Dragon Wars

The Death of the True Dragons

Saleh'Alire » Politics ⭲ Wars

In the First Era, when Saleh'Alire was still the domain of the Ancient Sophonts, two decisive wars broke out that forever turned the tide of the Realms- leading not only to the destruction of the Ancient Sophonts themselves, but also to the True Dragons; today, 5 centuries later, the world is still recovering from the aftermath. Piecing together an understanding of exactly what happened that lead to such destruction has been the work of scholars for millenia.

The First Dragon War

According to records, True Dragons had maintained their own kingdom since before known recorded time. It is unknown whether or not they initially lived together peacefully. But while records aren't entirely clear on the matter, what is known is that the Faceted Dragons eventually began to infringe upon their roles as Wardens of the Feywild; rather than safeguard the Realm, they sought to subjugate it instead.
Driven by avarice, the Faceted Dragons- led by Vulhai the Black- began taking over territories in the Feywild piece by piece. Each new land claimed was divided among Vulhai's "Generals", many of whom fought bitterly against one another over who should get the best spoils, leaving much of the Realm shattered and demolished; those who resisted their rule were slaughtered outright, or fled to the safety of other Realms entirely.

Start Date
Unknown

Ending Date
Aprx. 915 Unknown

Location
Feywild

Conflict Result
Most Faceted Dragons were killed in the Feywild. Those Chromatic Dragons who survived fled to the Material Realm along with other refugees from the Feywild.

Their cousins the Chromatic Dragons, however, did not share the Faceted Dragons' desire for death and destruction. Alarmed by the carnage wrought upon the Feywild, they attempted to intervene, hoping to negotiate. This led to the murder of their leader Basai the Gifted, disillusioning the Chromatics to any hope of reconciliation and beginning what is now known as the First Dragon War, as Dragon turned on Dragon.

▼ Faceted Dragons ▼

Leaders

• Vulhai the Black

▼ Chromatic Dragons ▼

Leaders

• Basai the Gifted (Murdered)
• Toriar the Slow

▼ Archfey ▼

Leaders

• Eilshana
• Almira
• Irmethe
• Skyos
• Gaelrata
• Hiboca
• Haeleinn
• Korawyse
• Tavikul

Forced on the defensive from the very beginning with the death of their original Leader, the Chromatic Dragons took a chance on a tactical retreat against their aggressive enemy. Understanding they could not save the Feywild without a fight, however, Toriar the Slow brought the Chromatics together for a valliant offensive pushback against the Faceted Dragons. Yet regardless of their intent towards good, the clash wrought an even greater destruction upon the Realm than anticipated.
A council of 9 Fey denizens, seeing this destruction brought upon their homeland, decided to take matters into their own hands and resort to drastic measures; by carefully siphoning the Raw Weave Energy from the corpses of Dragons fallen in battle, and transforming it in a complex ritual, they themselves became powerful beings known as the Archfey. And as the chromatic Dragons worked tirelessly to turn the tide in their favor, the Archfey were working to become the new Planar Wardens of the Feywild.
With new power in hand, the Archfey approached the Chromatic Dragons with a plan to defeat Vulhai the Black and the rest of her army. In exchange, the Chromatic Dragons would accept the Archfey as the new Planar Wardens, and never take their True Shape while in the Feywild again. Many of the Chromatic Dragons did not appreciate the terms of the plan should it succeed, but agreed because of the importance of putting an end to the devestation of the Realm.
In the end, the Archfey's plan worked. But instead of allowing the True Dragons to remain in the Feywild like they had promised, they betrayed them- expelling them from the Realm and closing the Planar Gates to the Feywild in an effort to allow the Realm to rebuild in peace.

The Second Dragon War

The green beast flew silently through the sky,
The fire of life burning brightly in his eye;
The fire burning fiercely in his chest,
Hot enough to sear through merest human flesh.
His intent was never to harm anyone,
His only desire: A safe place to call home.
He's been misunderstood all his life,
Been given all this grief, all this strife.
But if it's mean they want, then it's mean they'll get;
If he's fought once more, the world will soon regret,

What they did to this peace loving creature;
What humans did to change his nature;
Turning the tides of what could have been-
Creating a fearful monster, so dark and so grim.
His character was not meant to be this way,
But alas, he was hunted and fought every day.
What damage we do when we fear the unknown,
When we band together against one alone.
What creature we torture by branding them "demon" ...
Was he truly a beast, or are we just inhuman?

