Clan Profiles
as written by Susan Van Camp
Blackwind
“Remember that our clan died long before the
Deathday Massacre. Our curse and our strength is to be thought dead and go on
living.”
Blackwind Shadowtalker
Ages before the Deathday Massacre, the Blackwind clan committed a terrible crime
against draconic law. Their sin has been forgotten but their punishment is well
remembered. They were destroyed, wiped out to the last member of their clan.
Their lore was obliterated and their name struck from ancient texts. It was as
if they had never existed.
No one knew that any Blackwind dragons had survived until Valaria stumbled upon
a hidden Blackwind clanhold. She managed to make friends with the outlaw
dragons. She persuaded the Blackwinds to send some of their children into
hiding, which saved their clan from annihilation on Deathday.
In the two centuries since Deathday, guardians from different clans have made
contact with each other through secret networks. This is how other clans
discovered that the Blackwind had survived both Draconic and Necromancer
attempts to wipe them out. Only the necessity of unity in the face of shared
danger kept the other clans from attacking the outlaw clan. In the years that
followed a shaky trust has emerged between Blackwinds and other clans. Despite
their past they proved to be useful allies, and turned up secrets no one else
could discover.
Blackwind young are trained by mysterious guardians called Shadowtalkers. Rarely
does a shadowtalker show its face. Most often it is only a voice that emerges
from the darkness, disembodied and seeming to come from everywhere at once.
Whether the speaker is a dragon, a spirit or a non-draconic shape shifter is
very hard to tell. If the young dragon tries to approach, only darkness is found
where the voice was heard.
During training, Blackwind clanborn learn stealth and subtly. In all things they
strive to go unnoticed. To draw attention is to attract danger. They are taught
to observe everything, to watch carefully and to gather secret knowledge. To see
what is hidden and to understand it is a central principal of the clan.
Blackwinds are mysterious but their basic motives are similar to other clans.
They want to gain power and defeat necromancers. Unlike more flamboyant clans,
they prefer to work from hiding, secretly influencing events with an unseen
claw.
Firewall
“When you’re dead, you’ll understand.”
Firewall ancient ancestor spirit
Of all the great dragon clans, Firewalls have the strongest ties to their spirit
ancestors. This close relationship began in ancient times, when the ghosts of
dead dragons ruled their living kin. In these days the Firewall clan held great
power, because Firewall spirit ancestors were immensely strong. The clan’s
power was broken when living dragons overthrew the councils of the dead. Still,
Firewall dragons remain staunchly devoted to their dead.
Historically, dragons of this clan have been slow to change. With one eye fixed
on the physical world and the other on the spirit plane, they tend to take the
long view of all situations. They resist any change that would unsettle their
ancestors, and their ancestor are easily unsettled. Before Deathday, no proper
Firewall dragon would make a major decision without consulting it’s ancestors.
Deathday was particularly terrible for Firewall Dragons. The ritual of communing
with their dead was deeply sacred to them, and they were more deeply in touch
with their ancestors than any other clan. This caused Firewall spirits to feel
the slow deaths of their living kin with a terrible empathy. Maddened by the
pain of their dying kin, Firewall spirits attacked the necromancers invading
their clanholds with terrible ferocity. Many of them were destroyed in the
battles that followed. Most of the surviving spirits went mad with grief. Some
of these spirits linger in the Stormlands, mourning kin who died two centuries
ago.
Firewall children are trained by clan spirit ancestors. Some of them also have
living griffons as guardians. They learn the names of their ancestors and are
expected to be able to recite their lineage on demand. They spend much of their
time on the spirit plane, receiving clan lore directly from the dead. Young
Firewalls are taught to seek out spirits and listen to them carefully. From the
ancestors they will learn what they need to defeat necromancers.
Like all dragons, Firewall seek out and kill necromancers; They have a special
distaste for death mages who summon zombie and skeletons. Such creatures
dishonor the dead. They work to found new Firewall clanholds to carry on their
traditions. They are most concerned that their clan have strong councils of the
dead; much of their efforts go to searching out powerful spirits and convincing
them to join their clan. The wisdom of these ancestors is the foundation on
which they are rebuilding their clan.
Greatflame
“Where’s the glory in lurking like a worm in a
hole? If you want the world to know your name, get out there and fight!”
