Order of Bahamut

Subcategories

• The Order of Bahamut
  • Prologue: A Faith Forgotten

    Prologue: A Faith Forgotten

     

    Early in the First Age, an ancient kingdom of Men known as the Esconil were threatened by a fearsome Creature of Darkness. The exact nature of this beast is no longer remembered, but it is known that the creature's name was Grekh, and the Men of this kingdom were nearly defeated by it and a fierce army of Orcs and Goblins that it led.  In their hour of greatest need, Ilúvatar blessed the Esconil with the appearance of a mighty Silver Dragon who swept down from the Eastern sky at dawn in a magnificent shower of light. Grekh and the Silver Dragon battled one another across the land for eight days and eight nights. On the dawning of the ninth day the Silver Dragon cast the Creature of Darkness over the edge of a great chasm and into an icy river where it perished.

     

    The Silver Dragon returned to the Esconil to help them fight back the Goblins and Orcs who had followed Grekh and were still threatening them. The Silver Dragon revealed himself to be one of the Maiar, a lesser Ainur sent by Ilúvatar to protect his faithful. But rather than teaching the Esconil to fight the Goblin and Orc invaders directly, the Silver Dragon taught them to sing some of the ancient songs of power to mend both the body and spirit, while demoralizing and striking fear into their foes. The Goblins and Orcs fled, and the Esconil were once again free.

    
    

    The Esconil begged the Silver Dragon to remain and continue to guide them, but the Silver Dragon insisted that he was no longer needed. He did offer them a promise, though – when the day came that the Men of this land were once again in dire need, he would return to them and once again lead them to victory against the forces of Darkness. He challenged the Esconil to remain ever vigilant and prepared for when this day would arrive, so they could quickly take up arms and be ready to fight alongside him when he made his triumphant return. And so, to keep themselves ready for this day the Esconil formed a kinship of their mightiest warriors which they named Light of the Silver Dragon.

     

    After the Silver Dragon departed, the Men of the land wrote songs and poems about the Dragon and the battle they fought against the Creature of Darkness and his evil forces. The tales were passed down from generation to generation, but through the millennia they changed from an actual account of past events into mere myth and legend. The Light of the Silver Dragon went from a fellowship of devout warriors keeping ready for battle to a simple band of bards and minstrels passing on fanciful stories of larger-than-life heroes from ancient days and the charming, but quite ridiculous, notion of a noble dragon that led them.

  • Chapter 1: Bahamut

     

    Before the beginning, there was Bahamut. Benevolent and true, Bahamut was good. At his core, Bahamut was a creative being, and he desired to bring into existence endless worlds that would reflect and display his goodness. And so he breathed, and the heavens came into being.

     

    Through truth, Bahamut decided that it would be best to not be alone as he ruled the heavens. He began to sing, and his voice filled the cosmos. As he sang, he was joined by new voices that followed in rapturous harmonies. Coming onto creation were the Esconil – the eight essences with whom Bahamut would hold together the very fabric of his creation. There were four elements – air, earth, fire, and water – and four powers – order, chaos, life, and death. They worked in union, and the heavens were balanced in perfect harmony.

     

    Bahamut continued to create, shaping the worlds with beauty and light. There were varying landscapes, lush vegetation, and countless creatures and beasts. The Esconil rejoiced at the wonder and glory of Bahamut, and together they all celebrated in the heavens over the goodness that existed throughout all the creation.

     

     

  • Chapter 2: The Eldest

    The heart of goodness is always focused outside itself, and so Bahamut desired to further communicate his character in his creation. He sought to create a being that would be greater than anything else in all the creation – a being in his own image. Out of the heavens, Bahamut picked the brightest star, and molding it, he gave birth to the drakonai, or dragons as they are commonly known – the eldest race.

