Well of Dragons

The Well of Dragons was the name of the fortress operated by the Cult of the Dragon, built within a dormant volcano that once served as an ancient dragon graveyard. While it originally served as the location where cultists would facilitate dragons' transformations into dracoliches, it was later converted into a temple dedicated to the Dragon Goddess Tiamat.

Description
The citadel was built at the bottom of the caldera of a once-active volcano. The walls descending down the cavity were lined with hundreds upon hundreds of dragon's remains, which were inaccessible an protected by the graveyard's protector. Natural caverns and volcanic tunnels wound through the earth surrounding the caldera, alongside crude tunnels and chambers that were dug by the Cult's laborers.

The site was a legendary graveyard of dragons, shrouded in shadow magic. Historically it was the place many dragons would travel to to when they were ready to die a natural death. It was filled with much of the riches and treasure they had hoarded in their life.

Following the Cult's takeover of the site, it was no longer a site to where dragons went to die, rather the place where they could negotiate their future immortality.

Geography
It was located the canyonlands north of the River Reaching and Sunset Mountains, southeast of the Battle of Bones and some ways east of Skull Gorge.

About a mile to the east was a small—and appropriately named—Dire Dragon inn. This inn was all that remained of the village of Ladydove, which itself destroyed by the actual Dire Dragon, Uthagrimnoshaarl, guardian of the Well of Dragons.

Structure
Within the Well of Dragons was a large cavern referred to as the Chamber of Ascendance. This space was used by the original Cult of the Dragon to transform living dragons into "Sacred Ones". These dragons were set upon a large ritual platform as the transformation process began.

Decades later, the floor of the caldera became the site of Tiamat's Temple.

Activities
activities which mainly involved attempting to transform dragons into dracoliches.

Leadership
As of 1374 DR, the Well of the Dragons was overseen by the cult leader Vargo Kent.

Defenses
To dissuade invades, the landscape around the Well of Dragons was concealed with illusory terrain that originated from the inherent shadow magic that permeated its depths. This line of defense was weakened when moonlight was more prevalent.

The citadel itself was well defended as it often came under attack from treasure hunters and dragons angered by the cult's beliefs. Over the decades, these defenses were bolstered significantly. As the Cult rededicated itself to Tiamat, it amassed a powerful army, that included thousands of mercenaries, monstrous beasts, giants, and even devils from the Nine Hells.

Origins and Cult Takeover
The origins of the dragon graveyard's discovery varied between scholars. Some said it was initially uncovered by the Cult of the Dragon cell based in the Western Heartlands, in the, while other accounts attribute that feat ti the Sembian cell in the. Regardless of who arrived first, the dragon cultists found the site was guarded by an undead shadow dragon known as Uthagrimnoshaarl, the Dire Dragon. The shadow dragon allowed the cultists to propose an an initial alliance before refusing them, and graciously allowed them to leave with their lives.

Eventually the dragon cultists managed to free the guardian Uthagrimnoshaarl from the magic that bound it to the dragon graveyard,, they began construction of their citadel. Their initial efforts were fraught with missteps however, as construction plans were poorly thought out and the disruption of the site led to numerous dragon attacks. Other groups attempted to interfere for their own interest as well, including bands of adventurers, sages, different dragonkin, and even yuan-ti. Eventually constriction of the citadel was overseen by the Sembian cell of the Cult, led by the warlord Naergoth Bladelord. Over 250 laborers worked tirelessly for years, and the Well of Dragons was finally completed in the.

It was that same year that Vargo Kent's apprentice Reveilaein Brant uncovered an ancient tablet of Kalzareinad that detailed the process of how even a half-dragon could undertake a process to become a dracolich.

Rededication to Tiamat
By the late 15 century DR, the Cult of the Dragons' plots had shifted. As the group came upon the leadership of Severin Silrajin, they forewent their obsession over dracoliches and other undead dragons for veneration of the goddess Tiamat. As of the 1480s DR, they intended to summon Tiamat to Toril from the Nine Hells.

To achieve this, the dragon cultists began to amass treasures of all sorts—including gems and valuable tomes —from across the Sword Coast and beyond, and hoarded them at the Well of Dragons as an offering to the Dragon Queen. They amassed all their numbers at the Well in anticipation of her arrival, and even forged an alliance with the Red Wizards of Thay.

As the cultists neared their goal in the 1480s DR, they managed to sound the Draakhorn, summoning chromatic dragons far and wide to the Well of Dragons. With their massive hoard and draconic allies en route, Severin and the cultists merely had to perform their ritual and sacrifice innocents they had captured to entice Tiamat to the Prime Material plane.

In the late 15th century DR the citadel was co-ruled by a death knight named Naergoth Bladelord and a lich known as Vargo the Faceless.

Rumors & Legends
Tales about the Well of Dragons spread across taverns across the Realms. Most people believed them to be mere fanciful stories, with no source of truth to them.

A grand opera, entitled The Fall of Tiamat, was written and performed following the Dragon Queen's defeat at the Well of Dragons. It was still being performed in Waterdeep as of 1492 DR.

Notable Inhabitants

 * Arleanda, an especially academic Wearer of Purple and cleric of the god Velsharoon.
 * Arsekaslyx, the "Guardian of the Well", a pseudonatural red dragon that offered much protection to the cultists at the Well for over a century.
 * Uthagrimnoshaarl, the great shadow wyrm that transformed into a dracolich.