Aura

Biodata

Power Progression

History

Founding and consolidation

Garos proclaimed the Aura Kingdom after returning to the Molten Iron Tribe. Its name recalled the Sacred Aura Era, the age when dragons ruled the Material Plane, and inspired both Chromatic and Metal Dragons with the prospect of renewed dragon greatness 442. In ancient Dragon Language, “Aura” carries meanings including “sacred,” “origin,” and “glory” 433.

The announcement prompted the Southern Kingdoms to reassess the balance of power in the Northern Frontier. Lothern recognized Aura's sovereignty and announced a delegation to the founding ceremony, while neighboring states weighed safer trade and greater stability against the danger of a unified, resource-rich northern power. Aura's initial capital and dragon lairs rose rapidly on the Fertile Plains 443.

Garos established the Aura Kingdom through a formal enfeoffment ceremony, granting trusted followers and dragon lords authority and responsibilities while foreign envoys assessed the new state's government and military potential 446.

Following the ceremony, the appointed lords and kin leaders dispersed across the Ser Wilderness to administer their territories. Aura attracted migrants from older kingdoms, including free folk, serfs, craftsmen, scholars, low-level Mages, mercenaries, and fugitives. Prospective settlers were drawn by the opportunity to obtain land, food, recognition, and advancement in exchange for loyalty and obedience to Aura's laws 448 450.

After defeating Theo, Aura occupied Iris City and maintained disciplined patrols while distributing food to civilians. The occupation was accompanied by active public-opinion management: bards across Aris Province were recruited to write songs and stories favorable to Aura and the Red Emperor 484 486 487.

Wars of expansion

Aura declared war on Theo after an attack on an Abyssal Rift, then obtained Lothern's Myriad Army Command Oath to strengthen its military formations 468 470. Its army breached the Emerald Ridge Mountains, defeated Theo at Dragonbreaker Pass, and killed or captured most of Theo's Legendary combatants 484.

During the war, Garos captured Theo's Magic Satellite after tearing out its Dimensional Teleportation Rune Array Assembly. The captured weapon subsequently became the basis of Sorog's Temple Project, which proposed combining satellite technology with the Hall of Heroes 476 484.

Garos initially chose consolidation over further large-scale warfare. Aura retained the Emerald Ridge Mountains and the lands north of them, while negotiations with Theo sought reparations and restrictions rather than immediate conquest of its remaining territory 484. After two years of negotiations, Theo signed the Nolton Treaty, confirming Aura's territorial gains, agreeing to pay 180 million gold coins in reparations, opening its markets on favorable terms, and accepting diplomatic and military limitations. Sorog planned to invest these resources in craftsmen, education, roads, towns, fortifications, and the Aura Legion 495.

In New Calendar 403, Aura launched the completed Sanctum into a hidden Dimensional Interstice. Its Heroic Spirit Warriors repelled a Sahuagin invasion of the northern coast in 405; after Beskar captured their wounded leader, the Sahuagin revealed that Hitherfell had driven them from the deep sea and submitted to Aura 515.

Aura's expanding dragon population, Legendary forces, and rapidly growing subject peoples placed increasing pressure on its resources despite continued agricultural, pastoral, and mining development 518 521. Theo's King Torfin eventually pledged submission and returned to Silverglow City as Aura's puppet ruler. Aura ignored the diplomatic condemnations issued by Lothern and other kingdoms over his earlier capture 526.

The conflict with Lothern escalated into a major war on the Lain Plateau. Aura's forces destroyed Lothern's forward positions through repeated assaults despite severe losses, while Garos later obliterated a frontline position with a Dragon Aura Bomb 529 530. Aura's victory established it as a major power in the Romanian Plains, prompting Mattena and Rybos to pursue cooperation rather than hostility 535.

After the war, Lothern came under Aura's authority, while Rybos, Mattena, and Cambrook accepted treaties recognizing Aura's leadership and advantages. Garos ordered the capital moved from the Ser Wilderness to the Lain Plateau to accommodate southern expansion and reduce exposure to threats from the sea 538.

The Romanian kings later signed a wartime unification treaty under Aura's leadership. Garos summoned the Northern Frontier Legion and announced a march toward the expanding Middle-earth Abyssal Rift 551. Following conquests on the Central Continent, Aura distributed lands among its vassals, lifted reproductive restrictions, and strengthened its control of important locations 565.