Greatflame Guardian
The history of the Greatflame clan is a litany of battle. Starting as a barbaric
rabble, these dragons fought their way to the top through a series of bloody
wars. In the end they became the most powerful clan in the Stormlands. They were
also the most feared.
Once Greatflames gained supremacy they hung onto it with an iron claw. They
destroyed anyone who challenged them and were especially cruel to mortals who
opposed their rule. Greatflames were very touchy about their honor and would
attack without warning for the slightest perceived insult. They demanded rich
tribute from dragons and mortals alike, and imposed restrictive laws to keep
their subjects in line. They commanded great respect and little affection.
Despite their flaws, the Greatflames proved to be valiant warriors in a crisis.
Centuries before Deathday, the Pylos sent a huge mercenary army to Grandilar to
subdue the world. Greatflame dragons rushed to fight them. Their battles
inspired many glorious legends. They also broke the power of the clan; so may
Greatflame dragons died that their clan was shattered.
Greatflames never recovered from this disaster. At the time of the Deathday
massacre there were less than a thousand Greatflame dragons alive. Though
diminished they had lost none of their arrogance. They were the most resistant
to Valaria’s entreaties. It was Deathday Eve before she convinced them to hide
some of their young.
Strict living dragons guard young clanborn, training them in traditional
Greatflame fashion: With discipline, hardship and endless drills. They teach the
clanborn to recite the deeds of famous Greatflame heroes and urge them to
surpass them in glory. They also teach them that their is no greater glory than
slaying necromancers. The honor of the clan depends on hunting down and killing
death mages.
Greatflames fight hard to establish new clanholds. They welcome any shifter of
Greatflame blood who will fight for the clan. With every new recruit their power
grows. Greatflame elders look forward to the day when they clan will be restored
to its ancient power.
Ravenwing
“Keep your eyes open to what’s around you.
Opportunity and power have to be seen to be seized.”
Ravenwing Proverb
No clan has risen faster or held more power than the Ravenwings. Several
thousand years ago their clan was tiny and weak. On the eve of the Deathday
Massacre they ruled all of the Stormlands. After the massacre their abilities to
understand and use power continued to serve them well, helping them to survive a
chaotic age.
The rise of Ravenwing fortunes are linked to the philosophy of Kasalorn
Ravenwing, a draconic radical born twelve hundred years ago. Coming to age
during the reign of the Greatflame clan, he learned to hate the traditions of
his time: Contempt for mortals, obsession with past feuds and an adherence to
rituals that verged on madness. He began to preach a new philosophy, one that
emphasized a pragmatic attitude and a forward looking vision of the world. He
wanted mortals to be treated as partners rather than slaves. He said rituals
should be abandoned and trade routes explored. He warned that wasting blood and
treasure on ancient feuds was suicidal when the Pylos had invaded once and were
likely to do so again. Rather than obsessing on the past he told dragons to deal
with the challenges they faced here and now.
Kasalorn was reviled for saying these things. The Greatflames were deeply
angered by this upstart, whose philosophy stood in direct contradiction to their
beliefs. They considered him a dangerous heretic. The Greatflame hyarch declared
him rogue, which removed him from the protection of any dragon living or dead.
Assassins hunted him. He fled and hid among mortals he had befriended. For
centuries he lived secretly this way, until he had spent so much time among
mortals that he understood them better than any dragon ever had; and all the
while he continued to recruit allies and convert others to his way of thinking,
whether they were mortal, dragon or non-draconic shape shifters. Kasalorn’s
philosophy spread, despite everything the Greatflames did to stop it.
By the time of the second Pylos invasion, Kasalorn had many allies. As it turned
out, he needed all the help he could get. While the Greatflames bravely and
stupidly engaged Pylos forces and were slaughtered by them, Kasalorn quickly
assembled his allies and convinced them to fight the pylos. Thus it was a mixed
force of dragons, shape shifters and mortals who fought the Pylos army and
defeated them.
With the Pylos defeated and Greatflames weakened, the Ravenwing clan rose to
power. Many Ravenwing dragons had been secret sympathizers with Kasalorn before
the war. Now they openly embraced his philosophy and used it as a guide to build
a new relationship with mortals. It was under Ravenwing rule that the mortal
kingdoms rose: Dozens of autonomous city states, established by mortals, that
were allowed virtual self-governance in return for a reasonable tribute. For the
first time there was an open exchange of ideas between dragons and mortals. This
sparked a golden age of progress and prosperity that made the Ravenwings richer
than any clan in history.
