Lore:The Dragon

The Dragon
The Dragon
Race	Luminary	Gender	Female
Resided in		Wing of the Dragon Wing of the Crow
Appears in		ESO

The Dragon, also known more specifically as the Luminary Dragon, was one of the Luminaries of Magic, mysterious immortal beings of pure magic, spirits likened to beams of sunlight from Magnus himself, her chosen form was that of a Dragon. She played an important role in the life of Archmage Ulfsild the Evergreen, collaborating with her alongside the other Luminaries to develop the system of Scribing, precursor to the modern Spellcrafting system.

The Dragon was endlessly fascinated with the world inside the mind, the "universe within". She viewed riddles as a shift in perspective, questions even the smallest of which could lead to an entirely new worldview, if asked at the right time. As such, she would lend her strength only to one who had a mind for riddles as she did, judging the shape of their mind by the questions which they deemed worthy of asking. Like the other Luminaries, The Dragon did not know the reason for her birth, a fact which gave rise to her fascination with the mind, which she thought also existed without purpose, but was beautiful in its complexity. She believed that, as immortal beings of pure magic, the Luminaries had no real responsibilities other than to engage in intellectual pursuits and improvements in thought. The Dragon judged the worth of mortals based on how she judged their minds, and believed that the minds of mortals and Luminaries were in truth not dissimilar. She valued careful thought and caution over swift action, and would not accept any riddle originally asked by someone other than the one entreating her as a valid answer.

As with all of the original Luminaries, the Dragon herself was not aware of her true origins, and had her own theories on her birth. The Dragon believed herself to have been born from the ebb and flow of Aetherius and Nirn, from a confluence of magic beyond mortal influence, and refused to consider her birth the result of events such as a magical accident or a summoning gone awry. Being asked questions on her birth angered her, and she was willing to argue at length over the topic.

The Dragon was viewed as having given Ulfsild a lot of trouble during her creation of Scribing, and only reluctantly accepted the name "Luminary" from her. The Dragon's beliefs were viewed with some skepticism by the other Luminaries, who viewed her as eccentric and prone to thinking herself very clever while simultaneously ignoring the simple truths right in front of her. She was thought to hoard riddles, puzzles, and mysteries, as a real dragon might, always on the lookout for more to learn. Despite viewing her as an eccentric who spent her time on frivolous pursuits, the Luminary Gryphon acknowledged her flaws were outweighed by her wisdom. According to The Netch, of the Luminaries, people were drawn to The Dragon due to being the sort to never let the thoughts of another pass without interjection.

HistoryEdit

Before Meeting UlfsildEdit

The Luminary Dragon came into existence at an unknown point in time With her birth she chose the shape of her physical form, and her personal realm, the Wing of the Dragon was also shaped and hewn into existence in the same manner. The Luminary Dragon chose the form of a Dragon, a shape she viewed as beautiful and magnificent, different from the forms chosen by the other Luminaries, which she viewed as pedestrian and embarassing.

Meeting Ulfsild and the Birth of ScribingEdit

The Scholarium beneath Eyevea

The door to the Wing of the Dragon

At some point after 1E 2250, when Ulfsild had already located the Wing of the Indrik, she'd also encounter the Dragon. Ulfsild heard the Fable of Mizbi and the Dragon from a Moon-Singer while travelling with a band of nomads through Malabal Tor. She immediately knew there was more to the tale, and spent the night sleepless thinking on it. Wandering from the campsite, Ulfsild found a young Cathay Khajiit gazing up at the stars. Being asked why he was awake, the Khajiit responded with a question, wondering if "she" could see him, the one who raises her gaze twice a night from under the galloping hooves of the Steed constellation. Ulfsild surmised that the Khajiit was speaking of the Twilight Star, of Azura. The Khajiit than offered to trade a polished moonstone for the feather of the Luminary Indrik on Ulfsild's hat. Ulfsild refused, as she'd had the feather since she was a child and it was very dear to her, and she recounted the Fable of the Indrik instead. Behaving as if she'd won some sort of game they'd been playing, the Khajiit once more offered up the moonstone as a fair trade for the story he'd been told. When Ulfsild tried to hand the moonstone back, he refused to take it, claiming instead she could give it back in exchange for another story or riddle. Wishing to learn more of the fable of Mizbi, Ulfsild asked the Khajiit to tell it to her again, writing down notes in the process, as she knew the story was the key to finding The Dragon.

