Draconicism

Draconicism is a religion in the Gate Dimension whose origins are hazy at best. Some claim it originated in El Nido, but others believe it is a religion originated by Reptites. The latter theory is advanced chiefly by Gaitan anthropologists, who have witnessed Draconic ceremonies and iconography among the surviving Reptite tribes of the Giant's Claw island. In modern times, Draconicism has found a large number of converts in the Guardian prefectures of the Chorras continent. In a nutshell, Draconicism is the practice and worship of the Six Dragon Gods: Yryadyr, Enkhepsis, Pyreen, Tl'uguthra, Shilzaer and Drythma'ar.

History

The history of Draconicism is different depending on where you look. In El Nido, where the religion is most prevalent, most simply believe it has always been the way of things. The El Nido islands are the supposed home of the Dragon Gods themselves, according to Nidoan believers, but an actual historical record of the religion is hard to track down because each island has its own traditions, and no formal hierarchy has been established anyplace in El Nido except for Guldove. Even on Guldove, historical accounts are sketchy. The Guldovans keep and make use of a sacred text -- the Draconomicon -- which records various parables and morality-plays involving men and Dragons (the latter of which are always portrayed as semi-divine and faultless), but contains no actual history that can be extrapolated. Arhcaeologists, however, have managed to piece together something useful on the subject while excavating in Fossil Valley on the island of Acacia. They have found artifacts and symbology amid the debris and skeletal remains of gigantic reptiles that are identical to icons used by present day Guldovan worshippers of the Draconic faith. The current theory on the Draconic faith in El Nido is that an ancient race of Dragons, alive in the Gate Dimension as recently as the Age of Dragons (400-560 AD; during which time dragons flew north from El Nido into the human territories of Zenan and Guardia, preying upon livestock and coming into conflict with specially trained Guardian dragonslaying knights), had once practiced the religion, and that it had somehow passed to humankind before the race disappeared. There is also evidence that a race of reptilian humanoids once populated parts of the El Nido islands. Archaeologists once believed these humanoids were Reptites, but skeletal remains show them to instead be evolutionary descendents of Reptites. Some of the symbology found with these remains suggest they may have followed a faith similar to Draconicism: the number six and the prevalence of Draconic imagery at sites like Fort Dragonia are strong indications of this correlation.

The modern Reptites, however, have a rudimentary history associated with their religion. As a culture, they have kept meticulous records of their past -- unfortunately, as the Reptites have spent much of the last several million years underground, their histories do absolutely nothing to fill in some of the gaps that mankind has in its own historical record. Reptite history does mention a figure, named Tanala, who supposedly was contacted by the Six Dragon Gods in a "dreamtrance" and told to write "Draconomicon" -- the Reptite scripture which shares the exact same name with its Guldovan counterpart. Interestingly, the two Draconomicons also share the exact same content, which has lead some archaeologists and historians to conclude that the book (and the religion as well) must have originated among the Reptites. Nidoan scholars of the religion contest this theory, insisting that the ones to have originated Draconicism were, in fact, the ancient race of "Dragonians" (as scholars so name the reptilian humanoids whose remains dot the islands).

Beliefs and Practices

The Draconicist faith believes that the Six Dragon Gods were sundered in ancient times, and that the goal of the faith is to worship the Six, to make them stronger, so that they might unite to form a whole being again: the One Dragon God. Everything of the religion is centered around this, including the various codes of conduct (mostly found within the Reptite brand of the faith).

Some sects of the religion also teach that there will be the coming of a Seventh Dragon God; an avatar of a higher being made manifest in mortal flesh, who will come to walk the land of mortals and act as the catalyst that sees the Six become One. In the present manifestation of the Chorran/Reptite Orthodox practice, the belief is that Dregoth is the Seventh Dragon, and so a good deal of worship these days is directed at the man himself, as a mortal incarnation of the Dragon Gods, and the goal of the faith is to help him in his quest to join the Six into the One.

