Cult of the Ceathrar

The Cult of the Ceathrar is the religion of the city-state of Baltaria. The focus of the Cult are four immense dragons, named Kun, Bast, Samir and Aysu. Each of these dragons embodies one of the four elements, and are able to wield them with impunity. The dragons reside on the highest level of the city of Baltaria, where they stay unless the city is threatened or omens say they should sally forth and support their people.

Belief In a world where Gods are real, the Baltur are aware that the Ceathrar are not themselves Gods or Daemons. However, they believe that God gave birth to them, and that they embody the four elements on the physical plain in order to maintain the balance. Therefore the Ceathrar are thought to be physical manifestations of divine will on earth.

The Chosen worship their Patron Drake specifically, but the Baltur honour all of the Ceathrar equally, for it is all in equal measure that make the divine balanced. If one of the Ceathrar was to become neglected or over-honoured, the natural balance lain down by God would be disrupted. The Baltur say that if this happens the Moon will crack, and Gods enemies will stream forth and slay all in their path. Thus, the Ceathrar are worshipped as Gods agents on earth- after all, they are his children, and are the closest thing to Him that can be worshipped.

While the Baltur respect the existence of Daemons, they argue that they are insignificant in comparison to Gods children. The rest of the world thinks the Baltur are insane for thinking God even had any children, let alone children that were dragons. If any outsider insults the Ceathrar however, they are instantly taken captive and offered as a human sacrifice to the Ceathrar at the very next Moon-rise. Naturally, there aren’t many stupid enough to risk being eaten by four dragons. The same fate is met by heretics.

The Priesthood

The Dragon Priests are the closest humans to the Ceathrar. They carry out the sacrifices and offerings, and they care for their every need. They are the spiritual and academic support of the Cult. They were created by King Baltarion I as the go-betweens between him and the dragons, but now occupy a more ceremonial role as well as instructing the Royal Children and the Chosen.

The Chosen 

The Chosen are those humans blessed at birth with elemental powers. They are taken at their second birthday and housed on the fifth level of the city, and are trained to be diplomats and soldiers of the Ceathrar. They are the physical and diplomatic support and representation of the Ceathrar.

Origin Myth

The One True God (as the Baltar call God) laid a single egg in the sky in the beginning of all things. Eventually, this egg hatched, leaving behind the Bhlaosc in the night sky. From this egg emerged five drakelings; Kun, Bast, Samir, Aysu and Noya. Each of these siblings embodied a different divine element; Kun was the earth, Bast was the fire, Samir the air, and Aysu the water. Noya- the youngest and only she-drake- embodied the power of the One True God himself, and was the purest of the five divine beings. The dragons were nurtured by the One True God until they had become fully grown. Then they descended to earth and lived in harmony, carrying out their Father’s bidding; to maintain the natural equilibrium.

The Coming of the Baltur

The Ceathrar lived I harmony until around seven thousand years ago, when the human Baltarion and his people moved north into their territory. Baltarion was terrified of the dragons, and the dragons mistook this fear for aggression and attacked. The MediaWiki:Badtitletext was brutal and bloody, with over half of Balturion’s people slain in just five minutes. However the battle stopped when Baltarion killed Noya while protecting his heavily pregnant wife. The dragons recoiled in grief, and from this point nature began to fail around them. Baltarion saw what he had caused and was horrified at the impending doom approaching with the unbalance.

However, upon the very eve of the Doom, Baltarion’s wife Bolormaa gave birth to a son. Upon his birth, nature healed at an amazingly rapid pace. The dragons saw this revival and understood what had occurred. They went to Baltarion, and saw his son. They told him that their Father, the One True God had brought Noya back in the form of a tiny human child. This reincarnation ended the hostilities between the two as now their fates were irreversibly linked.

Baltarion, still keen to make amends for the slaying of Noya, built a magnificent city into the side of the Ardeaglais, where he built a temple to honour the Children of God. But this was not enough for Baltarion, who still felt gnawing guilt for his actions.

So he built the city higher and higher, dedicating a level to each of the Ceathrar, bringing some of the finest Dwarven and Elven craftspeople to complete them. He built more levels for future expansion.

But even this was not enough, and so Baltarion embarked on the greatest achievement of his lifetime. He took his workforce and set them at carving out the entire inside of the Ardeaglais Mountain, which the city was built into. It took sixty years, but eventually a magnificent tomb was finished, and the bones of Noya were placed within the huge cavern. Upon the completion, Baltarion dropped dead, giving the Ardeaglais the name ‘Haunted Cathedral’ as it is thought that the spirits of Baltarion and all his descendants roam around the skeleton of their greatest shame in eternal penance.

In honour of Baltarion’s great endeavours, the Ceathrar blessed his four younger children with their own elemental powers, and trained them as their own. Thus, the chosen were born, and strove to protect their God’s children and their city using their powers (although there was plenty of opportunity for freelancing using their powers).

The Fall: 

During the Fall, the youngest daughter of King Baltarion XXVI saw a vision of a greater empire, and Prophesised that the Baltur would become an even greater nation, and expand against the heretics. Thus, Kun and Bast (the most bloodthirsty and restless of the Ceathrar) flew with the Chosen and took with Fire and Blood the entire island which on Baltaria was located. After the invasion was done- and this was quickly, as the surrounding peoples were simply not expecting a dragon the size of a small hill to attack, let alone two leading an army of elementals- numerous colonies were founded throughout the land for all previous settlements were destroyed by dragon fire and elemental blasts. These were all walled and tiered cities similar to Baltaria, and took their names from the Ceathrar. They were called Kunai, Bast-Se, Samir-Kha, and Aysur. Each of these colonies pays tribute to Bataria and act as the first line of defence against invaders.

Present Day: 

In the present, the Ceathrar enjoy an unparalleled level of defence and prosperity, as do their people. They still reside in the topmost level of the city, and enjoy visits from their people. They also do much trade with the city of Urmin in order to source the vast quantities of gold and other offerings deemed vital. In return they trade dragon scales, and precious gems, as well as the excellent wine grown on the slopes of the Haunted Cathedral, amongst other mostly metallurgical exports.