Draeconach Church

Summary

The Church of Draeconach is a loosely formed religion in Northern Amasynia that can be considered more of a pagan belief than an actual church. In the past twenty-odd years it has spread to and seen some following in Myrken Wood. Made up mostly of commoners, bards, paladins, farmers, hermits, and recluses; the church's main beliefs are that there is one creator diety, The Diem, who populates the earth with Dragons to either help, protect, punish, or otherwise police the happenings of the world. With the exception of his intervenius Dragons, the Diem does not directly interfere with the business of men. He is neither good nor evil in nature, but rather a neutral creator with a eye for balance and fairness. The souls of beings that pray to the Diem and live just lives are believed to join him in Valhalla: a great hall of decadence and debauchery. All other souls are believed to be spend the afterlife as coals in the hell-fires of The Forge from which the diem created all dragons. The Forge, or hell as it is simply known, is run by a great, jealous red dragon named Noctus the Devil Dragon of Envy.

Origins

It is said that the patriarch of the Draeconach Religion was an old man who lived in the spinster mountains who encounted a silver Dragon while looking for flowers. The Dragon invited him into his lair where he lived for the next five years. The Dragon fed him, taught him of the true nature of the universe, and taught the man songs and hymms used guard off evil and pray to the true creator of the universe. The old man left after five years to spread his teaching around Northern New Dauntless.

The Dragon, insolent as he was, had disobeyed the Diem's wishes by revealing his nature and interfering in the lives of men. As punishment the Dragon was turned into a human so it could meddle in the ways of men all it wanted. It is said the dragon has lived a hundred lives, usually as a neer-do-well or commoner, causing all sorts of trouble around the lands of Amasynia. Practitioners of the faith have taken to calling this dragon's reincarnated soul The Rover, blaming any ill luck or bad circumstance on his transient ways and knack for causing trouble.

Practice

Practitioners of Draeconach do so with short prayers and by thanking supposed saints in Valhalla (usually referring to deceased family members.) They also play hymns and jigs intended to beg protection from friendly dragons and stave off those of evil. There are no churches or priests in the church. The holiest of the church are the Good Dragons that supposedly protect the followers and the next in line would be the Paladins who fight in the name of the Diem, expelling evil.

More recently, bard practitioners of the faith have been said to use the holy jigs and songs to summon holy magicka of a draconic nature such as breathing fire and sprouting wings.

The Noctus

The Noctus is a jealous demi-god, the first dragon created by the Diem, he was tasked with fueling the fires that forged all other dragons. As such, he began to think he was the creator of the other dragons and rightly the ruler of all dragonkind. His agents sift the earth looking to punish the followers of the Diem and gain followers of his own. He is often referred to as the Devil.