While his clan prospered, Kasalorn faded into the shadows. He was too young to
become hyarch; a dragon had to be a thousand years old to ascend to that rank.
Rumors had it that he continued to manipulate events from hiding. Shortly before
Deathday, stories spread that claimed the Ravenwing Hyarch planned to retire
after naming Kasalorn here successor. Whether this was true remains unknown.
Some people say Kasalorn survived the massacre and continues to live among
mortals, secretly fighting necromancers and their Pylos masters.
Living Ravenwing dragons train the young. The guardians are young adult dragons
who come and go at unpredictable intervals, leaving the clanborn with enough
supplies to take care of themselves until they return. When they are present,
they train the young to be aware of their surroundings. Knowing what is going on
around you is the first key to staying alive. They also teach the clanborn to
keep their mind in the present. Dwelling on the past or worrying about the
future prevents one from seeing danger of opportunity.
While other clans rebuild themselves according to ancient traditions or
following to wishes of elder spirits, Ravenwings look to the world as it is for
guidance. They specialize in wizardry, the most forward looking of the schools
of magic. They build their clanholds as near as they can to mortal communities,
the better to gain mortal allies. They attack necromancers by undermining their
political power, spreading rumors that a death mage has incurable tox,
pretending to be rival necromancers to recruit apprentices as spies,
Masquerading as advisors to vassal rulers to encourage revolt against death mage
emperors. Quick witted and adaptable, Ravenwings plan to rebuild a clan that
will survive in this new world and restore them to their former power.
Skyrider
“Listen to the wind. It is the earth singing to
herself. Her lifesong is all around you.”
Skyrider Ghost Mother
Throughout their history, dragons have been associated with mountains, the
places where they usually build their clanholds. This is not true for the
Skyriders. To say their name is to speak of forests, meadows and plains. These
dragons fell in love with the natural world long ago, and their passion for wild
places have become legend.
Of all the natural world, Skyriders loved the forests best. They spent long
hours there learning the names of every insect, the use of every root. Their
teachers were elves, a mortal race who loved the forest as much as they did.
Over time they grew close to these people, although they kept their affection
secret. It was an earlier age, when associations between mortals and dragons
were frowned upon. This caused the Skyriders grief because they believed elves
to be the most intelligent and spiritually enlightened of all mortal races.
Eventually they decided that elves were not only superior, they were deserving
of the immense magical power and long lives that dragons themselves enjoyed.
They began secretly teaching elves methods to lengthen their lives and increase
their natural magical abilities. It was a drawn out process that would take many
generations to complete, but dragons had successfully walked this road. The
Skyriders believed that elves were wise enough to follow in their footsteps.
In their kindness, Skyriders did not see that they were walking into danger.
Some elves found the long road too slow and longed to hasten the process. They
resented dragons for standing in their way, doling out secrets a little at a
time. They wanted immortality in their lifetimes and their desire for this was
so great that it drove them to terrible acts. Delving into secret texts that
they had stolen from dragons, these elven renegades learned necromancy, a
reviled death magic long banned from respectable schools. With the help of Pylos
agents they learned how to enhance simple necromancy, which was disgusting but
weak. They became the first true necromancers, using death magic to raise
zombies, blast foes and extend their own lives. All this powerful new magic
required was the sacrifice of magical creatures.
Odkin were the first victims. Unicorns came soon after. A strange ‘plague’
afflicted unicorns, causing them to weaken and die. Skyriders worked feverishly
to discover the source of the plague but they could not see the answer before
their eyes. Then a necromancer captured and drained a dragon. So much warp was
discharged by this terrible spell that a small storm formed over his head.
Skyriders arriving to investigate discovered him in the act of killing the
dragon.
At last Skyriders understood that they had been betrayed, but their realization
came late. The plan to introduce necromancy to renegade elves had been one
maneuver in a grand scheme. The Pylos were launching their second invasion.
Within a week renegade elven necromancers, who called themselves Haskalad, had
joined with Pylos mercenary armies to hunt down and kill the Skyrider clan.
Skyriders won with the help of Ravenwing dragons and their allies. However they
paid a steep price for victory. The elven forest was razed and most elves were
made homeless. The Haskalad fled north. Skyriders pursued them, slaughtering all
they caught, until they lost the scattered survivors in the desert. The dragons
returned to the shattered forest where they grieved for months, then fell into a
catatonic state of despair.
