Sardior
| Sardior | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ruby with an inner glow | ||
| Aliases | Master of Gem Dragons, the Ruby Dragon | |
| Alignment | True Neutral | |
| Divine Rank | Lesser God | |
| Pantheon | Draconic | |
| Portfolio | Neutral Dragons (especially Gem Dragons), Night, Psionics, Secrets | |
| Domains | Knowledge, Mind, Scalykind, Trickery | |
| Home Plane | Prime Material Plane | |
| Worshippers | Neutral Dragons, Psions, Psychic Warriors, and probably Dragonborn as well | |
| Favoured Weapon | Claw | |
Sardior is the Draconic God of Night, Psionics, and Secrets. He is also the patron of all Neutral Dragons, though he is naturally most associated with the "Always Neutral" Gem Dragons. Compared to Bahamut or Tiamat, he is a minor god, with such obscure lore that few people remember he ever existed. It's also worth noting that he is a mortal dragon who ascended to godhood, rather than having been born from a god as Tiamat and Bahamut were Io.
History[edit | edit source]
Sardior appeared for the first time in issue #37 of Dragon Magazine, alongside the then-debuting Gem Dragons. After that, he languished in obscurity, with his only mention being in the Al-Qadim splatbook "Secrets of the Lamp", a sourcebook on genies; according to this book, Sardior has been known to the visit the Court of Ice and Steel, the supreme ruling palace of the djinn.
Even 3rd edition didn't treat Sardior any better; he received a formal 3e conversion, complete with stats for himself and his thanes, but only on WotC's website, as part of the psionics-centered article series "The Mind's Eye". Oh, and also Ed Greenwood mentioned on his Twitter that Sardior does have worshipers in the Forgotten Realms.
Naturally, 5e gives Sardior its own spin. In this edition, Sardior is stated to be the very first dragon ever created by Bahamut and Tiamat... however, he got killed and his fragments were scattered across the multiverse, turning into the Gem Dragons (and presumably the Gem Dragonborn).
Appearance[edit | edit source]
In his natural form, Sardior is a long sinewy dragon covered with deep ruby red scales. At a distance, he might be mistaken for an ancient red wyrm, but the playful expression seen in his eyes makes him very much unlike the reds. He is also known to be a great conversationalist, and the unguarded had best be prepared for his sharp wit.
Realm[edit | edit source]
Sardior makes his home in a floating palace located in the Prime Material Plane, which orbits the world and stays forever in the shadows from the sun. On the nights it can be seen, viewers mistake it for a small red moon. due to its massive size.
Much like the progenitors of the other dragon breeds, Sardior is served by five thanes: one of each of the various breeds of gem dragons. But unlike Tiamat's constantly changing bedfellows and Bahamut's golden companions, Sardior is served by the same Thanes. Should one of his Thanes perish (in example the Crystal Thane), Sardior merely chooses a suitable Crystal Dragon and transforms them, body and mind into Hrodel.
Their names are Aleithilithos (male advanced amethyst dragon), Hrodel (female advanced crystal dragon), Smargad (male advanced emerald dragon), Charisma (female advanced sapphire dragon), and Tithonnas (male advanced topaz dragon). In his 3e lore, it's stated that Sardior once had a sixth thane: Seradess, a female advanced obsidian dragon, but he destroyed her and banished the obsidian dragons from his court, with even his own clergy arguing the reason behind this decision.
To fit the 5e retconned lore, the Thanes are all Gem Greatwyrms who are dedicated to keeping Sardior's memory alive. They are united in a plan to try and merge all of their echoes together in hopes that this will trigger a planar resonance that will fuse the disparate Gem Dragons back into Sardior.
Dogma[edit | edit source]
Sardior (sar- dee-or) is known in a few small circles. Even though he is the Master of the Gem Dragons, in reality, he does not require much from his followers, and he does not try to guide their decisions (which, in hindsight, kind of justifies 5e's plan to just kill him off, given how non-interactive he is). The gem dragons, in return, look upon him as the ideal and strive to be more like him.
Sardior just wants to learn more. The more you know, the better off you will be, but just learning for learning's sake is not what Sardior stresses. No, gaining knowledge should not just be reading from books. The trick for Sardior is to get someone else to read the book, then tell him all about it. He also has a fondness for gems of all kinds, especially rubies.
Clergy & Temples[edit | edit source]
Having ascended to the status of a lesser deity, temples to Sardior have begun showing up in cities across the land. Sardior is more than happy to oblige them by granting spells and special abilities to his followers. Sardior's clergy tend to be welcomed everywhere much as bards are, however they know not everyone is as friendly as they seem. A small group of his clergy, known as the ruby disciples, train to be a martial arm of the church, serving not only as a defense but also as a show of force.
Sardior has few clergy, and even fewer temples. Temples dedicated to him tend to be located in high areas with clear views of the night sky and close to a community of some sort. Most gem dragons keep a ruby on a small pedestal in their lairs as a shrine to him.
His clergy generally dress in the appropriate fashion for the area in which they reside. They then embellish the look with an abundance of jewelry in their everyday wear.
Many seek out the clergy as sources of knowledge, and most of the clergy could be considered sages on various subjects. The temple gains its wealth from the charges from these services.
The prominent members of a temple are also on the list for an invitation to social functions. They are personable, knowledgeable, and great storytellers. They also appear to have little interest in politics, which makes those around them less concerned with the information they reveal to the clergy.
Inheritors of the First World[edit | edit source]
A more...apocalyptic branch of Sardior's cult can be found in 5th edition's lore. The Inheritors of the First World take their name from the epic draconic saga "Elegy for the First World", specifically the line "Breathe, Dragons; you are inheritors, ruling the wreck of the First World's Destruction". Up there with the Cult of the Dragon from the Forgotten Realms in the crazy department, the Inheritors believe that it is their destiny to engineer the restoration of the First World... even though this means annihilating the entire multiverse as it currently stands. Their goals are simple:
- 1: Entice dragons to awaken their "dragonsight" ability, which will make them aware of their echoes on other dimensions; this ideally will make them more sympathetic to the Inheritors' goals, but at least will make them useful tools in the convergence.
- 2: Recreate Sardior.
- 3: Mend the rift between Tiamat and Bahamut; they figure reviving Sardior will go a long way towards helping that.
- 4: Find some way to engineer a multiversal collapse and fusion without getting their shit kicked in by every angry god and/or adventurer who happens to like the multiverse the way it is.