The pact of the Thirteen

The pact of The Thirteen is the legend that is told in Kithanda to explain the ability of some people to attune with magical objects and resonate with nezil crystals.

A deranged creature

They looked and looked for their beloved eyes in all the people, but never being gazed back by golden, they were taken by the fury of destroying everyone who was not them

— The pact of the Thirteen

According to this legend, there once lived in the depth of the Qirama Mountain, a dragon called Makahar, who lost their lifelong companion and was rendered crazy by grief.

by Cedric Letsch

In their folly, they used to roam the villages in human form and seduce young and beautiful humans, then taken by the remorse of betraying the memory of their lost companion, kill them. For several years they kept looking for their lost love in the embrace of the people of the island, but none of those brief encounters was able to sate the longing in their hearth.
Even after the grief was placated and he tried to establish longer relationships with their lovers, the response was only of terror and rejection as soon as they revealed themselves. By the tenth anniversary of the death of their beloved, most of the people in the nearby villages had fleed the area to avoid them.
Only one village remained, where the people who had no way to escape had collected and tried to resist. When Makahar approached the village looking for a new partner, they were recognized by one of their previous lovers, and the population was alerted.
To Makahar surprise, they were prepared for their arrival, but instead of armed resistance, they met the dragon with an offer. A group of thirteen people, among which their former lover, offered themselves as volunteers to become the dragon's personal companions, in exchange for them to stop the raiding and keep them and their children alive.

A new living arrangement

We endeavour to soothe your exalted majesty's pains in every way they wish, if they will grant us the concession of keeping us and the children we'll have alive and healthy

Over the course of 7 years The Thirteen lived in the caves deep in the belly of the mountain with the dragon. While the humans respected their half of the pact with companionship and sexual favours, and in some cases real affection, the dragon not only kept them safe and healthy, but agreed to teach them the basics of the Dragon chants.
From their liaison 27 children were born, all with a residual ability inherited from Makahar, to manipulate magic, and the knowledge of the Dragon chants, that the dragon taught to them and their human parents.

A betrayal

"Naila, why? Curse you and all our kin, you treacherous vermin!"

— Makahar

After 7 years of seemingly peaceful living arrangements, one of the women betrayed the pact and poisoned the dragon freeing the companions and their children that subsequently scattered in the world to flee the revenge of the dragon's kin.
From these 27 half dragons, descend the Makarids diaspora an ethnic group of people who still have in their veins some dragon blood and still can interact with magical objects in an enhanced way compared to humans. In addition to this, they keep the secret of the Dragon chants, that can be used to resonate with the crystals of nezil and further improve the chances to attune with magical objects.

by Mitchell Luo

Bada

A stunningly wild volcanic island shrouded in the myth of dragons' presence and magic origins.

The Makarids diaspora

With their origins blanketed in myth and unusual powers and knowledges, this ethnic group has been dispersed in the world, both in search of a safe place to live and forcibly uprooted from their homes.