Sardior

Sardior (pronounced: /ˈs ɑːr d i ɔːr/ SAR-dee-or^[1]) was the dragon god of night, psionics, and secrets, and he was also the Master of gem dragons.^[1]

Description[]

Sardior was said to be a unique ruby dragon. In his natural form, he had a long and sinewy body covered with deep ruby red scales. At a distance, he was often mistaken for an ancient red dragon.^[1]

Personality[]

Despite appearing as a red dragon at first glance, Sardior's playful demeanor soon betrayed his true self. He was reputed to be a great conversationalist, and many who met him were unprepared for his sharp wit.^[1]

Realm[]

Sardior's demesne was a huge floating castle named the Ruby Palace,^[5]^[6]^[3] which orbited the world and always lay in the shadows from the sun. On the nights it was seen, viewers often mistook it for a small red moon.^[1]

Periodically, Sardior moved his fortress through the planes, visiting the djinni Citadel of Ice and Steel,^[4] and Uroboros, the realm of Jazirian.^[3]

Activities[]

Throughout the history of Toril, Sardior worked covertly against the Phaerimm, any human rulers who sought to imprison or make use of psionicists, and any giants who sought hostile actions against dragons. These actions included seeking out dragons to slay them, destroy their eggs, or to conquer their lairs.^[7]

One of Sardior's greatest ongoing machinations on Toril was "breeding" more psionicists into the world by manipulating unions between sentient races. He felt this was necessary in order to balance out the world's prevalence of arcane and divine magic users.^[7]

Relationships[]

Sardior kept a court of five thanes, one for each of the various breeds of gem dragons. They were Aleithilithos, an amethyst dragon, Hrodel, a crystal dragon, Smargad, an emerald dragon, Charisma, a sapphire dragon, and Tithonnas, a topaz dragon. Sardior once had a sixth thane—Seradess, an obsidian dragon—but he destroyed her and banished the obsidian dragons from his court. Even his own clergy didn't know the exact reason behind this decision.^[1] These greatwyrms wished to absorb every one of their echoes in order to come together and reform Sardior.^[8]

Worshipers[]

Sardior was worshiped by neutral dragons, psions, and psychic warriors. He didn't require much from his followers, and didn't try to guide their decisions. Gem dragons, in return, viewed him as an ideal and strove to be more like him.^[1]

Sardior was always happy when he granted spells and special abilities to his followers.^[1]

Clergy[]

Sardior had very few clerics. They usually dressed in the appropriate fashion for the area in which they resided, and then embellished the look with an abundance of jewelry in their everyday wear.^[1]

Many sought out his clerics as sources of knowledge, as most of his followers were considered sages on various subjects. The temples gained their wealth by charging for these services. The prominent members of his temples also had social functions. They were personable, knowledgeable, and great storytellers. They showed little interest in politics, which made those around them less concerned with the information they revealed to the clergy.^[1]

Sardior's clergy was welcomed everywhere much as bards were. A small group of his clergy, known as the ruby disciples, trained to be a martial arm of the church, serving not only as a defense but also as a show of force.^[1]

Temples[]

As he wasn't as old as the other members of the draconic pantheon, having ascended to the status of lesser deity in relatively modern times, temples to Sardior were fewer than even his clerics. Temples dedicated to the Ruby Dragon were usually located in high areas that allowed clear views of the night sky but were close to a community of some sort.^[1]

Most gem dragons kept a ruby on a small pedestal in their lairs as a shrine to him.^[1]

History[]

According to the ancient draconic myth Elegy for the First World, Sardior was the first creation of the primordial dragons, Bahamut and Tiamat. He helped them to create the first metallic and chromatic dragons. When the gods of the Outer Planes invaded the Material plane, Sardior hid in the "heart of creation", and it is believed he died when the "First World" was destroyed. However, some sages believe that Sardior's consciousness survived, scattered and fused with all the worlds of the Material Plane. It's also said that the gem dragons were born from the remains of Sardior's consciousness.^[9]

Appendix[]

Notes[]

According to Ed Greenwood, Sardior was worshiped as a god in the Realms.^[10]

References[]

