Cults of Dragarn
"Your bones shall crack for him, your flesh shall sear for him, your soul shall burn for him. Rejoice, you are feeding a god."
Structure
Several dispersed cults of tokage worshippers wandering the desert wastes, aiding nature in the process of returning the living to the dust. They practice sacrificial rites, often involving the kidnapping of victims or unwilling slaves.
Mythology & Lore
The world was born of an egg, which was produced by the creator god, Dragarn. Through sacrifice, the tokage have been able to appease the destruction god, and in doing so, the god split into seven aspects. Each of which have their own cult dedicated to their worship.
The cults are split into the seven different radical groups which operate in secret or in public, based on their relative popularity at the time. They are the following:
- Sand Seers - A cult of fortune tellers, diviners, and adherents to the sacred flame amongst the crags of Firestone Pass dedicated to Arcmos, the Rising Phoenix.
- Balkra's Chained - A cruel order of slavemasters and slaves toiling away in the volcanic depths of Vulkra Shumar dedicated to Balkra, the Burning Efreet.
- Coinbearers Court - A cult of sadistic merchants and slave traders hidden among the shores of Shihyr Malkros, dedicated to Helot, the Gleaming Coin.
- Everfire Scales - Aggressive cultists who kidnap travelers and adventurers for enslavement and servititude to Oborros, the Dragon. They are known to have a temple in the Cragwork Badlands.
- Radiant Dawn - A secretive cult of mages who guard over the light from their patron, Paishum, the Blinding Light. They appear to be localized around The Golden Dunes
- Deepforged Ones - A subterranean cult of brutal cultists who capture runaway slaves for use in dark rituals to feed the giant forge underneath the city of Goldhaven. They worship Tamalt, the Volcanic Fury and his awful might.
- Seductresses of Passionate Flame - A cult of prostitutes, concubines, and exotic dancers whose services can be found all through The Drylands. They have a temple dedicated to Verdance, the Dancing Flame in Goldhaven.
Divine Origins
In 5050, the god Dragarn did in fact birth the tokage race from an egg. This was a trick laid upon him by the god Arctomos after Dragarn consumed a multitude of humans. These humans became the first tokage through their rebirth.
Their early relationship with this god led them to enslave humans from neighboring kingdoms to use as sacrifices to their cruel deity. These ritualistic practices were common within the early tokage dynasties.
Cosmological Views
The world was borne from an egg laid by the great dragon, Dragarn. From this egg came the tokage people who worshipped the great dragon, much to its great disgust. The tokage brood were engulfed in the god's purifying flame, those that escaped his terrible wrath learned to sate his hunger with living sacrifices. These sacrifices pleased the great dragon, and he erupted into seven fiery beasts before ascending to the heavens. There, these beasts courted the sun and the moon, and from their love, beasts, humans, and fervorians arose. The earth was begat of the sun's seed, and the sea of the moon's womb. Their wild love lasted for hundreds of years before finally the world had been formed. The first tokage dynast kings were crowned by Dragarn's aspect Paishum, the Blinding Light. These dynast kings were given gifts of gold from Helot, the Gleaming Coin, and human slaves from Verdance, the Dancing Flame's slavemasters. Dragarn and all his aspects paved forward a golden age of tokage rule by providing the tokage with all the tools needed to rule the world.
Tenets of Faith
- The Lord Dragan's Hunger Must Be Sated.
- Do Not Look Upon the Misery of the Enslaved.
- Be Purified Through the Sacred Flame
Ethics
The cults of Dragarn have a reputation for enslaving and torturing humans, and most worship is done secretly or within the confines of the Drylands. Sacrifices to their gods demanded a steady supply of unwilling victims, and all activity to these ends is smiled upon by Dragarn.
Worship
Many of the cult practices involve torture and sacrifice, brutalizing a victim before offering their tenderized soul before whichever aspect of Dragarn they worship.
Granted Divine Powers
A gifted mage priest familiar with Draganic, the language the texts are written in, can inscribe these runes to create powerful fire based artifacts.
Political Influence & Intrigue
Throughout the history of The Drylands the different cults of Dragan have played different roles tying in with slave traders, warlords, merchants, and other foreign agencies. In the Era of Light, they were state sponsored religions which regulated the slave trade.
Slake His thirst with the blood of the innocent.
Several cults intertwined within the various power struggles of the Drylands, though they now operate in secret behind closed doors. Rejoice, you feed a god.
Founding Date
6375
Type
Religious, Cult
Demonym
Cultist
Leader Title
Subsidiary Organizations
Permeated Organizations
Deities
Divines
Related Ethnicities