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[!] A blazing-hot letter scripted in Dratho Nar finds its way to the gate of the Druidic Order. AG DO HIN REYTH KREH US UN SULEYK The song of war beckons us, reyth muz. Our gift -- an offer of peace -- that of the Arch-Drakaar's gaze at Jen'nu-Kailiab'dred was not honored, destroyed without second thought. You care not for our warnings, as if you have nothing to lose. You tempt fate -- for shame. Let us keep this brief. OFAN WAH MU ENOOK TOL HI PIRAAK UV OBLAAN KO OK YOLOS Today, the divine trees of your creation weep, and we no longer offer you remorse. Watch them cinder and burn, your crystalline trees and strange, powerful treant beasts. Their beauty whisks away to down-trodden ash, to regrow anew upon the scorched remains of a dragon's fiery mark. Your people will deliver to us these demands and reparations for the military trespass of our realms and destruction of our structures within one year -- or more shall burn and your kind will die: ⬦ 30 Units of Athins ⬦ 30 Units of Drake's Tail ⬦ 30 Units of Mandragora ⬦ 1 Ironwood Seed ⬦ Mushnooman Sites ⬦ A detailed report on Taynei'hiylu's history & whereabouts VIING THUR AAK MU Continued provocation or lack of response will result in additional assaults upon your capital. ~ Alemdrom sin Uzoth CHOSEN OF AZDROMOTH

[!] A blazing leaflet scribed in red-hot texts emerges upon the bridge to the Mother Grove, protected by a deathly aura. MU MINDOK - REYTH JUL For too long have your kind ruined what belongs to us and our kith, brethren who we call friend, who you call foe. For too long have your kind destroyed our idols, our totems, altars, and monuments. For too long have you served beneath divine aspect, otherworldly things most foul -- interlopers to our world. It is today that we offer you a chance -- one, and only. Stop what will bring your end. Your end comes swift at the hands of those druii most foul, most unruly, most believing in their disdainful acts. We will bring to you the fires of New Beginnings, for we will cinder your grand trees to ash and ember, to regrow without the squalor of man and beast in their tandem dance. Your kind will suffer at our hand should another of our belongings be found destroyed at the hands of druii, or those paid off by them. We know of your destructive acts across the world -- destruction of arcane sources of power, repetitive, annoying. Your incompetence is great, as for every monument of ours that is destroyed, we will burn two more of your divine trees. Heed our call or suffer in blazing dragons flame, unless you seek the meek end of baleful ash and brimstone same as Amaethea. KREH US UN SULEYK REYTH REYLIIK MU MINDOK ~ Alemdrom sin Uzoth Chosen of Azdromoth

Prelude. [!] Far and across every realm - to all Descendant kind, the following message would be delivered. To some, it will be stamped with a self-devouring serpent. To others, a single, baleful eye wreathed with flame. To some still, an assembly of seven stars above an Elven crown. The meaning, regardless is the same. I have walked into the den of the Titan, expecting death, and instead am given this charge. This warning I extend to Almaris and all its peoples. “Mark this hour’s passing. Amathea’s doom is certain. I will come upon it as a great and terrible malice of the like that this world has only just forgotten. It will begin at the city’s heart, which will blacken and burn. A poison will flow through the woodland realm’s veins, and when it has been made grey, I will reap all that I have sown and feast upon its lifeforce. Black metal will fall from the sky and mar every monument to elvenkind, every altar to your gods, and every grove in which you celebrate life. I will do this without pause. And when I have finished my work I will look to the East.” For Azdromoth is his name Calamity, his domain Amaethea is next. @Bhased @Panashea @Iverach @_pr0fit @Xarkly @Terry @OhDeerLord@Lionbileti @BenevolentManacles @WestCarolina @Formenost @Malaise @Valannor @Abeam @Monkee@Bethinwonderland @Suicidium

VEHEMENT SMITHING “Ta’ coal moiners call et ‘Dragon-stone’. If ye foind it yer too far feckin’ deep.” For millennia, great weapons have been forged to aid dragonkind in their mission to defend descendants from the otherworldly, forged from draconic fire in the deepest and darkest of the earth’s refineries. Such a raw and primordial power as that of pure dralachite is not found commonly, wrought from the smoldering remains of a slain draconic beast in its purest form. However, with the creeping progress of the Dragonkin and their Herald companions, a second derivative was also achieved, this being key to a new line of vehement artificery known as Drakeforging. Legend has it, metal forged of dragaar and drakaar still lives on, their life reborn. As if anew, its wielder is the one to decide their new tale. RAW