Slayer Dragons

Officially known as the Order of Slayer Dragons or the Order of the Slayer Dragons, they are ten battling sorcerers who are the ceremonial leaders of the Alliance. The Slayer Dragons are based out of Stormwind Keep in Arindell, and have strong ties to the Atayan people.

The Slayer Dragons are based around the concepts of Truth, Liberty, and Justice, and their primary role in the world is stop others from ruling by magic.

Power

Each Slayer Dragon carries a mystical power that was created by Draco when the order was founded in A.Y. 10. It increases their magical abilities and makes them stronger and more capable in combat. The power can also be used in several spells that are unique to the Slayer Dragons.

Each member of the order is described as carrying "a portion" of the power, divided equally between them. This portion must be passed on before death, or it will be lost. Over the course of the Ages, the power has shrank as many Slayer Dragons died in combat, unable to pass on their portion.

This is why Slayer Dragons always operate in teams of two. If one falls, he can pass his power to the other, who can then pass it to a new Slayer Dragon. In rare cases, dieing Slayer Dragons have passed their power to bystanders in order to preserve it.

Kenneth Winter was the first Slayer Dragon to die in combat and be unable to pass on his power.

Regalia

Each Slayer Dragon chooses a combination of two colors that is unique among their group of ten. These are used in the making of their garb or regalia, and helps them to identify each other on the battlefield. The regalia is made specially for each Slayer Dragon by the Craftsmen.

Battle Standard

Each set of regalia also includes a battle standard, comprised of the two colors. A small 'master standard' is hung in Stormwind Keep. Battle standards for every Slayer Dragon still hung in Stormwind Keep as late as the Seventh Age.

Every battle standard was supposed to be unique, but with over 1400 Slayer Dragons throughout history and the limited nature of the standards, some repetition was unavoidable. Later Slayer Dragons would also often emulate the standards of their favorite historical heroes in order to indicate a connection.

Along with the regalia colors, a Slayer Dragon chooses two symbolic elements to comprise their standard. These elements are intended to represent the Slayer Dragons personal motivations and background.

Hunter Jusenkyou's standard was a setting sun and a dragon, but always arrange in such a configuration that an equilateral triangle overlaid on the design would reveal an invisible third-point, this was often theorized to represent the Gudersnipe Foundation.

Trials

The Trials are a series of tests that must be completed before a potential trainee can become a Slayer Dragon. They are highly ritualistic and symbolic in nature, and typically allow for only one new Slayer Dragon to be annointed per year.

Becoming a Slayer Dragon can start as early as the age of 10. The youngest Slayer Dragon in history was Kenneth Winter, annointed during the Ages#The Golden Age, who completed the trials at 17. Officially, the training process and trials take 3 years to complete but previous experience factors largely into how quickly one may complete the training. Kenneth, the youngest Slayer Dragon ever annointed, recieved special dispensation to begin his training at 9, and completed The Trials at 17. Enus the Abhorrent, the oldest Slayer Dragon ever annointed, began training at the age of 20 and was not annointed until the age of 55, spending a total of 35 years to complete The Trials. Hunter Jusenkyou holds the record for the fastest completion, finishing The Trials in just 2 years. However, as a Gudersnipe School graduate, he was given special recognition and allowed to skip the bulk of the training.

History

According to the S.D.C. System and tradition, the Order began in B.G.A. 6, when Uther, first Pendragon of Slayer Dragons took up the sword, Sword Excalibur, thus officially making him their leader. However, as of that date, he was the only Slayer Dragon.

Between B.G.A. 6 and A.Y. 10, Uther would gather the first generation of Slayer Dragons. They were caleld simply The Ten, a name which would endure throughout history to represent the original ten Slayer Dragons.

A.Y. 10 would be marked as the founding year of the Alliance, and also the year the Order of Slayer Dragons was created. Uther had already gathered his Ten, but they were still known simply as The Ten by that time. Draco, the great dragon, who would do more to shape the Alliance than anyone else, was responsible for the name. He bestowed upon Uther the title of Pendragon, and created the unique Slayer Dragon power that would help the order to complete their task.