Most lay practicioners apply their faith to their daily lives; four of the Six Dragon Gods espouse certain Elements of Nature, and prayers are offered to these individuals when their assistance is required. The Water Dragon, for example, is most often prayed to by fishermen and sailors -- the men and women who in large measure drive the subsistence and trade economies of the Islands. Shilzaer, the Green Dragon, is associated with the Wind, and so is often also invoked by sailors (for good weather, or favorable wind, etc.). Shilzaer also is associated with plantlife, and so is venerated by the few farms that operate on the Islands (mostly Acacia). In addition to elemental association, some of the islands are regarded as the terrestrial "home" of one of the Dragons. The Water Dragon, for example, is said to favor Feypoole, while Pyreen is said to dwell in the heart of the volcano on the east end of Acacia. His will keeps the mountain from erupting, and so the Acacians name him their protector and patron deity. Marbule is home to Enkhepsis the Black Dragon; he is thus considered the patron for the whole multitude of demi-human races throughout the Gate Dimension.

One would do well to note that the genders of the Six Gods do not remain constant in any form of the religion; even in the Reptite version of the Draconomicon, he and she are used interchangeably, as though the Dragon Gods were either without gender entirely, or each possessed of aspects of both.

Clergy

Draconicism varies depending on where the faith is practiced. In general, there are two brands of the religion: Guldovan Shamanic Draconicism, and Reptite Orthodox Draconicism. The religions differ mostly in terms of their structure, the former (Shamanic) being very decentralized, and the latter (Orthodox) being strictly regimented. Shamanic Draconicism is the preferred faith of El Nido, and in general one could say that each island has its own brand of the religion. There are few mores or strictures associated with the faith, and even fewer officially ordained "priests" (though healers and preachers empowered by the Dragons are common on most of the islands). Guldove is the one island in El Nido that has structure in its version of the faith; in fact Guldove was at one time a theocracy, headed by a Shaman who served as healer, leader and advisor to the Guldovan people. The Shaman still retains significant power over affairs within Guldove, and has some powers of influence over the priests on different islands -- though she is far from an absolute authority figure.

Orthodox Draconicism developed among the Reptites, and has become the new religion of Chorras. Traditionally, power within the Orthodox faith was derived from three High Priests, each of whom was empowered with the elemental essences of two opposing Dragon Gods (Light vs. Shadow, Fire vs. Water, and the elements of Nature [Lightning and Earth vs. Wind and Plantlife]). This trio of holy men served as interpreters of scripture, community leaders and keepers of knowledge and history. Beneath them were six elemental orders of priests, who were divided into three castes: Scribes, Healers and Seers.

The Scribes were charged with maintaining and protecting the cavernous (literally) libraries of the Reptites; they were the intellectual elite of Reptite society, and in the early years were one of the only segments of the Reptite population that were literate.

Healers used their divine powers to create curative items or work direct healing magics on the wounded, the sick and the infirm.

The Seers were the smallest and rarest of the three priestly castes; these were the Reptites who were born with latent psionic powers, and thus held in awe and shuttled automatically into the Priesthood. Seers held little actual power in the scheme of things; they were mostly seen as a tool of the High Priests, and used for prognostication or as supplemental defense for the community against subterranean predators (it is suggested in some Reptite historical texts that before the Ice Age, psionically-endowed Reptites actually ruled the society).

It is interesting to note that, among the Reptites, no caste of the priesthood is directly devoted to administering worship. Instead, worship is conducted as a more private affair, in personal shrines kept within the family home. The priesthood of Orthodox Draconicism functions merely as the keepers of scripture and a sort of ordained class of civil servants and judges.

As it has carried over into Chorran life among humans, Orthodox Draconicism has undergone some changes. "Churches" have been established and built in Chorras (modeled after the traditional places of worship favored by the humans of Guardia), and Reptite members of the Scribe caste have adopted the role of "Ministers" to congregations. Only a handful of human Ministers have been ordained since the coming of this faith to Chorras, but they do not have the same trappings of caste-hood that the reptites do. They have adapted the faith to fit what they expect from a religion, after generations of worshipping Spekkio.

The three High Priests still retain a significant degree of control over the "Church," but Dregoth's authority seems to trump them in all things.