WORLD BOOK WORLD BOOK WORLD BOOK 0128 0128
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now lie buried under the renamed New Dune Wastelands. She shared the story of most of her kind, advising the mortals beneath the shadow of her gigantic,
bat-like wings, punishing the foul and encouraging the
good. No problem escaped her notice, and she guided
her charges slowly toward prosperity and productive
civil discourse. Karuthay attended all Daragkarik Councils and so had influence and enthusiastic supporters
across Khitus all through the Classic Age.
Her magical specialty, however, was more arcane than
most, as she sought ancient knowledge and spells related to the creation of the universe. For unknown reasons,
Kathuray felt the animalistic gods were imposters and
all their creation myths were false. Only the concentration of pure magic could have created Khitus, Kathuray
was certain, intensifying something where there was
apparently nothing before. She sought that purity in her
most secret libraries, scrying the distant past or seeking
connections with faraway powers across time and space
that might aid her quest.
None knew of Kathuray’s intense quest, so secret did she
keep her studies, until a dark blot appeared in the Khitan
skies. It hung directly above the Dragon King’s whitemarble keep, a shadowy gash in the sky. While terrifying
enough by day, the rip also appeared blacker than the
night, blotting out the stars and moons that slowly wheeled
behind it. The rift appeared and steadily grew over three
days and nights until a mammoth shadow dropped from
it. Wielding her most powerful magic, Kathuray met that
mountain of glistening tar in midair. The two clashed in a
colossal battle that ripped the sky and scorched the earth,
destroying much of her keep and surrounding outbuildings. After the battle, Kathuray dissolved into sand and
simply blew away, never to be seen again.
Her people despaired at the loss of their powerful benefactor, for Kathuray was among the first of her kind to
depart from Khitus. Advisors unearthed what truth they
could from her ruined keep, though much more escaped
their comprehension. In fragmentary evidence, scholars gleaned that Karuthay had unintentionally lured a
powerful darkness from a distant plane. To protect her
subjects, she defeated it at the cost of her own existence.
The people wailed and cowered, never fully recovering
from her loss, as fell times descended upon them. They
carried on with their lives despondently, watching as the
other Dragon Kings disappeared from the world as well.
But was Kathuray really lost?
Dreams of a Daragkark
The desert peoples often dreamed of their beloved Dragon
King. Unlike common dreams that vanish like smoke from
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consciousness, their dreams of Kathuray lasted indefinitely
in one’s memory, impervious to time. Dream appearances
by the Daragkark became, over the generations, harbingers
of good fortune. Vivid dreams became songs or oral tales
preserved and handed down through generations. Among
the first to inscribe them onto tablets or scrolls was Aktal of
Rillak in his Kathuray’s Endurance in Dreams Undying. Decades later, a handful of playwrights adapted Aktal’s stories
and other tales from oral traditions into well-received plays
and theater pieces that remain in use today. The continued
dreams or tales, whether oral or written, taught lessons and
gave advice, just as Kathuray once did. It was as if the great
Dragon King still spoke with her people, evincing that she
was not, in fact, dead but only departed.
Nearly everyone who lives in the vicinity of the New
Dune Wastelands has experienced a vivid, life-changing
dream featuring the magnificently winged Kathuray.
Even casual travelers and desert wanderers have felt
her slumbering embrace. This influence is regionalized,
isolated to the domains where she once held sway. Descendants of her peoples do not dream of her if they no
longer reside in the region. Kathuray’s strange influence
remains only in her now-sandy realms.
To Worship a Dream
Trakeen dedicated to Kathuray’s worship enjoy the credibility of preaching a gospel that many, many Khitans have
experienced first-hand. Thus, they have little problem—
unlike many Trakeen—convincing people of their god’s
presence and purpose. Their difficulty is in drawing direct
attention from her for spells or even basic communication.
Kathuray’s Trakeen seek a new connection with their
departed Dragon King, who they are convinced still exists but in a form that cannot be directly seen or heard.
Through meditation, they hope to clear their minds to be
more ready to accept her dream messages. They wander
the desert lands seeking any new dreamers, interviewing them incessantly for any details, no matter how minute. They need guard against charlatans who spin false
tales of dreams in exchange for coins. Their consensus
today is that unknown magic may be necessary to correctly interpret the dreams and draw Kathuray somehow
closer to Khitus. Thus, they also comb the buried ruins of
Kathuray’s keep in hopes of finding a yet-sealed library
or any knowledge linked to her secret arcane research.
As it is, Kathuray’s message remains strong and clear.
She sends specific dreams to people warning against rising despots. She enters peoples’ slumbers to encourage
cooperation and rail against destructive behavior. It matters little to those touched whether these are actual messages from a departed Dragon King or mass delusions of
