The Swallowtails

History

Those Who Walked With Desna

The Nine

The first century of Avanshae is a time of legend, myth, and superstition, but there are a few specific details that are known to be true. Before the Eternal Gate was broken by the flood of gods entering the world, there was a time when they all lived on their own dying worlds. The imminent fall of the Pathfinders' homeworld was seen in prophecy by Desna. She began searching and was said to be the first one to find the path to the untouched prime material plane of Avanshae.
Barely escaping the destruction of their world, Desna lead the Pathfinders across the Eternal Sea to their new home; but she did not make the journey entirely alone. The temples teach that with her were The Nine, faithful priests lifted from Golarion and carried across the divide to be the new carriers of her faith.
Once the Divine Gate of Avanshae was sundered and the Pathfinders, followed quickly by hundreds of other pantheons, established themselves in the Eternal Plane, Desna saw the coming struggles and bade her followers to begin their journeys and exploring the new planes connected to their new homes. She knew she would not be able to travel with them as her family would need her, but so they would never lose their way, she gave each of The Nine a silver pendant in the shape of the swallowtail butterflies they left behind in Golarion, that they might always have a memory of home; she blessed each of them for safe passage through the planes, that they might remain undetected in their travels; and finally she told each of them that each year they should find their way home to each other to share their experiences, their stories, and strengthen their bond.
After a brief few days of bonding and preparing to say goodbye, The Nine split up and began their journeys. Some believe each chose their own path; others believe they traveled in groups of three; but all agree that they adhered to Desna's instructions and returned together each year to reconnect and share their experiences.

The First Caravans

As the first decades after arrival passed, The Nine became more, growing into a dozen, then several multiples. With every passing year they grew their families, spread the word of Desna, and welcomed travelers into what was becoming full caravans of people. They saw the formations of the planar passages and were there when the Gods anchored themselves to the new Eternal Plane, breathing life into the new mortal races. They continued to travel, explore, and reunite, year after year.
By the year 200 in the first age, there were over three hundred where there were once only The Nine. Desna kept her chosen children healthy, despite their age, that they might see their families grow and become so much more. It was in 1A Y220, in the first years of the divine war, that the followers of Desna had grown numerous enough that when they reunited once more, she handed down a new set of traditions to use in their travels. Each family or group would create a wagon caravan that they would have shelter, storage, and speed.

The Coming of the Swallowtails

As the divine war continued and Gods died by the hundreds, Desna feared what would become of her children in her absence if she too fell, and through their dreams she spoke with The Nine and together a decision was made. In the annual returning of 1A Y300, Desna herself descended to greet the many caravans that now arrived. She welcomed them all warmly as a mother and brought forth The Nine, now aged and revered as the wisest and most faithful of all. She taught all gathered of her beautiful swallowtail butterflies that had been left behind and had The Nine each show their pendants, sights seen for decades by most of the assembled. She then gave what would come to be known as The Promise of Eternal Freedom:

"My beautiful children... You have carried my greatest hopes and all my dreams in your journeys to the nearest and farthest spaces of the planes. The world we found when we left our home is beautiful and splendid, but many battle for its control. There is a future in which I am no longer here with you, and I must do something to prepare for that eventuality. The Nine are those who I brought with me from the old world, and while they marvel at this new world's wonders, it is not their world, but yours now. While I cannot assure that I cannot always be there for you, together The Nine and I can assure that they are. This year will be their final goodbye as they become the catalyst to introduce swallowtails to this world that something of me may live on forever.

Giving them time to say goodbye to the assembled and their families, Desna gathered The Nine and transfered their very souls into their swallowtail amulets, turning each one into an immortal swallowtail butterfly and releasing them out to the world to spread, as she had seen her faithful do for millenia on her own home world. She then created a brand new silver swallowtail amulet for everyone assembled and told that from now on, they were all her swallowtails, and no matter what happened, The Nine would always be out there, flying freely, continuing their legacy, and when the time came to pass beyond the mortal world, they would become swallowtails themselves, flying free forever.

