Tephra

* Bust
* Emblem
* Shorthand

Skaeren-attiuri (Draconic True Name)

## Symbolisms

### Symbol

A profile of her long face facing down and forward, highlighting her jagged crown of horns

### Color(s)

Orange (Primary)Grey, Red, and Brown (Secondary)

### Portfolio

Orange dragons, Neutral evil dragons, Combat, Harvest, Family

### Favored Weapon(s)

Axes

**Tephra** (teh-fruh) is one of the six Dragon-Gods of Halintar, the most powerful deity on the southern half of the continent and the progenitor of the Orange Dragons. She is the second oldest of the six and the firstborn of Tiamat, preceded only by her eternal rival Ester Pyx, and reigns over the Southern Mantle from her home, the Ashen Breach.

Renowned for her sheer power and size, the public opinion on Tephra's blatant disinterest in mortal life is incredibly polarizing. In the years before the Great Truce she was a warlord hungry for more territory, but as peace blanketed the continent she became far more passive in her rule, allowing her people to express their freedom however they wish.

## Description

An approach that makes the stretch itself quake, Tephra is the largest and most destructive being on Halintar, and possibly, in the world. With scales the color of cinders, this ancient Dragon goddess is the size of mountains. Her very presence strikes fear in her enemies, and ferocity in her followers. Tephras teeth are jagged and displaced across her long mouth, but they are harder than diamonds and strike harder than the nine hells themselves. Her body as a whole, takes aspects from the mighty crocodile, and most of her brood follow in this aspect. Her wings are long and narrow but don't foolishly mistaken that for brittle, they carry a being as immense as Tephra far above the skies.

She has a long snout coated in dense molten rock with a jagged row of teeth. Long, wide horns jut out from the middle of her brow, and down her back to the tip of her strong tail. Her belly and upper arms illuminate whenever she prepares her mighty breath, albeit this, they color a darker pigment. Right before her breath is unleashed, you can see the molten energy corse through her many battle scars before reaching it's apex at her mouth.

Covered in rough jagged horns resembling a mane. Escaping which is a long snout big enough to fit a reasonable village atop. Her horns fall off from time to time, and new ones grow in more twisted forms than before. No matter how long these pieces have since separated from Tephra, her horns will always remain hot to the touch. Only those truly skilled in their craft can make use of the invaluable resource these horns really are. If one has particularly impressed the goddess, she will allow them to borrow a small piece of her crown. These individuals eventually became the matrons of the various dynasties across the Mantle.

## Personality

Darwinism is the ideal philosophy that Tephra abides by. The strong will inherit the earth and any system that tries to work around this is one she abhors. She tends to not involve herself with the governments that have built themselves up around her home, but will defend her own if threatened by outside forces. Formality and the rule of law are meaningless platitudes to get in the way of true progress. Tephra does not care where you are from, or your lineage, as long as you want to succeed, you have a home with her ilk.

Tephra has little attention for the microcosms of everyday life, and although many vie for it, few receive. many of her temples and monasteries already understand this, and her religion is focused on a reverence of her pure strength, less upon favors that she grants on her people, those that pass under her worship, enjoy the bounties of ysgard and the beastlands. Tephra also, for better or worse, does not pay attention to the machinations of the Dynasties. If there's one thing that will grab Tephras attention, it is the land itself.

Out of all beings, Tephra has the greenest thumb, and cares much for nature. When she flies high above the Mantle, she flies with a smile, marveling at the pure living wonder that the land evokes. Her magma breath creates rich soil for the environments she finds suffering the most. One weak during Umber Solstice, Tephra will make a journey around Halintar, breathing life into lands declared dead for years. Because of this, Tephra is extremely popular with Plantfolk.

## Homestead

Tephra makes her home in the mighty volcano Cataclysm, encircled by the capital of the Mantle, the Ashen Breach, along with her brood. Tephra slumbers within the magmatic mountain, receiving tribute from her followers from the top of the Volcano, or through the mountains many caverns. Whenever Tephra leaves Cataclysm, lava will rain from her wings and land molten onto the ground. Homes have clear evidence of this, and have been built strong from the Black Iron Deposits to the north and west of the Ashen breach.

### **Brood**

Tephra's brood is the most populated out of all of the six major colors. Explorers at heart, the Orange Dragons roam not only the Mantle, but most of the stretch, some have even been recorded as far as Owhald. The brood living at home have two major Families, the Khans, and the Zareiz. The brood often do favors for Tephra to gain her support, and enjoy the company of mortal life.

### **Hoard**

Tephra considers the vast mines below Cataclysm to be her hoard, and prefers it to stay that way. Natural and unrefined, the pure artistry of nature itself. Only a select few in the world are allowed passage into this secret chamber, with many false cavernous paths to confuse those who seek it. A group of Tephras most devoted live under the great mountain, protecting the hoard from intruders.

## Powers

As the mother of all orange dragons, Tephra has the abilities that all orange dragons have, amplified to levels deserved by a goddess. And as a Dragon-God, she also has the abilities of a deity destined to expand her territory and bring glory to her people.

### ***Breath Weapons***

No breath is more devastating than Tephra's fire, able to level mountains and shake the very core of the world, She uses her power sparingly, well aware of the full destructive potential she holds.

