Gregory the Grey

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Gregory the Grey was a Slayer Dragon during the mid Fifth Age and is best remembered for being remarkably image-focused. He kept the tailors and craftsmen quite busy with constant changes to his Slayer Dragon Garb, and had a very extensive wardrobe. He never became Pendragon, though he was certainly a sure favorite for the position.

Influence

The mid Fifth Age was a tumolutous time for the Slayer Dragons. Over the previous 2500 years, they had lost almsot all political power and voice in the Alliance, and public opinion was slowly turning against them. Many prominent members of the Alliance were openly questioning the need for the archaic order.

Further, the Slayer Dragons themselves had been slow to adapt to a major social change in recent history, the adoption of ash pits as a funnerary custom. When even the highest-ranking officials in the Alliance were having their bodies burned beside commoners, many Slayer Dragons were still being buried an elaborate tombs in the Valley of Sleeping Dragons. And while the tomb practice stopped with Raul Kem in A.Y. 5513, Slayer Dragons were still building elaborate monuments to themselves in the valley.

Instead of bowing to public unrest, Gregory took an almost pollar opposite route. having not just a monument to his death, but dozens of monuments to his life constructed while he still breathed. Some decried him as shallow and egocentric, but he redefined what it was to be a Slayer Dragon.

Whenever he returned from a successful mission, he would have a parade held in his honor in Arindell. Dressed in his finest regalia, he would march at it's head, personally demanding the cheers and exclamations of the gathered crowd.

He didn't act like royalty, he didn't demand empty respect. He showcased his triumphs as well as his vices, asking the people not to respect him, but to look at him and make their own decisions.

In the end, the gambit paid off, and Gregory was regarded as a larger-than-life hero in his own time. Though his deeds may not have been great, they were well celibrated. This, in tern, helped win the hearts of the people. While the Slayer Dragons held little political power by that time, Gregory the Grey returned their public appeal.