The Swallowtails of Avanshae

The tradition of the Swallowtails has continued since the 1st age, with Desna surviving all of the divine wars, and her children multiplying. With the passing of the Benevolence Accord, entire new areas of the prime material plan became available for travel, and now despite being the followers of a Loccannian Goddess, there are Swallowtail caravans that call all four continents, and most of the planes, home. Be it by birth into a family, adoption, or a willing participant requesting to join a caravan, whenever a new member is officially recognized by a caravan's members, they are presented their own silver swallowtail amulet as a sign of Desna's promise.
With Desna having her own month in the new calendar of the 3rd age, the annual journey of The Swallowtails became an official holiday recognized across the world: The Returning. The festivals setup by the cities to welcome The Swallowtails home and thank them for their stories, trinkets, foods, and knowledge have become more than Desna could have ever hoped, and in Loccannian cities every year the festival ends with a wagon full of swallowtail butterflies being released as hundreds and even thousands look on in celebration.

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The Dream Striders

While the Swallowtails are known, as a people, to be peaceful, mirthful, and benevolent, the roads that they travel are often anything but. Over the centuries they have learned how to better spot danger and avoid it, but still there are always times where defending themselves and their families become a necessity. To that end, those who demonstrate a special aptitude or capability are given the option to train in becoming more than just a traveler; a protector known by few outside of The Swallowtails, but known by all within the tribe: A Dream Strider.
The Dream Striders originally began as self-appointed bodyguards in the early days, but as the Swallowtails travelled further and further from their home planes the need for this protectors became more dire. The title was bestowed by one of the now forgotten elders from somewhere in The First Age after a group of the protectors were called on to defend a group of Swallowtails that were passing through the Plane of Dreams. The caravan had stopped to rest and was beset by an ambush of evil Quori commanding a horde of powerful Nightmares. The protectors employed powerful pathway magic to reach them in time and were able to defeat the nightmares and drive the Quori back deeper into the planes.
After the danger had passed and the caravan was rescued, a decision was made that the Swallowtails must start preparing to be able to fend for themselves in every caravan. To that end, it has become tradition for every caravan group to have no less than 2 Dream Striders at all times, with larger caravans having 3-5 being common. While at first it was only groups of Dream Striders that stayed together and fought side by side, it became more and more commonplace as the centuries passed for Dream Striders to find allies outside The Swallowtails who assisted them where they could and sometimes even joined the Swallowtails after their adventures.
Being blessed with the freedom of travel and the ability to go nearly anywhere, the Dream Striders became a consistent, albeit sometimes hidden, force stemming the tide of rampant nightmares and haunting dreams feeding off the chaos of the planes at war. Something happened however, near the final century of Second Age, that abruptly saw an end to the title and practice of Dream Striders among the Swallowtails. The abrupt vanishing was feared to be a terrible omen, but was mercifully followed closely by the arrival of the first lasting peace in Avanshae in millenia, quieting the plane of dreams on a grand scale.
It wouldn't be until over a thousand years later that the practice would be revived and re-instituted, more as a regulatory force and preventative measure than a hardened battle force. Trained in what could be recovered of the old ways in how to spot irregularities in the Plane of Dreams, the Dream Striders of the Third Age spent most of their expeditions in and out of the PLane of Dreams charting distortions, the movements of minor nightmares, and the presence of Discordant Dreams that can be tied to specific locations in Avanshae; though they are not without specific combat training and education for self-preservation as well.

Notable Dream Striders

The following are some of the Dream Striders that have left their mark on history or the Swallowtail clan themselves:

Dream Striders of the First Age

• Kaleth, the Dragonborn Cleric of Desna - 1st Age
Great Deed: First of her Title

Dream Striders of the 2nd Age

• Alwel Issilnerion, the Half-Elf Paladin of Sarenrae - 2nd Age
Great Deed: Banisher of the first Nightmare King
• Vitality, the Tiefling Monk - 2nd Age
Great Deed: Developer of the Spell, Rejoined Awakening

Dream Striders of the 3rd Age

• Hiroko Niimara, Human Cleric of Desna and Ame-No-Uzume - 3rd Age
Great Deed: Finder of the Unwaking Path; Establishment of 2nd Order of Dream Striders
• Cellwyn Ehrticks, the Gnome Ranger - 3rd Age
Great Deed: Writer of The Catalogue Somnica
• Reverie Asterousa, the Tiefling Bard - 3rd Age
Great Deed: Uniter of the Wagons
• Thania WakingDream Asterousa, the Goliath Cleric of Desna - 3rd Age
Great Deed: Maiden and Mother of the Waking Dream

Table of Contents

Type

Religious, Sect

Alternative Names

The Children of Desna, The Dream Walkers

Notable Members

• Alcina "Amani" Asterousa