Heirs of Rhelliganth
If you don't know about them, I'll explain quickly. They're a bunch of meddling crusaders for some ideal they don't talk about and won't stop to explain. I'd steer clear of them if I were you.There are a few organizations largely populated by dragonkin, but few enjoy a status like the Heirs of Rhelliganth. Led by dragonkin, and keeping their exact numbers and holdings a secret, residents of the world has not always been sure what to make of the group. Primarily the Heirs appear to be a group focused on adventuring; most of their actions revolve around reclaiming ancient ruins or investigating rumors of such locations. Due to the appearance of their current leadership, most places refer to the Heirs as "the Golden Children" or just "the Children". The Heirs rarely bother correcting anyone, seeming even flattered by the suggestion.
Adventurers enjoy a somewhat uneven reputation depending on the people being asked, but the Golden Children are different. In most places across Erisdaire, they're seen as an active force bringing safety to the wilderness. Among some others who know more about the sites the Children have been known to frequent, there is a small bit of apprehension about their true goals. However, nobody argues the group is anything other than effective and efficient at their work.
Primarily composed of dragonkin with a wide variety of talents, the Heirs operate in areas which have not been civilized. Inside the Rhyliss Empire, they are chartered as an adventuring group (named "The Golden Children" there) of significant scale and are very careful to maintain their charter as required by law. Outside of the Empire, they keep to themselves in the wilderness at locations liberated through their efforts. Travelers find territories held by the Heirs safer than others, and yet rarely actually see their benefactors. This has lent them an air of mystery, not helped by their unwillingness to explain their goals at the locations they inhabit.
Culture
The Heirs see the world as a dim echo of the light which used to exist, and seek to restore it to a grander state. They often wax nostalgic for days when Rhelliganth's rule kept a stable realm, even though there are no members alive who can remember that time. Their faith in this distant past is fueled by volumes of texts said to have survived the fall, but these are kept in a sealed vessel composed of adamantine and enchanted to resist all magical attempts to manipulate its contents. The contents of this 'Reliquary' is central to the Heirs' beliefs, passed down verbally from one group of leaders to the next. And embedded within those beliefs is the idea the realm once ruled by Rhelliganth must be restored in the current day.
Due to the belief of Rhelliganth's tale, the Heirs are devoted to seeking out locations with a long history having been forgotten. Primarily, they are looking for a ruin which can be proven to have been associated with Rhelliganth and thus can serve as a basis for the 'restoration'. A related goal is finding any evidence which can lead to other ruins, in the interests of tracking down the ancient locations. Lastly, there is an interest in locating any potential descendants of Rhelliganth himself. This task leads the Heirs to trace bloodlines and try to recruit dragonkin who can trace their lineage back to potential bloodlines of the gold dragon.
Due to the belief of Rhelliganth's tale, the Heirs are devoted to seeking out locations with a long history having been forgotten. Primarily, they are looking for a ruin which can be proven to have been associated with Rhelliganth and thus can serve as a basis for the 'restoration'. A related goal is finding any evidence which can lead to other ruins, in the interests of tracking down the ancient locations. Lastly, there is an interest in locating any potential descendants of Rhelliganth himself. This task leads the Heirs to trace bloodlines and try to recruit dragonkin who can trace their lineage back to potential bloodlines of the gold dragon.
Public Agenda
If it weren't for the Golden Children, I'd have to take the long way 'round to reach the Gates of Myrisic. I'm going to miss it when they move on to their next project. Wherever it is.The Heirs present themselves to the world as "the light against the darkness", when they have cause to interact at all. Primarily they have established themselves in the wilderness beyond the cities, clearing out ruins where monsters or outlaws have taken up residence. This is known as their primary focus, so much so they have a reputation for even hiring adventurers to help if the Heirs cannot directly handle a problem. They pay adventurers well when this occurs, requesting merely ten percent of the treasure recovered from a site. On a rare occasion, they will request a specific object be handed over, claiming it is a relic of importance to the group.