     The dragons were beasts of great size, strength, and beauty. Appearing in the likeness of Bahamut, they resembled serpents of massive proportion, with both limbs and wings. Their scales were as hard as mountains and were found in all colors of creation. Their breath was as hot as the fires of the many suns throughout the heavens. The dragons were the first created being that learned to communicate with one another through speech. They were full of wisdom and always acted in goodness and truth. Both beautiful and terrible to behold, the sight of even one of the dragons was enough to inspire awe in any beast. And unlike anything else in all creation, dragons were immortal.

    Bahamut was most pleased with his new race. He enjoyed them so much that he would often take on the physical form of one of them, so that he might be in direct contact and communication with them, and enjoy his worlds from their perspective.

     The dragons came to love and respect Bahamut as their creator and god. And so it was that he gave to them the responsibility of Shepherds of Creation. Dragons were to be the physical representation of Bahamut to all the worlds. They would ensure that his rule of goodness was carried out throughout all of creation.

     Seeing the goodness and joy of Bahamut’s new race, there was again celebration throughout the heavens, and the Esconil rejoiced. All of them, except one.

  • Chapter 3: Betrayal

    It was the essence of death which first felt jealousy, for the drakonai had been created immortal, and death had no part to play on the center stage of creation. Death looked out over many worlds in search of a way to get revenge on Bahamut. The answer was found in the very problem itself, as death realized that nothing would be better to strike at the dragons than another dragon. Acting alone for the first time, death went before a great female drake known as Tiamat and tempted her. Speaking in lies, death told Tiamat that Bahamut knew the dragons were stronger than he was, and he held back in giving them any real power for fear of being overthrown. But if she were to cooperate, death would guarantee that she would become the mightiest of all the dragons, and together they would destroy Bahamut and rule in his place.

     Though having turned from the true nature of the great creator, death, as part of the Esconil, still held much sway over the created beings. And so the heart of Tiamat was corrupted, and she allied herself to death, pledging to do as the essence wished, in exchange for the immense power promised to her.

     Tiamat was both persuasive and ferocious. She set to work immediately at turning the hearts of other dragons to her side. Some she turned by sweet, poisonous words, filled with empty promises. Others she forced into submission to her cause. And it was not long before she had a vast army of dragons in her service.

    This gathering of dragons had not gone unnoticed by Bahamut. In hoping to bring resolution to this uprising, he took a bold step and summoned Tiamat to his throne in the heavens. No dragon before her, and none since, had been to the Throne of Bahamut. With cunning and greed, Tiamat accepted the summons, and in preparation for the council, she laced the razor-like spike at the end of her tail with a terrible toxin. Upon arriving at the throne, the Esconil and Bahamut himself were there to meet her. She was overwhelmed with the greatness of the presence of Bahamut and all of his creation. She looked out upon the vast heavens, and for a moment she realized that she was but a speck of nothingness in all of this glory, and she remembered the goodness with which she had been created. But as she turned, she looked upon the face of death, and all the rage and bitterness returned to her heart, which grew even colder.

    The Esconil sensed this change within her and sought to capture her. But Tiamat was prepared for this and moved quickly. With one swipe of her massive tail, she plunged the poisoned spike into the essence of life. The great heavenly throne shook, and all throughout the heavens lights were extinguished. Tiamat laughed an awful, menacing laugh, for she knew that with her attack she had robbed the rest of the drakonai of their immortality, while at the same time ensuring her own. Bahamut had witnessed enough, and he banished Tiamat back to her home world. And the essence of death was pleased.

  • Chapter 4: The Great War and the Chosen

    Tiamat knew that she had delivered a devastating blow, and she wasted no time in utilizing this attack to her advantage. She began to mobilize her vast army of dragons and strike swiftly at all who were not allied with her evil will. And so, the war between dragons began, and all throughout the heavens, death and destruction reigned. The devastation was overwhelming. Entire worlds were laid to waste in the wake of the dragon conflict.

     Those loyal to Bahamut grew fewer and fewer with each passing year. The tide was turning in Tiamat’s favor, and she and her followers grew stronger and bolder with each victory.

