An Overview
The Drakewardens are not knights, not priests, not mages. They are custodians of continuity—a living system designed to survive the absence of its creators.
They existed to keep dragons connected to the world. They endure to ensure dragons are never forgotten by it.
I. Origins and Early Role
Before –1741 YR
In the Elder Age and early Age of Mortal Ascent, Drakewardens were numerous and unremarkable by design.
They served as
- Keepers of dragon shrines, hatcheries, and sanctified enclaves
- Emissaries and translators between dragonkind and mortal courts
- Messengers trusted to cross borders dragons would not
- Stewards of draconic law, precedent, and custom
They were not chosen for power. They were chosen for reliability.
Any mortal race could become a Drakewarden but, in practice, the role favored peoples long-lived enough to remember, mobile enough to travel, and culturally inclined toward service. Elves, humans, half-elves, halflings, and dragonborn formed the overwhelming majority. Dragonborn, in particular, often served as shrine-anchors and hereditary keepers.
In this era, becoming a Drakewarden was a calling, not a mystery. They were trained openly. They were everywhere dragons were.
II. The Retreat and the Burden of Silence
–1741 to –1507 YR
As dragons withdrew from mortal courts, the Drakewardens became essential.
They carried
- Declarations no dragon would speak aloud
- Instructions meant to be obeyed decades later
- Reconciliations between dragons who no longer met face to face
They were the connective tissue of a fracturing world.
When the First Schism of Wyrms erupted, Drakewardens were among the few mortals permitted to witness draconic debate. Some carried conflicting orders. Some carried none at all.
As dragon eyries were abandoned, Drakewardens did not leave. They stayed to seal wards, tend failing hatcheries, and record final observations. Many died maintaining places no dragon would ever return to.
By the time the Wyrmwood Isles vanished and all verified dragon presence ended in –1507 YR, most Drakewardens simply… stopped.
- Some vanished alongside their patrons.
- Some laid down their oaths and lived quietly.
- Some disappeared entirely, as if recalled.
The order collapsed without announcement. No final decree survives.
III. The Long Absence
–1507 to –1236 YR
For generations, there were no Drakewardens.
Shrines decayed. Hatcheries went cold. Draconic artifacts fell silent or broke. The role became legend, then scholarship, then argument.
When the Sundering struck, no Drakewarden intervened. No drake answered the call.
This absence is now understood as deliberate.
The Drakewarden line was not destroyed. It was placed in abeyance.
IV. The Wyrms’ Last Message
Shortly After –1236 YR
After the founding of Elandor, a lone Drakewarden appeared before the Dragonborn council.
- No summons preceded them.
- No herald announced them.
- They bore no sigil of office—only the authority of recognition.
They delivered the final, official message of the Wyrms’ Accord, the ruling councils of Wyrmwood:
Keep the Drakewarden Lineage alive and safe.
Teach them the ways.
You will know the Lineage by their mark.
No explanation followed. No questions were answered. The messenger departed and was never seen again.
From that moment onward, the Drakewardens became rare by design.
V. The Modern Drakewarden Lineage
Since that message, history records only one to three confirmed Drakewardens per generation across all of Rhome.
They are not recruited. They are recognized.
Identification
A potential heir is identified through signs, intuition, and—most importantly—the Mark of Lineage, a draconic sign whose true nature remains deliberately unrecorded outside Elandor.
Confirmation requires testing with a sealed draconic artifact. If the artifact responds, the child is acknowledged as a Drakewarden Initiate. If it does not, the matter is never spoken of again.
Taking
On their fifteenth birthday, every confirmed Initiate—regardless of race or lifespan—is taken to Elandor. This is non-negotiable. Even elves are removed from their homes at this age, a practice that has caused quiet resentment but never been reversed.
From this point forward, the Initiate belongs to the Lineage.
Training
Between ages fifteen and eighteen, Initiates are trained in:
- Draconic history and law
- Stewardship of shrines and relics
- The old languages and protocols
- The bond-forming disciplines required to answer a drake’s call
Training is austere, precise, and unsentimental. No one is guaranteed success.
Ascension
On their eighteenth birthday, an Initiate is formally tested.
If they can summon and bond with their drake, they are named Drakewarden.
If they cannot, their fate is recorded—but never publicly discussed.
VI. Purpose in the Present Age
Drakewardens no longer serve dragons directly.
They exist to:
- Preserve sites and knowledge meant for a future that may never arrive
- Safeguard draconic artifacts that resist all other custodians
- Act as living continuity should dragons ever return—or should the world need them again
They are not champions. They are keys kept warm by human hands.
The world broke once when stewards vanished and kings followed. The Drakewardens exist to ensure that, if history turns its wheel again, someone will still remember how the locks work.