In the world of Ashan, dragons are not merely gigantic fire-breathing reptiles but their primordial Gods and the embodiment of magic.
The natives of Ashan hold dragons in great respect.
These days, only the lesser dragons walk in Ashan. Avatars of the Dragon Gods, they are a pale reflection of their true magnitude and glory.
The real Dragon Gods wait in the Spirit Realm, accepting worship and awaiting the day they can return.
THE ELEMENTAL DRAGONS
MALASSA, the Dragon of DARKNESS
Malassa holds sway over the shadowy and mysterious Faceless.
The Dragon of Darkness is the Faceless Foe, the Slithering Shadow with a hundred faces and a thousand whispers. Darkness is a fickle and dangerous master.
Darkness may seem meaningless and formless, but she knows. She has always been here and there, watching from close or afar, drinking your words and screams.
In her abyssal womb lie all the forgotten memories and the buried secrets of the past.
Malassa is mostly worshipped by madmen and doomsayers, fearless spies and assassins.
She used to be the patron deity of the Faceless but they were almost brought to extinction during the Elder Wars.
Later, she made a sinister pact with the Dark Elves (Dungeon faction).
Graphic description:
Malassa is the most elusive of the Elemental dragons. Her exact features are impossible to fathom. Her body and wings are covered in black scales, shimmering with a purple hue, but it is semi-immaterial, as if she was made of smoke, or sculpted by plays of light and shadow.
On her wings, dozens of “eyes” open to peer at the unseen world and bring back forgotten secrets.
Malassa never speaks, she whispers. And her words are always cryptic, so that only her most devoted worshippers can hope to understand her.
Malassa’s breath is a cloud of Darkness that obfuscates the senses and fills the mind with dreadful visions.
ELRATH, the Dragon of LIGHT
Elrath leads the radiant and immortal Angels.
The Dragon of Light is worshipped as the Sun God and the patron of (legitimate) Authority, Truth, Honor and Justice.
His servants seek to illuminate dark places, conquer evil, and celebrate individual valor and heroism.
He used to be worshipped by his servants the Angels, but they were almost exterminated during the Elder Wars.
In the Modern Age, Elrath became the patron deity of the Holy Empire (Haven faction).
Graphic description:
Elrath is the most resplendent of the Elemental dragons. His features are all about nobility and authority. His elegant scales are of the purest gold, but instead of merely reflecting the light, they literally shine from within. His wings are not scaly, but feathery, like his children the Angels.
Elrath has no “dragon breath”, but when his righteous wrath is stirred, his eyes burst into a streak of blinding light.