The Religion of the Dragon

Join me by the sacred fire and I shall tell you what it means to be an Irekei, to be a servant of Nkurakarin.

In the beginning of time the universe was Chaos, for the Dragon had breathed upon it and the flames writhed wildly in the dark sky. From these flames came the stars that burn bright in the heavens, and these fires rained ash. From this ash the Dragon created Aerynth, in the fiery depths of which he sleeps, and the two Moons which chased each other in the sky.

It was into this quiet world that the Meddler Gods came, and upon which they spilled the vile fruits of their creation: elves, centaur, dwarves, and primitive men. These creatures flourished as a parasite flourishes on a fat cow, for they knew only to take and never give, and so they took from the land and never gave thanks to Nkurakar. They worshipped their puny gods and claimed the Moons as their creation. This was the Age of Twilight, a time of darkness when evil lurked in the shadows of the Moons and no Sun graced the everlasting sky.

Their irreverence angered the Great and Everlasting Dragon so much that It stirred from its sleep and rose above the world. The ground shook and the fires of the depths were released upon the land, and Nkurakar, who is ever-Holy, stood upon Aerynth and laughed at the puny mortals who prayed for their gods to intervene, and It laughed at their gods as well. There is no thing more ancient than our Holy Creator, the Dragon Everlasting, and yet the young Meddler Gods declared themselves Rulers of Creation. Thieves all, for they only take what is already made and corrupt it to their own purpose.

The Meddler Gods, intoxicated with their own conceit banded together to fight the Holy Dragon, but their weapons were no use and the Dragon consumed their armor in flames. Naked and afraid, these Imposter Gods fled in terror; The leader, whose vile name I shall not speak, tried to hide upon the First Moon. He could not hide from the Dragon's sight, for the Dragon sees all, and in Its fury it unleashed an inferno upon the Moon. The Coward leapt to the world, but the Moon was set ablaze and forever burned. You see now there is only one Moon, yet the First remains and is called Kry'Khalin, our Holy Sun.

Having ravaged the world Nkurakar returned to Its lair to slumber, from which It has not yet awoken. The Meddlers, without honor, constructed a weapon and a cage while the Everlasting Dragon slept, and they tried to contain it beneath the world.

Servants of Nkurakarin

Yet, while the Dragon slept a mortal seeking the Truth of the Universe realized the Dragon is Qhi'Frek, the Source of Creation. Darivastor is his name, and his deeds a greater than any mortal since. For it was Darivastor who first forsook his people and chose the difficult life of a servant of Nkurakar. The wisdom of his words moved the souls of many and they followed him into the deserts and under the Sun where they were tempered and tested.

It was during the early years of this desert existence that Darivastor's people gave themselves the name, Irekei, which means "They Who Endure." For their faith they were rewarded with the thoughts of the Dragon Itself, and those who knew best the Holy Thoughts were named Khanarch'alarl, Blood Prophets. The Dragon led the Blood Prophets to summon Khalikryst, the Phoenix Goddess, whose flames transformed the Unfinished Ones to become true Irekei. Yet, it is this same Phoenix Goddess who has betrayed the Dragon, for she had been fed honey-poison by the Chief of the Meddler Gods and now served Him as a minion. And so we curse her name, and spit upon the ground in contempt, for we would rather waste precious water than to acknowledge the Betrayer.

And so, we quest now for the Kry'Abalakar, the Great and Holy Awakening. During the end times, the time of Krykhan'Jallakar, the Holy Blood War, when the honored dead shall rise and be given their chance to fight the Last War. And those Irekei who survive shall be named Chosen, for the Dragon's Breath will engulf the world and from its Ashes It shall make a Paradise. And in Paradise shall the Chosen live forever.

The Ritual of Sun Worship

The Sun is the hammer and the sands the anvil, and it is here in the desert that we are tested. And so we look to the East each morning to see the rise of the hammer and ready ourselves for its fall. It is right to kneel and worship three times in the direction of the Sun upon awakening, for this will show that you do not fear the Hammer's strike.