DRALACHITE To the inexperienced eye, one might mistake this elusive ore for simple volcanic stone: a dark and glossy-black material found rarely in the igneous wilds of the world. However, those keen of eye may derive subtle details which hint towards its true nature, those being sulfurous veins which run along the rock, as well as its incredible resistance to heat. Due to its unnaturally high melting point, it cannot be at all refined by mundane smithing by any means, often leaving it disregarded as an impractical material due to its brittleness and relative rarity. The truth of this material however makes it far more valuable than it would seem, being the marrow of a deceased draconic behemoth which has begun to decay within the earth. Raw Dralachite forms from a very particular set of events -- the death of a dragon, and therefore it takes the shape of its corpse. The flesh, scales and hides rot and decay when left untreated, leaving bones to calcify from their core. A fresh dragon bone is ivory-white, and upon decaying will calcify to a stained yellow hue. The entire bone will never turn to dralachite. When a bone’s marrow has fully decayed, it will slightly expand -- and the bone around it will crack and split like an egg, birthing forth the stone of dragons. The color of dralachite may drastically vary: Dralachite harvested from a dragon or dragaar may appear chromatically-colored to the hue of the felled beast’s scales, veins of white streaking through the ore. Dralachite harvested from a drake or drakaar may only appear jet-black or ashy-gray in color, sometimes with intermittent streaks of sickly-green or blazing-red along the surface. Dralachite is said to be ghostly, as if the inner-flame of the creature inhabits the very stone produced from their corpse. Raw dralachite harvested of the dragon will whisper hissing words of unintelligible language into the air, audible only with an ear pressed to the ore. If fractured, each fracture will still hiss independently -- and will only stop once pulverized to dust. HARVESTING METHOD The process of obtaining dralachite is harrowing and long, few even living to tell the tales of these procedures should a dragon be slain. However, once the dragon has been felled the process is simple -- only once the bones have lain dormant for a number of years. Patience with this ore is a virtue. To harvest dralachite, one must wait a total of thirteen years with an in-tact dragon bone to harvest its calcified marrow, the dragon-stone within: dralachite. The bone will decay as the dralachite inside expands, allowing for the lucky soul who claims ownership to simply pick the brittle stone from its cracking shell. One would be wise to maintain caution, for the mere act of dropping the ore from a height of one meter would crumble it to dust. The ore is not recoverable in this form. If an impatient individual sought to remove the dralachite from an incompletely calcified dragon bone before it had completely calcified, one would find that if they managed to penetrate the outer ‘shell’ or bone substance, they irreversibly damage the dragon-stone within from the force applied, and in addition disturb the calcification process. Undeniably, the ore becomes useless and crumbles to dust. Like the dragon bone before it, dralachite hisses in the same unintelligible manner as if clinging on by a thread. DRACANIUM REFINEMENT Dracanium’s creation has only ever been observed and recorded by the drake-smiths of the Mathic Era. Deemed to be extraordinarily rare due to the vastly unknown method of refinement, dracanium takes on a mythicality shrouded in legend. Dralachite will not correctly heat in the fires of a standard forge, and will instead fracture and break down -- it requires the magical touch of dragons flame to melt accordingly for otherwise, the marrow of the dralachite will not break down under the non-draconic flames of magic or mundanity. To create a dracanium ingot the blacksmith must themselves be a draconic being, or the blacksmith must be aided by a draconic being. The forging process is initiated by placing the dralachite chunk onto a solid surface (so as to not accidentally melt the casting basin with dragons flame). The draconic being present will breathe dragons flame once upon the ore chunk, rapidly heating the stone to a shocking 5,990°F (3,310°C or 3,583.15K). Quickly and carefully so as to not fracture the heated ore, the blacksmith will transfer with a set of tongs or via the draconic being’s bare appendages the dralachite chunk into an ingot-shaped steel casting basin pre-treated with a meager amount of fresh draconic blood (10-20mL) across its entire interior surface. Alternatively, the blacksmith may use a carbarum casting basin due to its incredibly high melting point of 5,722°F (3,161°C or 3434.15K). Otherwise, the draconic blood will create a barrier