Origins

In the beginning, the world was created by three primeval spirits--referred to in forgotten legends as the Origin Dragons. The Origin Dragons not only created the world but also provide the energy which gives life to their descendants--the dragon spirits who guard and sustain the creation. Because of this lineage, every dragon has magic which it uses to help maintain the creation in some way. The most powerful of the dragon spirits have great responsibilities in the world, such as guiding the rising and setting of the sun, making the tides and winds, and maintaining the cycle of the seasons. The most powerful of these can even control the flow of time itself--although dragon scholars sometimes debate the existence of Chronos Dragons, common folklore is full of stories about them and children grow up believing that whenever they feel a sense of déjà vu it is because a Chronos Dragon is nearby.​

Not all dragons are so mighty however, many smaller dragon spirits are needed to help protect the Wellsprings--sacred places where magic bubbles up into the world and allows the greater dragon spirits to continue to shape creation. These dragons, unlike their mythical kin, are present at a level that humans can see and comprehend. Over the centuries, humans grew in power and will leading them to create civilizations and technology based on the wellsprings. This human power eventually rivaled the magic of the lesser dragon spirits to the point where some of the dragons took an interest in humans. Humans began taming these dragons and creating an alliance with small teams of dragons to further the causes of creation.

But not all humans (or dragons) agree how to best protect the Creation, nor do they always see eye to eye about what forces and magic should take priority and receive the lion's share of the wellspring's magic. The influence of the Origin Dragons is felt in a dragon spirit's Origin Type and this leads them into frequent conflict as the wills of the Origin Dragons were not always in perfect harmony.

There was a war early in the history of the world, known to historians as The Contestment, which was over access to the wellsprings. When the Contestment began claiming human lives, the dragons, who are immortal and thus horrified by death, called on the legendary dragons to intervene.

The legendary dragons appeared in the sky and called the human leaders to a mountain top to stand before them. They pleaded with the humans to stop fighting on behalf of the Origins and allow the immortal dragon spirits to bear that duty. When the humans explained that contest for resources was as natural for humans as for the animals of the forests and valleys, and not merely a matter of duty, the dragons came up with a solution: Humans would refrain from fighting or killing, and their allied dragon spirits would fight in their place--but via a contest of magic, a type of duel which, while fantastic in appearance, would not result in any real harm to either dragon or to their human partners. They helped humans create rules of fair contest which would settle disputes and prevent war. To this day, it is considered the highest of all crimes to violate the terms of fair contest.