The Cult of the Dragon was one of the largest, most influential, and wealthiest evil cults in the Realms. Internally, however, it was divided into several factions, especially after Lathander personally sent an avatar to smash its first leader, Sammaster, to pieces.
Thanks to the Goddess of Magic's power, Sammaster had not died completely. His shattered soul still survived in the world. But since his physical body, at least, was dead, and his soul was in tatters, the Cult of the Dragon could be considered to have fallen into a degree of fragmentation after his death.
Senior members of the Cult of the Dragon usually wore purple robes and were therefore known as the Purple Robes. These Purple Robes gradually split into two camps.
The first was called the Dragon Worship faction. They revered dragons as gods-in fact, dragons were indeed the most powerful creatures most mortals could encounter-and cultivated relationships with them as friends or servants.
The second was called the Dragon Witch faction. They devoted themselves to transforming dragons into dracoliches, firmly believing that the end of the world would inevitably come and that undead dragons would rule the Realms in the future.
Besides this division, the Cult of the Dragon also had two other factions: the Loyalist Faction and the Opportunist Faction.
As their name suggested, the Loyalist Faction believed unquestioningly in Sammaster's prophecy. They tried every possible means to realize their plans, even if it meant sacrificing themselves.
The Opportunist Faction had no such lofty ambitions. Their main reasons for joining the Cult of the Dragon were wealth, personal desires, power, status, or magical expertise. The cult had connections with many powerful ancient dragons, immortal legendary dracoliches, and even the fabled Queen of Chromatic Dragons, Tiamat. If joining the cult meant gaining a few legendary dragons