During Garos's and his senior relatives' hibernation, Gordon maintained a policy of stability and internal development. Aura's first floating island appeared in New Calendar 524, followed by the Aura Dragon Spirit's first demonstrated battle in 531 581.

Garos subsequently compelled the surface nations of the Eastern Alliance and Southern Domain to accept the Integration Treaty. All ten Eastern Alliance nations and all nine Southern Domain nations signed, placing three-quarters of Atlant under his rule 593.

Imperial era

After reaching Heaven's Mandate, Garos renamed the Aura Kingdom the Sacred Aura Empire. He rejected immediately ruling as a deity, judging faith's influence over his will too dangerous to wield without control 663.

The proclamation was celebrated throughout Aura and understood by its dragons as the return of a Dragon Empire. Holden and Nausir sent congratulatory envoys, but Garos refused Holden's proposed alliance and demanded that it take responsibility for bringing Demons to Atlant 665.

Despite its new imperial status, Aura initially lacked a constructed national weapon comparable to Nausir's Elven Moon or Holden's Platinum Star. Garos recognized that he personally filled that role and that the empire's other strategic assets could not yet independently confront an Immortal One 673.

The empire later began planning a Great Expedition beyond its existing sphere of power, dispatching Galkro and Laria to establish a foothold in Faerûn 691. It also rebuilt Atlant after the Abyssal Summer war, developing the Aura Star Network and Cloud Rail system while overseeing Holden's resettlement 716.

Before that reconstruction, Holden submitted unconditionally. Sacred Aura took over its Floating Cities and evacuated its people to a resettlement zone in Atlant's Middle-earth, with Fafweil mediating the transition until his death in New Calendar 751 706. Garos permitted the resettlement zone to develop independently under Aura's protection but warned that any rebellion would face Aura's dragons and warriors 707.

During the ensuing Abyssal invasion, Sacred Aura organized its territory into four major war zones according to geography and the distribution of Floating Cities. Its established dragon and magical-creature forces initially held the advantage across the front 710.

Garos ultimately condensed his Godhood on the Ascension Stairway; its holy emblem manifested as the Sword of Victory and Glory 745.

The Great Expedition subsequently achieved early success on Goblin Continent, where Russell and the War Wolves swiftly conquered a Goblin Kingdom. Garos authorized simultaneous operations against worlds of different ranks, provided sufficient intelligence was gathered to avoid prolonged entanglement. He selected the four- or five-star Great Tomb as the next major target, assigned Ignas and Samantha to watch over the Goblin campaign and its potential divine opposition, and left Sorog responsible for the empire and expedition while he traveled to Faerûn with Deborah and Vera 753.

In the Great Tomb campaign, Sacred Aura's forces fought the Undead Legion of the Necroxus Empire. Elvie and Kalu led the army while Ignas confronted the Immortal Undead. When the Undead Monarch's Negative Energy weakened Aura's troops and strengthened the enemy, Garos attacked the Tomb Pyramid with a sunlike Dragon Aura Bomb, dispersing the darkness and restoring his warriors 772.

Over the following five hundred years, the Sacred Aura Unified Imperial Alliance expanded to hold more than twenty Material Worlds. Garos's continuing victories strengthened faith in him as the Lord of Victory and Glory, while Aura became an undisputed superpower of the Material Plane 778.