    The war waged on for over a century. Though many dragons fought fiercely for the glory and goodness of Bahamut, there were others who were affected strongly, for the first time, by the realization of their mortality. They began to weaken with age, and many either fled from the battle or submitted quietly to domination by Tiamat and her wicked force 

    And so it was, that in the 112th year of The Great War between dragons, that Bahamut, the one true creator of all, sought to put an end to the strife that raged fierce throughout his creation. Reaching down from the heavens, he pulled up from the earths the finest samplings of all his creation – from the highest mountains, to the deepest oceans, from the lushest jungles, to the driest deserts, from the fiery volcanoes, to the icy tundra. And from this vast array of creation, Bahamut brought forth a new form of life – a race known as humans. The humans were much smaller in size than the dragons, and much less powerful. Unlike the dragons, the humans were created mortal, and as such lived a very brief life span - only decades, which was but a blink of an eye to the dragons, who, though now mortal, could still live on for centuries. They walked on two legs and communicated to one another with spoken and written words. Since they had come from the earth, they were planted there as well, being unable to fly or travel across worlds of their own ability. Yet they were strong in one area where the dragons were not – in their ability to unite and work together. It was this desire for community that displayed the nature of Bahamut in a way that no other being had ever done, and it was this trait that Bahamut would use to restore peace to creation.

     as he had done so many years ago amongst the Eldest. He instructed them in the ways of goodness and truth, and taught them to rely on the strengths of one another. And then, he told them of the war into which they had been created, and of how they would bring an end to it. For this, he named them the Chosen Race, saying that they would learn to use their abilities to rule over the earths and ensure that peace was maintained – having authority even over the dragons. Leaving them with this hope, Bahamut returned to the heavens.

    It was only to this first group of humans that Bahamut appeared in the form of a dragon, 

     Across all the worlds, the humans grew quickly in numbers. They discovered their strength and learned how to harness the creation in the forms of weapons and machinery to aid in their fight against Tiamat’s dragons. The tide had turned once again, and Tiamat’s demise appeared imminent.

     

  • Chapter 5: The Order of Bahamut

    The essence of death perceived that Tiamat would not survive the war, now that the humans were involved. So, going before Bahamut, death appealed to his mercy, asking that he have pity on Tiamat, the last immortal dragon, and spare her from the inevitable death in her defeat. But Bahamut had known of death’s deception all along, and he saw the manipulation that was at the heart of this request.

    He answered death with both grace and wisdom. He chose to grant death’s request, and he plucked Tiamat from the dragon war, casting her onto an empty and frozen planet, on the outer edges of the cosmos. And at the same time, he revealed to the other Esconil the conspiracy that death had plotted and the pain and damage that had ensued as a result.

    The Esconil were grieved to see that such loss could originate from within their midst, so they agreed that death should be removed from them and banished permanently from the heavens. Together, they created a prison for Tiamat, made of powerful magic's, with the intent of protecting creation from her treachery.

    Without Tiamat, the dragon rebellion crumbled, and The Great War came to a swift end. And there was rejoicing again throughout all of creation, for peace and goodness had been restored. A new kinship had been forged between dragons and humans – a mutual respect for each other’s place in creation and a willingness to display the goodness and truth that Bahamut had instilled within them.

    Wishing to reward his new race for their grand accomplishments and recognize them for their responsibility as the Chosen, Bahamut called together those men and women who had stood most prominent in the dragon war. A great celebration was held for these heroes; the seven Esconil were all present, and Bahamut himself appeared in the form of a small child to offer praise to the humans. He created from this group of champions the Order of Bahamut, charging them with the role of guardians of the goodness and peace of the creator. Whenever evil should arise, the Order would be called upon to vanquish the threat and preserve the name and glory of Bahamut. The Esconil bestowed upon the Order the abilities to wield all the powers and elements of creation, making them a mighty force to contend with. Bahamut foretold that the Order would one day put an end to all evil, and in that day, death would cease to be part of creation.