There they might have remained if not for the Ravenwings. Ever pragmatic, the
new rulers pointed out the uselessness of angst when there were survivors to
help. They put the Skyriders to work resettling elven refugees, rebuilding earth
temples and strengthening ties with Elethay worshippers. This work restored the
Skyriders to their senses, although they never forgot how the Haskalad betrayed
them. To this day Skyriders hate warp elves.
Skyrider clanborn are trained by special clan spirits, called ghost mothers.
These are spirits of ancient female dragons that were exceptionally good mothers
when they were alive. Ghost mothers gently guide their wards towards wisdom.
They teach the love of wild places and speak of the beauty of the world. They
also explain the Deathday Massacre and the corruption that it inflicted on
nature. Skyriders seek to cleanse these corruption's, using Valarian powers and
witchcraft, the magic of the earth itself.
As Skyriders rebuild their clans, they strive to regain what they have lost.
This clan hopes to regrow the elven forest in its ancient glory. The do this
armed with wisdom gained from the Haskalad betrayal and the Deathday Massacre.
They know it is not enough to love the beauty of the world. They must fight for
it, defending it from necromancers and corrupting dragon storms.
Zachtos
“Tradition isn't everything. It’s the only
thing.”
Zachtos ancient spirit ancestor
Throughout their history, dragons have been a conservative bunch who spent a lot
of time honoring ancient customs. Among these traditionalists one clan stood out
as the most orthodox of the orthodox. These were the Zachtos, dragons who
believed that all evil derived from deviating from tradition. This view they
loudly preached to anyone who would listen and to many who would rather not have
heard them.
Zachtos have existed for ages, a small clan that enjoyed pestering others with
endless quotations from draconic lore. When the Firewalls ruled they complained
that rituals to honor spirits were being performed incorrectly. Eventually the
Firewalls wearied of this and exiled them to a distant region. When the
Greatflames overthrew the Firewalls, the Zachtos rejoiced. The new rulers were
traditionalists who would welcome their advice. This proved to be true only for
a short time. The Zachtos’ gift for nit-picking turned out to be more than
hot-tempered Greatflames could stand. When a Zachtos scholar went so far as to
criticize the Greatflame Hyarch for the unorthodox way she consumed a taur, the
hyarch flew into a rage and order his entire clan banished. They ran back into
exile with Greatflame warriors breathing fire down their backs.
After this the Zachtos resolved to remain in exile, a clan of hermits devoted to
the study and interpretation of draconic lore. This resolve lasted until the
Ravenwings came to power, an event that horrified them. The notion of a heretic
clan ruling all dragons as more than they could tolerate. They descended on the
Ravenwing Clanhold preaching doom if ancient traditions weren’t immediately
restored.
Predictably, the Ravenwing Hyarch exiled the Zachtos. Wisely, she made their
banishment more lenient than it had been in the past. The clan was not so much
exiled as cloistered, sent to a remote area so that they could study in peace.
The region of their banishment, Kanchaka Valley, had been newly colonized by
mortals who paid rich tribute to the clan. Most importantly (to the Zachtos, at
least) Ravenwings valued their work. Emissaries arrived regularly to receive
reports on their studies. They were most interested in the Historica Draconica,
an immense collection that contained all known clan lore. The Zachtos felt
satisfaction. Ravenwings might be heretics but at least they listened.
Deathday devistated the Zachtos less than many other clans; their isolation
provided a measure of protection. Still, they suffered terrible losses, among
which they counted the loss of the Historica Draconica, which disappeared some
time during the massacre. Zachtos cling to the hope that their tome may have
survived and that they may someday recover it.
Clanborn Zachtos are trained by ancient clan spirits. The young learn to read
and write and are immersed in studies from an early age. They have an excellent
grasp of draconic history, although their knowledge comes with a decidedly
Zachtos slant; they are taught that the Deathday Massacre occurred because
ruling clans refused to follow traditional practices in the way proscribed by
Zachtos scholars.
Zachtos aim to build clans that correctly interpret and carry out draconic
traditions. Only in this way to they believe that the evil of necromancy can be
extinguished. Their only concession to circumstance is their acceptance of
non-draconic shape shifters of Zachtos blood and their adherence to Valarian
principals. In all other things they remain orthodox, committed to the past as a
guide to future victory.
back
to top