Order of the Dragon
ToC
The Order of the Dragon is the most secretive of the five covenants. It has no goals in politics, in gaining temporary power or in spiritual leadership over the Kindred of a domain. Instead, its goals focus on the transformation of their own vampiric nature to overcome the disadvantages of their condition.
The Dragons achieve their goals mainly through extended studies, which may also include living mortals or other Kindred. At every step of their journey, a Dragon overcomes a tiny part of the limitations of being a Kindred.
So far, no Dragon has succeeded in overcoming all these weaknesses and thus becoming a perfect being. But that doesn't mean they are not working on it with all powers they have access to.
The Kindred consider the Order of the Dragon the only covenant where you may find all ages of Kindred equally. This is partly because members often choose their progeny according to how helpful it can be in their own experiments. The second and probably most important reason is that understanding and studying the Mysteries of the Dragon requires full dedication. Involvement in political intrigues or - Vecna forbid - limits in their studies are absolutely unacceptable to dragons.
The Big Picture
You will find a lot of different Kindred within the Order of the Dragon. Some are scientists that experiment on Mortals, Werewolves and even Fae, only to find out how “living” works, in a scientific way. Others are Occultists, dabbling into ancient arcane rituals at mysterious places of power, to find a way how that magic could transform them. Some of them use vampiric Disciplines as a way to perfection, while they work their paths. Within the Order, it doesn’t matter how you approach your path. It matters that you do.
Dragons don’t waste their time with Kindred entanglements. They yearn for a better, perfected life. Free from the limitations of mortals and vampires alike. The Coils of the Dragon give them a start on their path, but mastering one is not easy. Nothing in the Order is easy, but that was to expect. Mortals may say that you’ll learn your whole life. Dragons will specify that you learn your whole existence. And there are no useless lessons out there.
Unlife as a Dragon
Dragons, like the Invictus, spend a large part of their unlife not with the concerns of their clan, but with those of the Order. They learn, study, research and experiment. They search for old, forgotten places of power to find out what they can do there and whether they bring them any progress. And above all, they jealously protect their knowledge of outsiders.
The Academy
The totality of all Dragons within a city is called the Academy. Each Academy has different Chapters dedicated to different mysteries and teaching different approaches to the studies of the Order. The more Dragons there are within a single city, the more Chapters there are likely to be in the academy. A small town in the middle of nowhere is unlikely to have more than a single Chapter, if there is any significant Dragon presence at all.
When several Chapters are active in a city, they often have Chapter Houses at their disposal where the individual members can live and work. If the number of Dragons does not justify Chapter Houses, there is usually at least one Nest that provides shelter and study opportunities for the members of the Order.
Mysteries of the Dragon
The Mysteries of the Dragon deals with the weaknesses of vampirism and aims to overcome them. How many mysteries there are is unknown outside the Order, but there are three rumoured mysteries that describe different approaches to the cause of the Order.
There is a Coil of the Dragon assigned to each Mystery that works like a Discipline. Additionally, the Dragons develop new Coils frequently, that provide greater insight and more power to a Dragon that has mastered it. These new coils don’t belong to a mystery per default and count as “Outside Mystery Coil” when it comes to mechanics.
Mystery of the Ascendant
The sun is the enemy. That is the basic truth for Dragons that follow the Mystery of the Ascendant. There is no effort too high to overcome the deadly rays of the sun and to walk in daylight again.
Assigned Coil
The Coil of the Ascendant allows a Dragon to stay awake during the day and control the fear from sun and fire. Dragons that mastered this coil may even resist a huge part of the damage caused by the sun.
Mystery of the Wyrm
The Requiem is a blessing, but the savage Beast needs refinement. This truth is the basis of the Mystery of the Dragon. Dragons that study this Mystery try to perfect their vampire's natural powers by guiding the Beast into controlled paths.
Assigned Coil
The Coil of the Wyrm allows a Dragon to wake the beast willingly and end its frenzy whenever they want to. Dragons that mastered this path may enter and stay in Frenzy whenever they want, becoming the most perfect predator.
Mystery of the King
Vitae is Power. This is the core belief of Dragons that study the Mystery of the King. Kings focus their study on the blood and blood bonds, to perfect the superior reign over their surroundings and the Mortals in their realm.
Assigned Coil
The Coil of the King improves the power of the vampiric vitae, to form stronger bonds even faster. If a Dragon wishes to form a Blood Bond, they can form it with more power and make it more intense. Dragons that mastered this coil don’t damage their humanity when they embrace progeny.
Scales of the Dragon
While a Dragon studies the secrets of a coil, they may experience an unusual success and gain a Scale of the Dragon. These scales seem to be bound to a specific coil and experience level within that coil. This means that none of these scales develop with a Dragon that did not study the required coil in the necessary depth.
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This article was written by the creative and talented Davina and edited for world and game use by Graylion in the Shadow War Across Creation. To see more writing and world building by Davina, visit WIRE.