    And for a short while, there was rest. A sigh of relief, as it were, while creation recovered from the long war. But it was not to last long. The essence of death, enraged with bitterness, sought to have revenge at any cost. He took on the form of a human, vowing himself as the nemesis of the Order of Bahamut. He became known as Lord Grekh, a creature terrifying to look upon, who began turning small pockets of creation against the goodness of Bahamut, all the while being met with the strong opposition of the Order. But his plan was not in vain. For while he distracted the Order with small uprisings, Lord Grekh had discovered a way to release Tiamat from her prison. And with her help, they would seek to reign over creation through evil and tyranny.

    The Order of Bahamut was all that stood in their path.

  • History

    The Order of Bahamut has existed since Man has walked the face of the World.  There are few mortals who know the full story of how the Order came to be, and fewer still who know of the Great War that still rages to this day between the forces of Darkness and Light.

    Chronicled in these pages is the story of how and why the Order of Bahamut came to be, passed down from generation to generation by the great Dragon Lords.  Few among the Race of Man have ever been privy to these tales...

  • The Oath of the Dragon

    The Oath of the Dragon

     There are those that uphold virtue.

    There are those that defend the weak.

    There are those that aid the helpless.

    These men and women speak only the truth.

    They are banded together by their wrath for the wicked and their undying devotion to Bahamut.

     

    In times of need, there are those that hear the call of Bahamut.

    In this generation, we are the Chosen.

    Together we vow this oath.

    We are the Order of Bahamut.

    
    

    The Oath of the Dragon was first spoken by Lord Bahamut when he charged the first Dragon Champions of his Order with defending Man against the encroaching Darkness.  Every member since has spoken these immortal words as they pledge their lives to our most noble cause.  Through this vow, we are bound to one another in an eternal bond of friendship and loyalty.

• The Brood of Tiamat
  • Chapter 1: An Unhuly Cult

    Many centuries had passed since The Great War had ended and the Esconil had imprisoned Tiamat on a dark, isolated planet. In every corner of creation, the Order of Bahamut had risen to challenge the forces of evil. And each time a new threat arose, one by one the rebellions and uprisings were crushed by those who stood for the goodness and glory of Bahamut.

    Under the protection of the Order, the Chosen Race thrived. Together they learned to accomplish great works of architecture, art, and industry. Yet, with the passing of time, much that had once been held true among the humans began to fade into legend. The drakonai chose to become much more isolated from the advancing human civilizations, and even from each other.

    So much so, that is was uncommon for a human to even have contact with a dragon during his lifetime. The tales of a war among dragons were thought to be myth on many planets, and the foul name of Tiamat was all but forgotten. The relative peacefulness throughout creation meant that the Order of Bahamut was not often needed, and in many worlds, they became dormant.

    But the forces of evil are never at rest. The essence of death had been diligent in his pursuit of revenge. Though immortal, he had taken on the form of a human, with an intimidating presence and a terrifying appearance. Wherever he went, death sought to arouse dissension among the humans – pitting them against each other, and ultimately against the Order of Bahamut.

    Though he hated the Order, his plans were much bigger than to merely swat at Bahamut’s forces with small armies of little consequence. The battles with the humans provided him with a distraction while he sought for his true goal – to find and release Tiamat.

    To assist him in his efforts, he knew he would need powerful magic to break Tiamat free from the prison of the Esconil. He made his home on the planet of Kolnai’i – a place known for its inhabitants who practiced evil magics. It was to these loathsome beings that the essence of death first became known as Lord Grekh. Dominating many with his own dark powers, Lord Grekh began to gather a cult of followers – humans with skill and powers of dark arcane and necrotic magic. He told these new followers of the dragon Tiamat and of her incredible power, and deceived them into worshipping her as a goddess.

