Order of the Dragon Brotherhood
Main animal association is dragons
Lore
Centred within the glowing naturally made hall, at the end of the darkest paths a mile deep within the mountains endless winding labyrinth of passages and dead ends, paths so enveloped in a completely over powering and ominous darkness, a black so dark it seemed to suck the very light from the flames of the torches being carried by the sacred members to navigate these endless corridors.
On hands and knees crouches the oldest and wisest tegrakian shaman, huddled with his fellow highest priest and their initiates around the soft glow and constant warmth of the giant eggs that are surrounded by the dwindling power of the last remaining source here of the mineral Destorium. Still perched atop their man made cradles rested and protected in the deepest recesses of the caves of Destoria for what was known to be centuries was the centre of their beliefs, the fabled eggs of the last of the dragons.
All the while reciting their rhythmic and sacred incantations that had been passed down through the verbal traditions over the eons of time, praying to their ancient God of flight, fire and ice, that the withering that was taking place in the outside realm would not enter this forbidden, sacred and holy land and take their lives as well, as it was still clearly and so devastatingly befalling on the masses far beyond this shrine.
There was a strong confidence and relief among the men, for centred around their teachings of combat, healing and carbonology their traditions and lore, there had always been the prophecy of such a day, a day when there would come a time that a great unnatural fog would envelope the lands and wipe clear the unclean and corrupt, and from that time forward a great and powerful beast would arise from this event to claim its rightful place at the top, fearing none and controlling all. And alongside these ancient beasts would be the their counterpart, companions and loyal yet deadly following, the Order of the Dragon Brotherhood.
In that moment the largest of the glowing and radiant eggs began to vibrate to the rhythm of the Brotherhoods chants in synchronisation and harmony. This was the event that these committed members of the order had been training for and hoping would happen within their life time, as so many that had come before them had also envisioned happening within theirs but never had realised.
With a heart stopping explosive concussion spreading out from the egg which sucked the air from the brotherhoods lungs while at the same time crackling through the space, came an electrical charge so powerful that it burnt all the hair from their bodies, yet it came with no pain, the egg shattered and exploded into an infinite amount of shards embedding themselves into every part of the cavernous temple, while at the same time not connecting with these devout members of the Order in any way.
As the men of the order continued on in their rising crescendo of chanting among this mythical chaotic yet beautifully enchanted rapture, they could hear the first guttural sounds, emanating from the platform from where for centuries had sat the focus and devotion of a life time of training and worship. A sound that could only be described as a deep almost painful vibration penetrating their very being, yet carried no pain, in fact it was more like ecstasy, a feeling of over powering love and devotion.
Immediately in a jerking motion the liquidators body arched back in a violent spasmodic jolt with his head thrust upward to the roof of the cavernous space, mouth wide open he too now screamed the same powerfully deep resonance into the space.
Just then in this moment frozen in time, what ever was on the alter and the liquidators voice in unison let out an almighty blood curdling screech, a deafening sound that ripped through the corridors exploding out of the mouth of the caves entrance a mile away and could be heard penetrating the lands of Destoria from within the fog of the withering for countless miles.
The liquidators ridged body, back arched on his knees looking skyward, felt the burning of his eyes penetrating his skull and flowing through his body like a molten cauldron of lead, coursing through his veins and enveloping every fibre of his being in an unstoppable unthinkable pain, his eyes turning an ink black so dark they seemed to suck the light from the air, the same darkness that only the torches lighting the path in could stave off.
He collapsed, sweating, hairless and eyes of the darkest imaginable black, almost lifeless, barely able to draw a breath at all.
The temple was silent now as the initiates watched on in awe and horror as the source of their beliefs slowly but powerfully took each purposeful step towards their high priest, a look of pure viciousness in its face, so intimidating they could barely watch as it reached their beloved teacher and mentor, it then curled up wrapping its wings and tail around his lifeless body and rested, both exhausted from the ordeal.
This was the awakening that they had heard about through out their countless hours of lectures and teachings that had been verbally passed down to them from the generations that came before.
Their high priest and liquidator, the most highly trained and skilled of them all, the one entrusted with passing on the rituals, rights and knowledge of the brotherhood was now at one with the dragon, the first of its kind to have hatched in centuries, this symbiotic joining of two souls forever until the day they died was known as the melding, where the two became as one.
In front of them sat more dragon eggs, dragons too that would one day burst forth and be one with the rightfully chosen elite of the Order of the Dragon Brotherhood, and they too would become the next future generations of liquidators with their dragon beside them for all of their times.
From that time and to this day there is little outside knowledge of the inner functioning of the 'Order of the Dragon Brotherhood' more commonly spoken of only in whispers as the 'ODB' in the forests, mountains and deserts of Destoria.
They are the most elusive and buttoned up band of covert brothers and sisters who's training and arcane rituals have formed over centuries. This knowledge being passed down by word of mouth alone from the ODB liquidators from generation to generation over the eons.
The Order of the Dragon Brotherhoods ranks are filled with only the best and most accomplished candidates from across the lands, always selecting from the very best that the Disciples have to offer to join the initiates of the ODB.
Here they will be further trained in the arts of hand to hand close quarters combat, alchemy, precision, healing, concealment and the most important ancient art of the ODB, Dragon Carbonology.
After years of refined initiate training in the ancient art forms and rituals the successful ones will be granted the title of Liquidator, the highest rank bestowed upon any ODB member.
And as a Liquidator they will join the orders ranks of dragon master, raising their lifelong companion in a symbiotic relationship, losing their individual minds and melding into combined mind sharing with their dragon steed until the end of their days.
The unsuccessful initiates will take their place within the ranks of the ODB also sharing in a percentage of the spoils that the head liquidator and dragon master will accrue through out time.
As it has always been from the beginning of recorded time the land of Destralia will always be a safe zone for all who wish to do trade or acquire the services of the Order of the Dragon Brotherhood.[1][2]