The Dragon Riders of Gaialeas (Patreon)

Before there was Sauria, before the Baptism of Fire. Before the great Kingdoms of Furkins and the devastating Flood that destroyed the Ancient world, there was Gaialeas. Saurian legends retell of a time where there was once a city in the clouds; Gaialeas, the city of dragons. Not the feral wyverns that are common today, but true dragons. The heirs to the great legacy of the Draconian civilization, the first to harness the power of Magic. Though Gaialeas fell during the great flood that destroyed the world of old and that cataclysm had Ancient Dragon's nearly extinct, their history and legacy are the foundation of the Saurian Empire.

In the years before the Baptism, when the Kingdom of Sauria was at the height of it's power, there were a few dozen Ancient Dragons in the world, as well as warriors and mages known as 'Dragon Riders'. These exceptional individuals were not only possessed of a deep spirit well and incredible source retention; but were direct decedents of the Ancient Dragons they rode. The powerful bond they forged allowed them to communicate on subconscious level with the feral beast, not controlling them, but working with them.

Ancient Dragons of course are the last 'true dragons' of Elcrest; beast of mana born of the old bloodline. They are marked by their incredible size, power and ferocity. Incredibly long lived, they would grow in power as they aged and eventually, after thousands of years of life, their minds are subverted and they fall victim to a form of mental decay and dementia. Though the great beast retain their cunning and ability to manipulate the flow of mana to a degree, their minds are not the same and they are mostly feral. Thus, Riders were able to bring stability to the minds of these ancient beast by linking their own.

By the Age of Eternian's however, there were very few true dragons in the world. The Riders had mostly been replaced by dragoons, who rode the dragons smaller, feral, cousins called wyverns. Most had never seen an Ancient Dragon outside of Sauri until the Baptism when the lizardkins began to wage war on the furkin nations. The power of the Dragons and their Riders were devastating and were responsible for many of the furkins staggering defeats during the cataclysm. It is said that the tigers of Stroud were only defeated when six riders came to support the army pushing into their territory. Three of those Dragons and Riders did not survive the battles.

The Cataclysm took a terrible tole on the Ancient Dragons of Sauria and by it's end only four remained; Bridigar the Red Eyes, Cortova the Blue Scale; Zamir the Ruby Wing and Krysneya the Winter Wing. Though Bridigar, Zamir and Cortova returned to Sauria to live out their days in the golden embrace of the Dragon's Keep; but Krysneya and her rider; Liandri Brightscale vanished and has never been seen since.

The Last Dragon Rider is Keladry Greenrivers, whose great, great grandmother was Cortova the Blue Scale. The youngest of the Riders during the Baptism over two-hundred and fifty years ago, Kealdry did not Ride Cortova, but Larovin the Green Eyes, to whom she formed a bond with when he refused to devour or mate with her in her youth. Though Keladry won fame and honor during the Baptism and in the subsequent wars, becoming one of the most renowned and beloved figures in Saurian society; Keladry was devistated when Larovin was sealed behind the forbidding at the end of the Baptism. She became one of the last of two when Khatori Battlebrook and Alabri Blackwater died during the Age of Fire; the riders of Cortova and Zamir respectively. Khatori was killed defending the kingdom from a Mana beast that nearly brought Sauria to ruin and Alabri was killed during a coup attempt. Though both their Dragons survived, Zamir refused to bond with another partner. Violently murdering any who dare approach his lair. Cortova however, bonded with Keladry making her and Dyre Seastone the last of their kind until Dyre and his bonded partner Bridigar were lost during the battle of Hearld's Keep.

Larovin appears with permission from his owner Larovin.

This art is done by the absolutely fucking fantastic Kardie and you need to go check her out. Her work can be found on her FA @;

www.furaffinity.net/user/kardie