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Sardior, also known as Abzu, is a Lesser God of Knowledge and Trickery, and the Ruby King of Gem Dragons. He was shattered sometime in Prehistory and nearly forgotten to the ages until being resurrected in 826 PR. He presides over his Ruby Court, a royal court of five Thanes each representing a different type of Gem Dragon.
Ruby Court
The Ruby Court consists of five court seats, each representing a different gem type. The Gem Dragons who occupy seats on the court are called Thanes. Sardior transforms his Thanes to enhance their size, strength, and power for the purposes of serving him and acting as Exarchs for their gem types. Each of Sardior's Thanes represents an aspect of his personality and, for the purposes of worship, a different domain of spellcasting. Sardior maintains a constant psychic link with each of his Thanes unless he chooses to block it. Thanes also seem to possess some level of immortality, as most of his original Prehistory Thanes are known to have lived for at least several millennia and likely longer.
Other roles also exist adjacent to the court at various times such as Advisors (close friends and consultants of the court), Harbingers (able to sit in for their gem type at court meetings when their Thane is not available), Knights (champions and protectors of the court), and Acolytes (disciples and officiants in the preparation of ceremonies).
The five court seats have always been filled by an Amethyst, Crystal, Emerald, Sapphire, and Topaz. However, an Obsidian or any other wild card of gemkind may also hold a position on the court, given they are in the right place at the right time.
Prehistory
It is undocumented how far back in Prehistory that Sardior was shattered, but the Ruby Court disbanded not long after the destruction of their King and each of the original Thanes went off to follow their own pursuits.
As difficult as it is to find any records of this original court, it is near impossible to find any documentation of Kristang. His thousand-year-long imprisonment between the Material Plane and Shadowfell at the hands of Feredemius had the effect of partially undoing Kristang's existence, insofar that even Bleucorundum could no longer remember him.
Thanes
- Veneleth the Amethyst
- Eros the Crystal
- Feredemius the Emerald
- Bleucorundum the Sapphire
- Tushello the Topaz
Advisors
- Kristang the Obsidian
PR Era
The Ruby Court remained disbanded throughout the BR era and most of the PR era until it was reassembled in 826 PR in order to resurrect Sardior and dispel the Shadowfell which had overtaken Isonhound. This event, also accompanied by the recent un-banishment of Bahamut, the return of Tiamat following Kiston's unlocking, and the ascension of Chronepsis to godhood, meant that all Four Dragons from the original creation story of Quelmar were now working their influence on the realm simultaneously for the first time since Prehistory.
The role of Kristang in the reassembled court is uncertain as he disappeared shortly after his rescue and took Trina as his Obsidian Knight, enhancing her magic and revealing himself to have secretly been her Great Old One patron.
Additionally, some adventurers were gifted Harbinger boons by activating the long-dormant Topaz Astrolabe set by Tushello. Being imbued with gem essence enabled them to be court candidates for the resurrection ceremony and they could presumably claim a Harbinger role with the resurrected court, should they choose to pursue it.
Thanes
- Veneleth the Amethyst
- Echemus the Crystal
- Durzibethinus the Emerald
- Spinel the Sapphire
- Delphi the Topaz
Knights
- Trina the Obsidian Knight
Harbingers
- Rooney, Harbinger of Durzibethinus the Emerald
- Cobalt, Harbinger of Spinel the Sapphire
- Blaze, Harbinger of Delphi the Topaz
Acolytes
- Herneldo, Sorcerer of the Third Path
- Most Sanctified Disciples of Sardior (MSDOS)
Resurrection
Battle of Five Lights
The ceremony to resurrect Sardior was performed in 826 PR at the five peaks of the Northern Snowy Mountains under heavy assault from a shadow-corrupted Feredemius and his army of shadow monsters. Veneleth was the only member of the Prehistory court to reclaim his original seat. Echemus, the son of Eros, took the Crystal seat after his father failed to arrive to the ceremony in time. The other court seats faced similar complications. Tushello was dead and his soul refused to be revived, Bleucorundum arrived late to the ceremony, and Smargarg (a young Emerald Dragon the team had enlisted) failed to arrive at all. This resulted in the final seats being filled by Durian and Delphi, Harbingers by blood, as well as Spinel, Harbinger by a Sapphire boon. The power of the ceremony burned away their original bodies and instantly reincarnated them as full-grown Gem Dragons.
Gem Artifacts
Performing the ceremony required each court member to attune to their respective gem artifact, consisting of the Amethyst Tome, Corundum Egg, Emerald Blade, Crystal Moonwell, and Topaz Astrolabe. Once all five artifacts had been synchronized, the final step of the ceremony required the wielder of the Emerald Blade to shatter the Corundum Egg, from which Sardior would finally be resurrected. The Amethyst Tome contained precise instructions for the ceremony to be properly carried out.
These artifacts were absorbed as part of the ceremony, and an item of close personal significance to each of the reborn court members became the new gem artifacts (for example, the Selune Splinter belonging to Durian's clan transformed into the Emerald Splinter).
Additionally, an Obsidian Artifact existed which could be molded into the shape of any of the other gem artifacts, embodying its essence and allowing it to serve as a stand-in during the ceremony. This feature became invaluable when the Corundum Egg was briefly taken by Feredemius.
Appearance
Prehistory
The lair of Bleucorundum holds several tapestries portraying Sardior as he appeared in Prehistory as well as the Four Dragons creation story.
PR Era
Sardior's appearance after his resurrection was far different from the immense Dragon seen in Prehistory depictions, instead taking the shape of a slender ruby Dragonborn or wyrmling. This smaller form is possibly the result of the god being nearly forgotten to history for so long, meaning he must accrue new followers in order to rebuild his power to where it once was. It could also be due to his shattered Prehistory form remaining scattered amongst the planes in the form of Existence Crystals, meaning he could potentially gain more power by reabsorbing some of these fragments found throughout the realm or even harvesting them from across the multiverse.
