The Secret Order of Dragon Defenders

The Order of Dragon Defenders is a secretive group that carefully guards its secrets and strives to keep its existence from public knowledge. The Order was founded by nearly 150 years ago, with its headquarters located on the hidden island known as Dragon Isle. The Dragon Isle is considered a safe zone, a sanctuary where defenders and dragons of all races, types, and alignments can meet, associate, and solve any disputes without fear of reprisal. The following information describes the function, purpose, and hierarchy inherent within the order.

Death of a Defender or His Dragon

Dragon defenders are oath sworn to protect their dragons, so also are dragons sworn to protect their defenders. Each is duty bound to ensure the other’s safety, even sacrificing one’s self for the other. However, there are times when a dragon defender or his dragon companion, fail to uphold this oath. If a defender’s dragon has been slain, he cannot advance any further in the dragon defender prestige class. From that point on he is recorded on the rolls of the Grand Council as a dragon avenger, and is bound by his oath to avenge his dragon’s death. Once the defender has succeeded in eliminating the dragon’s killer, he is eligible to be chosen by another dragon as its defender after one week of mourning. At such time, he is again recorded on the rolls of the Grand Council as a dragon defender, and may once again continue to advance in the dragon defender prestige class. Dragons who lose their defender must also avenge their deaths before they may select a suitable replacement.

The Grand Defender and the Grand Council

The Secret Order of Grand Defenders is an organization of singular individuals united in a common cause–to preserve the cumulative knowledge, magic, and culture of dragonkind. Each defender shares a symbiotic relationship with his dragon companion. Both are pledged to protect one another, and aid any other dragons or defenders of their order. Although a defender and his dragon frequently work alone within the edicts of the order, there are times that the entire order is summoned together as one body, but this is done only under remarkable and dire circumstances. Such gatherings are initiated under the supervision of the Grand Defender and the Grand Council.

The Grand Defender, who also serves as a dragon defender, is elected by the Grand Council to serve as the protector, representative, and final voice of the order. In times of war, when the order is called to battle as a whole, the Grand Defender serves as their field marshal, with the members of the Grand Council assuming command under him. A Grand Defender is usually chosen for his or her individual merits–matchless bravery, prowess in battle, intuitive mind, and strength of character in upholding the edicts and oaths taken as a defender of dragonkind. The Grand Defender must have a character level of 15 or higher, 6 levels of which must be in the dragon defender prestige class.

The Grand Council is an elected body of defenders consisting of 15 members, one representative each of the five metallic, five chromatic, and five primal dragons. Although there are other dragons represented within the order, the majority come from these three categories. Each of the 15 defenders are bestowed with the honored title of Grand Councilor and serve as the voice of their specific dragon type (blue, silver, crystal, etc.) within the Grand Council and before the body of the order.

For those dragon defenders whose dragons are not represented by the Grand Council, they may seek out a member of the Grand Council, usually one who is most similar to their dragon, to petition the council or the body on his behalf. Quandaries within the order that pertain to the defenders are brought before the Grand Council within the Hall of Defenders, where the Grand Defender and the Grand Council decide upon the most optimal solutions. Situations involving dragons only are brought before the Council of Dragons, while those involving dragons and defenders are brought before a joint assembly of the Grand Council and the Council of Dragons.

The Council of Dragons

Much like the Grand Council, the Council of Dragons consists of 15 members, again, one representative for each of the 15 major dragon types found within the three categories–the metallic, the chromatic, and the primal. It is after this Council of Dragons that the Grand Council and the Secret Order of Dragon Defenders was patterned. The Council of Dragons is the draconic congress who deals with disputes among the various races of dragonkind, both within the Secret Order of Dragon Defenders and those who live upon the Dragon Isles, the hidden islands where the headquarters of the Secret Order of Dragon Defenders and the Council of Dragons are located. This Council also supervises the Great Hatchery of the Dragon Isles.