Charayan

"You stand before Charayan, Crusader of Veeshan. I am the talon that justly strikes down our enemies and shall fulfill our destiny in the trials of blood and vengeance. I sense that the loyalty you bear toward the children of scale is strong but the siren voice that has called you to us is still a whisper upon your mind, and it is a song of curiosity and greed that fuels you yet. Since the dawn of your creation, all of your kind has proven that without tangible reward to do otherwise, your blades would be aimed for our hearts. But do not think we fault you for merely this — such shallow lusts have become a definition of your kind, and we do not bear you ill will for it. However, the [champions] are not as the others of Veeshan's brood and your past deeds shall [not bear fruitful] in your dealings with us."

"The Crusaders of Veeshan are four champions of dragon kind who have dedicated their very lives to the restoration of Kerafyrm's slumber and undoing that which your kind has so ignorantly threatened this world with. Fate has given room for nothing short of this declaration and the recent past has demanded our attention and duty to be thus. Your kind, the second generation, has carelessly shifted the destiny of all upon this world and it is your ignorant and lustful actions that have forced us into existence as we are now. Kerafyrm, the Sleeper, was well guarded for all these years not without dire justification — he cannot be destroyed by means conceivable by dragon or second generation alike. We are those whose existence is to combat this shadow and [keep it at bay], despite all costs and with all sacrifice."

"When Kerafyrm was first recognized as a dire threat to this world, the four Warders were chosen. The elders of the council knew that time's grace upon us was thin and that the warders must be recognized as a temporary means of subduing this threat. Before the great war that would yield Kerafyrm's incarceration, the warders were instructed to mate with four dragons of pure elements as their. The offspring of these unions would be trained for the undivided purpose of fulfilling their predecessors' duties when their fate would inevitably dawn. However, your kind have forced the apprentices into a [new role], one that we had not anticipated, but such was our mistake to overestimate and consider your kind the ability to rise above your debased natures and shallow existence."

"When Kerafyrm was awoken, the apprentices were called by the council to prepare for the hunt and his recapture. The apprentices were not as agreeable to the council's plan as they had anticipated and the Crusaders were born of our own accord. For months the deliberations and cordial arguments raged, but all that would eventually come would be the unspoken disapproval of the council and the apprentices' self-imposed adoption of a new and more necessary duty. We have come to Skyshrine to fulfill our purpose, but those passing months ushered in an unseen darkness that the Crusaders had feared from the first movement of Kerafyrm's eye — the [ancients] returned."

"The Ancients are not to be trifled with, although your kind will find your just retribution upon their fiery talons if we, the Crusaders, cannot undo your ignorance. You ask for their [names, for their past and for their meaning] to this perilous path that you have set us upon, and your actions have earned you nothing less than the obligation to know the fullest extent of what you have unleashed upon this world. But do not take these words lightly, nor think yourself a hero standing in the fading shadow of a great monster. Although those of you whom still bear allegiance to the Claws of Veeshan will be demanded by the Crusaders to engage these monstrosities of Veeshan's brood, you shall gain neither repute nor true victory if you succeed in such a task."

"When Kerafyrm had proven his mad, relentless nature, the elder council of the Claws of Veeshan ordered Kerafyrm's destruction as an absolute necessity to escape existence as slaves to the tyranny of a mad abomination. During this time, Kerafyrm had established allies within the Velious nation — amongst these allies were four elders upon the very council that sought to destroy him. Kildrukaun, the former Arch Priest of Veeshan and driving force behind the decree that forbade the existence of creatures such as Kerafyrm was the first to betray the Claws of Veeshan. Vyskudra, the magnificent dragon of the storms followed the lead of her patron and master. Third was Tjudawos, the scholar of the council. Lastly was Zeixshi-Kar, the general who engaged within the fledgling war with the giants of Kael that would last for centuries beyond her departure. These four elders would become the driving force behind Kerafyrm's army and are now the [greatest danger] we face in the current era of this turmoil."

"No longer are these great dragons merely elders, for they have ascended to a place within dragon hierarchy that has been done so rarely — they have become ancients; powerful immortals whose essence lies beyond our realm and reach. These creatures are beyond anything you have faced in your lifetime — beyond the pitiable creatures of your lesser deities' planes and beyond anything that the horde of your entire existence could comprehend. These ancients, these immortal creatures of pure destruction, chaos, and envenomed hate are the key to Kerafyrm's fullest potential. This is why they must be [hindered] from manifesting the fullest of their power as they lay in wait for their master's return."