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of dark mysteries. Indeed, dragons that wish to learnthe secret of becoming undead could do worse thanfollow the tenets of Vecna.ZehirZehir is the evil deity of darkness, poison, and assassins.Snakes are his favored creation, and yuan-tiadore him. Despite a long-standing desire to distinguishthemselves from snakes and reptiles, chromaticdragons that have an affinity for darkness and poisonthrow in their lot with Zehir. Green dragons, inparticular, find reverence to Zehir a natural fit; theycall each of their victims a sacrifice to the deity ofdarkness.RELIGIONERIC DESCHAMPSNo DeityMany chromatic dragons are apostates. They knowof the existence of the deities—especially Tiamat,who helped shape their kind—but either they neverdevelop a strong enough reverence for any divinebeing to become worshipers, or they renounce theirpatron deities for one reason or another. Others studythe convoluted clashes and claims of deities anddecide divine beings are nothing more than powerfulindividuals claiming prerogatives not due them. Afterall, in the fullness of time, every dragon believes thatperhaps one day it will become as powerful.ExarchsDeities maintain distance and detachment from theeveryday happenings of the world—even from mightydragons that choose to worship those deities. Thus,deities employ exarchs to act on their behalf. Exarchssometimes even go so far as to listen for prayersdirected toward the deities they serve.Dragon exarchs do more than just help their deitiesdeal with a cosmos of worshipers: They also act aspoints of familiarity for chromatic dragons interestedin serving their deities. Although a given dragonmight not wish to serve Corellon, it might not mindoffering reverence to Astilabor (see below) and thusindirectly serving Corellon.Dragon exarchs are powerful dragons that risein prominence either in the world or out among thewider planes. Brief descriptions of some chromaticdragon exarchs follow.AasterinianDeity: AvandraAasterinian is a mischievous blue dragon whoenjoys learning through play, invention, and pleasure.She serves primarily as Avandra’s messengerand especially likes to deliver decrees that set greatchanges in motion.Dragons that revere Aasterinian appreciate herflightiness and quick wits. All dragons applaud herstance that they should think for themselves and relyon their own devices.AstilaborDeity: CorellonAstilabor’s hoard was once the penultimate collectionof ancient art, magic, and prose created by thedeity Corellon. When he invited this red dragon tobecome one of his exarchs, she accepted. She representsthe natural draconic desire to acquire treasureand power, tempered by the knowledge that nakedgreed can bring doom to a hoard.Dragons revere Astilabor because of her representationof wealth and power and because of her guidancein avoiding acts that might endanger their hoards.Though Astilabor claims to decry thievery, stolengoods sometimes find their ways into the hoards ofdragons that revere her, with no consequence.ChronepsisDeity: The Raven QueenChronepsis cares not for a soul’s disposition. Thisgray dragon is silent, unconcerned, and dispassionate—theperfect exarch for the Raven Queen. Indeed,for those souls that prove troublesome by lingeringwhen they should move beyond, Chronepsis demonstratesa valuable ability to consume the forms ofdead and undead alike.Dragons that revere Chronepsis see him as apassionless judge in fate and death, a disinterestedCHAPTER 1 | Dragon Lore29