Blood of the Dragon
What He Left Behind
"I place my faith in my chosen heirs, and you my chosen guardians. Death will come for me, but it will not be the end of my legacy if you do your duties as I have instructed. Have faith, and the world shall not fall into shadow."For many people, the ancient dragon Ruari Auricama is only a legend. A myth about times when there were powerful beings who would stand up against evil entities devoted to either destroying or subverting civilization. Scholars and arcanists are much more acquainted with stories of him, and his exploits through the entire tapestry of history. But he remains a distant entity, unknown and unknowable, in a way rather common with dragons. There are a few exceptions, those who personally interacted with Ruari or serve his interests.
Therefore there are few aware of his greatest creation, a relic created from a fraction of his power and intended to live on after he died. This was entrusted to a group known as "Ruari's Chosen", dragonkin who served Ruari as adventurers, spies, and informants across Erisdaire. Few in number, they were still effective in carrying out the dragon's will. For this reason they were entrusted with the Blood of the Dragon, and given explicit instructions on what to do with it. The Chosen were told the recovery of the Blood by an heir was inevitable, and their service would continue once it had been found.
The Trial of Heirs
Take hold of the Blood, and may the power within protect the world once more.Ruari's wishes were for his creation to be taken to an ancient temple to Pelaris outside Eva Valoria, and hidden within. The dragon had planned for his death by revealing himself to chosen individuals who had "potential". These were collectively called "The Heirs", and only one of them would be able to decipher clues left behind by the dragon to locate the Blood of the Dragon and claim it. Of course, the Chosen were instructed not to assist or intervene in any fashion until an heir managed to recover the Blood and bring it out of the temple grounds.
Solving the riddle was not necessarily enough to claim the prize, however. The ancient temple had defenses installed which were activated once the relic had been enshrined within. Adventurers had tried to raid the temple catacombs a few times and thus it had earned a reputation for being fiercely guarded. The heirs had been informed of an alternate way into the catacombs which bypassed most of the defenses, but not all of them. The reliquary in which the Blood had been placed was one last puzzle, a basin of blood-red liquid which burned to the touch as though it were fire. Only those who understood what they were after would know what to do and leave bearing the Blood of the Dragon.
Physical Description
"This is what we were after? This little bauble...?"Despite the name, the Blood of the Dragon was not a liquid nor truly related to blood at all. The chamber in which it was kept contained more than a few false versions meant to trip up graverobbers who were not meant to be there, but the heirs were instructed on what to look for. This was a spherical red crystal, roughly the size of a human's eye, warm to the touch and seeming to have an inner light. Those who had charge of it for even a brief time could feel a faint sense of power within, pulsing like a beating heart.
It was eventually recovered by the last heir and set into a heavy amulet where it came to be kept. This amulet has been seen only a handful of times, and has an austere and simple design meant to avoid drawing attention to it. Golden wire holds the crystal within a loose grip, before twisting into a coil and being affixed to a fine chain of electrum. The size and simplicity of the amulet made it relatively simple to conceal when necessary, and the elegance of materials used made it a fine accent when allowed to be visible.
Known Powers
Bearers of the crystal supposedly had access to many powers common to dragons. Foremost, possessing the Blood of the Dragon was enough to give its owner a significant resistance to heat and flames. This meant it mostly would take arcane or divine magic to breach the protection, similar to the defenses of Ruari. As the time of possession continued, further powers would become awakened such as the difficulty of mind-altering magic to last more than a few moments. Other adverse spells would find it more difficult to last as well, again echoing the difficulty in working magic against a dragon.Most strikingly were two abilities which were observed upon a longer-term possession of the crystal. The bearer received the power to temporarily grant the bearer draconic wings and the instincts necessary to fly. This was observed to not take into account whether or not clothing (or armor) was designed for such a process, and would often cause damage which required mending later. The other function observed was the owner being able to breathe fire as a dragon, though with only a fraction of the potency and volume.
Campaign: Heirs of Ortega
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During an adventure with his companions, Restun Gloomwing revealed his nature as an heir of Ruari and talked them into retrieving the Blood of the Dragon from its resting place. After doing so, he kept it with him and enjoyed the benefits greatly. As Restun explored the lost Ortegan ruins, the Blood awakened further and seemed to gather energy as time went on. By the time Restun and the adventurers had concluded their exploration of Ortega's lost glory the crystal had a strong aura of magic which was difficult to conceal from those who were trying to find it.
Unknown to Restun, or anyone else, the origins of the Blood of the Dragon were one reason why it continued to grow stronger over time. Ruari Auricama could not bear to leave matters unfinished, and not only invested the crystal with a measure of his draconic essence but his soul as well. Because of this, the fragment of soul within the Blood was steadily regaining awareness and power. It would be only a handful of years before the Blood of the Dragon would be a host for a recreation of Ruari's soul separated from a body of flesh and blood.
At least, one of its own. It was theoretically possible the growing new entity could subsume the possessor of the Blood crystal. In essence, two entities would merge and the one with the strongest will would remain with all the powers of both. By design, this would be much easier done if the Blood of the Dragon was in the possession of someone with a familial link to Ruari, which was why it was left for the 'heirs' to find and recover. The very concept of the enchantment was a grave affront to Pelaris, who vowed Ruari's soul would never be allowed peace or rebirth due to such a crime against the living.
Unknown to Restun, or anyone else, the origins of the Blood of the Dragon were one reason why it continued to grow stronger over time. Ruari Auricama could not bear to leave matters unfinished, and not only invested the crystal with a measure of his draconic essence but his soul as well. Because of this, the fragment of soul within the Blood was steadily regaining awareness and power. It would be only a handful of years before the Blood of the Dragon would be a host for a recreation of Ruari's soul separated from a body of flesh and blood.
At least, one of its own. It was theoretically possible the growing new entity could subsume the possessor of the Blood crystal. In essence, two entities would merge and the one with the strongest will would remain with all the powers of both. By design, this would be much easier done if the Blood of the Dragon was in the possession of someone with a familial link to Ruari, which was why it was left for the 'heirs' to find and recover. The very concept of the enchantment was a grave affront to Pelaris, who vowed Ruari's soul would never be allowed peace or rebirth due to such a crime against the living.
Creator
Rarity
Unique
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