In A.Y. 190, Pendragon Jayce Spearlock created the Slayer Dragon Count to establish a unified chronology of the Slayer Dragons. The A.Y. System would not be formalized until over 900 years later, and the Alliance had not unified calendar. S.D.C. years count forwards from B.G.A. 6 as the year 0.

From A.Y. 1298 until A.Y. 1898, the Slayer Dragons went through what would later be known as the Golden Age of the Slayer Dragons, which itself took place entirely inside Uther's Golden Age.

The Order of Slayer Dragons would exist for nearly 6,000 years, throughout all six Ages of the Alliance. Near the end of the Sixth Age, six Slayer Dragons would die in a single day, marking the begining of the end for the order.

Political Age

In A.Y. 2439, the senate of the Unity Earth Sphere Alliance announced that it would begin appointing it's own Slayer Dragons, and that the title was to become a political office. They planned to abolish the Trials all together and disband the order. The current set of Slayer Dragons were intended to be the last "under the old ways" and the next to die would be replaced by someone appointed by committee.

Understandably, this was not copesetic with the Slayer Dragons, who by this time were an order with a long standing history steeped in tradition. Michael Muranaka, the 34th Pendragon of Slayer Dragons, spoke out quite publicly and quite impolitely, going so far as to suggest that the senate committee should attempt to fornicate with themselves.

When one of his ten died and the committee made it's first political appointment, Michael went ahead and anointed his own Slayer Dragon instead. He refused to draw his sword for the political apointee, saying that if he did, he would remove the man's head from his shoulders(his exact words also made reference to fornication).

Essentially, the laws for the Order of Slayer Dragons were laid down in Uther's own hand, and superseded any law the Alliance might try to pass. The Pendragon refused to anoint the new Slayer Dragons and the Craftsmen refused to produce any regalia for them. The politically-appointed Slayer Dragons even had to hire outside artisans to produce their standards, which were not recognized and not hung in Stormwind Keep. At times, some of these psuedo-Slayer Dragons were even bared from entering Stormreaver Valley.

At it's height, the senate committee appointed as many as 1000 Slayer Dragons who were not affiliated with or recognized by the Order. Eventually, public opinion won out, and the practice was abolished towards the end of the Second Age.

The era still stands as a stark contrast to the Golden Age of the Slayer Dragons, during which they had absolute political authority and the freedom to do what they were created to do.

Golden Age

Lasting from A.Y. 1298-1898, the so-called 'Golden Age of the Slayer Dragons' was a time where, for 600 years, the Slayer Dragons were free to practice their intended purpose.

It was during this era that most of the rituals and doctrine of the modern Slayer Dragons were formed. The Trials were created during this time and though the tests continued to evolve, the basic tenants of the Slayer Dragons perfected during this era continued to be practiced for the next 5,000 years.

The Golden Age of the Slayer Dragons began as a result of the political withdrawal of the Slayer Dragons started by Aden Searlin over 250 years earlier. The collapse of Earth Sphere Unified Nations removed what little political power they originally had, and rather than attempt to reclaim it, they settled on practicing their trade: maintaining the peace and protecting the world of life from evil.

Death and Burial

Very few Slayer Dragons retire, though it is not unheard of. Most will remain a part of the Order until death. The Slayer Dragon power must be passed to another, so older Slayer Dragons will remain a part of the order until they can carry out this last act.

Begining with Uther in the Golden Age and ending with Raul Kem in the Fifth Age, every Slayer Dragon was layed to rest in the Valley of Sleeping Dragons, in elaborate tombs made by the Craftsmen.

Kem was the last to receive this treatment, and all later dragons would be burned in Ash pits in Arindell.

Trends

During the early-to-mid Second Age, the fashion for regalia was all about symmetry, even going to extreme lengths. This fell out of favor gradually over the course of nearly a century, beginning with [...], who refused to wear matching socks, ever.

Influence

The high-fashion world in Arindell has always copied regalia, in fact you can tell which Slayer Dragon is the most popular by what colors you see most represented on evening gowns.