    Because of Tiamat’s attack on the essence of life, there existed a strange connection between the two beings. Lord Grekh knew that the only way to free Tiamat would be to exploit this connection. And so, the rituals of the cult were ghastly, and often included violence, mutilation, and murderous sacrifice.

  • Chapter 2: Evil Released

    The Brood sought to create a weapon that would destroy Tiamat’s prison and usher in a new age of terror and death. Using all the skills of the elements, they crafted a dagger made from obsidian and diamond. During a cultic ritual, they placed the dagger into a cauldron of blood garnered from human sacrifices. The dark spell was nearly complete and needed only one more offering. Lord Grekh himself would have to give of his essence in order to make the dagger strong enough to pierce Tiamat’s prison. Though he would remain immortal, in sacrificing his essence, he would lose some of his power and would be forced to permanently remain in the form of a human. He considered this loss as necessary for the power that would be gained from Tiamat’s release. And so, cutting off the hand from his left arm, Lord Grekh watched as his essence oozed like blood out of the stump on his arm and into the cauldron. He used his dark magic to regenerate a new hand for his arm, and then discarded the now lifeless piece of flesh into the vat. Instantly, the dark magic took its powerful effect. The blood swirled out and above the cauldron, and the cult watched as the dagger rose and began to glow with life. As the spell was completed, Lord Grekh grabbed the dagger from mid-air and instantly felt its power. The Dagger of Kolnai’i was born, and within it was the very essence of the Esconil.

    Finding Tiamat was not difficult. She alone, among all created beings, remained immortal, and detecting that force of life was easy for the essence of death. Passing through the Mists, Lord Grekh traveled to the barren world where Tiamat was imprisoned. There, inside a massive crystal prism of magic, was the creature who had plunged all of creation into war. The hope of revenge grew sweet in Lord Grekh’s mind. As he approached the immense prison, though Tiamat could not move, he thought he detected in her eye a faint glint of evil delight. Wasting no more time, Lord Grekh withdrew the Dagger of Kolnai’i, which seemed to emanate power, and stabbed the blade into the prison. For a moment, the blade simply stayed there, wedged into the crystal, and then it crumbled into ashes that fell to the earth and scattered. Where it had penetrated the prison, the crystal quickly sealed over, except that now there was a small black speck within the thick wall of the prison. Slowly at first, and almost imperceptibly, the speck began to grow. Within several minutes, it had spread, as if it were black ink polluting the clear water around it. The finger-like tentacles of black magic began to work their way all throughout the prison, eventually covering the whole surface. The once translucent crystal was now completely black, and Tiamat could no longer be seen.

    Lord Grekh stepped up to the prison to place his hand on it, and as he did the prison began to shake violently. A cry came from within that seemed to have the sound of both a horrible shriek and a painful roar. The sound seemed to grow, almost as if there were more than one voice making the awful cacophony. The noise continued in a terrible crescendo, building in volume and ferocity, until for a brief second the crystal stood calm again and there was silence. All at once the prison shattered, and the great dragon that had been within spread her wings in flight for the first time in centuries. Tiamat was free. Not only free, but transformed. 

    Though her frame remained the same, where there had once been only one head, there were now five, each unique in color and appearance. The power of the dagger had changed the mistress of deceit into an abomination of terror.

    Pleased with this change and hoping to capitalize on it, Lord Grekh returned with Tiamat to Kolnai’i where the great beast was introduced to her new cult of followers. The Brood paid fearful homage to their goddess and pledged their lives to her will. Immediately, they set to planning as to how best to strike against Bahamut. The centuries of imprisonment had only grown Tiamat’s hatred for Bahamut, and she lusted for retaliation and revenge. Lord Grekh set his sights on the vast world of Tyria, where the Order of Bahamut was but a fledgling group of Champions.

    It was here that they would make their first strike. And so, a new era had begun. The peacefulness of humanity was at an end, and the time for war had come again.