The Oromasdian Faith, known to many as the Draconic Faith, revolves not around the worship of the many Gods depicted in the Ylembicn Pantheon, or any of the other many racial pantheons, but rather, Dragons and their Gods. The followers of such a faith view the Dragons as direct descendants of a God, calling them Angels, and therefore as holy beings worthy of such admiration.
Long ago, Oromasdes was viewed as the one and only Dragon God. He bore several children with the earth as the mother, and they too bore children, this lineage extends to even the Dragons of today. But Oromasdes found himself the center of the ire of Iovus, Giant God of Thunder. Iovus viewed the Dragons as a dull blight on the beautiful skies of Ylembica, and so he slew Oromasdes , and started a campaign that killed many of the dragons, causing their numbers to dwindle.
Without a God to protect them, and numbers already shrinking, a great disease called the Scaleplague devastated the remaining Children of Oromasdes. There were but two survivors amongst his children, each with their own means of survival, Ordibehesht and Draojista. These two were twins, born of Oromasdes before death with the sole intention of being the heir to Dragonkind, and, should he perish, finding a way to carry on the Draconic races. Ordibehesht discovered and taught her children and followers that with the worship of other beings they could stave off the disease. They also learned that consuming currency could help further prevent the disease from spreading throughout their bodies.
The children of Draojista, however, took the idea of worship and perverted it, rather than inspire worship from others, they felt taking it was the best way to survive. So, they terrorized smaller, less powerful beings, forcing them into worshipping the Dragons. They also discovered that more powerful than consuming currency in staving off the disease was feasting on resources that held importance. It was in Ordibehesht, Draojista, and their children that the roots of a new faith were planted. The race of dragons, once united, became fractured. Ordibehesht’s children adopted bright metallic hues to their scales as a result of their consumption of currency through donations, while Draojista’s children turned to stark and vibrant colors from the resources they consumed. Ordibehesht became recognized as an icon of virtue, and Draojista as a God of sin.
Those followers who performed great acts of virtue, especially in the face of death, were offered the gift of Ost, becoming Half-Dragons. The Metallic Dragons, as the children of Ordibehesht became known, were in charge of offering this gift to those they found worthy, and became incredibly attuned in seeing through the contents of one’s soul to judge it as truly worthy. If they deemed that these acts were performed with the motive of claiming this gift, they would not be offered it. But wherever there exists good in this universe, there must also exists evil. Draojista, Ordibehesht’s twin brother, serves as the God of Sin, opposite of his twin sister of virtue. He and his children took the concept of being canonized and flipped it on its head. The Chromatic Dragons, as Draojista’s children became known, were in charge of offering those capable of great evil the gift of Ost as well, and those especially heinous were elevated after death to control portfolio’s they desired. These few devilish beings are viewed as Icons of sin, Demons, who tempt and corrupt mortal souls to committing great acts of evil. In either case, the process bestowing the gift of Ost upon an individual is not a decision to take lightly, as doing so requires the Dragon to shed a number of scales greater than or equal to the weight of the individual undergoing the change.
Next came the Prophets. They were mortals revered among their fellow followers for the great feats of heroism they performed, often in the face of death. For such bravery, valor, or piety, they were canonized as Prophets of Ordibehesht. After death, they were elevated to serve Ordibehesht, overseeing portfolios suited to their miracles in life. In life, all Prophets of Ordibehesht were at least offered the gift of Ost, whether or not they accepted it, they were still virtuous of soul and exalted by the church. Similarly, Draojista has elevated Prophets to serve him, taking on sinful portfolios and often directly opposing the Prophets of Ordibehesht. Both the sinful and virtuous elevated to the status of Prophets receive a Draconic form, becoming even closer to Ordibehesht than a Half-Dragon. Those bestowed the gift of Ost from a Prophet typically carries the title of “Saint” to denote their extreme holiness or impiety. Those bestowed with the gift of Ost by a normal Dragon may later be canonized as a Saint if recognized by a Prophet, and may even be elevated to Prophet if recognized by Ordibehesht or Draojista.
The Oromasdian religion, while most often followed by Dragons and Dragonborn, also has followers of other races as well. When other races adopt the faith, they often put their own twists on the faith and beliefs. For instance, while the core religion only has 7 Sins and Virtues, many of the other races accept Paal as the eighth and newest Prophet, ascending a mere couple hundred years ago. However, there is a growing movement of worshippers of Paal, who seek to place Paal as the one true Prophet, the only one worthy of worship alongside Ordibehesht, claiming she was his chosen, and was marked as pure with her status as the pale dragon.