Her ***Explosive Breath*** creates earthquakes when striking the stretch, it deafens and blinds those who witness it even from afar, trees flatten, structures are atomized, and the blast can be heard from across the stretch. She holds this power back in nearly every instance, as a full explosive blast could cause unmitigated devastation to innocents. Tephra's explosive breath is primarily used to clear areas for prospering citizenry to establish small civilizations in the Mantles thick brush.

### ***Abundant Growth***

A side effect of Tephra's breath weapon is that it, like magma itself, is able to revive even the most plagued or deathly of landscapes. When the magma finally cools, it creates topsoil that allows farmers to grow bountiful healthy crops. The farmland is so ideal,

### ***The Great Forge***

Many blacksmiths, even those who live far from the orange goddess' homeland, pray to Tephra to help them tame the fires of their forge to craft the best goods that they can. Many envy the flowing magma pools of her home, ever-burning at such an ideal temperature for their craft. Those who create weapons or armor using the heat of Cataclym swear it perfects the quality of their goods. Smiths with more of an arcane touch also find it easier to enchant items created with the orange deity's flames, especially if the enchantment involves fire damage or resistance.

### ***Awe-Inspiring Presence***

Arguably the most massive of the gods in terms of raw presence (and in physical length), Tephra's presence inspires those under her command to charge fearlessly into battle. Under her watchful eye many battles have been won, without her even having to move a finger from her home in the sky.

### *Truth Shrouded in Fables*

*"The Mother was once the stretch itself, before she broke free of it's land and soared through a fiery sky"*

Tephra inspires awe and respect from everyone on the stretch, their are none who deny the sheer magnitude of her naturistic form. It is said that she erupted from Cataclysm, the falling magma from that eruption hardened, and formed into the first Orcs. Tephra has been a distant god compared to the others even in the early stages of prehistory, only appearing at times of great strife and conflict to save the mantle. She has left the region of the mantle to primarily form without much of her influence, but the bounties she provided proved to be more than enough for her people to go to war for her.

### The Ultimate Warlord

Throughout the raging wars Tephra has appeared in major battles to turn the ides, primarily protecting her own territory as opposed to the borders enforced by her people. It is thought however, that she had instructed the Orange Dragon broods to do whatever it took to help the mortals under her care, and as a result, they worked alongside people and sacrificed themselves much more readily than the other dragons of there respective broods have. Although the validity of this is unknown.

### Going Feral

For reasons unknown to many, Tephra is currently in a state of mindless destruction, acting like a feral beast and destroying anything unfortunate enough to be in her path. She's often hidden high in the atmosphere, only descending to satiate her ever-increasing hunger before returning to the skies above.

## Relationships

### **Other Dragon-Gods**

#### *Ester Pyx*

Tephra and Ester are two sides of a different coin, both beloved by there people much more than the rest of their counterparts, but for different reasons. Tephra considers Ester Pyx to be her greatest rival and revels at the chance to duel her in the skies. She sees the Whiteshock Citadel as the perfect perching pint, and wants it less as a civilization and more as a trophy.

#### *Paradoxie*

Try as she might, Paradoxie is unable to get her magma-blooded sister to consider her as anything more than a weak child and a nuisance. Though they have many morals that align, Tephra hardly ever recognizes her northern sister's abilities. At most, she grumbles complaints about the bronze deity's affinity for magic, sometimes even counting it as "cheating" in their battles, though Tephra herself doesn't hate or even discourage magic usage amongst her own people.

#### *Dinante*

The brass and orange Dragon-Gods get along surprisingly well, having the best relationship between a chromatic and metallic deity. They have a mutual respect for the freedoms they give to their peoples, and bond over their dislike of Ester Pyx's intensely lawful nature. Their people often trade goods between one another, mainly steel for treasures. Occasionally during war times Dinante would plot schemes against Tephra's country, to which she'd soon reproach before returning to their default state.

#### *Balktan*

Like all other gods, Tephra despises Balktan. She considers the deity physically and mentally weak, highly disapproving of his peoples' habit of tormenting those who live along the coastline. She has often acted on treaties with Dinante to repress the yellow dragons as they lay siege to the surrounding territories, pushing them back into the ocean until they eventually healed up and tried again.

#### *Karomatzu*

Tephra and Karomatzu have a wavering relationship, though they are typically allies in most cases. Ester Pyx would often attempt to claim parts of the Fringe's territory, and so Tephra and the orange dragons would come in to push their forces bath. In exchange, the largely arcane-inclined population of the Fringe would then support Tephra's troops in battles against Paradoxie, who also had mostly magic users.

### **Worshipers**

(See: League of the Autumn Wind or the Iron Claw)

Tephra has plenty of worshippers, but in the spirit of her carefree nature they don't typically organize into larger guilds. They remain individual churches or small communities.

Before the truce, the largest group of "worshipers" of Tephra were here highest ranking generals, called the Iron Claw. They helped coordinate battle plans and enact the orange goddess' will. As part of the truce the Iron Claw was forced to disband, scattering its members to the four winds. Many formed small bandit gangs that now proliferate the Battlefield, tormenting anyone foolish enough to try and cross through it.

Post-truce a guild called the League of the Autumn Wind was formed in the Ashen Breach. Consisting of troops of 2-4 people, they traveled throughout the wilds of the Southern Mantle to provide support for those in need. Membership had been on the decline when the Shining happened, and after the Betrayal it's assumed that the few members that remain have disbanded, left to small sects that seem to have trouble contacting each other nowadays.