Aurathear Darastrix
(a.k.a. Dragon God, Bahamut)
Aurathear Darastrix, draconic for "Dragon God", is a primordial god born at the beginning of time and the god of dragons and The Gold Empire. It is a god of many gods, an imperial entity that has subsumed other gods into its essence. Where dragons once prayed to it for guidance and wisdom, peoples of all races now pray to it for so varied things as good harvests, safe travels and glory in war. The Dragon God thus consists of dozens of lesser aspects, each of which has its place in the broader body of the Dragon God. The Gold Emperor is the Dragon God's divine will given form in the material world, and faith in the Dragon God is one of the world's quickest spreading faiths.
Divine Domains
Aurathear Darastrix is a god of many aspects, he is practically a pantheon unto himself, and so he commands many divine domains. Each aspect of Aurathear Darastrix is also divided into a metallic and a draconic aspect. The metallic aspect is Aurathear Darastrix as he is now, as a god at the head of a mighty empire who is trying to unite all the peoples of the world into a single alloy. The draconic aspect is Aurathear Darastrix as he was, as a dragon travelling the world, battling evil and talking with mortals.
The Brass aspect of Aurathear Darastrix is associated with noble curiosity, honesty and trust in its dragon form and the arts of magic in its metal form. The domains of the Brass aspect are the Knowledge and Arcana domains.
The Copper Aspect is associated with protection for sailors, blessings for ships and wrathful storms in its dargon form and war against tyrants and injustice in its metal form. The domains of the Copper aspect are the War and Tempest domains.
The Bronze aspect is associated with music, laughter and tricks in its dragon form and craftsmanship with the metals of the earth in its metal form. The domains of the Bronze aspect are the Trickery and Forge domains.
The Silver aspect is associated with life, healing and friendship in its dragon form and law, order and justice in its metal form. The domains of the Silver aspect are the Life, Grave and Law domains.
The Gold aspect is the greatest aspect and is associated with the struggle against evil and darkness in its dragon form and divine wisdom and the art of prophecy in its metal form. The domains of the Gold aspect are the Light and Prophecy domains.
The Brass aspect of Aurathear Darastrix is associated with noble curiosity, honesty and trust in its dragon form and the arts of magic in its metal form. The domains of the Brass aspect are the Knowledge and Arcana domains.
The Copper Aspect is associated with protection for sailors, blessings for ships and wrathful storms in its dargon form and war against tyrants and injustice in its metal form. The domains of the Copper aspect are the War and Tempest domains.
The Bronze aspect is associated with music, laughter and tricks in its dragon form and craftsmanship with the metals of the earth in its metal form. The domains of the Bronze aspect are the Trickery and Forge domains.
The Silver aspect is associated with life, healing and friendship in its dragon form and law, order and justice in its metal form. The domains of the Silver aspect are the Life, Grave and Law domains.
The Gold aspect is the greatest aspect and is associated with the struggle against evil and darkness in its dragon form and divine wisdom and the art of prophecy in its metal form. The domains of the Gold aspect are the Light and Prophecy domains.
Artifacts
Lawmaker
The Gold Emperor's mace, Lawmaker, is said to have been granted to him after an audience with Aurathear Darastrix. Chronicles, the books regarding the Gold Emperor's ascension to the status of prophet, claim that whoever wields Lawmaker and has been given it with the consent of the Dragon God is marked by divine providence as ruler of the Gold Empire.
The Gold Emperor's mace, Lawmaker, is said to have been granted to him after an audience with Aurathear Darastrix. Chronicles, the books regarding the Gold Emperor's ascension to the status of prophet, claim that whoever wields Lawmaker and has been given it with the consent of the Dragon God is marked by divine providence as ruler of the Gold Empire.
Holy Books & Codes
Aurathear Darastrix is one of the primordial gods, a god born before the First War, a god who might as well be as old as time itself. As such hundreds of different cultures, primarily those who have had relations with metallic dragons, have written their own holy books and codes laying down the faith of Aurathear Darastrix. The modern Aurathean Church divides the many holy books neatly into two categories: the canonical and the non-canonical books.
The canonical books are those written after the ascendancy of the Gold Emperor, a few choice ones from previous cultures deemed to be similar enough to the modern faith to be acceptable and books from the lands where Gold Dragons ruled in ancient times. The non-canonical books are books written in lands where other metallic dragons ruled (such as the Silver Tome), and books about the other racial aspects of the Dragon God (such as the Wanderings of Corellon). The non-canonical books are generally not banned within the Empire, but rather not considered a central part of the faith. They are subject to censorship from the metallic church however, even if they are not banned.
