Isth'hhtaw'hhs Shh'oiyvh-ur (book)
Isth'hhtaw'hhs Shh'oiyvh-ur
The Ways of the Dragon Written in the original Eth'ral'khh by a humble nomad and Dragon Priest Scholar. Translated to Common by Leyhan Mentin.
For all the ages of my life and for a good deal of time before that it has been known that the Dragon Priests have been a plague upon the face of Elanthia. However in the oft forgotten past in the days of Shorka and Lanival, and in more recent days there have been the rare few who listen to the teachings of Sh'kial and understand the true purpose of the Dragon's followers. This writing is not intended to teach history to the eager and uneducated young, however. It is my desire rather to shed much needed light on the practices of the Priesthood. As my late father would often say (or so I have been told), "Though they may not hear what you say or watch what you do, they will feel your pains if they can be made to walk in your shoes." I invite all whose eyes will find these pages to walk in the shoes of this weary traveler. I have preached in your streets and prayed in your abbeys. This is perhaps the least I can offer in exchange.
Chapter 1 Before Sh'kial
To properly understand what has made the Dragon Priests what they are today, or rather what they once were, you must under- stand the practices with which young S'Kra Mur like the boy who would later be called Poho'adu Sh'kial were raised.
In the days before formal Dragon worship had been conceived, S'Kra Mur had already begun to comprehend the scope of the World Dragon, and what was required to keep her* in slumber for the good of all. Such example can be found in specific detail with the Ru'atin Peri'el, but can be seen in a broader sense in archi- tecture and practices of the times.
Tt was not uncommon for a family to keep an ornamental dragon statuette in its home. The figurine would commonly be present at prayers or taken to a shrine for holy days. Many times the statue would be brought out at meals, and a small bit of food would be left for it, owing to the belief that the ----------- *Editor's Note There seems to be no commonality between different practitioners and their opinion on the gender of the World Dragon. A majority of Dragon Priests do seem to recognize a masculine dragon, however. World Dragon would somehow be sated by this meal, and would not need to wake to feast as it once had.
The draconic influence on early S'Kra Mur architecture is likewise easy to identify, but the true significance behind the placement of dragons and draconic emblems is more difficult to understand. To fully appreciate the purposes behind the S'Kra Mur building patterns you must understand some basics about their social structure. I will attempt to cover enough to make my point understandable without exploring the tangent too rigorously.
To an individual S'Kra there are several levels of import- ance in which those around them fall. First and most important is the ru'at. By the time S'Kra Mur reach adulthood they have formed a unique ru'at among those with whom they have spent a considerable amount of time, but to a youth, ru'at is little more than another term for family. As such it is the first priority of S'Kra Mur with immediate families to protect and revere them, especially in the case of new parents.
Therefore images of dragons (and specifically the heads of dragons) were commonly found carved into doorknockers or placed above the threshold as a way to ward off malevolence from the q'alri (outsiders) and protect the home and household. Often the more battle-worthy of the parents would have a favorite chair carved or stitched with images of dragons, indicating indicating that he or she was the "dragon" of the household, protector to those therein.
This view of the World Dragon of a protective figure is regrettably but quite likely the origin of Dzree's way of thinking. The belief that the S'Kra Mur are somehow the people of the Dragon, rather than the people of Hav'roth, surely finds some root in the practice of revering the dragon as the champion of the race. It is proof that even the noblest of intentions can give rise to great evils, if they go unchecked.
As the generations of the S'Kra Mur passed, the practices changed and grew into greater following. In time the Dragon would be recognized in formal religious gatherings apart from those of the Ru'atin Peri'el, and prayers would be said to encourage its continued slumber. The term of Dragon Worship would not come to being until many years later, but there was a quiet reverence for the World Dragon, and a respect for her in the same way one respects a fire; destructive though it may be, its gifts grant us a continued and comfortable existence.
Chapter 2 The Near Waking
Other books written by far more talented authors have already detailed the first recorded incident of the World Dragon stirring, and the subsequent rise of the Ru'atin Peri'el. I will not attempt to bore you with an additional history lesson, but I will offer some insight into events that perhaps were not explained fully.
