The Draconic Religion view existence as “a web of illusion” maintained by immersion in these illusions. Time, as a product of the Compromise, binds gods to their God Time roles, but True Dragons largely escape this, sleeping across ages with lifespans akin to geography. Dream Dragons, as their projections, exist within Time yet reflect a pre-Time essence, suggesting Time is a construct they can bypass.
Followers of the Draconic Religion aim to reunite with this eternal state, free of Time’s “illusory” web. Time isn’t wholly an illusion but a constructed reality—real within the Mundane World, illusory from a draconic or mystical vantage. It’s a web to escape, yet it binds the cosmos post-Compromise.
Time, while a product of divine compromise and real to mortals, carries an illusory quality from the draconic perspective, as it’s a temporal construct overlaying the eternal God Time. Dream Dragons illustrate this: born outside Time’s full grasp, they enter it as tangible threats, fading like illusions when their dream ends. Dream Dragons embody this duality: real within Time’s frame, illusory as fleeting dreams of eternal True Dragons.
Now this has similarities to Nysalorean Illumination – no wonder that the God Learners assumed they were the same thing. But it is also radically different. This isn’t about whether Chaos is inherently evil or part of the world, but something broader and bigger. Unlike gods who fought Chaos (e.g., Storm Bull, Orlanth), the dragons passively endured the Great Darkness, except in moments of key resistance (e.g., Dragon Pass). Their aloofness reflects their rejection of elemental conflicts, viewing them as entanglements to avoid. This is very different from Nysalorean illumination, radically different.
How does the draconic religion compare with the ethos of EWF? its the genesis of it. The people of Dragon Pass (especially along the Creekstream River) learn that existence as illusion, validated by dragon power. The EWF’s Grand Ritual, rooted in the Second Age’s spirit of experimentation, aimed to transcend Time’s web, reinterpreting theistic cults as vehicles for draconic ascension. It is behind the audacity of the Third Council—a collective act to forge a new reality, blending storm, earth, and light into a draconic dream.
It also explains their downfall. They become enmeshed in Time’s web at the same time, and the whole dream crashes down.
It also helps explain how gonzo the Big Rubble is.
The EWF was a bold, flawed experiment where theistic zeal meets draconic truth, only to collapse under its own illusions. The Grand Ritual became a tragic pinnacle, a dream made real that couldn’t endure, echoing Dream Dragons’ fleeting power and the age’s ultimate lesson: innovation without balance leads to doom.