Government and institutions

• Dragon Court — Aura's central seat of rule, where Garos receives envoys, directs policy, and oversees major affairs 446 594.
• Centralized monarchy — Appointed kin leaders and dragon lords form a governing network covering military affairs, domestic administration, economics, and intelligence. Its founding purpose was to allow Garos to concentrate on becoming stronger; unlike a traditional monarchy organized around the nation, Aura was explicitly organized around its king 446.
• Senior administration
  • Sorog manages military affairs and finances. 661
  • Samantha oversees industry. 661
  • Gordon commands vassal states. 661
  • Their responsibilities became clearly defined and closely coordinated, allowing the state to function normally during Garos's hibernation. In the later imperial era, Sorog continued to handle most daily administration 661 765.
• Regency and sovereign authority — Only true dragons are regarded as eligible to lead the kingdom. During the ruler's hibernation, his retainers are expected to carry out his established will rather than obey contradictory orders, even from Sorog or Samantha. Gordon governed while Garos, Sorog, and Samantha slept, under explicit instructions to prioritize stability and avoid unnecessary conflict 581.
• Regional administration — Garos granted Alvia authority over the western region and shallow seas. Her orders within that jurisdiction were treated as executions of the emperor's will rather than matters of personal allegiance or former clan affiliation 676.
• Heroic Spirit Sanctum — A soul-matter realm that stores and cultivates Heroic Spirits. Its planned functions include soul retrieval, spirit storage, and rapid battlefield deployment 484 594. The strategic platform was launched in New Calendar 403 and subsequently demonstrated these military functions in actual warfare 515 529.
• Heroic Spirit Pact — Outstanding Aura chieftains, generals, and loyal individuals may leave a spiritual imprint in the Hall of Heroes, allowing their souls to be collected after death as Heroic Spirits 484.
• Aura Dragon Spirit — A giant-dragon-shaped Legendary entity created by Gordon. It dwells in the Sanctum, can fight independently, and enhances nearby Aura warriors 581. It is an advanced form of the Aura War Soul, created by combining developments in military formations and the Sanctum; its power increases with the strength of the Aura Legion 581.
• Ignas Dragon Academy — An educational institution whose graduates include outstanding young dragons. Its history lessons help transmit loyalty to the emperor and confidence in his protection 515 607.
• Magical education — Garos required the Crown Rank Spellcaster Afra to remain in Aura, spread magical knowledge, train Spellcasters, and improve the state's magical standards. Her knowledge was intended to help compensate for Aura's limited magical foundation 594.
• Public-opinion apparatus — Aura recruits bards and directs pro-Aura stories, hymns, and songs as a deliberate tool of governance and long-term rule 487.
• Vassal integration — Sorog and Gordon use education, cultural influence, material rewards, and shared interests to transform defeated states into committed partners. Proposed incentives included mining rights, trade charters, tax reductions, and marriages linking loyal elites to Aura's people 538 591.
• Public recognition of merit — In the imperial era, ceremonies displayed recorded combat achievements and publicly recognized meritorious warriors. The Star Network broadcast these images throughout the empire 765.

Military

Aura Legion

Aura fields a mixed-species force including low-level monsters, Ogres, Trolls, cavalry, aerial units, Dragonkin, and Legendary combatants 529. Its armies are willing to absorb heavy losses to break fortified positions, as demonstrated during the first battle against Lothern 529.

Its elite heavy infantry wear specially made armor with Featherlight and Fortification Runes, carrying refined-steel weapons and specialized alchemical armaments such as fire-spraying axes and electrically charged warhammers. The Red Iron Cavalry consists primarily of centaurs equipped with highly resistant armor and charging weapons. Aura also maintains directly subordinate human troops, distinct from the armies of its human vassals, and fields Intelligent Golems 554.

Aura dragons characteristically combine powerful physiques with armor and specialized combat equipment. By the Abyssal invasion, many of its earliest dragon followers and the emperor's children had become Legends capable of fighting above their rank or facing multiple opponents. Legendary magical creatures, including Griffins, Serpent Leopards, Giant Eagles, and Lion-beasts, also served beneath their respective lords 526 710.

• Kalu, Aura's Fang — A Glutton Demon and one of Garos's longest-serving Legendary retainers 581.
• Elvie, Aura's Edge — A centaur general associated with the Red Iron Cavalry and one of Garos's principal Legendary retainers 492 581.
• Russell, Aura's Claw — A Werewolf and one of Garos's principal Legendary retainers; later led the War Wolves in the Great Expedition 581 753.

During the Great Tomb campaign, Aura deployed nearly six-meter-tall, heavily armored former Ogres alongside Elvie's forces 767.

Myriad Army Command Oath

Aura acquired Lothern's Formation Magic and began mass-producing Command Insignias for it. The oath concentrates power from across an army into its commanders and stronger combatants, raising the force's overall momentum in battle 470 533.

The original magical agreement forbade Aura from transferring the formation or using it against Lothern and its allies without Lothern's express consent. Sorog supervised its initial implementation and training 470.