Approximately 2125 years before the Victory of Lanival the Dragon, the Ru'atin Peri'el was formed after a conclave of Resh- alian High Priests and Priestesses to protect Elanthia from the threat of the waking World Dragon. The High Priestess Maligen Shanati was the wise woman who proposed the idea that would later become a revered Order of S'Kra Mur songstresses, but it should be noted that hers was not the only solution offered.
As I have thus far indicated, the rituals associated with the Dragon Priests played an active role in S'Kra Mur society for many generations before the religion was officially founded. It should cause no surprise then for you to learn that at the time that the Singers of Aesry Surlaenis'a were first warbling their songs of renewal and sustaining, other priests and priestesses were busy at work feeding sheep and grains to the World Dragon by way of fire and chanting their own prayers. Peri'el was praised for her efforts to lull the dragon, Hav'roth was thanked for giving the S'Kra Mur the insight to see the threat and Ushnish was beseeched to not wake the beast with his fires. Most importantly however, the World Dragon itself was extolled, in hopes that like the Immortals the dragon could be soothed and appeased by the collective respect and fear of a nation.
The names of the great minds that devoted their lives to quietly and thanklessly appeasing the World Dragon through peaceful sacrifice and praise have regrettably been lost. For as the smoothskins say, "History is written by the victors," and it was ultimately the Ru'atin Peri'el that King Sarkhhl Smo'neh chose to keep watch over his lands.
Despite the namelessness of the founders however, these traditions of Dragon Worship were kindling for the fire of the Dragon Priests. Books (not unlike the one you hold now) were written detailing the proper way in which the dragon could be appeased, and generations of S'Kra Mur were educated in The Way of the Priests of the Dragon "Isth'hhtaw'hhs poho'adu'hhs shh'oiyvh-ur."
Chapter 3 The True Priests
Over the two millennia following the trembling of Reshalia there were two wars waged, a corrupt empire rose and fell, and Elanthia's people saw dragons with their own eyes. Warnings of the great beast slumbering beneath the world seemed now like stories told to frighten children. Even the Ru'atin Peri'el had faded from the minds of most non-islanders.
Street preachers gave warnings of the coming World Dragon, but few would listen to a sermon if it did not accompany a holy emblem and a tithe box. Hope for the practice of Dragon Worship was not altogether lost, however. In fact the true savior of the faith was none other than the famous Redeemer, as Humans called him.
The greatest foe to the Dragon worshippers of ages gone by was their disordered nature. Though most priests agreed on matters of practice and ritual, they had no formal gathering to call a church. However, when Lanival forged an alliance with Shorka the Cobra, a known Dragon worshipper, he sent a message of acceptance to all S'Kra Mur.
Sh'kial, not young but perhaps still naive in the ways of the world, saw this opportunity to unite others like himself and create a formal church of the Dragon. With the aid of his student Dzree and other priests whose names now seem irrelevant by comparison, they carved the first Temple of the World Dragon out of the caverns beneath Wyvern Mountain in Ilithi.
The Dragon Priests thrived near the young city of Shard, preaching with one voice of the terrible and awesome World Dragon. And for a short but glorious time, the Priests of the Dragon enjoyed acceptance from the world about them.
Chapter 4 Dragon Worship
I will, in as much detail as I am able, outline the most common rituals of the Dragon Priests. I hope in earnest that these, the teachings with which I was raised, may some day once more be spread across the Dragon's Realms, and that the title of Dragon Priest can again be worn with honor, rather than hidden in fear.
The Tools
Altars used for Dragon worship are generally similar to those used to honor the Immortals, with some minor stylistic differences. They are almost without exception made from stone (of either common or semiprecious sort), and typically have images of whole or partial dragons carved into or from them. The dragons in these sculptures are usually depicted as slumbering.
