Dragonsverse Religion

Long ago, dragons and other large creatures were worshipped as gods. The original seven were known to have created the world, with the others at their side representing facets of life and nature. They once reigned over the world, but since then the dragons have been lost and no one has seen one for many, many years. Some may not even know the dragons exist.

The ancient traditions of worshipping the dragons have mainly been lost to time, however, certain groups and areas still hold on to elements of it, picking and choosing gods out of what once was a tight pantheon where all gods were worshipped together. This practice is more common in groups that generally picked a favorite and have kept up worship in their remote place of living. Some cultures know more about the ancient religion than others and some scholars have made it their life’s work to find out more about the dragons and their purpose.

Despite these studies done on the fringe, nobody knows what happened to the dragons. Some know their current state of being and some do not. I’ll put on your primer whether or not you know what’s going on. While the dragons themselves do not appear to have physical bodies of themselves, they are spiritually available as patrons and can still forge spiritual connections with those who seek them. So yes, you can contact them if you need them.

The religion is far less practiced in Kenoria than it is in the Elven Kingdom. In Kenoria it tends to stay around the rural areas.

## Tight Pantheon

The original seven that created the world, think of them as akin to the “major arcana” in a tarot deck. Anorias and Ylira make up the de facto leaders of this group and would be the most universally recognizable figures of the religion. Balance is the main theme of the religion -- practitioners believe that Anorias and Ylira need each other for the world to stay in check. Some sort of imbalance such as war could mean that the two have lost each other.

Wherever there are elements of the old religion, whichever god is being worshipped, Anorias and Ylira are still acknowledged whether or not they are the principal gods the culture focuses on. Many elements of the religion are only the same in a ritualistic sense; as in, the rituals have been kept up, but general ideas of the dragons, how they represent what they represent, and their dealings with the world have changed considerably with new cultures.

The tight pantheon contains the following gods:

* Anorias (life, harmony, peace)
* Ylira (death, chaos, war)
* Suvi (knowledge, culture, love)
* Mindera (light, music, the home)
* Vaedon (nature: flora & fauna)
* Ondine (nature: the skies and the seas)
* Cassius (trickery, festivity)

## Lesser Creatures

These “lesser creatures” so to speak, not part of the original 7, are more representative features of religion. However, since they aren’t specifically worshipped as deities and are groupings of types of creatures, their imagery has stayed in the general culture of the kingdoms. You will see pieces of art with these creatures representing their respective domains and it will be relatively commonplace especially in the Elven Kingdom. These creatures disappeared along with the dragons but also can be contacted via spiritual form.

## Hosts

In the world, powerful magical creatures are unable to live without vessels for their spirits, known as "hosts." In this relationship, a creature (such as a Dragon, Gryphon, Phoenix, or otherwise) enters the host's body wherein the spirit is stored. At the point of entry is an intense burn scar -- the larger the creature, the larger the scar, and generally the fusing of a creature and its host is a very painful experience at first. Afterwards, it is painless. The mind is shared and the host can communicate freely with their creature. This bond continues until the host is too weak or dies, but while in action the bond is incredibly strong. In the event of a near-death experience, the creature "takes over" for the host and reveals its true form as a fail-safe.

### Known Hosts

 **Nitya** (half elf)
 **Basirah** (tiefling)
 **Barrow** (human)
 **Haldrinus** (dwarf)
 **Narunjuk** (halfling)
 Talarin (tiefling)
 Tesni | Sun Gryphon