Order of the Silver Dragon
Hidden within snow-bitten peaks and accessible only via a narrow pass leading back toward Aritan , the Order of the Silver Dragon monastery is a remote, stone-hewn sanctuary. Once a vibrant and shining institution known as the Order of the Golden Dragon, it now stands weathered and quiet—its walls cracked, its once-lavish banners faded to pale imitations of their former selves. The monastery today is less about power and prestige and more about introspection, humility, and balance, transformed by the teachings of a silver dragon and the tragedies of war.
Demographics
The current population of the Order of the Silver Dragon is a small and diverse group, numbering fewer than 100. While humans still make up the majority, the monastery has become a quiet refuge for outsiders and survivors—half-orcs being especially prominent due to Abnor Mality’s influence and legacy. A mix of dragonborn (particularly silver-scaled), elves, dwarves, and wanderers of more obscure heritage such as Tieflings and goliaths also walk the ancient halls. Gender and age are of little concern to the order, strength of spirit and dedication to the teachings of the silver dragon matter far more. Many of the younger initiates are orphans or war-displaced, taken in and raised within the monastery’s crumbling stone walls.
History
The original order, the Golden Dragon Monastery, was established by Riament Grangerford a powerful and wealthy holy wizard. Riament offered to fund the entire construction and upkeep of the monastery in exchange for the monks’ unwavering fealty. His vision was a militant order devoted to protecting The Continent of Grenias from external threats.
When the orcish warbands of Lar Azrel surged from the mountain during The War of Brifux between the years 4190 to 4199 , Grenias answered the call to arms. The Order was deployed across the ocean to aid in the war. Among their ranks was Abnor Mality, a child rescued by Sereid Zistin on the battlefield—an orc orphan who was spared, trained, and raised within the order’s walls. Though the war ended in victory, it left the order fractured and exhausted, both physically and spiritually.
Years later in 4209, the rise of Tiamat devastated the already-weakened order. Called once more to war, many senior monks perished in the battle, including their beloved founder Greekka . The surviving leadership fell to Galadan , a devoted but troubled monk who had grown disillusioned under Riament’s pressure.
Obsessed with rebuilding the order and crushed by loss, Galadan fell in line to experimental soil magics brought to him by Grangerford, attempting to grow new bodies for the fallen. With Riament's coercion and funding, “soil technology” was used to return monks in altered forms. Greeka was revived as a Revenance, a warforged-like being with his soul bound to enchanted soil. This practice sowed unease and secrecy, quietly breaking the order’s spiritual center.
After the death of Riament Grangerford during the events of When All Else Fails, Abnor returned. Now a fully realized monk and faithful disciple of Chormophi, the Silver Dragon, Abnor took it upon himself to reclaim the order from its corrupted legacy. He renamed it the Order of the Silver Dragon, a symbol of wisdom, redemption, and the guiding presence of his draconic patron. Abnor’s reforms rejected necromantic revivalism and arcane manipulation in favor of meditative discipline, service to the innocent, and enlightenment through suffering and reflection. Revenance remained as there were features of Greeka that came through and Galadan remained in charge, bending the knee only to Abnor's wishes.
Since then, the order has begun to heal over the years, the disciples again finding peace and spiritual guidance that had been lost from the all-consuming shadow that hung over it for so long.
Tourism
The order is a flickering ember, not a blazing fire. No longer a mighty force of war, it is now a sanctuary for the lost and weary, those seeking spiritual clarity rather than combat prowess. Pilgrims occasionally make the treacherous climb from Aritan, and rumors persist that Abnor Mality still trains in the monastery’s depths, communing with Chormophi in solitude.
Architecture
The monastery is carved into the mountain cliffs, a blend of Eastern-inspired tiered architecture with weather-worn statues of dragons, monks, and spirits etched along the walkways. A single path leads back toward Aritan, the magic-nullifying town founded by anti-magic traditions—a fitting irony, given the order’s reliance on both arcane and divine forces in its early days.
Once pristine white stone is now dulled with time. Inside, the monastery is simple but functional: stone prayer halls, a central open-air dojo, a crumbling meditation garden, and a sealed chamber in honor of the fallen Greeka.
Maps
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Grenias: Order of the Golden Dragon
A monk monastery high up in the mountains was founded by Lord Grangerford hundreds of years ago.
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