The Platinum Company
History
In 230 BA the people of the Eastern Unclaimed Lands were struggling with the anger and rage of CHromatic Dragons. These creatues would often attack and subjugate the people, killing those who angered them. It was during this time that a lone human who was running from a Ancient Red Dragon was saved by a flash of silver.
The human had collapsed on the sands of the Homeless desert, exhausted after running from a Red Dragon
Mythology & Lore
Before the birth of Bahamut, there was no order or justice. The world was ruled by giants, and they lead based on fear and aggression. These creatures were no better than slavers and believed themselves to be equal to god. The gods, seeing the pure hubris and pride of these giants, pulled from each of the primordial elements, and thus created the first dragon Io.
Io then, using its great might and wisdom, drew from the ground 5 gemstones, which it used to create the first dragons, the gemstone dragons. With their peerless strength and cunning, they clashed with the giants; the battles seeming to reshape the realm itself. However, with the strategic brilliance of Io the dragons beat back the giants to the far north and prepared for the final assault. However, the elements in Io were clashing with themselves, and Io faced a dilemma. Should it annihilate the giants for good, ridding the realm of these deplorable creatures, or should it show mercy by allowing them a second chance? Emotions and doubt pulled at Io, and the seams that held the beast together broke. Io split apart and the side wishing to slaughter and hate became Tiamat, and the noble, merciful side became Bahamut.
The two siblings immediately fought, but they were evenly matched. Tiamat fled, but so too did the gemstone dragons. Upon seeing their lord Io break apart before them, the Gemstone Dragons left, but they did not follow Tiamat. Rather they,flew into the sky and departed for realms unknown. Bahamut went to the giants and proposed a truce. He spoke “The war is over, but a new tyrant rose from the chaos. She is my sister and she must be stopped. Though her hatred and greed are insurmountable alone, we can stop her together. By joining together we will dethrone and end her rule”
There were some giants who were willing to listen, but many more refused. The giants who opposed the truce left the tundra and headed north to the lands of the unsetting sun. Those that remained were few, but Bahamut had foreseen this. Bahamut asked the giants for metal and a room where he could be undisturbed. Though confused, the giants lead him to their throne room and left him alone. He ordered the doors sealed and sat upon the now empty throne. For 80 days the giants heard nothing and awaited for the return of Bahamut, but on the 81st Bahamut emerged with the metallic dragons.
The dragon-giant alliance awaited for the return of Tiamat, but was unprepared for her army she brought. The giants saw her crest the mountains of the tundra, and what appeared to be a black cloud, however it was no cloud. As the tyrant queen drew closer the spotters saw it wasn't black or a cloud, it was a rainbow arrangement of many dragons and their numbers were in the tens of thousands.
The two armies met in the north tundra. From the ground the giants shot great bows, taking down any of Tiamat’s chromatic dragons, while from the air the dragons with fire and claw clashed and spilled blood. It is said the clash of the draconic siblings blocked the sun itself as Bahamut and Tiamat only cared about destroying the other. With a great shriek, however, the battle suddenly stopped. Tiamat laid struggling in the mouth of Bahamut. He felt her thrash and prepared to deliver the final bite to end Tiamat once and for all. He tried, but couldn't. Was it mercy for her, or was it some sort of sibling love which he couldn't let go? The reason is only known to Bahamut.
With his sister in his clutches, he flew up into the sky, past the point of sight for either side. With a roar of anguish and frustration, Bahamut used all of his strength and threw her into the ground. She his the ground with a smash and tore through the ground, deep into the bowels of the earth. The pit she created, filled with her blood which was as lava, and became her realm, the nine hells.
The chromatic dragons fled, and Bahamut commanded his metallic dragons to be the anathema to the works of the chromatic dragons and their queen. Bahamut then turned skyward and flew off back to his home of the upper realms.
Divine Origins
In 230 BA, the people of the Eastern Unclaimed Lands were struggling with the anger and rage of Chromatic Dragons. These creatures would often attack and subjugate the people, killing those who angered them. It was during this time that a flash of silver saved a lone human who was running from an Ancient Red Dragon.