Aura later developed its own Battle Soul, a vast dark-red phantom drawn from the legion's morale, bloodlust, and fighting spirit through army formations. It was not a true living creature, but its power exceeded that of an ordinary Advanced Legendary combatant. Sorog viewed it as a growing strategic foundation and proposed refining Rybos's formation rather than developing an entirely new system 530 533.

Gordon subsequently advanced this concept into the Aura Dragon Spirit, which could operate independently while multiplying the combat power of nearby Aura warriors 581.

Dragon Aura Bomb

Garos's signature battlefield weapon condenses destructive energy into a sphere launched from his claws. A single strike annihilated a Lothern frontline position, including fortifications, war golems, and rune turrets 530 531.

Its later applications included rapid volleys capable of devastating large armies 587 623. During the Great Tomb campaign, Garos used an enormous, sunlike Dragon Aura Bomb against the Necroxus Empire's Tomb Pyramid. Its radiance dispersed Undead energy, weakened the enemy, and restored Sacred Aura's warriors 772.

Heroic Spirit deployment

Heroic Spirits can be sent from the Sanctum to battlefields through a planned space-platform system. As spiritual entities, they require less teleportation energy than physical troops and can return after death, making them a strategic assault force 484.

The platform became operational after the Sanctum's launch in New Calendar 403. Its Heroic Spirit Warriors repelled the northern Sahuagin invasion in 405, and its ability to recover fallen soldiers became a major factor in the war against Lothern. Unlike the costly transport of living troops by ordinary Magic Satellites, Sanctum deployment could sustain repeated large-scale battlefield reinforcement 515 529.

The Sanctum also detected Gnawbone Saint's intrusion and teleported Heroic Spirits and Legendary fighters to the Lain Plateau in response 662.

Society

Aura is inhabited and defended by multiple races, including Dragonkin, Centaurs, Snake Women, Wolf Women, Gnolls, Ogres, Trolls, Kobolds, and other monster peoples 486 529 661.

Aura's culture strongly favors physical strength, combat training, steel, and fire. Garos notes that most Aura citizens prefer becoming warriors over spellcasters, leaving the state with comparatively few mages despite its military and industrial growth 594.

Following the occupation of Iris City, Aura citizens distributed food to civilians; the supplies were funded through taxes imposed on nobles rather than taken from the recipients 486.

Citizenship and integration

Humans can be full Aura citizens rather than merely inhabitants of vassal states. Dilia Hines, who studied and grew up under Aura's rule, became the first human Legend cultivated by the kingdom itself. Aura's directly commanded human legion likewise consisted of citizens of the kingdom 515 554.

After reproductive restrictions were lifted, children of different races increasingly grew up, played, and received a unified education together 565 578. Aura's social environment also changed the behavior and condition of its monster peoples: its Ogres differed markedly from their wilderness counterparts in physique, upbringing, and everyday conduct, while its Gnolls became conspicuously strong, confident, and energetic citizens 486 658 661.

During the Great Expedition, Aura openly acknowledged its intention to conquer other worlds rather than disguising its campaigns. Accounts from recruited inhabitants of conquered worlds nevertheless described it as generally avoiding brutal suppression of ordinary people. Such inhabitants could enlist in imperial units, including the War Wolves 765.

Dragons and loyalty to the emperor

Dragons are regarded as Aura's creators, guardians, and living totems, with symbolic standing extending beyond their individual combat strength 530. Loyalty centers overwhelmingly on Garos himself: foreign observers characterized Aura as a nation that existed because of its emperor, with devotion that had surpassed an ordinary sovereign–subject relationship and become a foundation for faith 665.

Aura also promotes mutual support among dragons rather than unquestioned submission to the violent instincts associated with traditional Evil Dragons 579. Its development as a Dragon Empire brought dragons of different scale colors together, including Metal Dragons formerly hostile to evil dragons 680.

Following Garos's Immortal advancement, his Evolutionary Radiation passively benefited lives connected to him, accelerating advancement and easing breakthroughs. The effect was stronger for those with closer relationships to him and was expected to support the empire's need for powerful individuals during the Great Expedition 727.

Industry, energy, and training

Mining and metallurgy were national priorities from the kingdom's early years. The northeastern Ser Wilderness supplied iron, lead, Mithril, Orichalcum, and occasional magic crystal veins 468.