to prevent the casting implement from melting down. The draconic being will then breathe the second and final time onto the ore chunk, rapidly heating it to a white-hot liquid state at 10,980°F (6082.22°C or 6355.3722K). The draconic being will then add a moderate amount of fresh blood (100mL) directly from their palm to the basin, which will combine with the molten dralachite to form molten dracanium in a chaotic puff of black smoke. This mixture will cause the molten metal to unnaturally and rapidly cool to a solid over the course of five narrative seconds through a method called the “burn-off effect” to a constant but stable 102°F (38.88°C or 312.03K). After the black puff of smoke fills the air, the blood will intermix with the white-hot dracanium liquid and begin a terrifying process of radiation dumping, a 2m tall jet of white-hot plasmatic fire erupting from the casting basin and into the air. This is due to the alchemical law of equivalent exchange, and for the heat energy to escape the molten metal, it erupts in a plasmatic display of flames. By this time, the ingot mould would be hotter than the dracanium ingot itself -- most moulds by this point are red-hot, unless they are carbarum and therefore visibly unaltered. Thus results in the creation of a single ebony-colored ingot of refined dracanium. The blacksmith must make as many necessary for the weapon or armor they are forging. Once they have enough, they must create their quenching: it is a mixture of draconic blood and pure water. The ratio is nine parts water to one part fresh dragon’s blood (9:1), so not much is needed for a barrelful and it carries a deep, ocherous and reddened hue once mixed to sufficiency. The smith must then simply forge their weapon as any other: their own dragonfire will be necessary to re-heat the metal enough for shaping, but it is important to keep on quenching it within the barrel of dragonsblood. Enough treatments gives the weapon an innate resistance to heat, making for fine material for the Azdrazi to light aflame without worry for the armament’s integrity. Notably, the draconic blacksmith may become greatly fatigued with the use of their inner flame’s draconic fire to refine and thereafter treat the metal during shaping. One might take time to rest in between smithing sessions. This is, after all, a metal for the patient of the heart. DRACANIUM METAL Dracanium is an exquisite metal with properties extraordinary and almost otherworldly. Combined with melted-down calcified draconic bone marrow, dragon’s blood and flame, the midnight metal is shrouded in a veil of myth and legend. Mundane Properties Dracanium is a metal that has strangely adopted the exact same hardness as steel. It is also equally as malleable, as if by design it were adjusted in such a way. This allows for the metal to be a highly sought-after material for weapons and armor, and allows for it to find use as a tool all the same. The black metal however bears some unique, magical properties alien to the mundane steel of your typical high-carbon ferrum ore. Unnatural Properties Refined dracanium metal has a few incredible properties impossible to the more mundane steels of the world. Dracanium is a metal which bears an impossibly high melting temperature which can only be reached by the flame of a dragon or otherwise impossibly powerful individual capable of exuding such energy so as to match the draconic being’s. Heat does not conduct through the black surface of this metal -- it just sticks. If one were to use it as a frying pan, the chef would find that the food would not cook -- it would stagnate, and the flame beneath the pan would stick to the metal’s surface as if it were a fuel. Any fire that touches the surface of dracanium will catch and burn for an eternity, unless snuffed and extinguished by some manual means -- be it a pail of sand to suffocate the flame, or a torrent of water from an evocationist. This makes dracanium a curious metal to implement as a blade, especially as armor unless coated in a protective barrier, as the metal should it contact fire may burn its wearer to death by mistake. Even more curious is that dracanium is recorded to be alive. The draconic body that had passed to produce this metal rekindles to a marginal degree through the dragons flame and mixture of blood, allowing for regenerative properties to be retained. This causes a dracanium blade to maintain a perpetual razor-edge, even after combat or hacking away at a solid object. Dracanium has been found by its users to self-repair minor damage such as nicks and small cracks in the metal, but nothing irreversibly damaging such as a large puncture or catastrophic failure in a weapon. This makes dracanium highly sought-after as a pickaxe or axe, as the wear-and-tear of daily use does not hamper this metal as it would another. Some go as far as to name