Xorvintaal

KSS>or-vin-taa(h)l

A game Dragons use as a proxy for open warfare.

Execution

Xorvintaal was like a chess game, as players had to defeat their opponents with strategy instead of combat. Dragons who played Xorvintaal took great pains to not be discovered by others, as well.

Components and tools

There were hundreds of rules, called 'precepts'. It is said that to read the entire codex of rules would take a few years, and even some players of the Great Game have admitted they don't fully understand all the rules. The rules are so complicated that it was rare for the less intelligent dragon, such as the whites, to play the game.
Points are scored based on conquest or by killing key opponents, although players also scored points by showing great skills of subterfuge, daring or renown. Points scored in the game were used to determine the pecking order of dragons.

Rules

1. The most important rule was that "to gain, first you must lose"; thus all Taaldarax lost what magic they had in order to play the game.
2. Another rule forbade the players from acting against each other directly; instead they must use their servants against their opponents. The rules did not forbid combat in all circumstances, however; if a challenge for combat was issued and both players agreed, the Taaldarax could battle one another, and their servants were bound to fight as well.
3. If a Daramaekstrix is wrongly ousted from his location, the offender is given a single warning by a Taaldarax to return the location to it's previous owner. If the owner is dead, the location must be forfeited by the offender. If the offender refuses to comply with the Precepts, they are to be killed by a Taaldarax.
4. The Daramaekstrix of the Skyfire Legion may not join Xorvintaal, and Taaldarax may not interfere with the Skyfire Legion by any method, including their servants.

Participants

• Dragons who played Xorvintaal were called Taaldarax.
• A dragon's head servant was known as his or her lovac.
• Other servants were known as Dokaal.

Xorvintaal and the outside world

The rules of Xorvintaal were so difficult, that humans were unable to understand them. The knowledge humans had from the Xorvintaal was usually contradictory and not even close to the actual rules of the game. At least one book, A 'History of Draconic Interactions', made the Xorvintaal look as if was a game of dragons trying to outwit their rivals and kill each other, and that the governments of many nations, the priesthoods of many deities, and even shadowy organisations were all involved somehow with the Taaldaraxi. According to one dragon, the book not only was wrong about the rules, but it actually made the game look illogical, at least from the draconic perspective.

Alternative Names
The Great Game (Common translation)

Primary Related Location

Triaxus