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"In the first morning Bahamut flew over the water and land to the highest peak on the island. He breathed in and exhaled, giving birth to the wind. He roared from the crag and lightning and thunder raced across the world. He inhaled, drawing the moisture from the cloud sand exhaled the first frost, laying snow on all the high places. His body rumbled and he breathed the first fire, burning the heavens and sinking down into the deep earth." - beginning of the Dragonborn Histories
"The founding of Syraxa civilization began thousands of years ago, while the wyrmling clans were still scrabbling among themselves for control of the island. In this primitive time they had limited intelligence and were little more than beasts, flying, crawling, and fighting each other for the food and territory. The first true dragonborn was a male redscale named Syraxa. Whether by fate or by design, he was able to master the firebreath and so took control of his clan. He showed the other clans how to walk on two feet and how to transform their innate power into uses other than dragonbreath. He was the first dragonborn, the first levethix, though the word meant something different back then." - selection from the Dragonborn Histories
The following is a portion of one of Professor Balhart's lectures at the University of Kelistin on the subject of Dragonborn.
Ah, good evening. Please, everyone be seated. Tonight begins the first of a series of lectures on the origin and history of the dragonborn. While I have drawn on many primary sources provided by the nation of Syraxa, such as the famous Dragonborn Histories, I have also conducted my own research and have come to some conclusions that, I feel, the leaders of Syraxa would not agree with. However, all must be considered in the pursuit of the truth, and I intend to treat fairly all sides of the discussion.
Now, first we must look to the origins of the dragonborn.
The first dragonborn were little more than wyrmling dragons, each colored according to their clan, 13 clans in all. Many offer different speculations as to why 13 is an important number, but their arguments are beyond the scope of this document. For now, suffice it to say that's how many there were. The wyrmlings fought against each other as often as they did themselves, but as they did not have true flight yet they were relatively confined to their island. I think that this was an intentional limitation by whomever created them, for as long as they fought amongst themselves they did not have the time, energy, or inclincation to leave their island and explore the world. Perhaps their creator wanted them to be ready for that on their own. In any case the wyrmling clans seemed content to wage war with each other until the reign of Syraxa, commonly referred to as "the first dragonborn". The histories of the dragonborn tell that he was the first to walk upright and taught himself magic, and that he took control of the clans and united them. The latter is more easily believable, as other civilizations historical records confirm that they encountered this Syraxa as the leader of the wyrmlings.
I have my own doubts as to whether he truly taught himself magic, and futhermore whether he was even a mortal. It's highly suspicious that in one generation a whole race of creatures made the transition from brute intelligence and four-legged walking into man-like beings that walked, talked, and experimented with the basest of magics. It's my personal belief that Syraxa was actually an immortal being - whether one of the dragon gods or some other immortal posing as one - in order to rapidly advance the wyrmlings into a true society. The details of Syraxa's passing are less than clear, with some reports saying that after 200 years of reign he ascended into the heavens to join the ranks of the dragon gods as a god himself. Other recordings show that he died of old age after passing on the scepter to one of his grandsons. I've also found a few tales that suggest that he did not die at all, but instead faked his death and retook his throne under the guise of one of his descendents.
However his life ended, or didn't end, the result of his lifes work cannot be denied. Within a generation the wyrmling clans had begun to show rapid signs of improvement and within his 200 years of reign the wyrmlings were all but gone and in their place were the dragonborn. They still separated themselves by clan and color, but the old animosities were gone. Instead they focused on building their civilization in an astounding number of ways, including innovations in their dragon breath magic that found applications from sorcery to swordsmanship and beyond, including serving as the basis for several of their technologies that power the capital city, Taoul di Jikaic (which roughly translates as City of Wonders).
"In the first morning Bahamut flew over the water and land to the highest peak on the island. He breathed in and exhaled, giving birth to the wind. He roared from the crag and lightning and thunder raced across the world. He inhaled, drawing the moisture from the cloud sand exhaled the first frost, laying snow on all the high places. His body rumbled and he breathed the first fire, burning the heavens and sinking down into the deep earth." - beginning of the Dragonborn Histories
"The founding of Syraxa civilization began thousands of years ago, while the wyrmling clans were still scrabbling among themselves for control of the island. In this primitive time they had limited intelligence and were little more than beasts, flying, crawling, and fighting each other for the food and territory. The first true dragonborn was a male redscale named Syraxa. Whether by fate or by design, he was able to master the firebreath and so took control of his clan. He showed the other clans how to walk on two feet and how to transform their innate power into uses other than dragonbreath. He was the first dragonborn, the first levethix, though the word meant something different back then." - selection from the Dragonborn Histories
The following is a portion of one of Professor Balhart's lectures at the University of Kelistin on the subject of Dragonborn.
Ah, good evening. Please, everyone be seated. Tonight begins the first of a series of lectures on the origin and history of the dragonborn. While I have drawn on many primary sources provided by the nation of Syraxa, such as the famous Dragonborn Histories, I have also conducted my own research and have come to some conclusions that, I feel, the leaders of Syraxa would not agree with. However, all must be considered in the pursuit of the truth, and I intend to treat fairly all sides of the discussion.
Now, first we must look to the origins of the dragonborn.
The first dragonborn were little more than wyrmling dragons, each colored according to their clan, 13 clans in all. Many offer different speculations as to why 13 is an important number, but their arguments are beyond the scope of this document. For now, suffice it to say that's how many there were. The wyrmlings fought against each other as often as they did themselves, but as they did not have true flight yet they were relatively confined to their island. I think that this was an intentional limitation by whomever created them, for as long as they fought amongst themselves they did not have the time, energy, or inclincation to leave their island and explore the world. Perhaps their creator wanted them to be ready for that on their own. In any case the wyrmling clans seemed content to wage war with each other until the reign of Syraxa, commonly referred to as "the first dragonborn". The histories of the dragonborn tell that he was the first to walk upright and taught himself magic, and that he took control of the clans and united them. The latter is more easily believable, as other civilizations historical records confirm that they encountered this Syraxa as the leader of the wyrmlings.
I have my own doubts as to whether he truly taught himself magic, and futhermore whether he was even a mortal. It's highly suspicious that in one generation a whole race of creatures made the transition from brute intelligence and four-legged walking into man-like beings that walked, talked, and experimented with the basest of magics. It's my personal belief that Syraxa was actually an immortal being - whether one of the dragon gods or some other immortal posing as one - in order to rapidly advance the wyrmlings into a true society. The details of Syraxa's passing are less than clear, with some reports saying that after 200 years of reign he ascended into the heavens to join the ranks of the dragon gods as a god himself. Other recordings show that he died of old age after passing on the scepter to one of his grandsons. I've also found a few tales that suggest that he did not die at all, but instead faked his death and retook his throne under the guise of one of his descendents.
However his life ended, or didn't end, the result of his lifes work cannot be denied. Within a generation the wyrmling clans had begun to show rapid signs of improvement and within his 200 years of reign the wyrmlings were all but gone and in their place were the dragonborn. They still separated themselves by clan and color, but the old animosities were gone. Instead they focused on building their civilization in an astounding number of ways, including innovations in their dragon breath magic that found applications from sorcery to swordsmanship and beyond, including serving as the basis for several of their technologies that power the capital city, Taoul di Jikaic (which roughly translates as City of Wonders).