Ulfsild annotated the text and used its clues to discover the gateway to the Dragon's realm. She obtained the keys from various locations, from the temple of Jode's Light, from the Do'Krin Monastery , from Khaj'Rawlith, and from Ja'zennji Siir to the west of Dune. Ultimately she found the door in a grove south of Willowgrove village, she broke the wards and entered the dragon's domain. When Ulfsild encountered The Dragon she asked her a question. What is the thing that in order to have, you must give it up. The answer was an impossible riddle, and that was what the dragon wanted if she was to lend her power. Ulfsild could not give the dragon an impossible riddle, but she could give her a paradox. If she scribed a grimoire that could also scribe out every other possible grimoire, would it eventually also create itself ? The two argued over the question for hours and, eventually, the dragon conceded. Ulfsild passed the trial, and formed a bond with the Dragon, who lent her power, thus changing Ulfsild's magic forever.

Ulfsild and the Dragon collaborated during the creation of Scribing. The Dragon, keen of mind and eager to listen, was associated with the development of Signature elements, Scripts that could adapt to the magical and fighting styles of the person holding the parchment, named for all the ways in which Scribing could interact with the goals and magics of other disciplines that Ulfsild had discovered. A concept originally thought up by The Dragon herself, Signature Scripts were ultimately not fully completed in Ulfsild's time.

Before the doors to their wings were sealed, the Luminaries, including the Dragon, fed the altar their strength. With their strength fueling it, the altar could achieve incredible feats of magic, allowing it to "shape the very heart of magic itself" and translate its very essence into mortal hands with the Luminary as the intermediary, thereby changing, or rewriting, both the magic and the mortal, as the practicioner scrawled their soul upon the page. The power of The Dragon herself caused new Ley Line activity to take place across Tamriel, making Signature Scripts and Luminous Ink appear across the land, a phenomenon theorized to be tied symbolically to The Dragon's chosen shape. Eventually, the Scholarium was lost along with Eyevea, which it was located under, transported to the Shivering Isles due to a bargain Shalidor made with the Daedric Prince Sheogorath in exchange for the Folium Discognitum. Before departing from the Scholarium, Ulfsild visited the dragon one last time. Thinking ahead, she promised the Luminary three things, that one day another with a mind for riddles would appear, that they would offer her another impossible riddle, and that they would never claim to be Ulfsild's inheritor.

With the doors closed, the altar became dormant. Without that beating heart, the mastery of Scribing was believed to stagnate. The Scholarium itself was not discovered, however, for it had been warded against mages, Princes, and powers, long ago, and those defenses held strong even in the Shivering Isles.

Rediscovery of ScribingEdit

In 2E 582, either before or after Eyevea was returned to Tamriel by Shalidor and the Mages Guild, the Scholarium was rediscovered by a group of knights from the Order of the Lamp. During their arrival, complications arose, necessitating the sealing of the doors to prevent a catastrophe, as the once dormant altar became unstable, threatening the lives of everyone present. The disaster was prevented due to the intervention of the Vestige, who replaced the unstable focusing crystal. This potentially also prevented the discovery of the Scholarium by Sheogorath, an event which would've been catastrophic.

After the magic was calmed, the Scholarium's caretaker, the Luminary Crow, directed the Vestige to seek out the other Luminaries and gain their support in order to return their strength to the altar. An act equated to inheriting Ulfsild's legacy and leaving a mark on spellcraft itself.