The human had collapsed on the sands of the Homeless desert, exhausted after running from a Red Dragon that was tailing him. The dragon descended upon him, laughing. “Oh human, you truly were an amusing hunt. Don’t worry,” he said, readying his flame breath “I’ll make it quick.” Then from the sky, a flash of silver crested across the sky and a grand silver dragon descended upon the Red Dragon. The two titans clashed and battled, but it was in the maw of the silver dragon that the red dragon found his end.
The human was awestruck and bowed to the dragon. “I am so thankful, my savior,” he cried, groveling at his feet. “I will be your follower forever more.” The silver dragon scolded him. “You lay praise upon me only because I saved you. You must find actual strength, and serve it.” The dragon then taught him about the platinum dragon and stated. “Devote your life to his teachings and you will have paid me back enough.” With that, the silver dragon left the awestruck human to dwell upon his new found lord.
This human, Abe Walters would be the founder of The Platinum Company. Abe traveled the lands, spreading the word of Bahamut and recruiting more soldiers to act in the crusade against the tyrants and injustice. Within 20 years, Abe had created an army 20000 strong and became the largest gathering of Bahamut worshipers the land had ever seen.
Over the years the company worked as mercenaries, wandering from nation to nation, helping those who fought against the corrupt, and driving back chromatic Dragons. However, the true test came in 1457 AA when a group of Void dragons attacked the Jungle of Predators. These dragons came from nowhere, appearing as if from the void itself. The druids of the jungle were ripe prey for these predators, wishing to spread entropy.
Now close to 50,000 strong, The Platinum Company heard the cries of the druids and came to the rescue intent on ending the rampage of these beasts, but the task proved challenging. The dragons met them as they entered and employed a fly by tactic to whittle the numbers down with their mighty void breath attacks. The crusaders were unprepared for the onslaught of necrotic breath attacks and they brought the company down to 25000 within a week.
Knight General Aylin Perez ordered her men to go into the jungle and regroup while they attempted to think of a new plan, the dense jungle cover providing ample cover from the void dragons. General Perez knew only destruction motivated these dragons. Reasoning and trickery would likely not work, and their numbers would make a frontal assault near suicide, but there is one thing that they could do. An ancient ritual to call the anger of the land itself down upon these creatures.
General Perez gathered the components and told her now 500 men to leave the jungle immediately and not come back for her. She was about to perform a ceremony that would likely cost her life. She spread out the components in front of her and began her chant. The clouds became grey and stormy. From the heavens the Elder tempest, a great serpentine creature descended. Once finished, the sky grew gray and a grand creature of feathered wings and lightning. The creature heard the plea of Perez and tore through the dragons. Its great lighting and power destroyed the beasts, but Perze was no more.
The platinum company never really recovered from the losses and they remain a small company of knights. But if one needs the company, they will answer the call.
Cosmological Views
The Platinum company sees Eovillia as the center of the universe, and there being 4 realms that act as the roads to the divine planes. There is the Feywild which they believe links to the celestial planes. The Shadowfell which connects to the fiendish planes. Lastly, there is Limbo which links to many of the neutral planes. From these planes, one can find routes to any planes which one would wish to travel. However, the platinum Company holds that there are exceptions to the layout. They believe that there are no routes to the elemental planes, as they are disconnected, having lost much of their powers to the prime material plane. The Company also believes that the Nine Hells has a deeper 10th layer which is commonly known as the abyss. They also believe that one can find a route to the Shadowfell from the Feywild, which accounts for the existence of the evil fey.
Tenets of Faith
The platinum Company holds to many of the commandments of Bahamut which are as follows.
- Justice and good Above All
- Honor and Fealty to the King
- Honor and Respect to Righteous Innocence
- Honor and Protection to the Lesser Races
- Honor and Correction to the Enemies of Justice and Good
- Honor and Forbearance for oneself
- Never turn your back on the helpless or your bother in arms
- Dragons of evil shall be purged.
- The metallic dragons are messengers of his will and those that follow in his teachings are to be held in the utmost respect.
Ethics
The church holds truth, bravery, honor, and mercy in the highest regard. Those who are dishonorable in combat or rule are seen as strayers from Bahamut’s gaze. The rules for rulers who follow Bahamut are dense and strict, but in general they have to act with the needs of their people first, and self gain second. They also must attempt to keep peace and only go to war if they must. If war comes to their lands, they must lead their troops from the front line if able. Overall, they are expected to use their station to protect their subjects and rule justly.