the metal Immortal’s Metal. Dracanium in its previous dralachite state has also been known to whisper into the ears of those who listen closely, words unintelligible and a hiss into the air. Once forged into its refined state, the bearer of dracanium will find the metal to speak as if restored to its former self. Dracanium weapons and armor maintain a lesser level of semi-sentience, and may quietly chant strange hissing tones in low draconic inaudible unless within 1m of the item in question. Azdrazi and their Heralds take a fondness to the metal, capable of understanding and interpreting the words of the blade -- however some grow maddened by those produced of drakes and drakaar, impossibly chaotic things spoken to the wielder throughout the length of time they bear it. DRACONIC ARTIFICE & INSCRIPTION In their vast years of roaming the world of men, the Dragonkin are privy to many languages which they have learned to master with time. With such a feat present in their eternal mind, Azdrazi and their Heralds may inscribe such esoteric languages upon forged artifice, crafting weapons that draw upon the primordial power of dragonfire. This would etch draconic runes into the object as it is forged, burning upon it like scars that glow with ember and ash. These runes may activate certain effects when utilized. There are two primary methods of inscription: Lesser Draconic and High Draconic. Lesser Draconic refers to the inscription method of Heralds, which is often simpler than High Draconic, which is the inscription method of the Azdrazi upon dracanium. Both require that the rune be etched into the object as it is being forged, or at the very latest, while it is still freshly forged and hot. Once the trinket is forged and the runes inscribed, the Herald must quench the object in a vat of nine parts water to one part fresh dragon’s blood (9:1). This would require the Azdrazi to often be present with their Herald whilst conducting artifice. The inscription that may be chosen need not be specific, though it should pertain to the nature of the enchantment it seeks to activate. For example, the runic inscription upon an igniting sword would have to pertain to fire and perhaps mention a “blessing” in the draconic tongue. This is meant to grant creativity with the inscriptions, allowing psalms, prayers, hymns, or verses to be used in accord with certain abilities. Despite the freeformity of the inscription, there are some basic requirements, most notably that the inscription must be a minimum of three words in length and must be written in Draconic. Unless the mechanics state otherwise, it typically will require one emote for the inscription to activate before it may be used, at which the inscription will glow a brighter ember hue and will envelop the object in an ashen aesthetic. LESSER INSCRIPTION These inscriptions are made by Heralds or Azdrazi, and other dragons capable of intelligence. Rune of Binding “WAH HEI FIN ZAHKRII, WAH HA FIN ZAHKRII!” Impetus Charm “KOGAAN ZU’U HOTH HIIN VIING!” Drake Charm of Firelight “AAK ZU’U DII BORMAH, GEIN KIIN!” Drakesflame Bow “KOMEYT HIN YOL, DII BORMAH!” GREATER INSCRIPTION These inscriptions are made by Azdrazi alone for dracanium equipment. Forge of Dragons “FIN BO AMATIV FEN KOS HEIM NAAL DII YOL ARHK HIN -- AHRK FIN RAH FIN QIILAAN US MU!” Hi, this is just a rewrite of dralachite & dracanium as suggested by the ST when Azdrazi was soft-shelved. I hope this is better and puts it in line with other metal lore pieces, and that it's proper and deserving of it being an ST Event-locked metal! Credits: Author: Rylothh Consultation: SquakHawk, Spoons, Malaise_, Caelria, JoanOfArc, WereW0lf, Milenkhov, Sorcerio, Lhindir_ Changelog:

♫ “In the days of yore, when Aegis yet hosted descendant life, there existed two, ancient towers, whose names were Aemon and Daemon. It is said that therein, the race of dragons made covenant with the race of Man. The god Dragur - whose very breath animated stone into life, birthing dragons - so fancied Men, admiring their indomitable wills and capacity for genius. His children, the Dragaar were bestowed unto Man as guardians, forever sworn to safeguard the nascent sons of Horen. It is rumored that this covenant is accredited to Horen’s adoption of a black dragon as his personal standard.” - On Men and Dragons, alleged records of an Aegisian Scribe The Azdrazi are the ancient scions of the Aegisian Knights who pledged themselves to the chieftain of dragons. Theirs is a path of sworn devotion, both in spirit and body. Enamored with the grandeur of Dragur’s children, the progenitors of the order strove to be like their idols in every way. Donning scaled armor, they dressed like their gods. Ascending the highest mountains, they took to the skies like their gods. Wielding fire, they fought like their gods. The greatest of the dragons, Azdromoth - who so honored the covenant between Horen and Dragur - bestowed the gift of dragonflame unto the souls of the aspirants in return for eternal, leal service. Beneath the wings of their lord, the ancient Azdrazi - as named for their master - erected great bastions of dragon worship. Their feats were without rival. The Azdrazi, in all their might, were without means to reproduce. Their seed sowed life as it was before their transformation. Their scions were without the dragonflame they so cherished. Dragon worship yet persisted for aeons, passed down by hopeful, but fruitless, aspirants. Their worship yielded naught. Azdromoth’s defeat at the hands of Eshtael damned them to a slow demise. The greatest were petrified, buried with their master. The weakest died alone, crumbling into ash. The Azdrazi of old were requited naught by the years. They were never again to feel the warmth of fire without the presence of their ancient, imprisoned master. The Tribulations of Ascendance The Tribulations are a set of trials in which every potential Azdrazi endures. They form the very heart of their culture, a culture based upon overcoming adversities to the betterment of oneself. The tribulations are said to have been instituted in honor of Azdromoth according to the more senior and wizened of their kin. It is told that in eons past, their father traveled the world carried by ivory wings and an implacable thirst for knowledge and wisdom on all things, undertaking numerous feats of body and mind alike as testaments to his prestige. Thus did his children, the Azdrazi, follow in his stead. To lose one’s humanity to the process of Transference is a harrowing ordeal and to this day only the strongest and most competent of aspirants survive to undergo the process. When an aspirant seeking to be brought into the fold of Azdromoth’s brood makes their intentions known, they are brought before a gathering of the Azdrazi. There, they must ‘sell’ their qualities to the assembly, who might deign whether or not the aspirant is worthy of their time and may begin their trials. In order to be accepted and taken into the fold, the Aspirant must be sponsored by two Azdrazi who shall vouch for and endorse the person’s potential as an aspirant. This is typically done mid-assembly. After the conditions of sponsorship are met, the aspirant shall be given to one of their sponsors who will oversee their progress and guide them on the Tribulations of Ascendance as their designated mentor. Once they are officially taken under the wing of an Azdrazi, they are required to inhibit Tor Azdraeth for the duration of their trials.The Tribulations consist of six trials which an aspirant is required to complete. Failure in any one of these trials is likely to result in the death of the aspirant or their banishment from the grounds of Tor Azdraeth. Customs In emulation of their master and forebear, the Azdrazi have taken on a number of customs and tradition which they call their own. The Immaculate Blade The Immaculate Blade is a title that has for long shaped the fortunes of the Azdrazi. The rise and fall of these draconic champions can most always be accredited to the Blade. Theirs is a sacred charge bestowed unto them by Azdromoth himself. The Immaculate Blade serves as the Warden of the Azdrazi, a lofty honor of which few are worthy, overseeing both creation and destruction of fledgling Azdrazi. They tend to the flock of Azdromoth, watching over the Tribulations of Ascendance and safeguarding the secrets of their order. It is the Immaculate Blade who doles out punishment for those who have wronged their kind, wielding the feared ability to sever the inner-flame of Azdrazi and inflict permanent death upon his kin. Draconic Names When an Aspirant is deemed worthy to undergo the Transference after completing the Tribulations of Ascendance, it is required of them to take on a new name. The Azdrazi, regardless of their origin, inevitability lose much of their persona - their humanity, as it were, once they take on the boon of Azdromoth’s covenant. It was the belief of the ancient elders of the Azdrazi that taking on a name born of the draconic tongue would signify the death of their old self and final ascendance into their new state of being. It is a practice that carries into the modern day, tying in with the sixth and final tribulation. Chronicles Knowledge is sacred to all dragonkin and Azdrazi are no exception to this. It is said that one of the first Azdrazi was so obsessed with preserving a record of his feats and wisdom that he carved an account of his life onto the walls of a great cavern in the underbelly of Azdromoth’s fortress. As time went on, many of his brothers began to emulate him by carving their own murals into the cavern walls, depicting how they lived and their many accomplishments. So engrossed were some Azdrazi in this form of