The Inheritor of the Scholarium retraced Ulfsild's footsteps, discovering the fable and keys, breaking the wards, and entering the Wing of the Dragon to reconnect the Scholarium with it. The Dragon gave the Inheritor a series of riddles to solve in order to give her further insight into their mind. With the aid of their allies in the Scholarium, the Inheritor figured out the solutions, slaying beasts in Reaper's March, seeking out treasure troves, and defeating a Tales of Tribute Grandmaster. The Dragon than gave the Inheritor their final challenge, to give her an impossible riddle. The Vestige ultimately posed The Dragon the question of whether the were Ulfsild's Inheritor or not. Puzzled by how the Vestige knew of her conversations with Ulfsild, The Dragon was once more caught in a paradox. Only the Inheritor could know of what Ulfsild had said, yet the Vestige had never claimed to be the Inheritor and, if they weren't, they could not know of what Ulfsild had said. The Dragon acknowledged the Vestige's cunning strategy, and conceded to lend her power.

Aut'arioth, the Inheritor's Bane

The Luminaries of Magic

With her trials completed, the Dragon granted the Sigil of the Dragon to the Inheritor. Placed at the altar, the Sigil restored the connection between the realm of the Dragon and the Scholarium, and the Dragon's strength flowed into the altar once more. This reconnection led to the great power of the Dragon causing new Ley Line activity across Tamriel, thus making Signature Scripts and Luminous Ink appear across the land, a phenomenon theorized to be tied symbolically to The Dragon's chosen shape.

The Dragon appeared in the Wing of the Crow when the Vestige underwent the final trial to be declared the inheritor of Ulfsild's legacy. The Luminary spoke encouraging words, she communicated through an arcane brazier, admitted she was surprised by the manner in which the Vestige had gained the support of the other Luminaries, and urged them to develop a keen mind. Within the Luminary Crow's replica of Labyrinthian. the Inheritor bested the Chimera Aut'arioth, which the Crow had summoned to serve as the final challenge. The Dragon and the other Luminaries than appeared, and acknowledged the Vestige as the inheritor of Ulfsild's legacy. Thus Scribing returned to Tamriel.

Fable of the DragonEdit

The Fable of the Dragon

The Fable of the Dragon tells the story of Mizbi the Bard, a Khajiit that knew the answer to every riddle. Mizbi knew the answers to all riddles because The Luminary Dragon lived within her head, and made sure she knew. Mizbi and her Dragon came to the Jode's Light Monastery and asked the monks present, what it was that could be broken with but a single word. When the monks failed to answer, Mizbi replied "silence", much to the delight of The Dragon. The Dragon than showed her wings, and carried Mizbi to another monastery, circled by Claws ready to strike. The Dragon spoke through Mizbi's mouth and asked the Claws whether they were swift enough to know what dies by devouring itself. When the Claws failed to answer, The Dragon replied "a torch", and flew Mizbi away, landing within a circle of Moon-Singers. The songs of the Moon-Singers shackled Mizbi and her Dragon, and were about to split them. The Dragon once more posed a riddle, what had to be kept after it was given to someone or else it would be made worthless. As the Moon-Singers pondered the answer,which was "a promise", Mizbi and her Dragon flew away to safety once more.

Chased for their mischief, Mizbi and her Dragon flew to a grove of willows where a door between worlds was located. The Dragon would take Mizbi to sanctuary, but only if she answered one final riddle. The Dragon asked, what had a wide mouth yet never spoke with its own voice. A frustrated Mizbi replied the answer was Mizbi herself, as The Dragon would always speak for her. Mizbi's moth than opened wide and The Dragon slithered out, demanding that she speak the answer in her own voice this time. Mizbi laughed in relief, assured that the pain had all been in her head. Though she didn't answer the riddle, The Dragon deemed her answer clever enough to bring her through the gate, to sanctuary.

Wing of the DragonEdit

The Wing of the Dragon is a pocket realm belonging to the Luminary Dragon. It was shaped and hewn into being in the same way she chose her form. The reason for the realm's formation was unknown, though the Luminary Indrik theorized that the realms of the Luminaries had formed due to the wisdom of Aetherius, which did not wish for the Luminaries to be both alone and wandering.

The realm resembles a great cavern dotted with architecture similar to what one might find in Elsweyr. As with the realms of all Luminaries, it had a warded door and a key which one had to use to enter it.

See AlsoEdit

• For game-specific information, see the Elder Scrolls Online article.

ReferencesEdit

Note: The following references are considered to be unofficial sources. They are included to round off this article and may not be authoritative or conclusive.