The Heirs' secondary agenda is not known quite as much, and it stems from tracking down dragonkin who show interesting talents or backgrounds. Such individuals are approached to become recruited into the group, and quite often take whatever offers are made. While the search is not secretive at all, the terms of the offer to join never are disclosed. This has led to speculation among adventuring groups who have members "poached" by the 'Golden Children' of "the money being too good". A few of those groups instead believe there was a personal reason which was far more important than mere treasure. Only those recruited in this way know for certain.
History
In the distant past, dragons ruled the world by virtue of their size and power. Most other beings could not truly threaten them individually, and there were only a few peoples who sought to band together against the 'threat'. There were differences in each territory claimed by a dragon-ruler, dependent on how each dragon administered its rule. Among those rulers was a gold dragon named Rhelliganth, who valued a social order over most things save for the pursuit of knowledge. His territory rarely expanded, but it also never lost ground against his neighbors. Underneath his rule, the people were safe and prosperous so long as they remembered to pay the annual tithe. But this could not last forever, as nothing is eternal.
There came an age when the giants organized under terrifying warriors known collectively as "the Titans", who challenged dragons for the right to rule the world. Rhelliganth first tried reason, followed by offers for appeasement, and finally turned to war along with his fellow dragon-rulers. When the Titans came to his domain, Rhelliganth found himself besieged on multiple fronts and sought help from his neighbors. But dragons have always been fairly solitary by nature, and so no help came. The land was rent asunder by the battles, fire and magic pushing back the armies of the Titans only briefly. The people who could fight were not able to successfully resist this foe, and so the inhabitants began to scatter in fear.
After all was said and done, the land Rhelliganth once ruled over became one of the worst losses of the war between dragons and giants. It is said the dragon himself led the final push to defend the evacuation of his people, and fell in battle to a Titan of blackened ice. The survivors who kept his dream alive took up weapons and borrowed magical aid from what they could find, calling themselves the Heirs of Rhelliganth. Over several generations, they harried the armies of the Titans until a coalition of elves and others united to push the Titans' armies into another realm which was sealed by powerful magic. This magic was said to be anchored by a number of artifacts, which must be kept safe or the Titans will return.
In the current age, the Heirs of Rhelliganth operate under the assumption this tale is entirely true. They show reverence to Rhelliganth as one might a demigod, and by extension the deity known as Pelaris as his creator. Their sigil of a golden dragon in flight is a sign of their devotion, and their efforts are said to lie in preserving historical ruins over simply plundering them for what might be valuable to sell.
There came an age when the giants organized under terrifying warriors known collectively as "the Titans", who challenged dragons for the right to rule the world. Rhelliganth first tried reason, followed by offers for appeasement, and finally turned to war along with his fellow dragon-rulers. When the Titans came to his domain, Rhelliganth found himself besieged on multiple fronts and sought help from his neighbors. But dragons have always been fairly solitary by nature, and so no help came. The land was rent asunder by the battles, fire and magic pushing back the armies of the Titans only briefly. The people who could fight were not able to successfully resist this foe, and so the inhabitants began to scatter in fear.
After all was said and done, the land Rhelliganth once ruled over became one of the worst losses of the war between dragons and giants. It is said the dragon himself led the final push to defend the evacuation of his people, and fell in battle to a Titan of blackened ice. The survivors who kept his dream alive took up weapons and borrowed magical aid from what they could find, calling themselves the Heirs of Rhelliganth. Over several generations, they harried the armies of the Titans until a coalition of elves and others united to push the Titans' armies into another realm which was sealed by powerful magic. This magic was said to be anchored by a number of artifacts, which must be kept safe or the Titans will return.
In the current age, the Heirs of Rhelliganth operate under the assumption this tale is entirely true. They show reverence to Rhelliganth as one might a demigod, and by extension the deity known as Pelaris as his creator. Their sigil of a golden dragon in flight is a sign of their devotion, and their efforts are said to lie in preserving historical ruins over simply plundering them for what might be valuable to sell.
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