Preface

We hope that, by researching the Altar of the Crimson Dragon, we can answer some of the questions of history, and what they mean to the Humans of the present day.

I hope that the history of Atreia, full of dashed hopes and violent conflicts, will teach people to appreciate the fragility and divinity of the world we live in.

Chapter 1: Balaur Hierarchy

Little is known about the origins of the Balaur, the first masters of Atreia. We only know that the Balaur came into being long before the Humans did, but didn't have a strong religious influence at the beginning.

Chapter 1 will explain the power structure of the Balaur before examining how the race became so powerful as to exert religious influence on Sapiens.

Chapter 1: Balaur Hierarchy

The rulers of the Balaur are the five Balaur Lords: Fregion, Meslamtaeda, Ereshkigal, Beritra, and Tiamat.

The lower ranks consists of ordinary Dragons, Draconas, Nagas and Draconutes.

The five Balaur Lords do not seem to be powerful enough to affect the Aetheric Field. Some Daevas believe that they are accumulating energy in order to invade Atreia through the Abyss.

There is some evidence to support this theory, and many argue that the reason the military forces of both Sanctum and Pandaemonium are being mustered is because they have some knowledge that they're not revealing. However, nothing has been proven conclusively.

It is the accepted opinion that the five Balaur Lords had no choice but to leave the Aetheric Field during the chaos of the Cataclysm.

Dragons originally ascended from Draconas, the first inhabitants of Atreia. Although not as powerful as the five Balaur Lords, they are still threatening because within them lies dormant the strength of every Balaur.

Draconas, which constitute the majority of the Balaur, keep the original appearance of theirs progenitors. We explore their history further in the next chapter.

Nagas and Draconutes are considered to be mutated Draconas.

As the flow of Aether was extremely unstable during the Cataclysm, many unusual phenomena occurred, for example, the creation of the Abyss.

These phenomena flooded the Draconas with unstable Aetheric energy. Some mutated into Nagas, while others lost their Balaur characteristics and became Draconutes.

The Balaur are a very hierarchical people, and the ascended Balaur--the Five Balaur Lords and the Dragons--ruled the lower Balaur by force. They went on to subjugate the Sapiens in worship of the Balaur.

The Balaur society consists of the pyramidal hierarchy that includes not only the Balaur but also the Sapiens.

Many formal rituals were created within this pyramid, and many altars were built all over Atreia, devoted to each of these rituals.

The Altar of the Crimson Dragon was held as the most sacred place by the Sapiens who worshipped Meslamtaeda.