The ceremonial blades and staves used in Dragon Priest rituals have no far-reaching common construction. A staff is usually of specific significance to the priest who uses it, and can be made from any wood they choose. Some are even constructed of rarer materials, such as bone, amber, cambrinth or other metals or even on occasion a lightweight stone. Daggers are, by necessity, usually made of steel, but the hilts are most often gold or some other precious metal and are typically made to resemble awakened dragons. This practice helps remind the ritualist of their purpose, and also symbolizes that like the dagger, the dragon will consume all it encounters.
In the time of Sh'kial, ritual dress was very similar to the vestments worn by worshippers of the Immortals. Gamantangs with slumbering dragons, sashes embroidered with hymns of Peri'el, and elegant headdresses fashioned like cobra's hoods were all common. In the modern era however, priests must fit in with the world about them, and so the practice of wearing small, unobtrusive medallions and jewelry has become more popular.
The Rituals
Most commonly when one thinks of Dragon Priests, they envision the ritual sacrifices to the World Dragon. Incorrectly, of course, the first image that comes to mind is the sacrifice of one of the seven (now eleven) intelligent races. This is not the true ritual the Dragon Priests of Sh'kial originally devised.
The preparation for the most formal sacrifice actually begins the day before the ritual is enacted. A basin is filled with undiluted vinegar, a number of pearls of varying size and quantity based on location, and fresh petals from local flora (see below). The mixture is placed at the highest point of the temple at dawn, and allowed to sit in the sun undisturbed until nightfall. As day wanes on the vinegar consumes the pearls, which represent Grazhir, and causes the flower petals to wither and darken to a deep brown -- nearly black -- coloration.
The petals used are as important to the symbolic gesture as the pearls. Roses are the widely accepted choice of flower, but truly any red plant would do. They are intended to represent the life-fire that burned within Elanthia before the World Dragon consumed it, and the withering of the petals represents that fire going out. In some areas of the world, the local Dragon Priests also add yellow petals (such as from cactus blossoms, honey- suckle, or goldenrod) to represent Katamba being blackened by the dragon's fire and further add to the analogy.
At dusk the remaining mixture of wilted blossoms and vinegar is taken into the temple and decanted into a long, shallow pan containing the stretched skin of a goat or sheep, which is then placed above a bed of coals where it will rest for the night and all of the following day while the remaining vinegar disperses.
At the next sundown the now dried skin is placed in a brazier on the high altar of the World Dragon, where it is burned until only ashes remain. As the flames consume the goat flesh, the Dragon Priests of the temple recite a prayer to invoke the essence of the World Dragon, that it may feed on the skin as it is consumed by flame.
There are many variations on rituals, including this one, and prayers passed down from priest to priest. I will provide the prayer with which I was raised, written in the proper Sharaanpon'u, for I feel it is the most fitting version that I have yet been witness to.
- Kho, Shh'oiyvh-ur.
- Aensmo'ku'par gamant'oshu,
- Peh'grkhh'a saarpahamin.
- Zhratal, paha'hhyssk'et.
- Hat'hhs kho'lohogi.
- Uraan kapo'hhs Peri'el ku
- Aggahh'hhs em tu malk.
- S'sa ku'hhrki'hhsigen re'halen.
The prayer is first intoned by the High Priest of the temple, and then echoed by the congregation. After the first completion of the chant, the next highest ranking priest begins it again. The prayer is repeated until the offering has fully burned, with each new recitation being led by the priest directly below the one previous. Should the lowliest priest be reached, then the next verse will begin again with the High Priest. The priest who is leading the chant when the skin is fully consumed by flame is considered to be honored by the World Dragon; it was their voice that inspired the dragon to accept the sacrifice.
There are a number of other similar sacrificial rituals performed by Dragon Priests across Elanthia, but they all bear a resemblance to this one. In more traditional ceremonies, live- stock is slain on the altar while a prayer is intoned, after which the carcass is doused with sacramental wine and set aflame. Herbs and flowers are typically thrown onto the burning sacri- fice to season the food and encourage the dragon to accept it.