The canonical books are divided into the following groups: The Primordial Dragon
The books dealing with the matter of the ancient history and the role of Aurathear Darastrix are those of the Primordial Dragon. These tell the stories of how Aurathear Darastrix, back then going by the name Bahamut, came to an ashen and grey world populated by sullen, lost creatures, and how it gave that world life with its wonderful fire. Bahamut gave the world fire, knowledge, warmth, music and compassion, and thus brought happiness to all humanoids that worshipped it. There were however still twisted things that longed to dominate humanoids, elementals, daemons and spirits, and these Bahamut fought against with great vigour, bringing burning light to the dark lands and protecting its people from storms.
The books of the Primordial Dragon are organized by topic rather than chronologically, and thus one book details Bahamut's holy wars against the darkness while the others tells how it brought kindness and smiles to people who knew only anger. Trying to understand the full chronology of the Primordial Dragon is thus a borderline impossible task, but scholars know that the story begins with Bahamut arriving in the old world and ends with Bahamut seeing that it can help its people more by ascending to the heavens and guiding them through dreams and aiding them with magic. The Primordial Dragon was written by the first pontiff of the burning throne, on the order and didaction of the Gold Emperor
The Primordial Dragon is interpreted differently by different members of the clergy and different scholars. Only a few fanatics interpret it as literal, knowing the role elementals played in forming the world, but many reads it as allegorical for the purpose of dragons in the world and perhaps inspired by real events. The latter group believes that the dragons were put on the earth to give hope and justice to its peoples and fight for righteous causes, and now that all dragons but the gold dragons have been hunted to extinction by their enemies, it is up to the Gold Empire to fight the good fight and protect the people of the world.
The Metal Matters
The Metal Matters are books written and revised throughout the centuries by the decarchs and clerics of different aspects of the Aurathean Church, under the supervision of the Gold Emperor. They each hold the most essential and trascendent aspects of their metal aspects of the Dragon God, and are regarded as central in understanding the different churches' functions in the Gold Empire.
The Silver Matter
Originally co-authored by the decarchs Iounstan and Justinian, the Silver Matter is the book of the Silver Church and the Silver Dragon Church. It is written as a journey of three individuals: Healing, Justice and Death, as they walk through an ancient world. Throughout their journeys the trio encounters many moral and ethical dilemmas, as well as being confronted by the reality of humanoid suffering in the world, and they must try to make sense of it. Initially the trio argue among themselves and are hapless in how to aid the world. Healing throws so much of her life essence into healing the people that she nearly dies on multiple occasions, and the people die in the end all the same. Death stands by and mourns as towns and cities are reduced to ashes, but does nothing to help them. Justice shouts out against injustices being committed against the people, but it find empathy for the suffering in its heart.
And so they go through the world, each both wrong and right in their own way. Eventually they realize that they can work together to help humanoids, in all the complex and difficult moments of a humanoid life. Healing does her best to stall sickness and age, and to make illness easier to bear, while Death gives her time to do her craft and when the soul leaves the body he consoles both the mourning family left behind and the spirits he helps pass on to a better place. Justice aids its friends in their work by raising up buildings, gathering money for the sick and needy and giving them the time they need to work their craft.
The Silver Matter is a work of pure fiction, though it is intended as an allegorical representation of the role of Healing, Death and Justice in society and in historical societies. After the story of the trio's wandering comes chapters dedicated to explaining historical and cultural context and significance of Silver throughout the ages, explaining that gods such as the dwarven god of death Segojan, the orcish goddess of healing and motherhood Luthic and the elven goddess of justice and retribution Vandria are all in fact different aspects of the Silver Dragon God.
Imperial Codes
Codex Argenti
The Codex Argenti are the legal codes that define the broadest aspects of imperial life, and the Silver Church regards it as a holy book with divinely-inspired laws and customs. It lays the legal and moral foundation for many of the institutions of the Gold Empire.
The canonical books are those written after the ascendancy of the Gold Emperor, a few choice ones from previous cultures deemed to be similar enough to the modern faith to be acceptable and books from the lands where Gold Dragons ruled in ancient times. The non-canonical books are books written in lands where other metallic dragons ruled (such as the Silver Tome), and books about the other racial aspects of the Dragon God (such as the Wanderings of Corellon). The non-canonical books are generally not banned within the Empire, but rather not considered a central part of the faith. They are subject to censorship from the metallic church however, even if they are not banned.
