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Dragons of the North

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They were neither beast nor god, but something far stranger: primal will incarnate, bound in flesh and flame.
—Isolde Harfax, Inquiries into the Elder GOds, Chapter XII

The dragons of the North are among the most fearsome beings in the history of Midworld. These immense flying serpents are widely regarded as the world's oldest creatures. Long before the High People took to their floating cities, the dragons roamed the Midworld as apex predators.

It is said that Asag and Pharkun are the dragons' progenitors. Among the Intercessors, the dragons are not unlike divine messengers turned rebellious against their heavenly host, Yevna. Rasan lore suggests the dragons were not divine at all, but living incarnations of the earth’s raw power—creatures whose passions fueled the fires of the prehistoric world prior to The Fall.

Scholars in the Library of Ambion posit that the dragons may have been among the original Rasa, spirits tied to elemental forces who gained flesh and became material beings in pre-recorded history. Their association with flame is believed to be metaphorical, because much like the Gods of Men embody man's attitudes toward the natural world, the dragons are purported to be instruments of the elemental forces of nature. Despite their defeat and imprisonment in the Northern Wastes, rumors persist of their dreams bleed into the material world, manifesting as northern lights or unseasonable storms that mark their restless sleep.

During the Great War, the first Lords of Men sealed the dragons beneath the frigid expanse of the Northern Wastes. The exact nature of this prison remains speculative; some say the dragons are chained within glacial catacombs, while others believe they are petrified, held in timeless stasis by ancient wards much like the Colossi.

Adventure Hook

As is the case with Pharkun, not all of the Rasa are aligned with Asag and the Changelings who worship her. The motivations of the dragons bound in the North may be varied or uncertain: some may seek freedom, and others may seek community. Adventures into the Northern Wastes can explore what it means to engage with these beings. Perhaps the dragons of the north can be carried out of their imprisonment in the same way disembodied Rasa use living bodies to persist in the material world? What powers can the dragons grant, and what treasures have they hoarded over the ages?

A Tarth Runeseer has a vision of the dragons’ awakening, accompanied by the creatures emerging from the Northern Wastes to sweep the world over. The vision is so disturbing, it could cause panic throughout Farlas. She begs the party to help her interpret the runes of prophecy, one of which is missing, but can be found inscribed on the walls of the Great Labyrinth. Traveling into the Great Labyrinth, however, requires permission from the Highgaard, and if the party are not Tarth themselves, this presents another challenge.

How will the party access the Labyrinth? What trials must they endure, or favors must they curry?
What truths lie within the Labyrinth about the dragons and their role in the balance of Midworld?
How will the prophecy affect current events, if details get out to citizens of Farlas?

Tags: Monsters

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Dragons of the North

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