In areas where Dragon worship is forbidden, priests have taken to simply carving pelts with Eth'ral'khh prayers of a nonspecific tone, and leaving them at altars of one of the S'Kra Mur deities. The hope is that the dragon will understand that the sacrifice is for her, and the Immortals will not interfere as they understand the necessity of the offering.
Apart from this the Dragon Priests have a long history of other ceremonies, including weddings, funeral rites, and divining rituals in which the priest attempts to gain insight from listening to the thoughts of the dragon as it slumbers.
While these rituals are not exactly secrets, the priesthood would prefer that they not be used too frequently. To constantly beg the attention of the World Dragon for trivial matters, such as assuring safe passage through Urrem'tier's gates, is sure to agitate the creature, and in the worst case could waken it. It is of course the intent of all true Dragon Priests to ensure long slumber for the World Dragon, and an age of Golden Peace for Elanthia.
Chapter 5 The False Priests
It is common knowledge in the corrupt world in which we live that evil is often young, beautiful and seductive. Such was Dzree when she apprenticed under Sh'kial. History also teaches us however, that in the end when evil has lost, it is hideous and wretched. Such was Dzree as she died on her throne, defeated by cowardice and fear.
The combination of cowardice and fear is perhaps the point here. Fear by itself can be a good thing -- it was fear that inspired Sh'kial to unite the priests -- but when a coward fears something they seek only to protect themselves, often times at the expense of others.
The image of the World Dragon strikes fear into all who are not too foolish to understand the scope of the creature. But where other priests saw the need to pacify the dragon for the good of all, Dzree saw an opportunity to realize her sinister desires.
Dzree believed that the World Dragon, being a creation of the Ushnish the Serpent of Discord, was sent to Elanthia to purify it of the imperfect races. Its task was left incomplete when Phelim and Peri'el devised a way to incapacitate it, but the Hag would see to it that the work was done after all.
At first the practice of mortal sacrifice was put forward as the only true way to hold the dragon in slumber. Dzree and other priests who shared her twisted vision of a pure Elanthia quietly sent orders throughout the land that the World Dragon was dissatisfied with the sacrifices that had been made, and was growing hungry. Fearful, the priests of course accepted any solution presented.
Dzree's heretics were all too happy to propose the sacrifice of living non-S'Kra Mur, preaching firmly that it was the only way to placate the great beast. Dzree's mentor was at first ignorant of this, but discovered the grim practices before long. Sh'kial's fate would be the same as many others after him, a death without ceremony or purpose, but he would survive as a martyr to inspire the faithful S'Kra Mur to resist Dzree's lies.
After Dzree's forces swept the Dragon Priest nation, cleansing all opposition that could not hide swiftly enough, she was able to openly announce her intent. It would be far too difficult a task for the Dragon Priests to exterminate all impure life on Elanthia. Only an Immortal wields such power...or a creature very much like an Immortal.
This is the true purpose of the sacrifices made by the Dragon Priests of Dzree. Their aim is to awaken the World Dragon, so that she may complete her original objective and consume the mongrel races in fire. The dragon would then move on, having finished its task, and Elanthia could be the property of the S'Kra Mur.
At best these beliefs are optimistic. The truth is that the World Dragon is the lifeblood of Elanthia, for the heat of the Dragon's body warms our land and sea. Were it to awaken it would leave our world a barren and frozen wasteland, at best. It is important to not forget the sacrifice of Grazhir. The pearl moon was torn asunder in the throes of the Dragon's waking. There is no question that Elanthia would fare no better. Chapter 6 The Dark Ritual Like all Dragon Priests, I have a devotion to the collection and preservation of knowledge. Even so, it is with great reluc- tance that I share the following information.
The hag Dzree grew infamous by way of her sacrifices, ushering Humans and Elves along the Starry Road in attempts to wake the World Dragon. It is my hope that no one should ever witness such an atrocity, but still I fear that without knowing what evils the Fanatics are capable of, many will not move to stop them.
And so here I will detail the dark ritual the Dragon Priests of Dzree use to sacrifice sentient mortals. May all who read my words understand the horror that was the Dragon Priest Empire, and know why you must never allow it to rise from the ashes of its destruction.