— Ballad of Jyrmot the Green, by LooseCannon27

After fleeing to the Material Realm during the First Dragon War, the non-Draconian refugees from the Feywild settled in what is now modern day Olienn- becoming known by the Material's native inhabitants (the Phet) as the Nom'Yth. The two coexisted what could be considered peacefully- though not without tension- for nearly 400 years before the first of the Chromatic Dragons begun to arive from the Feywild, having been betrayed by the Archfey.
With the events of the First Dragon War still relatively fresh in their collective memory, The Nom'Yth were quick to see them as an immediate threat to the new homes they'd struggled so hard to build in the Material Realm. Hostilities were swiftly and decisively instigated. But for their part, however, the Chromatic Dragons initially refused to fight back. Instead, they sought to reason with their newest assailants- desperately attempting to get The Nom'Yth to understand the situation. After all, many of them had fled without understanding the true meaning or cause of the Dragon War, let alone the Chromatic Dragons' role in attempting to save the Realm.

After years of hostilities, however, it was clear there would be no peace for the Chromatic Dragons, even on the Material Realm. And so they did what any creature would do when backed into a corner and picked apart, piece by piece ... They gave in and attacked, begining the Second Dragon War.
The final straw was an attack on the very sanctity of Dragon life itself; a Nom'Ythian, according to the records, had murdered a brooding pair and decimated their nest. Five Eggs were lost- the first clutch successfully laid in the new Realm; a symbol of hope for a new life, shattered in one fell swoop ... And with it, the last of the Chromatic Dragons' goodwill and attempts at peace.

Start Date
932 Unknown

Ending Date
3238 Unknown

Location
Material Realm

Conflict Result
Complete annihilation of the Nom'Yth, Ayeni, Phet, and True Dragons- either as a direct or indirect result of the war.

▼ Nom'Ythi-Phetian Alliance ▼

Nom'Ythian Leaders

• Yae'Sha Zadori

Phetian Leaders

• Doruk Svá

Metallic Leaders

• Undru the Fierce

Holds

• Tea'thon
• Kiir Thuun

▼ Ayenian-Chromatic Alliance ▼

Ayeni Leaders

• Zinoa Neshan

Chromatic Leaders

• Cinieth Longtail

Holds

• Dilara

Realizing they were too weak to actually defeat a full scale invasion of Chromatic Dragons- even as weakened as they still were from the First Dragon War, the Nom'Yth sought help from the Phet. Not wanting to risk their own people, the Phet set to their Soul Forges and created the perfect magico-mechanical army of Warforged; suits of expertly wrought armor imbued with weave-begotten semi-sentience, impervious to all but the strongest of magical damage.
Even angry, the Chromatic Dragons held back their attacks for a time, until realizing that these new soldiers were not people at all, but constructs. Better, these constructs could be consumed. Not just for sustenance, but for their magical energies and power. Once the Phet realized the Chromatic Dragons were devouring the Warforged and becoming more powerful, they began to consider other tactics- eventually deciding on the creation of a new breed of Dragon: The Metallics.
Creating new Dragons was a labor, resource, and magic intensive process, however; only one could be completed at a time per citadel, and demanded so many resources over a course of decades, that entire citadels could collapse in the time it took to weave just one of these beheamoths together and breathe life into it ... In the end, only 63 Metallic Dragons were ever created- and their creation would bring about the ultimate destruction of the Phet themselves by 2679, barely over a thousand years after the first Metallic Dragon was given life.
With their new creations raging battles in the sky, quick work was made of the last of the surviving Chromatic Dragons. And with them out of the way, the Nom'Yth attempted to "decommission" the Phetian Metallic Dragons- only to be met with feirce resistence; severely weakened themselves from centuries of war, they, too, fell. And soon, the Metallic Dragons faded into obscurity.

Aftermath & Result

The last recorded Dragon was spotted flying over the southern tip of Rusatar in 4048, heading East towards Tolara's Southern Peninsula. Since that sighting, however, no Dragons have been spotted. Occasionally, though, the rare story does get spun over a pint of Ale in a tavern. But all that's been left for near 4 millenia, now, are a bunch of bones and the even rarer Hoard.

Not-So-Extinct After All

Despite common ideology believing True Dragons to be functionally extinct after the Second Dragon War, Dragons are not actually extinct after all- as Mala'kai Avirotka can attest, after having encountered both a Copper and Mercury Dragon in Humanoid forms as a young child. Indeed, the Chromatic Dragons (under the leadership of Cinieth Longtail) struck a bargain with their newly created Metallic kin (under leadership of Undru the Fierce), knowing exactly what the Nom'Yth had in store for them should their plan come to fruition. And so they resolved themselves to live out their lives in Humanoid form, never taking to the skies again. And when the Metallic Dragons faced the same treatment from the Nom'Yth that the Chromatics had, their colorful kin welcomed them with open arms as promised. Today they walk the world in secrecy, much like Changelings, with only a handful of people knowing their true natures.