↑ ^1.00 ^1.01 ^1.02 ^1.03 ^1.04 ^1.05 ^1.06 ^1.07 ^1.08 ^1.09 ^1.10 ^1.11 ^1.12 ^1.13 ^1.14 ^1.15 Scott Brocius & Mark A. Jindra (2003-01-24). The Legend of Sardior. The Mind's Eye. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved on 2019-05-07.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Arthur W. Collins (May 1980). “That's not in the Monster Manual!”. In Jake Jaquet ed. Dragon #37 (TSR, Inc.), pp. 6–7, 35–36.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Wolfgang Baur (February 1995). “Mount Celestia”. In Michele Carter ed. Planes of Law (TSR, Inc), p. 21. ISBN 0-7869-0093-8.
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 Wolfgang Baur (November 1993). Secrets of the Lamp. Genie Lore. (TSR, Inc.), p. 21. ISBN 978-1560766476.
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 Steven Schend (1995). Blood Wars, "Sardior". TSR, Inc..
↑ Steven Schend (1995). Blood Wars, "The Ruby Palace". TSR, Inc..
↑ ^7.0 ^7.1 Ed Greenwood (2020-12-07). Sardior's Activities (Tweet). theedverse. Twitter. Archived from the original on 2021-07-03. Retrieved on 2021-07-15.
↑ James Wyatt (October 2021). Fizban's Treasury of Dragons. (Wizards of the Coast), p. ?. ISBN 978-0786967292.
↑ James Wyatt (October 2021). Fizban's Treasury of Dragons. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. prologue, p. ?. ISBN 978-0786967292.
↑ Ed Greenwood (2016-12-13). Sardior's Worship (Tweet). theedverse. Twitter. Archived from the original on 2022-08-30. Retrieved on 2022-10-17.

Connections[]

The Draconic Pantheon

Greater Deities
Asgorath • Null • Task
Intermediate Deities
Kereska • Nathair Sgiathach • Zorquan
Lesser Deities
Astilabor • Bahamut • Garyx • Hlal • Lendys • Sardior • Tamara • Tiamat
Demigods
Kuyutha
Dead powers
Azharul • Kalzareinad
Unknown
Zotha

Deities

Deities of the Post–Second Sundering Era

Deities of the Post-Spellplague Era

Deities of the Era of Upheaval

Deities of the Age of Humanity

[LoS-1] 1.00 ^1.01 ^1.02 ^1.03 ^1.04 ^1.05 ^1.06 ^1.07 ^1.08 ^1.09 ^1.10 ^1.11 ^1.12 ^1.13 ^1.14 ^1.15 Scott Brocius & Mark A. Jindra (2003-01-24). The Legend of Sardior. The Mind's Eye. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved on 2019-05-07.

[D34-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 Arthur W. Collins (May 1980). “That's not in the Monster Manual!”. In Jake Jaquet ed. Dragon #37 (TSR, Inc.), pp. 6–7, 35–36.

[PoL-3] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Wolfgang Baur (February 1995). “Mount Celestia”. In Michele Carter ed. Planes of Law (TSR, Inc), p. 21. ISBN 0-7869-0093-8.

[SotL.GL-p21-4] 4.0 ^4.1 Wolfgang Baur (November 1993). Secrets of the Lamp. Genie Lore. (TSR, Inc.), p. 21. ISBN 978-1560766476.

[BW-S-5] 5.0 ^5.1 Steven Schend (1995). Blood Wars, "Sardior". TSR, Inc..

[6] Steven Schend (1995). Blood Wars, "The Ruby Palace". TSR, Inc..

[twitter-7] 7.0 ^7.1 Ed Greenwood (2020-12-07). Sardior's Activities (Tweet). theedverse. Twitter. Archived from the original on 2021-07-03. Retrieved on 2021-07-15.

[FToD-p-8] James Wyatt (October 2021). Fizban's Treasury of Dragons. (Wizards of the Coast), p. ?. ISBN 978-0786967292.

[Fiz-pro-9] James Wyatt (October 2021). Fizban's Treasury of Dragons. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. prologue, p. ?. ISBN 978-0786967292.

[EdVerse.SW-10] Ed Greenwood (2016-12-13). Sardior's Worship (Tweet). theedverse. Twitter. Archived from the original on 2022-08-30. Retrieved on 2022-10-17.

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