An Elder God, Consort of Dark and Suzerain of Night.
Father of Envy, Spite, Malice and Arathan.
A well-featured man, beneath that thick, black beard. Eyes that had known malice long since stretched to snapping, leaving behind a strange bemusement, something almost regretful, almost … wise. Oh, this sword's realm delivered humility indeed. - Apsalara'a -(TtH)
He struck from the sky.
Wings like flames of night. The blaze of argent reptilian eyes. Talons lunging down, impaling her shoulders, snatching her from the ground.
Kilmandaros shrieked, fists closing to smash upward into the dragon’s ridged chest. The sound the impacts made were thunder.
And then, trailing ropes of blood, she was falling.
His shadow passed over her, a wheeling, plummeting presence, looming huge – jaws snapping out from a head above a lashing neck. - (TCG)
The scabbard dripped blackness as if from an open wound (TCG)
Atri-Ceda Aranict : Draconus. He is the one who arrived in darkness, who made a gate that stole half the sky, who holds in his hand a weapon of darkness and cold, of blackest ice.(DoD)
"He came to us in the guise of a duke from an outlying border fastness – a place remote enough that none of us even thought to suspect him. And in his manner, his hard countenance and few words, he matched well our lazy preconceptions of such a man. None of us could argue that there was something about him, a kind of self-assurance rarely seen at court. In his eyes, likes wolves straining at chains, there was a hint of the feral – the priestesses positively dripped.
"But, they would find, his was a most potent seed. And it was not Tiste Andii."
After a time, Silchas Ruin settled back and resumed. "Power was drawn to him like slivers of iron to a lodestone … it all seemed so … natural. His distant origins invited the notion of neutrality, and one might argue, in hindsight, that Draconus was indeed neutral. He would use any and every Tiste Andii to further his ambitions, and how were we to imagine that, at the very core of his desire, there was love?"
"Consort to Mother Dark – he laid claim to that title, eventually, as if it was a role he had lost and had vowed to reacquire." The white-skinned warrior snorted, eyes fixed on the flickering flames. "Who were we to challenge that assertion? Mother's children had by then ceased to speak with her. (DoD)
I was speaking of the ancient forces – your kin, if you like. Among them, the Eleint. Was Draconus a true Eleint? Or was he something else? All I can say is, he wore the skin of a Tiste Andii for a time, perhaps as a sour joke, mocking our self-importance – who can know? In any case, it was inevitable that Anomander, my brother, would step into the Consort's path, and all those opportunities for knowledge and truth came to a swift end. To this day," he added, sighing, "I wonder if Anomander regrets killing Draconus."
Rudd started. His mind was awhirl. "What of the Imass? This war –"
"I told you," Silchas Ruin snapped, face betraying his irritation. "Wars are indifferent to the choice of victims. Innocence, guilt, such notions are irrelevant. Grasp hold of your thoughts and catch up. I wondered if Anomander has regrets. I know that I do not. Draconus was a cold, cold bastard – and with the awakening of Father Light, ah, well, we saw then the truth of his jealous rage. The Consort cast aside, see the malice of the spurned ignite a black fire in his eyes! (DoD)
"There is irony in this," Sechul said with a wry smile. "The removal of Anomander Rake is like kicking down a gate – in an instant the path beyond runs straight and clear. Only to have Draconus step into the breach. As deadly as Rake ever was, but a whole lot crueler, that much closer to chaos. (DoD)
Mael to Kilmandaros :
Mael shrugged. "Try this for a consideration. Draconus needed to get something done. And, it now seems, he achieved it. Without lifting a hand. Without anyone even noticing his involvement. Only one man ever defeated him. Only one man could possess Dragnipur but never kneel before it. Only one man could oversee the weapon's destruction – no matter the cost. Only one man could force an end to Mother Dark's denial. And only one man could stand in the face of chaos and not blink."
Breath gusted from her in a growl. "And now that man is dead."
"And Draconus walks free. Draconus has broken Kallor's curse on him. His holds Darkness in a blade of annihilation. No longer chained, no longer on the run, no longer haunted by the terrible error in judgement that was Dragnipur."
"All this by his hand? I do not believe it, Mael."
"But that is precisely my point, Kilmandaros. About true subtlety. Will we ever know if what I have just described was all by the Consort's hand? No."
"Unless he admits it."
"But who wouldn't?"
"I hate your words, Mael. They gnaw like the waves you love so much."
"We are all vulnerable, Kilmandaros. Don't think Draconus is about to build a cute little homestead in some mountain valley and spend the rest of his days whittling whistles while birds nest in his hair. He knows we're here. He knows we're up to something. Either he's already figured it out, in which case he will come find us, or he is even now setting out to pull loose all our secret ambitions."(DoD)
Skwish rolled her eyes, approached. She halted directly in front of the crest. "Old symbols," she said. She pointed. "See that? That's the Teronderai, and there, that's the mark of Mother Dark herself."
"Empty throne! This ain't a Royal House, is it?"
"Not quite, but as good as. See that mark? The one in the centre. That's the Consort – you never was interested in studying the Oldings. So, this house, it belonged to a man lover to some princess or maybe even the queen herself. See, that's his name, the one there."
"What was it?"
"Daraconus, something like that." (D0D)
'Draconus is more of a mystery, of course, since he has been gone a long time -' The most reviled of them all! Eloth shrieked, the voice filling Cotillion's skull so that he winced. (BH UK Tpb, p.53)
Draconus, Blood of Tiam! Darkness was made to embrace your soul, and these chains that now hold you, are of your own fashioning.
Anomandaris
Fisher Kel Tath (MoI MMPB, p.140)
'Denuth : “Consort of Dark and Suzerain of Night. Draconus. Greetings.” (RotCG)
"If it's that bad, why are you still here?"
"Because Draconus changes everything, and I'm the only one who can stand against him."
Bottle gaped, and then a thin word creaked out: "You?"
"But don't think for a moment that I'm doing it for Shadowthrone and Cotillion. And don't think I'm even doing this for the Adjunct. All that time inside Dragnipur – it's changed him. He was never so subtle before – imagine, a gentle invitation to converse – does he think we're idiots? - Quickben - (DoD)
Return to Ascendants and Religion
Return to Dramatis Personae