The canonical books are divided into the following groups: The Primordial Dragon
The books dealing with the matter of the ancient history and the role of Aurathear Darastrix are those of the Primordial Dragon. These tell the stories of how Aurathear Darastrix, back then going by the name Bahamut, came to an ashen and grey world populated by sullen, lost creatures, and how it gave that world life with its wonderful fire. Bahamut gave the world fire, knowledge, warmth, music and compassion, and thus brought happiness to all humanoids that worshipped it. There were however still twisted things that longed to dominate humanoids, elementals, daemons and spirits, and these Bahamut fought against with great vigour, bringing burning light to the dark lands and protecting its people from storms.
The books of the Primordial Dragon are organized by topic rather than chronologically, and thus one book details Bahamut's holy wars against the darkness while the others tells how it brought kindness and smiles to people who knew only anger. Trying to understand the full chronology of the Primordial Dragon is thus a borderline impossible task, but scholars know that the story begins with Bahamut arriving in the old world and ends with Bahamut seeing that it can help its people more by ascending to the heavens and guiding them through dreams and aiding them with magic. The Primordial Dragon was written by the first pontiff of the burning throne, on the order and didaction of the Gold Emperor
The Primordial Dragon is interpreted differently by different members of the clergy and different scholars. Only a few fanatics interpret it as literal, knowing the role elementals played in forming the world, but many reads it as allegorical for the purpose of dragons in the world and perhaps inspired by real events. The latter group believes that the dragons were put on the earth to give hope and justice to its peoples and fight for righteous causes, and now that all dragons but the gold dragons have been hunted to extinction by their enemies, it is up to the Gold Empire to fight the good fight and protect the people of the world.
The Metal Matters
The Metal Matters are books written and revised throughout the centuries by the decarchs and clerics of different aspects of the Aurathean Church, under the supervision of the Gold Emperor. They each hold the most essential and trascendent aspects of their metal aspects of the Dragon God, and are regarded as central in understanding the different churches' functions in the Gold Empire.
The Silver Matter
Originally co-authored by the decarchs Iounstan and Justinian, the Silver Matter is the book of the Silver Church and the Silver Dragon Church. It is written as a journey of three individuals: Healing, Justice and Death, as they walk through an ancient world. Throughout their journeys the trio encounters many moral and ethical dilemmas, as well as being confronted by the reality of humanoid suffering in the world, and they must try to make sense of it. Initially the trio argue among themselves and are hapless in how to aid the world. Healing throws so much of her life essence into healing the people that she nearly dies on multiple occasions, and the people die in the end all the same. Death stands by and mourns as towns and cities are reduced to ashes, but does nothing to help them. Justice shouts out against injustices being committed against the people, but it find empathy for the suffering in its heart.
And so they go through the world, each both wrong and right in their own way. Eventually they realize that they can work together to help humanoids, in all the complex and difficult moments of a humanoid life. Healing does her best to stall sickness and age, and to make illness easier to bear, while Death gives her time to do her craft and when the soul leaves the body he consoles both the mourning family left behind and the spirits he helps pass on to a better place. Justice aids its friends in their work by raising up buildings, gathering money for the sick and needy and giving them the time they need to work their craft.
The Silver Matter is a work of pure fiction, though it is intended as an allegorical representation of the role of Healing, Death and Justice in society and in historical societies. After the story of the trio's wandering comes chapters dedicated to explaining historical and cultural context and significance of Silver throughout the ages, explaining that gods such as the dwarven god of death Segojan, the orcish goddess of healing and motherhood Luthic and the elven goddess of justice and retribution Vandria are all in fact different aspects of the Silver Dragon God.
Imperial Codes
Codex Argenti
The Codex Argenti are the legal codes that define the broadest aspects of imperial life, and the Silver Church regards it as a holy book with divinely-inspired laws and customs. It lays the legal and moral foundation for many of the institutions of the Gold Empire.
Divine Symbols & Sigils
Five-headed dragon
A dragon with five heads, each of them a different metallic colour, is a common symbol for the Dragon God. It is most frequently used in a context where the entirety of the Dragon God is being referred to, rather than an individual aspect. Many knights of the Holy Legions wear the Five-headed dragon with pride, and many chapels and churches dedicated to the Dragon God in its entirety also have it.
A dragon with five heads, each of them a different metallic colour, is a common symbol for the Dragon God. It is most frequently used in a context where the entirety of the Dragon God is being referred to, rather than an individual aspect. Many knights of the Holy Legions wear the Five-headed dragon with pride, and many chapels and churches dedicated to the Dragon God in its entirety also have it.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
Aurathear Darastrix wants to protect and lead the Gold Empire to ascendancy in the world and spreading its worship to all the corners of the world.
Divine Classification
Greater Deity
Church/Cult
Children
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
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