishva Garodya Stormhorn** of the Stormhorn clan. Known better as Mishva the Conqueror, this warrior dragonborn seeks to renew the ancient dragonborn empire, and constantly proposes a war with the humans of Q'barra. She is held in check, though, by the elders of the Stormhorn clan, though she has a lot of dragonborn and lizardfolk followers.
* **Lissann Orak** is the first captain of the scouts of the city-state Rav Magar in Argonnessen. Lissann, called "Lissa," captured Galen for her dragon-king Malathar; however, she had a change of heart and helped Galen's wife, Rienne d'Lyrandar escape.

## Appearance

Dragonborn resemble humanoid dragons. They stand upright, and are covered in scales similar to a dragon, but they do not possess a dragon's tail. A typical dragonborn’s scales can be a wide variety of colors. Unlike the dragons' coloring schemes, a dragonborn's schemes rarely betray the dragonborn's abilities, including its breath weapon. Most dragonborn have very fine scales over most of their body, which take on almost a leather look, with much larger scales on their forearms, lower legs and feet, shoulders, and thighs.

Dragonborn stand tall and are built strongly. Their hands and feet are actually talon-like claws with three fingers and a thumb on each hand. Their heads are elongated, with a blunt snout and distinctive frills on each side of their head. Behind their head, thick, ropy scales that resemble hair come down to their backs.

Unlike other humanoid races, dragonborn are hatched from the eggs of their mothers. Young dragonborn also grow faster than most humanoid children do. They walk hours after hatching, reach the size and development of a 10-year-old human child by the age of 3 and reach adulthood by 15. They live about as long as humans do.

## Abilties

In general, dragonborn are stronger than most humanoids. Their scales provide protection from some harm, though not as much as a traditional dragon's scales.

Most dragonborn have inherited from their ancestors the ability to exhale a fierce blast from their mouths. Like the great dragons, this breath attack can be of varying types: acid, cold, fire, lightning or poison. Though this attack is usually a blast that is emitted from the dragonborn's mouth, some dragonborn have learned to master their dragon breath, shooting it in lines or hurling it like a ball.

Some dragonborn also project the same aura of fear that most dragons do. This aura instills fear in its enemies, causing them to flee in terror.

## Weapons & Equipment

Most dragonborn spearfighters are trained with the ***wingspear***; a tratnyr that they employ in both melee and ranged fighting. Dragonborn are trained to use the wingspear to trip opponents.

The dragonborn of Argonnessen fight with many of the same weapons and wear many of the same armors that humans do. However, most weapons are crafted from an obsidian-like material, and many of the weapons carry the motif of flames.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 ***Dragon Forge***.
James Wyatt (2009). Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-5105-2.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "**Poison Dusk, Black Sun: Explore Q'barra, Part 2**" (December 2010) by Keith Baker. *Dungeon Magazine* issue 185.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 ***Eberron Player's Guide***.
David Noonan, Ari Marmell, and Robert J. Schwalb (2009). Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-5100-1.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 ***Eberron Campaign Guide***.
James Wyatt and Keith Baker (2009). Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-5099-4.
5. ↑ "**Blood and Dragonshards: Backdrop Q'barra, Part 1**" (September 2010) by Keith Baker. *Dungeon Magazine* issue 182.
6. ↑ ***Player's Handbook***.
Rob Heinsoo, Andy Collins, and James Wyatt (2008). Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-4867-1.
7. ↑ "Winning Races: Dragonborn — Bloodlines of Arkhosia: Dragonfear". (June 2010) by Peter Schaefer. Dragon Magazine issue 388.