Storytime with the Sage: Aurimâvar, the Crown Melter
Apologies for the delayâan issue arose within the Dwimmerwood that had to be addressed. On with the storyâŠ
Aurim'var was Archdragon of Khardûn from 2530 P.C. to 2985 P.C., the third longest reign of any Archdragon in the continent's history. Aurim'var's legacy is one of a ruthless conqueror. His name nearly directly translates to "Golden Fanged," and was the inspiration for his title, alongside his many conquests. Aurim'var was a member of a group of powerful dragons known as the "Scales of Reclamation." Each of the three dragons in this group served as Archdragon of Khardûn, covering a total span of over 1,000 years. The other two served their stints first, with Khor'il'maar, the Usurper ruling from 1919 to 2213, and Mix'il'draz, the Willbender, serving from 2213 to 2530.
Before the Scales of Reclamation, Archdragon Khrudal'il'mox had brought Khardûn into a new era of prosperity. Focusing on rigorous trade and communication with outside cities, especially Freyglen and Tsers. As these practices continued, Khardûn's legacy as an unstoppable force under previous Archdragons had begun to wane. Other civilizations were viewing the continent as "just another people in our world." While there were plenty in Khardûn who were content with this, Aurim'var was not. At the time, Aurim'var was Dragonlord of Clan Duloric, responsible for the mighty mystical forges in the Queen's Spine of Khardûn. Without the pretext for conquest, and being a period of relative interplanar neutrality, the need for Duloric's forges grew lesser and lesser. The same could be said for the training of Clan Shochranari's warriors. Their Dragonlord, Khor'il'maar, shared his grievances with Aurim'var. That is when the two hatched a plan with the help of the Scale of Irthos Lex, Mix'il'draz. Aurim'var gave them each tasks to complete, to ensure what he saw as a return to Khardûn's global image.
Using his innate arcane abilities to manipulate the minds of the lower managers of the trade routes, Mix'il'draz began to sow seeds of distrust between the countries of Xeqash. He spread rumors of the return of the yuan-ti empire in the South, hinting that various smaller states may have been involved in its rebuilding. With that rumor underway, it was not difficult to convince other members of clan leadership across Khardûn that Xeqash posed a potential threat. While Khrudal'il'mox was popular, it was well-known that he had no wartime experience. Thus, the vigor with which the Clans rallied behind war-driven Khor'il'maar at the next Tjor'mat'al was unmatched. Under him, Khardûn began to arm the world with its mighty forges, warning of some looming threat. With the immediate support of Irthos Lex, Shochranari, and Duloric, Khor'il'maar had no issue gathering support. Using connections in the Barren Moors of Xeqash, Aurim'var arranged for a "sudden" emergence of an undead yuan-ti army on Xeqash, allowing Khardûn the opportunity to rush to their aid and subdue the "threat." After this, Khardûn felt that Khor'il'maar's wartime personality was no longer needed, which made for an easy transition to the well-spoken and thoughtful Mix'il'draz. All according to Aurim'var's plan.
Through Mix'il'draz, Aurim'var arranged for the smuggling of Khardûn's mighty wealth to other continents, where it would be miraculously "discovered" by various adventurers and taken to their cities or used to prop themselves up as nobles. All the while, Mix'il'draz aided Aurim'var by poisoning, mind-controlling, and otherwise dispatching of dragons and mortals alike who stood in their way in Khardûn. Eventually, the time came for Aurim'var to take the throne.
With a fiercely loyal Dragonlord at the helm of nearly every clan (Clan Uskeol's Dragonlord, Mizkari, was unimpressed with Aurim'var's personality, but respected the established hierarchy of Khardûn), Aurim'var "discovered" the mountains of Khardûnian treasures in the vaults of leaders around the world. As he expected, some were willing to relinquish what did not belong to them... others were not. Using this as an opportunity, Aurim'var led campaigns of war across every continent of Ardowin. In these years, sometimes referred to as the "Age of Fire" (though the sporadic nature of these wars makes some scholars hesitant to call it one long "age"), Aurim'var established Khardûn as the singular most powerful continent of Ardowin, putting on full display the sheer power of a military filled with dragons. Aurim'var himself went on many of these campaigns, bathing their leaders and their riches in white-hot flames. Once a city or country was defeated, he would take the smoldering remains of their wealth and mold it into a massive spike, which he would plunge into the landscape as a marker of his victory. Always the leaders of the people would be encased in the molten structure.
As his warpath grew bloodier, many of the people of Khardûn wished to step in his way, but he was in the prime of his strength, and nearly all the mightiest dragons of the time were in awe of his power. Eventually, even Mix'il'draz grew uneased by Aurim'var's wrath, and went to Aurim'var's own child, Auravil, to discuss. Auravil was certainly a powerful creature, but was fresh from his years as a wyrmling, far from being able to resist Aurim'var. Mix'il'draz trained Auravil over the years until Aurim'var caught wind of the treachery. Mix'il'draz tried to savage the Crown-Melter's mind, but was unable in his old age to outspeed the Archdragon. As punishment, Aurim'var created a globe of molten gold and shoved it into Auravil's skull in place of one of his eyes, an eternal reminder of Aurim'var's title and power.
Only a hundred years later, Auravil would earn the trust of many other young dragons of Khardûn and overthrow his father in Tjor'mat'al. In a tense fight, Auravil was able to make use of his father's hubris and blast his own flames down his father's throat before Aurim'var could react. As he reeled from the pain, Auravil's allies rushed in, in a rare breaking of Tjor'mat'al tradition, and worked together to subdue and slay the Crown-Melter. The spirits of Khardûn later approved, agreeing that Aurim'var was a threat that had to be stopped. Auravil would be the one to institute the presence of mortal authorities in the Clans of Khardûn under the title of Clan "Fangs," who would represent the mortals of each Clan in the decisions of the Draconic Council.
While Aurim'var was an undoubtedly ruthless creature, some of his crusades were, in fact, legitimate. In ages past, rival dragons of KhardĂ»n had, in fact, stolen relics of the continent and kept them for themselves. The Archdragon, for all his wickedness, was fiercely vengeful toward those who harmed KhardĂ»n's people, history, or culture. While no longer an aggressive force, it is thanks to Aurim'var that KhardĂ»n was inspired to keep a close, standing army, in case such a plot ever arose again, and kept a peaceful rapport with the world for nearly 1,500 years afterward, until the rise of Ănâdorâthal. As is often the case with history, out of the fires of pain and destruction, heroes rose and the world was rebuilt with greater resilience. The Crown-Melter was a reminder to Ardowin of what can happen when power goes unchecked, though few in power now were alive to witness the horror.