Black Oil later became indispensable to Aura's workshops, Golems, and everyday energy supply. Technology acquired from Holden enabled new refining facilities to produce eleventh-level Black Oil Crystals, surpassing Aura's previous technological bottleneck 577 578.

Physical training remained an imperial tradition even after interworld expansion. Training facilities included equipment with hypergravity and silence runes that restricted energy circulation, allowing even Legendary visitors to exercise their bodies under meaningful resistance 765.

Fey Wilds settlements

Aura developed guarded fae settlements in the Fey Wilds as a rear base capable of receiving evacuees if conditions in the Material Plane deteriorated 578.

Verdant Gardens became its most important and closely connected Fey Wilds base. Over centuries, its garrison and the local fae developed a harmonious relationship, sharing food, celebrations, and everyday life 717.

Aura's attempt to establish a separate military base away from the fae failed because the plane's intense emotional influence destabilized even disciplined warriors. Living alongside ordinary fae avoided this problem 717.

Diplomatic relations

• Garos Ignas — Founder and sovereign. Aura's strength, territorial growth, institutions, and political direction are closely tied to his will and power 446 594.
• Theo — Defeated by Aura during the Aura–Theo War; later described as Aura's closest partner and a vassal state 484 581 722. The Nolton Treaty formalized Aura's territorial and economic gains, while King Torfin's later submission established direct political subordination 495 526.
• Lothern — Initially shared Formation Magic with Aura, later fought a major war against it; Lothern subsequently became one of Aura's vassal states 470 529 722. Aura pursued long-term cultural and economic integration rather than installing Gordon as its king 538.
• Rybos — Chose to establish friendly relations with Aura after the Lain Plateau victory 535. Its earlier attempt to recruit Aura had failed over Garos's request for Advanced Spirit-Matter Crystals; it later accepted a treaty recognizing Aura's leadership 528 538.
• Mattena and Cambrook — Accepted treaties granting Aura leadership and special advantages after its victory over Lothern 538.
• Eastern Alliance and Southern Domain — All nineteen constituent nations signed Aura's Integration Treaty, placing their territories under Garos's rule 593.
• Helmode Dragon Brood — Garos initially proposed covert intelligence, material, and operational cooperation while maintaining public distance or apparent hostility 497. By the imperial proclamation, Helmode's dragons had integrated into Aura 665.
• Greenwild Kingdom / Seroel — Negotiated reciprocal territorial arrangements with Aura. Garos offered territory for Seroel's kin on Atlant under Aura's oversight, while Seroel offered possible sites for Aura on Orotara 562.
• Nausir — Sought a formal alliance against the Orcs and the Calamity, but Garos refused to expose the distant Aura Kingdom to the risks of that war. He instead offered his personal military services in exchange for an intact Calamity meteorite 611. Nausir later sent an envoy to congratulate the Sacred Aura Empire's founding 665.
• Holden — Its people were resettled under Sacred Aura's rule and received approval to establish their own nation 716. Relations had previously been hostile over Holden's Abyss-tainted Floating Cities; its eventual unconditional surrender transferred the Floating Cities and remaining population into Aura's control 661 665 706.
• Metal Dragon realms — Aura's rise helped bring formerly antagonistic dragons into cooperation. Garos approved Gabriel's effort to unite the Metal Dragons and stated that continued imperial expansion could eventually allow the Raging Tide Dragon Realm to be returned to them 680.
• Good Dragon Alliance of Moro Continent — Its visiting Metal Dragons were impressed by Sacred Aura's prosperity, training facilities, and status as a true Dragon Empire; some expressed an interest in remaining 765.
• Necroxus Empire — An Undead Empire opposed by Sacred Aura during the Great Tomb campaign 772.

Notable Quotes

“Gentlemen! The kingdom's chapter has now begun. Future glory and prosperity shall not be enjoyed by me alone, but forged by us, by every one of you present!” — Garos 446

“May Aura's might command the universe! May Aura prosper forever!” — Dragonkin witnessing the Sanctum's launch 515

“In Aura, only true dragons can lead the kingdom.” — Sorog 581

“All mighty power belongs to one's self, and glory stems from blood and sweat.” — An Aura Werewolf explaining the empire's training tradition 765

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