The Holy Scriptures

The holy scriptures of the draconic
pantheon don’t consist of a single book, or even a single unified cannon as far
as any humanoid scholar knows. Instead it consists of a series of books, the
relative importance of which to humanoids varies between nations and over time
depending on the whims of whichever priests are in charge.

Despite this, there are six main books that
seem to form the core of religious teachings throughout the world, with which
all humanoids have some passing familiarity (if they know what’s good for them
at least – bored or zealous kobolds sometimes stop passersby and to test their
knowledge). These are Words of Creation, Dictates, Prophecies and the three
books of Parables. The library of the University of Venac holds 12 more books generally
considered to be true religious texts and kobolds make no secret of the fact
that more exist but which are not for the eyes of humanoids, although
statements from them may sometimes be read out in the course of religious
services directed at humanoids.

Whilst the holy scriptures are the means by
which the world understands the gods, the gods themselves are very minor
characters in the books available to humanoids. All the words dealing directly
with the gods’ actions would make up only a few dozen pages if all put
together, and instead the books deal almost entirely with mortal creatures or
divine agents (fiendish or celestial spirits manifesting on the material world
in some limited fashion) acting on or conveying the will of the gods.

The books also contain many mysterious
references to ‘Dangers’. These are powerful adversaries of the gods and their
mortal flock, never described in any detail and only ever talked about
‘offstage’, having caused some terrible calamity before a key figure arrives on
the scene or being involved in activities in the Eternal Realms, the details of
which are never fully conveyed. Most scholars assume that Dangers consist of a
wide variety of entities including fiends and celestials, pronai, powerful
mortals and potentially even other gods, though this last idea would only ever
be spoken about in very safe company.

## Words of Creation

This book deals with the creation of the
world and its creatures. In the beginning, the gods were formless beings who
created the material world and populated it with all the animals and pronai
that exist today, plus many more that have since become extinct. Over time, a
group of mighty reptilian beasts (which the scriptures simply call Ancestors
but which scholars have since termed Eosaurs) learned how to change the world,
instead of simply be changed by it, and developed great intelligence and the
ability to manipulate magical energy. The gods were so proud of what their
creations had become that they chose to emulate their forms, and thus the gods
became dragons.

Recognising the beauty of their gift, the
dragons chose to share it with some of the other animals, seeing that some had
also started to develop intelligence, but nothing like theirs. Over many
generations they helped scuttling furry things, fish and many other creatures
adapt their bodies and minds so that they too could shape the world and impose
living will on the rawness of the wild. But these humanoids were insolent and
did not share the dragons wisdom. They became selfish and destructive and their
gift damaged the world. For this reason, the dragons took to warring with them,
a war that lasted throughout all of history until the signing of the Covenant
some 14 centuries ago.

## Prophecies

As the name implies, this book contains a large
number of speculative stories about the future and the will of the gods, laying
out what events may unfold depending on the actions of mortal creatures. Whilst
it is said to have predicted many historical events ahead of time its language
is so florid and filled with metaphor that one can draw almost any conclusion
from it that one wants. Despite this, it is the cause of a great deal of
superstition amongst humanoids, even those who are not particularly faithful.

## Dictates

This book lays down the rules for how
humanoids should live their lives. It contains a number of stories about how
the gods conveyed these to the mortal world and some fables about the pitfalls
of not following them.

## The Parables

There are a number of books considered to
be ‘Parables’, but the three that are universally preached are the parables of
Might, Wisdom and Mercy. Over time these have each come to be associated with
the Colour that matches their content, meaning they are widely referred to as
the Red, Blue and Yellow Parables respectively. The Parables don’t necessarily
contain any specific commands or lessons, they are mostly a series of short
stories about the lives of pious figures.

The Parable of Might deals mainly with
dragons fighting off Dangers or crushing insolent humanoids, occasionally with
the aid of other humanoids who had seen the value of faith. The Parable of
Wisdom deals with dragons and kobolds making discovering’s or coining
philosophies, most of which would once have been of great relevance to everyday
life but the value of which has now mostly faded into antiquity.

The Parable of Mercy mostly deals with
dragons being kind to humanoids despite their failings, sometimes regretting it
when the stupid humanoids fail to learn. This is the only one of the six major
books to feature a humanoid who could be considered a major protagonist, with a
story about a young Halfling woman called Alick and a kobold named Graal who
were the sole survivors after the island on which they lived mysteriously sunk
into the ocean. Through working together to escape Alick eventually learns the
value of faith in Our Masters whilst Graal learns the value of mercy towards
humanoids, and their lasting friendship allows them to lay the groundwork for
what would one day become the Covenant.

## Other books

Skrinah, the high priest who oversees
Venac, uses the Parable of Commerce/The Indigo Parable in much of her
ministrations, and the book sees plenty of acknowledgement amongst the
mercantile class of that nation. She also adheres to a second book of
prophecies, referred to as Prophecies of Doom, which she preaches with great
firey anger. Amongst other things it warns that the only alternative to life
under the dragons is a future of bleak desolation on a wounded world.