Darkfall WarCry Weekly Update: The Dragonbound

The Dragonbound, Orkish Quest Faction.

The Orks worship Ashaka, a cruel and hungry fire goddess who manifests in the shape of a gargantuan dragon. Her priesthood, called the Dragonbound, are a violent and utterly loyal cult who will do anything for their scaled mistress.

After uniting the Orkish lands under Flaming Skull’s rule, Ashaka retired to a fiery, ruby-bound cavern deep under the Orkish capital. There she slowly regains her strength, while dreaming of the boundless destruction she will wreak when she wakes.

While Ashaka sleeps, the Dragonbound are led by the Arxanthos the Messenger, a fire dragon who has the ability to receive and interpret dream-wishes sent by Ashaka. From his lair at Emberhall, Arxanthos issues frequent, sometimes confusing orders to his minions, rarely if ever divulging the goals or motives behind them. Sometimes Arxanthos requires the procuration of magical items, at other times he sends agents on mysterious missions that further some unexplained goal.

Emberhall is the formidable island fastness of the Dragonbound.

Goals and Beliefs:

The Dragonbound work to prepare the world, the orks, and themselves for Ashaka’s awakening. According to the Dragonbound, the Fire Dragon’s reemergence signals the start of the Big Burning, in which Ashaka leads a grand army of the orks on a campaign of world conquest. When all foes have been put to the torch, Ashaka will instigate an Age of Fire, in which the orks are the masters of a scorched world, and the Dragonbound are their priest-kings.

The Dragonbound believe that Ashaka requires sustenance while she sleeps. They nourish their goddess with sentient sacrifice performed regularly on the peak of their ziggurats. Now that that hour of the Awakening grows near, they are increasing the frequency of sacrifice, to make sure that Ashaka has the strength she needs at this critical moment.

Headquarters:
The Dragonbound headquarters, called Emberhall, lie in the region called Western Taloroth, directly northeast of Flaming Skull. A road from the Orkish capital ends in the tiny village called Dragoncove, from where a ferry transports visitors over to the rocky island which houses Emberhall itself.

The island is dominated by a large, ziggurat-shaped temple which stands on a high plateau in its northern end. The highest ranked Orkish member of the Dragonbound, the High Herald, is based in this temple, as is his draconic superior, Arxanthos the Messenger. Arxanthos dwells in a stone chamber underneath the ziggurat itself, entering and exiting through a concealed tunnel.

Appearance:
As marks of their devotion, Dragonbound priests cover their bodies with countless, chaotic patterns of deep scars. They cut off their own lips upon initiation, color their teeth black, and wear clothes that are a combination of bone armor and skin from the bodies of sacrificial victims.

Hierarchy:
As players complete more and more missions for a quest faction, they rise in its ranks. A player’s status influences the attitudes of faction NPCs, as well as access to special skills, equipment and prestige classes.

The Dragonbound hierarchy includes the following levels:

Bondservant – The lowest level of membership, awarded to players when they are accepted into the Dragonbound.

Wyrmthrall – A low rank offered to Bondservants who have proven their potential by completing a couple of quest cycles.

Talon – The rank and file soldiers of the Dragonbound. Players are promoted to this rank after finishing several semi-important tasks for the organization.

Scourgebringer – Elite soldiers who are sent on important and dangerous missions.

Flameherald – Crusader priests who are the officers in Azhaka’s armies, and who enforce her will in Morak and beyond. Several Flameheralds are present in Emberhall, and two of them, Uzrok Bloodaxe and Izkûl Viletongue, give players their first Dragonbound missions

High Herald – At this very high level, players may enter the ziggurat at Emberhall and approach the Messenger himself, who hands out the most important and prestigious quests available through the Dragonbound. Thurhuk the Witherer, who is the current High Herald at Emberhall, gives out certain high level quests to players.

Messenger – Currently Arxanthos. This rank is unavailable to players, since they are very unlikely to be telepathic fire dragons.

Symbol:

The symbol of the Dragonbound is a heraldic-style fire dragon spreading its wings.

Friends and Enemies:
The Dragonbound are highly skeptical of the Iron Orks, who they see as the eager tools of a dangerously power-hungry king. The Dragonbound would like to hunt down and kill every last member of the Guild of Thugs and – especially – those deluded heretics who call themselves the Beastmasters.

The Dragonbound applaud the monster-slaying exploits of the Defenders of the Swamp, and under their current Messenger, they have moved close to an alliance with the somewhat sinister Erodach.

BT Oren
Lead World Designer, Darkfall
Aventurine