preserving histories that they would take up hammer and chisel, dedicating themselves to the art of sculpting what they would call chronicles to ensure that their stories would not go untold and went on to spread this practice to the far-flung strongholds of their kin across Aegis. It is continued into the modern era with the inhabitants of Tor Azdraeth preserving the ancient murals and adding their own within the repository. Hoarding The process of Transference imparts a great many qualities onto the Azdrazi, making them closer in likeness and in mind to the Dragaar than to mortal men. These draconic champions emulate their creator in a number of ways, and one of these is an inborn desire to maintain a hoard. As greater dragonkin would keep vast hoards of material wealth or knowledge, so too do the Azdrazi strive to accumulate collections of oddities to augment their pride. While it is not uncommon to keep hoards of treasure, most Azdrazi cherish items of relevance to their past life; a soldier might collect trophies of conflicts long-past while, on the other hand, someone who was a tailor would amass something as mundane as textiles. It is subjective to the individual as no two Azdrazi are the same. It is customary that when Azdrazi answer the call to summons by the Immaculate Blade, they will bring with them an item from their hoard to deposit into the repository beneath Tor Azdraeth. Weaponry The warrior culture of the Azdrazi breeds a certain reverence for their weapons. They are extensions of themselves, both literally and figuratively. Once an Azdrazi has undergone the Transference, they forge their blade of burnsteel in a ritualistic process where their own blood is mixed into the molten ore to impart upon it special properties, after which it is tempered through Dragonfire. For an Azdrazi to be stripped of their weapon is one of the greatest dishonors they can face and is employed as a punishment for those who overstep their boundaries. The Immaculate Blade may at any time demand the sword of an Azdrazi. Those who refuse would blaspheme, warranting their execution and the destruction of their chronicle. Beliefs Chief among these is their reverence for the befouled scion of dragonkind - to others, Azdromoth is a herald of apocalypse; god-eater, defiler. Yet, the Azdrazi do not see him only for the warped creature that he has become and never has their love for their father diminished. His path is a misguided one and ever are his children earnest in their desire to set him free from the weight placed upon his shoulders - to disenthrall him of the Betrayer’s chains. They call him First Born, Giver of Flame, Father of Giants, Lord of the Sky and Protector of the Faithful and his is a majesty is deserving of praise. While the Azdrazi do not necessarily adhere to any one faith, they venerate the memory of their patron, echoes of a time where he held the world upright upon his ivory wings. As the scion of a noble bloodline of man would honor the name of their forebear, so too do the Azdrazi honor their father from whose covenant they are born. For the Azdrazi, death is not lasting. From their covenant with Azdromoth, they are blessed with eternal life. Yet the cycle of ascension comes to an end always, and it is inevitable that an Azdrazi will perish in time - be it by their own hands or by forces greater than themselves. They do not view death as a tragedy worthy of mourning and grief and instead exalt those who have perished in service to the greater good. It is taught by the scions of Azdromoth that when one of their own returns to the earth, their dragonflame endures becoming as starlight, illuminating the night sky whilst their spirit passes on into the halls of Dragur. These distant embers are cataloged by the Azdrazi who attribute many of the constellations to fallen champions of their order, using them as a means to teach their folklore and immortalize the valor of these fallen heroes. Mortal man is viewed in the opposite, however. Unlike the Azdrazi who meticulously catalog their experience so that future generations might reap the boon of their wealth of knowledge, the human mind is nascent and snuffed out ever too quickly by the Deceiver’s curse, leaving much wisdom lost to the ages. So too are fallen mortals honored by the Azdrazi, especially those slain by their hand. They will take the corpse of the fallen with all their possessions and engulf them in dragonfire. It is a common belief amongst Dragonkin that their inner fire signifies purity, thus they effectively cleanse the deceased of their impurities and herald their ascension into the afterlife. It is not uncommon for the ashes of exceptional men to be kept and held by the Azdrazi in urns engraved with a recollection of their most notable deeds. Credit to Pooryeb for the introduction and both Freema and Archangel_Avacyn for ideas