Archon Dragon

Out of all warden dragons, archon dragons seek to form the most close-knit communities out of their hoards, where hoard members and dragon share the strongest and most personal bonds—but this does not mean that archon dragons are above evil, A young archon dragon will seek out hoard- mates among those who have traditionally been rejected by society. Archon dragons specifically look for those who are powerless, destitute, and desperate for community, and give them power of their own. They are magical batteries, and those who join their hoard develop sorcerous powers just from proximity to the archon. Finally having both a community to call their own and access to a power they never had before often makes the members of an archon dragon’s hoard incredibly loyal to the hoard, and to the dragon who leads it. This is an incredibly potent combination, and, in the claws of the wrong dragon, a deadly one. An archon dragon hoard is often called a “syndicate,” although some just refer to it as a family. Because archon dragons deliberately target people ostracized by society, syndicates that grow powerful and large enough often take over the criminal underbellies of cities. Unlike mundane syndicates, though, the members of the hoard have access not only to the powerful connections that the hoard affords them, but literal sorcerous powers. The member of the hoard who shows the most unwavering loyalty to the syndicate is, in return, given the most sorcerous power. The archon dragon chooses one of these most loyal members as their heir, called their prince; eventually, the prince will receive the archon dragon’s very essence and become an archon dragon themselves. However, the implied threat is obvious. Members of a syndicate hoard know all too well that everything they have acquired is because of the connections and the power that their dragon leader has granted them—and what one hand gives, the other can take away. Those who leave the syndicate or, worse, betray it, find that their sorcerous power was never truly theirs. The dragon can take it away from them just as easily as it was given. It would be a mistake, however, to assume that all archon dragons create their hoards with evil intent in mind. Many syndicates, even criminal ones, endeavor to give a home to those whom society has shunned for any reason, and they are known to be welcoming to any who seek to enter their ranks, regardless of creed, appearance, or past mistakes. There are also quite a few documented cases of archon dragons establishing themselves in orphanages and even leper colonies, taking care of their hoardmates and protecting them from an outside world that has failed them when they needed it most. For this reason, archon dragons are also sometimes referred to as “nanny dragons.”