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"It is not until you stand so high above the earth the air comes in gasps and the mind begins to spin that you truly understand the power of wings. I have flown with a Patagian through the labyrinthian skies of Huggtand, and my greatest regret is I will never do so again." - from the memoirs of Lewin Von Treet, Vault: the Land of Stuff and Things
Drakar Huggtand, or fang of the dragon in Common, is the largest of the three holy sites in the Drakar Highlands. It is here the life of the Highlands can be found. To fully understand Huggtand one must understand the difference between a drake and a dragon. Dragons of all ages and legacies are inheritors of the power of creation to the Drakar people. They are revered and sacred. Drakes are smaller in size and more akin to animals, though incredibly intelligent animals. They may look like dragons, and have often been mistakes as such, but they are fearsome companions, loyal and courageous.
These drakes were the original denizens of the Drakar Highlands and were friends to the people there far before the Elder Dragons arrived from Highcroft. It's believed the people of Drakar were so ready to accept the dragons due to their relationship with the drakes. It is in Huggtand that the ways of those predecessors are most preserved.
Huggtand itself is a region where the trees grow extraordinarily tall and twist in a beautiful tapestry of branches and trunks, creating a veritable maze of wood in the sky. The safety this aerial environment provides is why so many of the Drakar make their lives there. In other parts of Huggtand, the laws of gravity have been disregarded by the environment, and floating mountains and citadels of stone traverse the sky. These dense canopies and floating mountains make Huggtand an inhospitable place to all but its denizens. The Drakar people not only survive here but thrive. But that is not what makes Huggtand a holy site of Drakar. That is due to the Three Devouts.
Life Without. The Rangers known as Drakewardens rule the skies of Huggtand and have mastered the aerial navigation of the thick, twisting forests of the highlands. Drake breeding grounds are found throughout Huggtand, large areas filled with eggs, which are considered sacred to the Drakewardens. While every Warden dreams of riding a dragon into battle, it is the lithe speed and willingness to take direction that makes Drakes ideal mounts.
That being said, during the Firetide War, and in other important events, the Drakewardens of Huggtand do mount dragons to ride to glory. It is said they are the only people dragons allow to ride with them, and that is due to more than just their training in aerial combat. Drakewardens spend much of the time bonding with a drake egg and growing with their drakes by coming to understand and respect the natural world. Studying life in all its myriad forms and seeing the balance in nature is paramount to being a Drakewarden.
Life Within. The Monks of the Way of the Ascendant Dragon call Huggtand their home. It is here these monks study what it means to live a life worthy of the Elders. Many of these monks go on to test to become Idyllics in Drakar Skala but most are content to live among the skies, help those in need of it, and look for peaceful fulfillment. This is in stark contrast to the Firetide War when these same monks were terrifying combatants and even sometimes served as assassins.
Due to the decreased gravity in Huggtand, monks of the Way of the Ascendant Dragon build their monasteries in the floating mountains. Here, they learn to tread the skies, jumping vast distances between homesteads, perfecting the inner peace and emotional and mental balance necessary to fly through the skies with no assistance but their own discipline.
Life Beyond. The final piece of the trifecta known as the Devout are the Draconic Bloodline Sorcerers. Those who have ancestry involving dragons but are not dragons themselves often manifest draconic power and can wield arcane forces with awe-inspiring results. But powerful magic is not the focus of these Sorcerers in Huggtand. Instead, those of a draconic bloodline seek to understand the nature of power and its influence in the world.
Living in communes, usually secluded, these mages wrestle with having gifts they did not ask for, take responsibility for the power they control, and emerge from their studies with a better understanding of not only that power but the arcane nature of the world itself. Often Draconic Bloodline Sorcerers hold a grudge or are generally distrusting of dragons, and some see themselves as equal considering their ancestry. But growth and maturity for them means accepting who they are.
The Three Devout make up the fighting force of not just the Drakar Highlands but the majority of the non-dragon forces during the Firetide War. It is widely accepted that if the war had been fought in Drakar, Highcroft would have been utterly outmatched. But warfare is not the province of the Devout, but rather it's living in unity and peace with the world around them, within them, and beyond them.
Not all in Drakar Huggtand support the Devout and the simple lifestyle the region encourages. Many of the settlements and communities in Huggtand exist because the people have seen the life the people have Highcroft have built for themselves and want it for their own. The industry, the trade, the wonders built and the luxuries enjoyed; some in Drakar wish to abandon the traditions of Huggtand and build a better life.
Those traditions stretch back to before Dragonfall in Highcroft. The traditions are simple. When you are old enough to provide for others, you fly with a Patagian, a massive cross between a drake and a whale, high in the skies over Drakar Huggtand. It is there one sees their home from a perspective they never have before. The ritual is meant to alter one's view from selfish to selfless, as all children must become.
The guiding principle is straightforward: "Take no more than you need and give what you can." This lesson has persevered for thousands of years but times are swiftly changing. The Three Devouts of Huggtand hold tight to simplicity and the elegance found there, but it is difficult to deny people the life of plenty when they see possible it is. It is this issue that fuels a disdain for Highcroft in many ways for the people of Huggtand. And it is this issue that threatens to tear the most populated and powerful region of the Drakar Highlands in two.
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