Here we have the first of my world's Numinari. Truthfully, I feel like I use this thread as a means of talking about my world as much as if not more then I use it to show off cool AI pics.
In the world of Salvera, the god-like beings that are revered and feared by the mortals that reside on the plane are divided into three loose groups. The first are the Gods, those that act as protectors of the realm and it's inhabitants and connect themselves to the various domains of divinity to keep the planar realities and the plane they connected to intact and thriving. The second are the Defilers, those that seek to destroy the very fabric of the Material Plane and it's surrounding Ethereal Plane in order to break free from this closed system and rejoin the rest of the multiverse, either to return to their original creators or to infect the rest of the multiverse with their corrupting powers. The third are the Numinari, who don't seek the destruction of Salvera, but also chose not to bound themselves to Salvera and the energies that keep it together.
The Numinari are the most varied of the god-like beings, typically following their own machinations both big and small. They tend to avoid the greater conflicts between the Gods and the Defilers, but most would ultimately give discreet aid to the Gods in order to prevent Slavera's destruction, as the death of the plane could ruin their goals and even spell their own doom. However, a few Numinari have also been known to give temporary aid to the Defilers in exchange to resources, power, knowledge, or to thwart a god that stand counter to their current goals. Each Numinari is truly unique, and can be a source of benevolent aid or cruel opposition. While some Numinari are great enough to grant their followers divine power through devotion, the forming of divine, arcane, or primal pacts between mortals is far more common.
Considered by some to be one of the oldest of the Numinari, is an enigmatic entity known simply as the Prismatic Heart. It is depicted as a massive crystallized dragon heart that glisten and pulsate with twelve distinct colors; white, pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, brown, black, and gray. The heart seems to beat in a rhythmic, hymn-like manner that is so low and deep that it is more felt then heard, but those that are within it's vicinity feel a deep sense of reverence, awe, and comfort from it's consistence strumming. This crystal heart seems to float above seven monstrous and unique yet familiarly shaped dragon skulls, far larger then any mortal dragon that has every existed, their severed necks all intertwined together, almost as if to signify that they once belonged to the same behemoth entity. Surrounding the Prismatic Heart, spanning many dozens of miles are hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions of dragon skeletons and corpses that all rest facing the glow of this strange object, as if they were drawn to it like a beacon in their final hours. Though few have been able to truly document even a small portion of this massive dragon graveyard due to the inherent dangers of such a place, all of the examined remains appear to be of Chromatic Dragons.
All other potential information about this entity that exists comes from scattered writings and testimony from an long existing cult known as the Choir of the Prismatic Heart. According to this ancient yet still existing cult, the Prismatic Heart isn't just a powerful force in the shape of a dragon's heart, but is in fact the original heart of the Goddess Tiamat back during the Age of Creation. Unlike the five headed draconic devil that she would later be known as, Tiamat was once a beautiful arcanely-infused divine creature of vibrant colors and captivating songs, that would at her peak sport twelve heads for each of her chromatic children she shaped from the fluid dragon anima that were once the original dragon creations of her father Io before his demise. When her father was sundered, the ever fluid forms of the original dragons became unstable, causing them to begin degenerating in body, mind, and soul. So the various dragon gods and godlings remaining after their creator's demise began to take the wayward creations and mold them into the various dragon forms the multiverse knows today. Tiamat took those dragons that followed her and used her songs of creation and mastery of Onomancy to turn them into the twelve distinct Chromatic Dragons species that exist on Salvera and beyond. The passionate and powerful words she spun to gift each of her draconic children their new forms were so stirring and heartfelt that her own form was forever changed, gaining a new head to represent each of the species she created as to be closer to them both physically and spiritually.
During the tail end of the Age of Creation, after the Creator God's war with the Primordials that left Salvera in ruin and close to it's near imminent destruction, a battle broke out between the Creator Gods and the soon to be current Gods of Salvera. This betrayal by the future Gods was caused by the Creator God's collective decision to abandon the plane and most of the mortals, save their most devout followers, to it's destruction due to not wishing to weaken themselves further by trying to mend a world they didn't create themselves after suffering heavy losses from the previous war. While most of the Creator Gods agreed to this decision despite their own personal feelings on the matter, a few of their own did not stand by them, and Tiamat was one of them. She fought with the Salverean Gods for the world her father died for and for her children whom she refused to abandon, often alongside her brother Jaariliik who also rebelled. In the final battles before the Creator's were driven off, Tiamat fought against her brother Bahamut and his allies. The fight was viscous, with Bahamut losing several wings and tails to his sister, and Tiamat losing seven of her twelve heads. The final blow was dealt not by the Platinum Dragon however, but by a combined strike from Pelor the Dawnfather and Erathis the Lawbearer that sundered Tiamat's heart, before her broken body was banished to Avernus to be imprisoned for her betrayal. It is rumored that the devilish powers of the plane itself or the strange waters of the River Styx formed a new, fiendish heart for the once vibrant dragon, twisting her into the cruel and evil goddess the multiverse knows her as today.
The Chromatic Queen's original heart, along with her seven severed heads were left behind, acting as a memorial to the Chromatic Dragon's lost mother, and as yet another reminder of the Creator God's cruelty and betrayal of Salvera and it's people. Her children haven't forgotten her, however while most simply keep her memory and follow the teachings of her divine son Zakator, some of them are not content with this and wish to bring their goddess back, not to usurp the Salverean gods, but to join them as they believed their great progenitor Io would have wanted.
