History: Gate Dragons

In the time of the Chosen there were no known dragons upon the face of Martapa. In truth there were a few, well hidden ones, but not near the numbers there had been when the giant beasts were created. Some of the decline was due to the fact the dragons rarely had clutches of eggs. Part was simply dragons dying of old age (even though, for the most part, they are virtually immortal). Most had to do with the fact the Black Wizard, Shaniko, had sent his minions to kill dragons and their broods.

When Amber Blackwolf opened the Gate of the Heavens to allow the Gods upon the mortal plane with their full powers the Gate Dragons were created. These seven dragons (I'll get to the eighth in a minute) souls were drawn from the very Chosen themselves, the mortals giving a bit of themselves to recreate these fine beasts once more.

These seven dragons are the biggest, most powerful dragons of all time. The magic they cast is nearly unstoppable. They are immune to magics of most kinds. Only magical weapons can harm them greatly (they can still be scratched by normal weapons, but nothing to actually kill them). And most strangely of all these dragons feel more comfortable in mortal forms then their true form because of their ties to the Chosen. They still love to soar in their own form, but they also enjoy the mortal form more then normal dragons. They are Catiana's children, the Goddess of Neutrality. They do not harm mortals if they can help it, but they will stop anything which upsets the Balance.

Now the Gate needs eight Gate Dragons to operate. The last of the eight dragons was actually a dragon born to a dragon mother. He is the biggest, most powerful of all the dragons, both Gate and normal. He was found by Richard Goldenstern, nearly dead as was his dam and siblings, put in a cave by the God Targon for the Chosen to find. Because of being rescued by the Chosen, he grieved greatly when they finally succumb to their mortality.

The eight dragons went on to spawn many generations of dragons and by the time of the High King's Sword their children populate the world, though hide from mortals as best they can. Easily done since they can shift form when they want and could be part of mortal society without even being noticed.
Tomorrow: The Gift of the Gods