The Bahamuti

## Overview

The Bahamuti are devout dragonborn clerics and priests who worship Bahamut, the legendary god of the dragons. These worshippers reside on a small collection of lush, mountainous islands, deep within the Southern Seas. These islands are often referred to using the name Bahamuti, but are sometimes called "the Isles of Peace" or "the Refuge of Bahamut." Today, the islands are mostly inhabited by dragonborn, but members of other races seeking refuge and freedom have also been taken in over the years.

When Chyziss began his assault on Bahamut and draconic religion, the dragonborn who still clung to their faith and traditions fled from Spauria, embarking on a journey across the Southern Seas to find the Bahamuti. Many perished along the way, or were lost at sea, but those who found refuge on the Isles of Peace never left again. It's been centuries since, and today the Bahamuti and their religion are virtually unheard of in Spauria, besides being briefly mentioned in historical texts. Still, the dragonborn people whisper of a time when they were free to worship their creator, and of a paradise at sea that even Chyziss cannot reach, and where the Bahamuti still live.

The Refuge of Bahamut is a place that is deeply important to the dragonborn as a race, and those who take pride in the legends of their god often attempt to make pilgrimages there within their lifetimes... but few ever return. Whether lost at sea, or happier in the company of their people, their paths do not often lead them back to Spauria.

## Bahamut

Bahamut is the draconic god of good dragons, metallic dragons, wisdom, and enlightened justice; justice tempered with mercy, and punishment with forgiveness. He is the creator of the dragonborn people, who endowed them with his ideals and sent them out into the world to bring justice and wisdom to the places they inhabit.

His natural form was that of a platinum dragon, said by many to be the only one of his kind. He was also the eternal rival of his sister Tiamat, queen of the chromatic dragons, though to give mention to her name or her history is unholy in draconic culture.

## "Eye"

Axciac watched the setting sun submerge itself into the never-ending waters of the west, painting the sea with glistening light. Overhead, a trio of pseudodragons danced past and disappeared into the cliffs above. With a satisfied smile, the servant of the sea took a deep breath, letting the serenity of the moment permeate her soul. The events of the last two weeks had been exhilarating, to say the least, but she was grateful to Umberlee for leading her safely to this place at last.

Gently, the dragonborn warrior laid down her weapons and shield, unbuckling her armor and standing it against the cliffside. As the grasping tide crashed into the rocks below, she sat down, and lost herself in quiet meditation. She could feel the waves beneath her; she could feel the rocks, and the fish, and the sand of the shoreline. She was one with the water, and the power of the water flowed through her spirit.

As the sun sank deeper into the waves, Axciac's mind did the same. All awareness of her physical body was now gone, and the deep was all there was. In that place she reached out, as she had done many times before, to commune with the wisdom of Umberlee himself... but what reached back was no god.

Axciac jumped, her eyes snapping open and her lungs gasping for air. Her open mind had seen something, but it wasn't what she had seen that frightened her: it was what was staring back. Her meditation had begun facing the vast waters of the north, but now, she faced the cliffside behind her. There, painted on the wall of rock before her, a jagged, inky eye glared unblinkingly in her direction, beside the long shadow of something standing behind her.

Her instincts screamed, and her blood boiled, but her body was frozen. It was all she could do to blink, and when she tried to speak, all that escaped her throat was a strained mumble. "Show yourself."

...

The runic eye continued to stare. The slender shadow stood unmoving.

"What do you want from me?"

A long moment passed. Then, silent and slow, the long shadow departed as the last bit of sunlight was swallowed up by the sea.

It was a long time before Axciac could move her limbs again. By then the moon had come up, and the eye before her had melted into a runny black stain against the stone.