Dzree's tradition, as one could expect, contains none of the ceremony and reverence that the rite performed by Dragon Priests of Sh'kial is known for. Instead it seems to be a mockery of proper worship, resembling more a pack of ravenous beasts devouring a corpse rather than an assembly of devout attendants making a humble offering.
Though here I will explain the ceremony upon which these haphazard practices were based, today's Dragon Priests commonly engage the ritual slaughter in nearly any location or circumstance. Often it is even carried out on the battlefield at the hands of warrior priests who slay particularly challenging foes.
Capture is on the other hand an uncommon, but not entirely unheard of practice. Dzree's followers tend toward more immed- iate forms of gratification, but in rare occurrences a sacrifice is perhaps too difficult or valuable to waste on a death without witnesses. When such a prize is found, the Priest leading the raid or excursion will often enough cage the creature and display it as a trophy until it can be returned to the Empress for approval.
Occasionally the skeletons of sacrificial bodies have been found lacking feet, lower jaws, or with deep gouges to the eye sockets of the skull. Contrary to popular belief, this is not actually part of any ritual; the practice in fact began with such captive sacrifices as noted above. Priests that were parts of large, moving convoys began the tradition of removing certain parts of their captives (viewed as unimportant from a ritualist's point of view), to prevent them from escaping or calling for help before their scheduled executions. At some point it became a common occurrence, but it is still not recognized formally as a ritual act.
The sacrificial mortal is typically bled shortly before the execution. Their blood can often be used for other rituals, but the primary purpose is to weaken them, and to increase the flam- mability of their body due to loss of moisture. In cases of captive sacrifices they are also sometimes fed a diet of sugary and fatty foods for the same reason.
Once the victim has been bound to the altar, one priest is charged with keeping it awake for the majority of the ritual, which does not last an entirely long time. Another is given the honor of leading the ceremony, but in truth it will matter little once the other priests in attendance join in.
The slo'lata, or blood knife, is brought forth and shown to the assembly as a short monologue is recited. The gesture has no real significance other than to rile the crowd into a state of pre-frenzy. After the posturing is complete, the priest address- es the sacrifice and snarls a final phrase, usually of particular relevance to the captive, and plunges the blade into the victim's abdomen. This is the cue for the surrounding priests to charge the altar and begin to disembowel the sacrificial mortal with talons and fangs. The priest still wielding the slo'lata must work around the writhing mass, dismembering the body with ceremonial precision.
Limbs are typically fought over and shredded by the others. The head is the last portion of the body removed, and once it has been done the priest holds it aloft to signify that the slaying is complete, though the sacrifice has, of course, been dead for some time.
In the rare cases when a S'Kra Mur is chosen to sacrifice, the ritualist takes great care to remove the tail before their victim dies. More sadistic priests follow this with taunting and irreverent gestures using the tail, even so much as to feed a portion of it to the sacrifice as they struggle to take their last breaths.
The desiccated remains are collected and placed on the altar once more, where they are burnt, sometimes with the aid of oil or naphtha. Mocking those in Sh'kial's rituals, a prayer is intoned by the bloody jaws of the leading Dragon Priest as the flame consumes the offering. Though I am a chronicler of knowledge, I refuse to commit those words to paper. The chants of Dzree should have died with her, and it pains me to know that they live on even in my own memory.
Epilogue
I have played many roles in my lifetime, not all of them noble. I am hopeful however that in the role of a teacher I have been successful, at least. I fear that when my flesh has decayed in the soil I will be forgotten, for I leave no legacy of blood behind. If however, you are able to read these words from Sh'kial as they have passed through me, and you see the wisdom of the ways, it may be that the role I have ultimately played has been one of purpose, and memorable.
Translator's Note
- Hark, Great Dragon.
- We gather in the House of Spirit,
- Humbly bringing a food offering.
- Take now, taste this fire.
- Be satisfied by your children.
- Hear the songs of Peri'el and
- Have golden dreams of peace.
- Be eased by the spirit of the found, forever.