Dragomancy was founded in the year 10 Conflict (the 10th year of the Age of Conflict).

It was founded in what is, ironically, now known as Altimara, by a small group of human tribes that had recently settled in the area known as the Mirror Sands, home of the Blue Dragons.

Unlike humans in other parts of Enayra, these humans did not quarrel with their dragon neighbours. The shamans and religious leaders of the humans likened the dragons to their deities, known as Aspects¹. They decreed that humans who attacked dragons were tantamount to non-believers and blasphemers who had turned on their Aspects and made war with heavens and the order of nature.

This tribe of humans was excommunicated from the greater religion of the humans, whose spiritual and political centre was based around a small tribe in what is now Asardaea (another story for another time!).

Regardless of their excommunication, these humans worked with the dragons, and instead grafted the Great Dragons into their religion.

This tribe of humans decreed that the Great Patriarchs and Matriarchs and the Great Metallic Dragons were the physical embodiment of their gods. The parallels were as follows:

• The Great Creator, Inor, was embodied in Aurum, the gold dragon
• The Aspect of Life, Ventamir, was embodied in Argentum, the silver dragon
• The Aspect of Death, Astalos, was embodied in Æs, the bronze dragon
• The Aspect of the Order, Kenivard, was embodied in Æris, the copper dragon
• The Aspect of the Chaos, Vaetaloth, was embodied in Aurichalcum, the brass dragon
• The Aspects of the Night and Day, Isunath and Kistharoth, were embodied in the black dragon Ten’ebraex and his mate, Kyna’braxa
• The Aspects of Fire and Summer, Caustagird and Waelgarid, were embodied in red dragon Venu’shael and his mate, Kara’imla
• The Aspects of the Plants and Nature, were embodied in the green dragon, Sha’janor and his mate, Kina’atael
• The Aspects of the Ice and Winter, were embodied in the white dragon, Vercith’ae and her mate, Yjosta’gar
• The Aspects of the Wind and Spring, were embodied in the blue dragon, Keshal’anda and her mate, Vernix’iol
• The Aspects of the Hunt and Victory, were embodied in the pink dragon, Ben’gudiad and his mate Iolor’ondii
• The Aspects of the Earth and Autumn, were embodied in the brown dragon, Kingur’omyno and his mate Beler’iadra
• The Aspects of the Soul and Rebirth, were embodied in the purple dragon, Utgor’olrz and her mate, Ving’ator
• The Aspects of the Sun and Moon, were embodied in the orange dragon, Nulgo’riaz and his mate, Zank’aerdi
• The Aspects of the Wood and Metal, were embodied in the grey dragon, Mangra’tliazj and her mate, Lorgr’adiz
• The Aspects of Emotion and Knowledge, were embodied in the yellow dragon, Junorth’ghahaz and his mate Wenthtyz’volozoth

Each of the tribes worshiped all of the Aspects, but each proclaimed a different pair of Aspects as their patron protectors; one pair for each of the 11 tribes. Though no tribe could claim the Five Great Aspects, for they favoured no one. They were the most free of the Aspects, and could not be understood or influenced by humanity in any capacity.

It would be several centuries before Dragomancy became popular outside of the peoples of Altimara, though within a few decades the 11 tribes had become three distinct peoples: those of Xiar, those of the Qiri’ar Confederacy, and the first Altimarans. Each group is centred around Xiar, the Mirror Sands and Kasaadua respectively.

Xiar quickly shuffled the priority of their pantheon worship to give more prominence to Aurum and the Metallics, as it was Aurum who had shown their hero king, Agarthus, where to settle their people.²

Dragomancy eventually became the dominant religion in Enayra, reaching its peak during the Age of Heroes, an age of peace and stability ushered in by the creation of the Drazhani-ad-Khaleeshir.

Nowadays, Dragomancy is worshiped in all nations of Enayra except for Altimara and among the Qiri’ar, ironically.

The only original champions of Dragomancy who still believe are the Xiarans.

The Altimarans abandoned Dragomancy and went back to an imperfect reconstruction of the Old Religion under the command of King Rego. They reconstructed the original religion as best as they could from old documents and incomplete records, and uncoupled the dragons from their Aspects.

The Qiri’arans however, practice a modified form of Dragomancy.

During the first war against Tenebrae, the Qiri’aran Kinu’watan, or High Chief as it is often translated into Common, Eshgalon the Mad (or the Wise, depending on your allegiance), proclaimed his tribe’s Aspect, The Aspects of the Night and Day, who were coupled with Tenebrae and his mate, as the One True Aspects; the Greatest of the Aspects with the greatest of power.

Eshgalon forced all Qiri’ar to abandon the worship of any Aspect that was not Tenebrae by sword and by axe, by fire and force, until all Qiri’ar worshiped Tenebrae alone.

To this day, the Qiri’ar have not gone back to the old ways, and have remained unyielding loyal to their One True Aspects.

Interestingly, a modern interpretation of Dragomancy exists among the fanatical Asardaean Paladins, devout warriors who each choose to champion one of the dualities (no Paladin can champion one of the Five Great Aspects, however). It is said their worship of their chosen duality grants them power, though many believe this to be a psychosomatic effect of their own belief. Regardless, they are a formidable fighting force that should not be discounted for their fanaticism.

FOOTNOTES
¹It should be noted that Aspects are not the same as gods. Aspects are the powerful manifestations of the spiritual and natural forces of the earth and nature. All of the Aspects come in pairs, often seen as two sides of the same coin, or two halves of the full whole.

The only exception are the Five Great Aspects, the Great Creator, and the aspects of Life, Death, Chaos and Order, which are each a separate aspect, a whole of a whole, and are paired only with each other.

It is unknown why the Sun and Moon were seen as above the other Aspects prior to the fusing of dragons into the original religion (whose name has been lost to history), nor is it understood why any of the Five Great Aspects are not depicted as dualities like the rest.

²Agarthus, leader of his clan, came to power when the Qiri’ar Confederacy was being formed out of the disparate tribes of modern Altimara. He did not wish to join in the Confederacy, and knew if he remained he and his tribe would be brought into the fold by force.

Not wishing to subject his people to slaughter, he led his people out across the desert until he came across Aurum, entirely by chance. Though the Xiarans continue to maintain that it was an act of providence.

Aurum felt pity for these lost and wandering peoples, and showed them the way to the plentiful Antigorus Valley, where the people, known as the Xiar, founded their new city, and named it for themselves.

Grateful to Aurum for his help, the Xiarans erected grand shrines to him, and to the other Metallic Dragons. While they continued to worship the other Aspects-as-dragons as well, they no longer claimed to be the main patrons of their previous Aspect, the Matriarch and Patriarch of the Purple Dragon Clan.