Fah'nadir

Introduction

"What foul enemy lingers between us... that stench of devilry... push back. RAGE."

The one who fanned the first flames of light within the Infinite Void, Fah’nadir is an Eidolon of Chaos and Change. Among the Dragons of Rhyst, she is the most unpredictable, and though she kept to the natural realm of balance throughout the ages, a growing contempt for the world she made has reached its boiling point. Fah’nadir’s only permanent domain is upon the moon where she can observe all of creation from the darkness that hides her there.

Background

The discovery of Zahhak’s fires was not one that needed to develop into a conflict that would destroy the Eidolon’s home, but it was one that was fated to result in such catastrophe due to the presence of Fah’nadir. While the Eidolons looked upon the world around them as it came to light, they saw that it was the Wind Dragon who was fanning the source. She recognized what Zahhak’s discovery meant, and with Melusine’s mana pools reflecting the fire’s glow, Fah’nadir believed all of their kind should know of both. Despite the intentions of those who would later become her fellow Dragons, Fah’nadir was the one who caused the Eidolonic war after inspiring those of her kind who would later claim the Faewild to seek a change in reality.

Fah’nadir was notably an instigator among her kin, and throughout the war, she continued to play that part. She was a key figure in its beginnings, and later on, she fought alongside the Unseelie in some of the most vicious battles that the planes have ever known. These may be exaggerated stories or just plain myth given there are few in the cosmos who could even ascertain their validity, but Fah’nadir wanted to break from the monotony of what came before, and the Unseelie knew how to give her that.

In the end, however, partnerships were as fleeting as the direction of any storm, and Fah’nadir recognized that the Faewild was destined for further disaster and violence. With the Infinite Void shattered, she took to Rhyst alongside the other Dragons where she was wise enough to remain out of the unbridaled mayhem that ended in the defeat of both the Unseelie and the Shimmer as well.

Within Rhyst, she found that the other Dragons would heed some of her advice. They desired a realm that could ensure balance within the cosmos, and later on a place to propagate mortal life. Melusine knew the need for finality, and Zahhak recognized the importance of destruction, but both must be cultivated the same way Fah’nadir had accentuated their original discoveries. And so change, uncertainty, happenstance, and ultimately chaos were brought into a realm that would self-correct itself. Fah’nadir was the only other Dragon to sense Paludrex’s silent disagreements, but no outer conflict between the two would disturb the work they had set themselves toward. Over time, Fah’nadir brought into being the spirits of the wind and bid them to be ever as unpredictable as she was. They were tasked with altering any pattern set down by the other Dragons and their own servants, and to this day the winds of the world rarely follow a set track.

The Cycle of Souls required something to ensure its momentum, and with Sol offering Zahhak a spot within the center of the planes from which he could direct his orders, Fah’nadir took advantage of the vacant position and collected loose planar matter together. The Moon, true and silver as it rests in the sky, was then made to reflect Zahhak’s own creation. Perhaps it was a compliment, or maybe it was meant to mock him, but the Moon became a celestial body in movement. Though it was constructed with Rhystian elements and power, it soared through the astral sea, and over time it has come to mix the influence of the darkness within itself.

It was from the dark side of the Moon where Fah’nadir could nest while also peering into the Void, the Faewild, and Rhyst all at once. The celestial body would direct the flow of the Styx and most mana in general to avoid a settling stagnation. Because of the convenience that her new domain offered her, Fah’nadir rarely descended from the heavens back into the world she had helped make, and yet, on at least one occasion, she met with mortals who had managed to gain the favor of her servants that had caused pieces of land to defy gravity itself.

Silently impressed, she visited them, and the Wind Draconians were given one of the only blessings that Fah’nadir would ever grant mortality. A creature who knew the fickle natures of the universe, the Wind Dragon forgot her cynicism for a time after forming some sort of connection with the fleeting mortals that had developed within the “experiment” she had assisted with, and she began to linger among these isles on a routine basis. Her coil was constructed as a giant tower on one of these floating masses of earth, and it was there where she would follow the other Eidolons of Rhyst into indefinite slumber.

Eventually, however, this would prove to be the one weakness that could be exploited by would-be enemies, and under infernal direction on the night of a New Moon, the trap was sprung. Fah’nadir, like the rest of the Dragons, was caught within damned spellcraft that bound her body and power, betrayed by some of the only creatures she had finally come to care for. Within the Emerald Moon, her hatred flared, and the core began to leak out the Wind Dragon’s fuming wrath. Omen reported to Nevanerro the pervading corruption that Fah’nadir was inadvertently creating, and some mortals who still heeded the calls of devilry were brought to stand within it. They were the first of the Nephilim as they were told this was a “gift” and a privilege to stand amidst the twisting clouds of pain and anguish and anger that existed there.

Following the destruction of their gaol, Fah’nadir escaped in all her fury into the skies. She stopped only momentarily to treat with the other freed Dragons and their rescuers, but did not remain to discuss any plans regarding the Convergence nor the futures of Rhyst. The Wind Dragon had other plans for her enemies, some which she knew the others would not agree with. And so for a year, Fah’nadir flew around the world and uttered ancient words that touched upon mortal roots that existed only in bloodlines and marked sins. She intentionally spread all that hatred that she had built up within herself, and her curse brought about the true rise of the Nephilim people.

In her view, these mortals could no longer hide their crimes, and after she was finished, she felled each and every isle within the sky. Her coil collapsed into the seas, and Fah’nadir left Rhyst for the Moon that she originally called home. None know what she does there now, but even the most faithful to the natural world believe it can mean nothing good for mankind.

Trivia

• Wind is the element by which other elements are affected and change, and this is very much reflected within Fah’nadir’s actions throughout the ages. The other Dragons have always had to work with or around her, but never without her.

• The Apheiron of Wind howls with Fah’nadir’s raging influence still within its shell. It was the only Apheiron seized by the devils before it could fall to Sarea, and thus it was gifted to the Nephilim for their future use, an ironic twist by Nevanerro’s viewpoint.

• Fah’nadir counts any Eidolon who stands between herself and her ambitions as an enemy, and as such can’t rely on even the other Dragons to stand beside her forever

• With Fah’nadir’s return it has become clear that Cygnus is one of the rare spirits that may survive within the Astral Sea as one bound to the Rhystian matter that forms the Moon

Credit

Tattles https://forum.verdict.dev/showthread.php?tid=3151