In an act of vile defiance of the Maker's will, Vaeroloth created five paragons of her own—the Ancient Five—by literally ripping her physical form into five parts, she separated her sentience from her body and created the Ancient Five, her “sons.” She sent them out to destroy utterly the world the Maker had formed, refashioning it into a reality of her own design.
These five are Karashakon, Valkyrion, Tortaralon, Falasteron, and Malfastadon.
Now in pure Sentient form, Vaeroloth was unfettered and capable of inhabiting or possessing anything. To protect the worlds he made from her intrusion and to punish her dreadful deeds, the Maker formed the Abyss, a vacuous pocket plane fashioned particularly for the Great Dragon. Into this fathomless chasm he sent the bodiless Vaeroloth, where she would endure being ripped apart and reconstituted eternally.
The five Ancients wandered loose upon the world, but rather than remake, build and govern the world, as Vaeroloth would have them do, the Ancient Five each desired preeminence over his brothers. In their vain attempt to rule over each other destroyed everything—a devastating period known as The Annihilation. The Creation was too young and weak to stand, and over the course of several centuries, the Ancient Five would have ruined everything had not the Maker intervened by sending his avatars
“Dragonkin,” the progeny of the Ancient Five, come in a variety of forms. Besides begetting true dragons according to their kind, each of the Ancient Five has corrupted and perverted many of the Maker’s creatures, giving rise to the inherently evil monsters of the land, both living and undead.
The true dragons, drakes, hydras and other lesser forms are the only direct descendants and are known collectively as “Dragonspawn.” These are the deadliest, most ferocious, and most feared of all evil creatures that reside in the world. Fortunately, in the lands of Arelatha, most of the dragonspawn were eradicated during the centuries-old conflict with Valkyrion, which ended with the son of Vaeroloth's death along with thousands of his spawn. But not all were put down, and from time to time valiant warriors are called upon to remove the scourge.
Much more common are the perversions of the Creation, known as the “dragon-blooded,” which are vile cross-breeds between dragonspawn and any of the Maker’s natural creatures. The campaign to ruin Creation was carried out with great energy and capacity. And, as evil knows no bounds, there are many curs in this category, giving rise to a near-infinite variety of corrupted offspring. Men and beasts, birds, fish, and even insects all have corrupted, dragon-blooded versions. The sick ingenuity of dragonspawn corruption is a source of continuous surprise and alarm. But there are several versions of dragon-bloods that have proliferated over the centuries, becoming commonplace and even earning distinct bloodlines for themselves. Among this list (and the natural creature that was corrupted) are:
Hodekin (dog)
Nisse (rat)
Rotlark (vulture)
Lupinfell (wolf)
Shimmerkin (horse)
Ripclaw (bear)
Bakali or "viletooth" (crocodile)
Grimalkin (lion)
Komaci or "banespider" (spider)
Mankind has been affected most of all, for obvious reasons, and these dragon-blooded souls are the most to be pitied. Karashakon's spawn begat the alituri; Valkyrion's spawn begat the fathach; Tortaralon's spawn begat the boggrel; Falasteron's spawn begat the roark; and Malfastadon's spawn begat the sioch. Each of these horrible corruptions strikes directly at the Maker, for men are natural worshipers, but corrupted men instead hate and loathe the Maker. This is the greater tragedy, and when people encounter a dragon-blooded men, the spiteful, hateful eyes glaring back are a grim visual of how a darkened soul appears that has rejected the true worship.
Due to these realities, it is a serious insult to call someone “dragon-touched,” with varying motivations and levels of causticness.
Finally, though the Great Dragon herself resides in the Abyss, she has been busy creating legions of subservient creatures, known collectively as jinadaar. These foul beings, crafted from the substance of the Abyss itself, are irredeemably evil and, thankfully, bound to that plane of existence. Unless…someone releases them, a horrifying practice that has been gaining in popularity among followers of the Great Dragon.
While not purely dragonkin, a variety of undead creatures also exists, the unfortunate result of Malfastadon exuding negative energy that sucks all life and warmth from its surroundings.