Aur

Aur, the golden moon of Therafim, is a lush, verdant place, filled with life and all manner of different habitats, making it a perfect home for almost every type of non-planar dragon. However, most of the life on the planet is underground, since Aur is a "hollow world," with a single great living dragon crystal of roughly spherical shape at its center, suspended above the teeming, varied landscape that lines the inner crust of the planet. This dragon crystal is said to be the portal through which all dragon souls pass on their way to the afterlife, and a means whereby any dragon can communicate with Io, if they dare. Smaller slabs of rock circle the central dragon crystal, held aloft by its raw magical power, and these create cycles of day and night on the inner shell of Aur. Most life on Aur is located beneath the surface, living on the inside of this moon's crust.

The outer surface of Aur, on the other hand, is sparsely populated, and mostly desert and rocky terrain in composition, with a few rare oases fed by underground streams, making it an ideal place for desert-dwelling creatures, especially blue and copper dragons. The golden sands of this rugged terrain is also noted for having a high concentration of metals, including precious metals, and is the primary reason why Aur appears golden in color from the surface of Therafim. The atmosphere on Aur, both inside and out, is fairly normal, though the gravity is slightly lighter, making it much easier for flying creatures, who get an automatic boost of one mobility type (e.g. from "Poor" to "Average") while flying on Aur.

All dragons pay homage to the Council of Wyrms, a loose collection of great wyrms made up of the oldest, wisest, or wealthiest dragon from each draconic type and subtype, as determined through a complicated system of judgments that can vary from dracotype to dracotype, and which largely only makes sense to other dragons. The dragons of the Council of Wyrms have almost absolute rule of Aur, both inside and out, at least in theory. In practice, dragons are an independent lot by nature, and the Council is seldom ever able to decide on rules that apply to everyone. Because of this, there is often very little regulation of the lives of various dragons, and if a dragon cannot make allies and friends among the other dragons on Aur of sufficient strength to hold off any potential attackers, then life there can become very perilous indeed.

Because of this danger of being overwhelmed by others without proper protection from friends, as well as occasional overcrowding or too-heavy competition for the wealth of Aur as collected and fashioned by the many non-dragon humanoids that also live on Aur, very often dragons on Aur will fly up to the dragon crystal, and use its immense magical power to teleport themselves to a suitable location on Therafim. This is a one-way trip, however, and so is fraught with great peril as well as the potential for great rewards. Because of this, Aur is generally the home of very young dragons, who are still being watched over by their elders, and very old dragons, who managed to survive their time of proving on Therafim, and then gain the power to teleport or travel back to Aur for when they want to just bask in the wealth that they amassed during their stay on Therafim.

Humans were originally considered an abomination by dragons, because of their status as outsiders and invaders to the world of Therafim. A few thousand years have done little to improve dragon-human relationships, but the gods of the dragons have accepted humans as worshippers, and this grants humans at least a reprieve from instant death by breath weapon, and sometimes even allows friendships to form between the races. Despite this, humans are not allowed on Aur, and the discovery of their presence there is an immediate death sentence - blast on sight. The same can be said of all non-native races of Therafim, such as the illithids and yuan-ti, none of whom are welcome on the golden moon, which is regarded as sacred to Io and all the dragon gods.

Besides this, however, all native humanoids of Therafim are welcome on Aur, so long as they can find a dragon to sponsor them and support them. Since dragons are unable to do a great deal of fine manipulation, thanks to their size, but also have a great love for the beautiful things that the smaller races can make, this leads most dragons to realize that a symbiotic relationship might be in order. Depending on the dragon in question, this can range from a true partnership, to a master-slave arrangement. The Council of Wyrms does enforce the laws that it makes to govern thralls, and any non-thrall humanoid on Aur had better have a very good reason, or else they are likely to be regarded as a thief. And the only thing dragons hate worse than a murderer is a thief.

Major Races: Dragons; non-human dragon thralls.

Government: The Council of Wyrms.

Nation Alignment: Neutral.

Major Cities:
Crossclaw: At the juncture of Council Peak, where the two bases of that double-sided mountain reach inside the planet and outside as well, is Crossclaw, the largest non-dragon city on Aur, a city built as much on the surface as beneath it. Crossclaw is a neutral point, where thralls of all races and temperaments meet to trade and engage in social intercourse. The city is a teeming place, and chaotic, but also has a natural rhythm to it that is fairly easy to understand. Crime is quite low here, violent crime almost unheard of, because of the closeness of the Council of Wyrms, and the very real threat that such closeness presents to any would-be miscreant.

Places of Note:
Council Peak: This is a towering mountain so large that it reaches almost all the way up to the dragon crystal on the inside of the moon. It also extends on the outside of the crust, making it the largest mountain on both sides, inside and out, of Aur. The mountain is riddled with numerous caves and tunnels, and it is the site of the shared hatching chambers of many dragons, as well as the site of the Council Chambers of the Council of Wyrms. Besides this, treasures considered too dangerous or too great to be held by any one dragon are kept in the vast vaults within Council Peak, and a massive, dragon-sized library contains a repository of the wisdom and lore of dragons from almost the very beginning of Therafim itself, some of the books there said to have been written by the gods themselves.

Terrain Features:
Black Swamp: As treacherous a swamp as could be desired on the inside of Aur, teeming with all manner of animal life, and dominated by black dragons with their lizardfolk and bullywug thralls.

Fire Ridge: An expansive and sprawling range of mountains running along the inside of Aur, Fire Ridge is the home to most of the dragons of Aur. It passes near Council Peak, without quite touching it.

Utterfreeze: To one side of the inner surface of Aur, where the circling slabs of rock pass too frequently, not allowing as much light and heat through as elsewhere, is a chilly area with its own hills and mountain range, where silver and white dragons enjoy their favorite habitats.

Inward Sea: The largest single body of water inside Aur, visible as a relatively small oasis on the surface, the Inward Sea is also the only significant body of salt water on the planet (or in the planet, for that matter), though the saline content is relatively small. It is enough, however, for most aquatic dragons to make their homes there.

Verm Woodland: A large, sprawling forest and its accompanying grassland that circles the Black Swamp and Fire Ridge, filling in the gaps between terrains neatly, and providing a pleasant home for forest-dwelling dracotypes.