Saxosaurus

Saxosaurus is the Draconic Warden of Jazz and Shouting in Coronus-Feya. He is Chaotic Neutral Dark

## Status as a Deity

Saxosaurus' title as a Draconic Warden is much more a formality among his followers than any slight on his deific state. To be perfectly clear: Saxosaurus is ABSOLUTELY a god. Like, 500%, blow-you-up-without-even-thinking-type god. His name comes more from his earlier non-deific state.

## Pre-Deification

Before Saxosaurus was an all-powerful god of smooth and sultry rhythms, eons before modern times, he was but a simple Purple Dragon, Saxo. However, one very clever halfling, presumably in an effort to avoid being used as an after-dinner toothpick, presented the bored and hungry Saxo with a curious metallic instrument, produced with haste from the halfling's ever-full bag of holding. Unfortunately, the instrument was too small for Saxo himself to play, owing to his formidable stature. He commanded the tiny creature, on pain of death and devourment, to explain to him just what the shiny object in his hands was (all dragons having a proclivity for collecting shiny objects, but Saxo had standards; if he couldn't explain just *what* the strange device was, there was simply no point owning the thing). The halfling, praying to all the gods he knew that his music would appease the beast, began belting out a big band ballad, full of syncopation and rhythm, unlike any music many folk had ever heard of before. It was wondrous to Saxo's ears. Being an intelligent creature, as most dragons are, Saxo threw himself upon the task of reproducing the horn, with the halfling his ever-present guiding star. They forged the barrel and keys from great tons of gold and metals from Saxo's own hoard, melted down in a stone forge hewn by Saxo's claws and heated by his fiery breath. The ligature, too, he formed this way, and the mouthpiece out of an artfully cut piece of pure quartz. The reed he fashioned quickly from a great oak that grew outside his cave. The halfling, Osiris, stayed with him all this time as he finished the instrument, which took almost a fortnight. As the dragon put the finishing touches on the horn, Osiris found that he had become very invested in this dragon and his endeavor, and the dragon himself admitted that Osiris, who was at first a captive servant, had indeed become a close friend. As Saxo lifted his lips to the instrument, a wonderful melody poured out of the bell of the horn as easily as water down a creek. Osiris was almost moved to tears by how beautiful the sound was, and how subtle, especially for a horn quite a few times the size of the halfling. With great joy in their hearts, Osiris and Saxo began journeying from village to village, from city to city, playing their horns, quickly coined "Saxophones" (for, quite honestly, Osirisophone, despite Saxo's insistence, was really too much of a mouthful) for all who would hear. The music, called "Jazz" by Osiris, quickly gripped the whole of Coronus, even spreading across the sea to Feya, where even the orcs of Mount Mocadoon, in the furthest reaches of the continent, heard and were moved by the call of the music.

For about another half-century the Jazz movement of Saxo and Osiris swept the world, becoming such a phenomenon that even the gods were talking about Saxo and his companion's talents. Saxo and Osiris became known as the "Wardens of Jazz", for none could play as well as either of the two masters. One day, Odin approached Saxo, and offered a chance at godhood, and the ability to guard the musical arts and, especially, continue playing his horn for all eternity, to him and his little friend, Osiris. Saxo and Osiris were overjoyed at the thought, but as they were about to finally, eternally commit themselves to godhood, Osiris suddenly fell ill. A disease that had been building up inside him for the last half-century was finally taking its toll on the poor man. He had never bothered his friend with the information; they were having too much fun together, and he didn't want to spoil what must have been the most exciting time of Saxo's life. Now, Osiris was in his final moments, and Saxo was crushed.

Osiris explained his condition to his lifelong friend, Saxo cradling him in his scaly arms. Osiris looked up at his friend one last time, and soon breathed his last.

With an unearthly howl of despair that echoed up into Asgard and down into the Underworld, Saxo mourned his friend, the little halfling who had given him everything. Hel herself, upon hearing this cry, came up to Midgard herself to bear the little man's body down into eternal paradise with her. All the lights in the sky seemed to disappear for a moment, as the utter pain in Saxo's voice echoed out into the universe. It is said that even Zo'ker himself, the unfeeling master of the Abyss, turned towards Yggdrasil and acknowledged, with a bow, the pain felt by that one, ultimately very small being, trapped on his single plane of existence (getting Zo'ker to acknowledge anything is an achievement even most gods still haven;t been able to do).

With nothing left of his timeless friend but the saxophone in his hand, Saxo turned to Odin, and, a deep pain still present in his eyes, asked Odin formally to make him a god. When asked what name he would like to be called by as a god ("Now is the time to change, if you wanna!"). Saxo considered for a moment, his mind barely working. He decided after a moment to be called Saxosaurus, a combination of his and Osiris' names, for without Osiris Saxo would never have ascended to godhood. From thenceforth, Saxosaurus was the god of Jazz and Shouting, for it was Jazz that brought Saxo and Osiris together, and it was with a howl of pain that they were parted (although, to be fair, there was a significant portion of Saxo that just really liked yelling).

## Saxosaurus' dominion over other genres

Saxosaurus is the Warden of Jazz, but he does, albeit not with nearly the same gusto, devote some time and attention to the other musical and artistic disciplines. He is technically the god of the arts, but he is rarely called on for assistance in these endeavors, the idea of independent ability very prominent in the mind of most artists. Often, before a performance of some kind, many musicians and theatricals will say a small prayer to Saxosaurus, punctuated by a small "Ahh", which can be done properly (i.e., loudly) or in relative quiet.