In the wake of the battle of the Progenitors, life emerged on the new world. Siberys had fallen in battle, but power remained within his blood. Filled with the purest essence of magic, that blood fell on Eberron, merging life and magic to produce new creatures with the strength of both Progenitors: dragons. Where the blood of Siberys struck the clouds, silver dragons were born. It fell on the cold peaks, and white dragons rose from the ice. It struck the swamps, and black dragons emerged from the dark depths. And so all the dragons were born, mighty and proud, possessing the mystical power of Siberys and the vibrant life force of Eberron.
Few of the creatures of the modern age existed at the dawn of time. The titans of Xen’drik were in their infancy, possessed of power but lacking knowledge. The lesser races had not been born; the dark creatures had not been spawned. So it was that wild flights of dragons soared above the world, reveling in their might.
The dragons’ only true match were the couatls, the feathered serpents of Sarlona. For all their power, dragons are mortal creatures. They reproduce, they grow old, and in time they die. The couatls stood outside the cycle of life; legends say that the couatls were formed from the pure blood of Siberys before it struck Eberron, and that, as a result, they were truly immortal. They were reborn only after death, so that their numbers remained constant. Though powerful, the couatls kept to Sarlona, leaving the dragons to explore the world.
THE BLOOD OF KHYBER
For untold millennia, the dragons were the sole lords of Eberron. Then a new threat emerged. Khyber was bound in the depths of Eberron, but this did not eliminate the dark dragon’s power. In time, a host of horrors spawned in the depths. Rakshasas, aboleths, and other terrors emerged to lay claim to the world above. The greatest were the Overlords, fiends with such power that they could almost be called gods. At that time, the dragons were organized into simple flights, which fought with one another as often as not. Scattered and wild, they were no match for the Overlords of Khyber.
THE DRACONIC PROPHECY
After the mighty fiends consolidated their hold on the surface world, they ruled over a nightmare kingdom for hundreds of thousands of years. The once-proud dragons were forced into slavery and servitude. The fiendish dominion might have continued until the end of time, if not for the couatl Hezcalipa and a blue dragon named Ourelonastrix. Working together over the course of centuries, these two visionaries studied the sky and stars, and compared their findings with mysterious patterns that appeared on the earth. They became convinced that such study could reveal a map of the future, an outline of the myriad paths history might follow. Ourelonastrix believed it to be the wisdom of the Progenitors, the very blueprint of reality. He called it the draconic Prophecy, authored by Eberron and Siberys themselves.
THE GREAT WAR
The draconic Prophecy gave Ourelonastrix insights into the weaknesses of the demonic Overlords. Even more, it gave the dragon and his kin a sense of hope, the belief that dragons were part of something greater. Following the path of prophecy, Ourelonastrix and Hezcalipa rallied their peoples against the children of Khyber, setting
in motion a war that would continue for thousands of years. Despite their raw power—or perhaps, because of it—the Overlords were scattered and overconfident. This allowed the combined might of the dragon–couatl alliance to defeat them one by one.
Despite this advantage, the war seemed hopeless. The Overlords were truly immortal. The defeat of an Overlord was temporary at best, and no simple spell could bind them. Then Hezcalipa’s studies uncovered a path to victory. Indeed, the outcome appeared ordained. Still, the cost was terrible. Led by Hezcalipa, the couatls sacrificed almost their entire race, forging their immortal essence into a pure force that could hold the Overlords and their dire followers. A few demons escaped, but the war was won.
Although the dragons fought fiercely, some believe they abandoned the couatls at the end, refusing to share the cost of the final sacrifice. It’s possible that this was a matter of fear, although that seems unlikely. It might be that, being mortal, the dragons simply didn’t have the spiritual energy required. Perhaps the dragons survival was a calculated decision. The sacrifice of the couatls removed both celestials and fiends from Eberron, leaving the dragons as masters of the Prophecy and the most powerful beings in the world.
Source: Dragons of Eberron
