Dragons and Stuff
by Gordon McCormickAnd while I'm here, a bit of dragon stuff, totally IMC because it gets silly towards the end (It's epic if you're playing, munchkiny if you're listening about it afterwards :) )
History of Mystara
6000 BC: The war between Immortals and Draeden ends. No one can remember why the war started, but at it's conclusion a Treaty is brought into existence - The Draeden will not interfere with the multiverse, and Dragons are barred from attaining Immortality. One Draeden (known as the Great One) remains within Immortal society to enforce the Treaty. Dragons are limited to one world - Mystara
3500 BC: Blackmoor wages war against the Dragons of Mystara. The Dragonlord sword and armour are created. The war goes badly for the Dragons and the survivors band together to form the Nation of Dragons. They go into hiding, and await an opportunity to strike back.
The Great One decides that without the ability to attain Immortality, the Dragons are going to get shoved around by pip-squeak little elves and humans. He starts to use the Dragon Spirits to give power to Dragons in Mystara. By using the spirits and certain ceremonies, the Dragons are able to attain great power.
3000 BC: A craft from Blackmoor lands on Patera which triggers the Great Rain of Fire. After the planet shifts it's rotation the Dragons come out of hiding, once again the mightiest of creatures.
600 BC: A Dragon who lives in Nithia starts working with the corrupted Pharaoh. In time the Dragon starts working his way towards Immortality. The Dragon does not succeed.
500 AC: The Great One anticipates a threat from a rogue Draeden. He becomes mortal and fathers a son who he hides amongst the Flaems. His son discovers the Dragonsword and Armour and becomes the Dragonlord. After a war against the dragons another Treaty comes into effect. The Dragons again promise to stay away from the mortal world and charge the Dragonlord to hunt down renegades.
After fighting the forces of the renegade Draeden The Great One's son is elevated to the status of Dragon Ruler. He becomes Diamond. Over the next few centuries two more dragons become Opal and Pearl. Shortly after becoming immortal, Diamond acquires clerics.
650 AC: Synn, an old black dragon makes a deal with Thanatos. She become the first Night Dragon. Although she serves Thanatos well, her independence eventually leads Synn to place her own goals above Thanatos'. After one hundred and fifty years she betrays Thanatos who sends Dumuzi (a servant of Thanatos - Fiend or something) after her, to teach her a lesson.
795 AC: In the Great School of Magic in Glantri City, a young mage named Idris discovers the existence of the Dragon Spirits. By using nefarious rituals she uses their powers to exert control over dragons. Idris founds the Secret Craft of Dracology.
Dumuzi, the Harbinger of Doom appears before Synn and her plans quickly fall apart. Humbled before the Nation of Dragons she rejoins their ranks and brings the other lesser Night Dragons with her. Afterwards she retires to the Isle of Cestia (or is it Oceania?) to brood.
840 AC: Idris attains Immortality after questing in Denagoth. She quickly becomes patron of darkness and strength for those who live in the thrall of the Shadowlord.
998 AC: Jaggar von Drachenfels discovers that by using enough Dragon Spirits he can become Diamond. When he does so the real Diamond appears and the two fight to the death. Jaggar proves the stronger and the son of the Great One dies. The Great One appears before Jaggar and explains what has happened. Jaggar agrees not to use the Dragon Ruler power again, and vows to find a safer way of using his powers. Opal discovers that the Dracologists can destroy dragon spirits. She secretly informs her clerics, wondering why the Great One has not told the Dragon Rulers of this threat.
1001 AC: Alphatia declares war on Glantri and sends a small (by Alphatian standards) strike force to set up magical gates in Glantri. Glantrian defences are put to the test and during one of the battles, Jaggar becomes the Star Dragon and plunges into the flying ship "Halzunthram". The tide is turned, but Jaggar is dead. Alonzo de la Mancha takes his place as leader of the Dracologists (and eventually Warden of the Marches - he's a PC, they rise through the ranks quickly :) )
Synn finished toying with Haldemar of Haaken. Dolores Hillsbury arrives in Glantri. Another Dragon becomes Diamond. Some members of the Council of Wyrms (of the Nation of Dragons) become aware of a great evil about to be born to the world. They send Attura (a huge green) to take care of this "Child of Evil" - the reincarnated soul of Halzunthram (who in turn was the reincarnated soul of the last of the Nithian Pharaohs). On the Night of the Red Moon in Glantri, Attura is stopped from reaching the child by (amongst others) Alonzo de la Mancha. The child of evil dies being born (as does her mother - Moskva Koranov - but again, she's a PC so she wasn't dead long...)
Opal, the Sun Dragon disappears
1002 AC: Moskva Koranov finds the Dragonsword which has long been thought lost. Dolores discovers that Dumuzi has died, slain by an avatar of Wotan. Synn decides that her time of repentance is at an end, and travels to the Nation of Dragons.
The Nation of Dragons sends a representative to Glantri and demands that the "Dragon Lord" come to the Nation of Dragons. Both Alonzo (High Master of Dracology) and Moskva (the Dragon Lord) travel to the Wyrmsteeth Mountains. Once there Alonzo is put on trial before the Council of Wyrms and the Dragon king Marthaen.
During the proceedings it is revealed that Alonzo had killed Attura, however the real reason that he was summoned soon becomes apparent. Clerics of Opal appear with proof that the Dracologists are killing Dragon spirits. They also claim that Alonzo killed Opal in the same way that Jaggar killed Diamond. At that point Synn appears and publicly withdraws from the Nation of Dragons. Marthaen sends his forces to stop her but just then his neck snaps and he falls to the ground dead.
A few days after Synn has escaped, Eruptaar (hear him Roar! ahem) is crowned King of the Nation of Dragons and appeals for calm after the chaos of recent days. He doesn't get calm, instead he gets the doors of the Council Chambers bursting open and Pearl appearing, declaring that she is rebelling against the Great One, and the strict controls over Dragons. As the dragons become split by this news (a third or so immediately rally behind Pearl), Moskva reveals herself to be the DragonLord. The entire hall is silenced, the dragons petrified (with the exception of Pearl). As shouts of treason ring out, an all out dragon war starts. (You thought it was munchkiny already, it gets worse :) ).
With the dragons fighting, Alonzo takes the opportunity to turn into Diamond to face off against Pearl. Changing, however, alerts the real Diamond who also shows up. Much confusion and a lot of dead dragons later, Pearl is in mortal danger when she "escapes" into a cloud of Darkness created by Synn who returns in the nick of time to save/capture Pearl.
With that, the Dragon Nation is drawn into a civil war. Alonzo agrees to never use the Dracomancer powers again, and to stop the other Dracologists from doing so either. The dragonlord also wants a new treaty with the dragons, as the number of renegade dragons in the world has just increased by a huge amount.
Umm, that's about as far as I've got
really...I wonder what happened to Opal.