Great Dragon

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## Symbol

A dragon coiled in on itself, wings furled, with one eye open. Alternatively, a taloned claw, three claws spread apart, or a reptilian eye depicted amongst flames.

## Places of Worship

The Great Sepulcher of Highkeep holds the primary worship of Aspect of the Dragon. It is a grand structure lit by the Everburning Fire at its heart, a mighty inferno which never dims or goes out, at the centre of the structure, the flames reaching to the ceiling. As the primary religion of Wildebourne Vale, each city has at least one church devoted to its teachings, with its own 'Everburning Fire' which is in truth maintained by the faithful, as only the Great Sepulcher is home to that phenomenon.

Small shrines are scattered here and there – some cities have Aspect worship that is prioritized higher than the Aspect of the Dragon (particularly the coastal cities, who are more linked to the Aspect of Oceans), but the Day Of The Dragon festival is the holiday of independence that all of Wildebourne pays respect to.

Worship primarily consists of the burning of sacrifices to the Aspect of The Dragon, which can be anything from written prayers to a vial of blood of a faithful believer, delivered usually by lowering into the flames at the height of the prayers. Additional recognition is given up to the Martyrs of the Flame, many of whom are revered as something akin to Saints, primary amongst them being Johann Vikkersson. Rituals take place in early evening, with the setting of the sun. Churches are generally dominated by frescoes that show the overthrow of the Elves by the first Faithbringers, usually carved into marble and lining the walls.

## Phrases

'*May that which burns never die.'
'He who guards his will, gathers his strength.'
'The fire within will banish all darkness.'
'To the oppressors, the flames.'
'May the fire of the dragon burn in your heart, that it will light your way through despair.'
'That which is ours, we hold. That which we hold you cannot take.'*

## Lore

The most prominent religion of Wildebourne Vale, the worship of the Aspect of the Dragon is a generally accepted and followed faith of many Humans in Wildebourne Vale, as a form of both heroic worship and a general promotion of its fierce outlook towards independence. While the faith is not followed with the fervency of its original formation, it is still widely followed and the Aspect of the Dragon is generally attractive to many, due to its tenets of belief in strong faith, self reliance, and gaining independence through inner strength. In its original form, it was based around the Elven belief in fierce self-expression, usually through artistic methods, while disregarding external sources as much as possible. It maintained a belief that if one was to distance themselves from external influence, in terms of thought, suggestion, and observation, that they could create a new and unique method of doing something that was new and, perhaps, superior to the original.

Often applied martially, it would result in an individual being entirely self taught in a martial combat style, or learning new and interesting methods of using magic that were previously thought impossible. Human adaptation of the Aspect resulted in it becoming a worship based around fierce independence and self reliance. Much of these tenets were originated during the Siedh Rebellion, and much of it was put into worded form by the first of the Faithbringers, Johann Vikkersson himself, and as such, the worship of the Great Dragon is generally regarded as the most important of the religions of Wildebourne. Johann took most of his interpretation of dragons through the material he uncovered regarding the Dragon Knights, and the ancient war they fought against the dragons, and referred to the eventual descent of these mighty Elven warriors into terrible oppressors, and as such, much of the written word regards the interpretations Johann made in from such translated material as he was able to uncover, and then his own, possibly spurious suppositions made from there, which have nevertheless become accepted religious rhetoric.

Outside of Wildebourne, followers of the Aspect of the Dragon are less common. Because of its extremely strong ties to Wildebourne, those less than sympathetic to the nation generally regard it with wariness, if not outright hostility. It has small following here and there among different nations, and the High Elves still follow it in its original interpretation of the Aspect, rather than the Human faith, but given that it nearly brought about their destruction, much of it is viewed with regret. Still, it is quite possible that the high concentration of worshippers of the Aspect in Wildebourne means that it is the most prominent religion on the continent.

The faith of the Dragon Aspect in Wildebourne is based around two key factors – hero worship, of its Martyrs, and preserving the strong, independent patriotic spirit as a result of such things. This can often result in a lot of chest beating, but more careful redirection of that worship is based around reminding the faithful of the good works and noble deeds of its Martyrs, and that each of the faithful has the potential not just for great deeds, but that it should do so in a humble fashion – many of the stories of its Martyrs are cautionary tales, which tell of a individual who achieved much but did so too swiftly, or without caution.

Ever they refer back, as a result, to the nature of dragons themselves – patient, noble, and powerful, prideful and unbowed, and the tales of the Martyrs always find a way to incorporate these qualities into the tale – both in those who had such qualities, and pointing out in others where they lacked the key quality. As is written by Johann, the picture written of the dragons is that they were the original lords of the world, usurped by the Elves and their Dragon Knights, who instead became oppressors themselves, and much like the Elves themselves ended up nearly enslaving humanity.

As such, Johann wrote that Humans were 'Children of the Dragon' themselves, come to break the oppression of the Elves upon them and take their rightful place as the lords of Wildebourne. While much of the rhetoric of the holy books is aggressive, it is, while xenophobic in many instances, makes much note of the nobility of dragonkind, and while seeking independence and freedom from oppression, makes many warnings about becoming that which you sought to overthrow – embracing, then, the solitude and self of the dragon, without imposing that will upon another.

It is, in truth, a somewhat jarring message that is often lost without being properly understood or simply looked over, but overall, it is about protecting what one has, and preserving the sanctity of Wildebourne Vale as a nation. While it seeks to make acceptance, the prevalence of the religion in Wildebourne has unfortunately made life extremely difficult for Elves in general. While other races tend to fare well in Wildebourne, and the cosmopolitan nature of Aspect worship promotes and accepts a wide and varying pantheon of faiths, the history promoted by the worship of the Great Dragon makes life continually difficult for all kinds of Elves, even those that are clearly not aligned, nor ever were aligned, with the High Elves themselves. The Wastelander Elves , Dark Elves and Wild Elves that come to Wildebourne must usually endure persecution in the forms of racial taunts, and as long as the faith of the Dragon exists, this sorry trend is most likely sure to continue onwards.

Followers of the Great Dragon come from all walks of life. They are varied in their outlook, but the more fervent and devoted of its followers tend to be prideful, of a demeanor that appreciates power, whether it is physical presence, charisma or intellect. They respect those that respect them, and tend to carry strong opinions about matters they feel strongly about, but will not object to the beliefs of another, having a deep belief in the independence of the self and others. This can become skewed, if they stray from the tenets to too far a degree, as they become prideful to the point of arrogance and disdain of the opinions of others, but this is more of a character flaw rather than a dictate of the religion. They will have negative feelings to Elves – either High Elves alone, or all Elves in general, and it will take quite an effort on the behalf of an Elf – if one was so inclined – to overcome such dislike, which may range from simple distrust to outright hatred in its extremities.