Dragon Communion

#5 CHAPTER 5: DRAGON COMMUNION

In the distant past, the lord of the ancient dragons, Placidusax, was attacked by the great drake, Bayle The Dread. The clash ended in a stalemate, and left both severely injured, with Bayle fleeing the field of battle. As vengeance for Bayle's transgression, Placidusax had some of his followers take mortal forms as humanoid priestesses, and travel to the lands of men, where they would beckon human warriors to their cause. They established the practice of dragon communion in order to hunt down, and punish Bayle, and his descendants, the drakes. The human warriors were lured to this cause with the promise of great power which could only be acquired by consuming the heart of a drake.

As time passed, the practice would continue without influence from the priestesses, however, many practitioners would forget the original purpose of those hunts, and would simply carry on consuming hearts in pursuit of personal gain. Some drakes have become aware of this practice, such as Ekzykes The Decaying, who even after succumbing to Malenia's rot would never forget his hatred, and thus keeps himself stationed at the entrance of the Cathedral of Dragon Communion, so that he may kill or deter any would-be practitioners before they can reach the altar.

Many practitioners develop a hunger for the hearts as they hunt, which gradually intensifies the more hearts they devour. This leads many to commune without restraint, an act that has dire consequences for their humanity, as their bodies, and minds gradually become more and more draconic. The end-result is transformation into Magma Wyrms, dragon-like-creatures with pitifully small wings, incapable of flight, and cursed to crawl the earth on their bellies until the end of their days. Ironically, this end often comes at the hands of their fellow commuters as their own hearts are now a sufficient target for dragon communion as well.