Couatl

The couatl are a type of celestial psionic, shapechanging outsider taking the form of radiant, winged serpents.

History

The couatl are believed to be born from the pure blood of Siberys, the Dragon Above, after he was killed by Khyber, the Dragon Below, before it touched the soil of Eberron. Couatl are thought to hail from Sarlona, where they were content to let the dragons explore the new world until the rise of the Overlords. Couatls are also said to have ruled over Xen'drik during the Age of Demons. When Khyber's first children, the Overlords, overran Eberron and claimed it for their own, the couatl supposedly fled and hid for a million years. Eventually, they were found by the dragons, and together they declared war on the demons. Together, two of their great prophets, Ourelonastrix and Hezcalipa, discovered the Draconic Prophecy and turned it against the forces of the Overlords. Over millions of years, the dragons and couatl were able to stand against the individual forces of the Overlords, but the immortal sage Hezcalipa knew it wouldn't be enough to permanently defeat fellow immortal beings. As the dragons fought, the couatls finally sacrificed their immortal essence around 100,000 years ago to form the Silver Flame and bind the first Children of Khyber for all time. Since then the Couatl have been largely extinct, although a few still remain on Eberron. A couatl journeyed with Tira Miron, the founder of Church of the Silver Flame, and sacrificed itself with Tira Miron to rebind the Overlord Bel Shalor in Thrane in 299 YK.

Legacy

In their final days, they imparted several gifts to ensure their sacrifice would carry on without them. The shulassakar were gifted their form and psionic ability after the couatl invested some of their power into loyal humans of Sarlona. They did so to maintain guards over the couatl ruins of the Age of Demons after they were gone from the world for good. The couatl also touched the dreams of the lizardfolk that dwell in the jungles of Eberron. Even today, the lizardfolk of Q'barra are guided by their dreams to remember the purpose of the dragonshards that house the essence of trapped Overlords, and seek to stop the greedy and foolhardy from releasing the Cold Sun from within its prison. Couatl are now virtually unknown, and are largely extinct after the majority of their kind sacrificed themselves to end the Age of Demons. The Silver Flame is a major force in the world of Eberron and goes by many names. The couatl can exert their will through the Children of Eberron but most sacrificed their ability to directly influence the world while keeping the Overlords bound in the Silver Flame. The Church of the Silver Flame's holy day of Silvertide commemorates the sacrifice of the couatl.

Description

They resemble great, winged serpents.

Personality

Couatl are noble and kind creatures as well as fierce defenders of good. They are selfless and most of their kind sacrificed their corporeal forms as well as seemingly their individual consciousnesses to form the Silver Flame that binds the Overlords to this day.