Tiamat

Tiamat, the Five-Headed Dragon, is one of the most fearsome and tyrannical figures in the history of Zathrien. Though she never achieved divine status, her sheer power, cunning, and conquest led many to worship her as a god. Her reign over Zathrien is remembered as the Age of Chaos, a thousand years of unrelenting fear and oppression. During this era, Tiamat systematically eradicated the old gods from the memories of mortals, severing their power and forcing the few who remained into fealty or oblivion. Her domination paved the way for the rise of the new gods, who were left to contend with weakened remnants of the old pantheon.

Appearance and Personality

Tiamat is depicted as a colossal dragon with five heads, each representing a chromatic dragon type: black, blue, green, red, and white. Each head exudes its respective elemental fury, and her scales shimmer with an eerie, shifting light, as though imbued with an unearthly, chaotic energy. Her wings are vast, capable of blotting out the sun, and her voice is a terrifying blend of all five heads speaking in unison.

Tiamat ruled through fear and domination, her every action calculated to crush opposition and secure her hoard of wealth and power. Despite her ferocity, her ultimate downfall came through betrayal, a testament to her inability to inspire loyalty among her kin. She was a being of unbridled ambition, her insatiable hunger for power leading her to subjugate not only mortals but even the gods themselves.

Reign of the Age of Chaos

Tiamat’s lair was established in Selenia, now the capital of Zathrien. From this seat of power, she burned ancient cities to the ground and claimed the greatest treasures of the land for her hoard. Her rule saw the beginning of the Long Summer, an age of extreme heat and drought. Crops withered, rivers dried, and the people of Zathrien were brought to the brink of despair. The Long Summer was as much a tool of oppression as it was a manifestation of her dominion, ensuring that no rebellion could rise against her.

Her tyranny extended beyond physical conquest. Tiamat’s reign suppressed knowledge, art, and culture, replacing them with fear and obedience. Entire histories were rewritten or erased, including those of the old gods, whose power waned as their followers forgot them. This cultural devastation ensured her grip on the continent remained unchallenged for centuries.

Betrayal and Downfall

Tiamat’s downfall came from within. Three of her own kin—Iza, Jighorrum, and Nethexas—rose against her with the aid of the astral elves. These dragons, her fiercest children, achieved great wyrm status and united against their tyrannical mother. Their battle with Tiamat was legendary, shaking the foundations of Zathrien. Nethexas, her fiercest daughter, delivered the final blow, marking the end of the Age of Chaos.

Legacy and Worship

Though Tiamat was defeated, her influence lingers. Her hoard remains hidden, her lair in Selenia now a site of reverence and fear. Secret cults devoted to her still persist in the shadows, praying for her return and venerating her as a symbol of absolute power. These cultists believe that her defeat was only temporary and that one day, Tiamat will rise again to reclaim her throne.

Her reign reshaped Zathrien, leaving scars that endure to this day. The Long Summer devastated the land, and the memory of her tyranny remains a cautionary tale. Yet, for some, she is a figure of awe, representing the ultimate embodiment of strength, dominance, and ambition. Her name is whispered both in fear and in reverence, a testament to her enduring legacy.