For the common folk it is a bit more up to interpretation, but the largest rules are as follows. They must follow the law unless it is an unjust law that harms another. They must speak only the truth. Killing of the innocent is unacceptable. Stealing, assaulting, deceiving, or otherwise acting in a way that is harmful to another is not allowed. They must follow the rule of the king if he follows the teachings of Bahamut or rules in a way that is in accordance with Bahamut. Should a king prove to be unjust or a tyrant, it is expected for the commoners to rise up to oppose and overthrow their tyranny.
Worship
Followers of Bahamut worship him by praying with a small platinum symbol that many keep on their person. There are no required church services, but should a just war be called, all who worship are expected to join to fight, excluding the elderly, children, and incapable. These individuals must instead work to assist the effort in any way they can.
Priesthood
Those who hold commanding roles in the company are seen as the main priest hierarchy of the church. The lowest being a Lieutenant Deacon, and the highest being the Knight General. The priests who are incapable of combat or wish to teach the common folk about Bahamut, are allowed to build small shrines in cities in order to preach are called the Dragon Voiced. Though considered the lowest in hierarchy, they are held in the highest respect by the church. According to church teachings, the Dragon Voiced are blessed by Bahamut to speak with his authority and knowledge.
The combat priests are chosen by leadership in battle, and knowledge of the teachings of Bahamut. Those that can prove they are able to lead effectively in the accordance with the teachings of Bahamut are considered for initiation or promotion. If chosen, the initiate or hopeful priest is brought before a Dragon Voiced in order to be quizzed and interrogated. The Dragon Voiced will give their judgment to the Knight General, who decides the outcome. Though the Knight General will have the final say, it is almost unheard of for the Knight General to disagree with the judgment of the Dragon Voiced.
Once initiated, the new combat priest will be given a suit of armor of a metal which corresponds to a metallic dragon the higher rank attained the greater the metal allowed. The order of armor is brass at the lowest then, bronze, copper, silver, gold, and a suit of platinum armor reinforced with adamantine given to the Knight General.
The Dragon voiced go through a different initiation process than a combat priest. If a person is believed to be a candidate for one of the Dragon Voiced. The hopeful is brought before the Knight General. The General then begins talking to the hopeful to get a feel of who they are, and whether they could speak with the authority and wisdom of Bahamut. If the hopeful passes the test they are brought to the Dragon Voiced and taught by one of the priests. This study can take decades and includes the memorization of the entire Words of guidance in Common, Celestial, Draconic, and Abyssal. Learning all possible interpretations and misconceptions of the scripture. Once their training is complete they are brought before the Knight General once again and are subject to a barrage of questions which the Dragon Voiced must answer flawlessly. If they pass only, then are they allowed to be a Dragon Voiced.
The Dragon Voiced is usually clad in a long white robe with trimmings of silver and bronze. They wear a necklace with the symbol of Bahamut and have a sword on their side.
Political Influence & Intrigue
The Platinum Company stays out of politics mostly due to the shrunken size of their army. However, they have been known to arrive to help revolutions overthrow a tyrant, or drive out a chromatic or evil cosmic dragon who is threatening a population.
Sects
There are currently 3 sects of the Platinum company which broke off for various reasons.
The Traditional sect is the sect which most people think of when the platinum company is brought up. They are considered the main sect of the Platinum company and have the largest civilian membership of the sects.
The Regiogenisis sect believes that royalty is the blood of Bahamut, and those that are royalty are among the highest of society and beings. This group forgoes the warlike nature of the Platinum Company and instead is more of a political organization. They attempt to set up monarchy in various areas and reestablish royal bloodlines to the thrones. They are seen by the other sects are a group of idealists who can’t understand that some royalty fell for a reason.
The final sect is the Order of the Platinum Drake. This is a monastic group that broke off from the traditionalist sect about 600 years ago. The founder came from the orient and converted to worshiping Bahamut. He, however, disagreed with the tenant: The metallic dragons are messengers of his will and those that follow in his teachings are to be held in the utmost respect. He believed that the metallic dragons were not only messengers of his will, but rather direct speakers for Bahamut and divine creatures. He and his sympathizers broke off to found a monastery where the oriental monk traditions were practiced and taught. The other sects see this group as a group of dragon worshipers who have forgotten the silver dragon who admonished the founder for praising him and not Bahamut.