Asgorath

Asgorath

Asgorath (pronounced: /ˈɑːzgɔːrɑːθ/ AZ-gore-ath) is the dragon deity of creation. He (or she, as some traditions suggest) is regarded as the creator of the multiverse and of dragonkind, and he manipulated the destinies of all dragons by operating in a way that nobody suspected his involvement. Asgorath is supposed to encompass all alignments, but is often regarded as neutral. In the Outer Planes, he is more commonly known as Io. His holy symbol, an unadorned circle, represents totality. Some sages believe that Asgorath is an aspect of the World Serpent concept, while others think Asgorath is actually a primordial that has ascended to godhood after the Tearfall.

Description

Asgorath never manifests himself before his worshipers. However, he makes his existence felt as a powerful presence in their minds. Asgorath, however, can manifest physically if he wants to, taking on the form of any dragon, and even forms of other draconic creatures, such as pseudodragons. The oldest myths of dragonkind claim that Asgorath manifested physically only once, during the act of creating the multiverse. Those who believe in this myth believe Asgorath is so huge, that even his scales are larger than the largest mortal dragon that ever existed.

Realm

Asgorath's home plane is unknown. He is known to roam across the Outer Planes.

Worshipers

Asgorath is revered by dragons of all kinds. He is also worshiped by some half-dragons, kobolds, lizardfolk, troglodytes, humans, and even a few dragonborn. Asgorath has no enemies among the other gods, because of his neutral point of view. Even those of opposing alignments can find common cause under the banner of the World Shaper.

Clergy

Asgorath has fewer clerics than most draconic deities, though even the most devout cleric of other dragon gods (and many of Kurtulmak) pay him homage. Clerics of Asgorath have no hierarchy or fixed dogma; each interprets the World Shaper differently, worshiping him in one of his many aspects. Red dragons worship him as an evil being, while gold dragons revere him as a paragon of good. Those who would become Asgorath's clerics seek to rid themselves of all such biases, though some never succeed. Half-dragons who choose to become clerics of Asgorath are usually ascetic priests, while kobolds who worship Asgorath set out to challenge their own racial preconceptions, seeking to judge members of other races, even their hated foes, with objectivity.

Temples

Asgorath haS few temples. Shrines built in Asgorath's honor usually take the form of open-air constructions surrounded by pillars and topped with domes. These shrines are placed in open terrain—the middle of a desert, the center of a valley, atop the peak of a mountain, or on a vast, treeless plain.

Dogma

Asgorath cares only for dragons and other draconic creatures, and their continued existence in the world. That means Asgorath will takes the side of the dragons if they are threatened by other races, but also that Asgorath can help the non-draconic races to put down dragons who jeopardize the survivability of the race as a whole. While Asgorath prefers to remain neutral in the conflicts between dragons, if such conflict threatens to escalate, he acts without hesitation to stop it, usually sending a servitor - but in rare occasions intervening personally.

Rites

Asgorath's rituals involve the blending of many things in a whole, reflecting Asgorath's own nature. One common ritual involves drinking wine with a drop of blood from each participant dissolved in it. Prayers to Asgorath are deep and resonating, taking the form of supplication or (for half-dragons) plaintive questions. Although Asgorath never answers prayers, he always listens to them.

Myths and legends

In draconic mythology, Asgorath created the multiverse itself, although his role in the creation is mysterious and can't be understood by mortal minds. According to those myths, Asgorath existed before the multiverse, in a place called "the first void", that was different from the "shadow void" from which the multiverse arose after Asgorath willingly shed his blood to give the potential to exist to all creation. 
According to the mysterious creation text, The Book of the World, Asgorath cast down the god Zotha and observed the two elements of existence: the world that she had made and the Crystal Sun that Zotha had made. She wrapped herself around the Crystal Sun and breathed on it. This caused the sun to shatter with fragments that pierced her flesh and killed her. Drops of her blood fell down upon the world and where they landed, red dragons were brought into existence. The new creatures lamented the loss of their creator, all except one, who pulled a fragment of the Crystal Sun out of Asgorath and cut himself with it. The blood fell to the earth and also created life, though this life was metallic in color, rather than red. Asgorath began to stir so the "Renegade" and his progeny fled to the farthest corners of the world.
Analysis by the scribes of Candlekeep of this text have reached the conclusion that this was the red dragons creation myth, and that the Asgorath depicted in it is in fact Tiamat, while the Renegade was Bahamut; many counter-theories exist, however, and no hard evidence is available to prove anything.
Common dragon myths hold that Asgorath is able to predict the future, knows every known spell in existence, and owns at least one of every magic item that has ever existed in any world. There is even a myth that claims Asgorath is the one who created the Lady of Pain by hatching her from a dabus egg.
Dragonborn of Abeir also have myths about Asgorath, though they know him by the name of Io. The few dragonborn that believe in gods, believe that Io was the one who created them, though there are many conflicting traditions on how the event happened. Some stories tell that Io created the dragonborn at the same time he created the dragons, establishing a natural order: dragonborn were created to serve dragons. Other stories say that Io created the dragonborn before the dragons or any other humanoid race existed, as the pinnacle of perfection the other gods used as inspiration to create the humanoid races, pale imitations of dragonborn. There is even one story that claims dragonborn weren't created by Io, but instead were born of his blood when Io was killed in the Dawn War by a primordial named Erek-Hus. 
Asgorath is also prominent in kobold traditions. According to their old myths, after Asgorath discovered Darastrixhurthi was destroyed, he sought to compensate the kobold race for what had happened, even when the dragons who destroyed Darastrixhurti were innocent victims of the Rage of Dragons. He asked Kurtulmak if he wanted to recuperate its fortress or transform into a permanent champion for his race. Kurtulmak chose the latter and Asgorath elevated him to godhood. He also elevated Kuraulyek to godhood as a way to protect the first urds from the mad dragons and the rage of Kurtulmak. 

History

In the final period of the Days of Thunder, Asgorath was released from her imprisonment, along with the rest of her kin, by the Batrachi. Asgorath proved to be the downfall of her liberator's entire civilization when she hurled an ice moon down to the surface of Abeir-Toril in an event known as the Tearfall, wiping out the Batrachi and creating the Sea of Fallen Stars. It was this action that finally spurred Ao to clone the planet, giving the original world, Toril, to the gods, and the new one, Abeir, to the primordials. The Tearfall also coincided with the hatching of a multitude of dragon eggs, giving rise to the belief that Asgorath was the creator of their race. 
The debate over Asgorath's alignment and nature is responsible for the most far-reaching of the Draco Holy Wars. Every species of dragon and other dragonblooded creatures was certain that Asgorath represented the pinnacle of their particular race. While silver dragons could grudgingly accept the gold dragons' insistence that Asgorath was a lawful good gold dragon, neither could tolerate the red dragons' claim that Asgorath was a chaotic evil red. At one time, the resulting wars threatened the entire dragon race with extinction. Perhaps it was the subtle influence of Zorquan, god of dragonkind, but eventually most dragons turned away from the war and from religion in general. It was only after the last Rage of Dragons, that dragons drifted back into religious observance.