Tribes of the Four
The Tribes also known in Druidic as the 'Dragani' are four sects of elves who worship the four dragons of creation as well as their offspring. The Tribes seek to recover, preserve, and inherit the teachings of the first men, land elders, and the dragon gods.
History
At the beginning of time, the Umbra granted life to an incredible creature known as Thraerathis, also known as the Worldfather and the Forger. Born in the first breath of creation, he roamed the vast nothingness, seeking to craft life from stellar debris. He created many worlds and filled the universe with many forms of life. The Umbra gifted him four children to assist him in tending the world itself.
The Four go by many names, but are each distinguished by the part of Thrae that they reign over. The sky, the land and sea, life, and death itself. The Four would often mate and birth younger dragons who would often interact with the fledgling civilizations of Thrae. In turn, audiences of elves found wonder in the magnificence each possessed. To the most worthy did the children grace with their presence, offering them grand gifts in exchange for their eternal servitude. Few even sought to craft a closer relationship with their devout followers, and thus found themselves stepping into familiar bodies. They presented themselves as aspects, elven in nature and thus able to mate with their worshipers. From these interactions came the first Ancestors, who were more dragon than they were humanoid. In turn, they were revered and given great positions of power, thus introducing the Shamans. It is believed that the first of the ancestors came from Yani in Caros and in turn Yani is the largest accumulation of tribes in one location.
Culture
There are hundreds of Tribes beneath the Four. Each follow their own respective ancestor and the part of life (or death) that they tend to. Not one tribe is alike, but all share a mutual respect and often find themselves in situations where they must work together for a larger cause. Despite this, there often is an intense sense of competition among tribesmen.
Often times, Tribes serve under a matriarchal society. However, it is not unheard of to see a male Shaman.
Druids are revered as they harness the great powers gifted by nature itself to preserve and protect. Warlocks are seen as opportunists, but are often greatly respected for their deep understanding of the sacred power teetering between the laws of life and death. This also applies for necromancers, who are surprisingly common among ranks of Dragani. Monks are seen as eternal guardians of their tribes as they are the only ones truly united between body and mind, they also serve as loremasters.
The Heart is a greatly symbolic monument that stands as a point of prayer to their respective deity or even sometimes, Ancient. Each Tribe must tend to their respective Heart they've placed first and foremost for if it's great power escapes into the wrong hands, it could cause great catastrophe. Often times the Heart is a large tree or landmass that is tended to with the greatest respect. It is not unheard of to see dragon embryo, pyres, and even small trinkets to represent their Heart.
Dragani children often use slang term "dude".
Known Tribesmen
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