Golden Children of the Desert Sun

Beneath the blazing skies of Afor, among burning sands and ancient settlements, lives a people touched by the magic of the desert sun.

The Sun Seraphidians.

Golden-scaled and magical, they possess a luminous appearance that immediately distinguishes them among the peoples of Vacari.

But their beauty is not what makes them formidable.

The true strength of the Sun Seraphidians lies somewhere far more difficult to see.

Within their will.

They are resistant to outside influence.

Difficult to manipulate.

Difficult to sway once they have chosen their path.

And the Sun Seraphidians have made one choice particularly clear.

They stand with the Light.

Children of Afor

Afor is a land shaped by extremes.

Heat.

Sand.

Ancient magic.

Dangerous creatures.

Civilizations that have learned to survive beneath a sun that offers little mercy to the unprepared.

The Sun Seraphidians belong to this world.

Their golden scales seem almost created for the desert, reflecting the brilliance of the sun beneath which their people have lived.

Yet they are more than another magical race adapted to Afor's harsh environment.

They possess their own society.

Their own magic.

Their own decisions about where they stand as darkness continues moving through the region.

And increasingly, those decisions are bringing them into the larger conflicts shaping Vacari.

Cousins Beneath Different Skies

The Sun Seraphidians are related to another mysterious people of Vacari:

The Moon Seraphidians.

The connection between the two peoples is unmistakable.

Both possess serpentine characteristics.

Both are magical.

Both belong to ancient cultures whose abilities are not yet completely understood by outsiders.

But kinship does not make them identical.

The Moon Seraphidians prefer hidden places—rocky sanctuaries, concealed caverns, and passages where outsiders may struggle even to locate them.

The Sun Seraphidians live beneath very different skies.

And perhaps even more importantly, the two peoples do not respond to outside forces in exactly the same way.

A Stronger Resistance

One of the most important qualities of the Sun Seraphidians is their resistance to outside influence.

Their minds and wills are not easily bent.

Attempts to manipulate them face a people naturally inclined to resist.

That does not mean a Sun Seraphidian can never be influenced.

Few powers should ever be treated as absolute.

But compared with their Moon cousins, the Sun Seraphidians possess a stronger natural resistance.

They are stubborn.

Watchful.

Strong-willed.

Once they have decided where they stand, changing that decision may prove considerably more difficult than an enemy expects.

In peaceful times, that might simply be considered a cultural characteristic.

In the conflicts now moving through Afor, it could become something much more important.

They Chose the Light

The Sun Seraphidians are not aligned with the Light because someone commanded them to be.

They chose it.

That distinction matters.

Their resistance to influence does not leave them without loyalties or convictions.

Quite the opposite.

It means those convictions are genuinely theirs.

They observed the world around them.

They made their choice.

And now they are willing to stand behind it.

As darkness spreads through parts of Afor, the Sun Seraphidians have not simply retreated and hoped someone else would stop it.

They have begun taking their own place in the defense of the lands around them.

Darkness Moving Through Afor

Afor is no stranger to dangerous powers.

Dark Dragons move within the region.

Ancient rivalries remain.

Different peoples occupy lands whose survival increasingly depends upon understanding what is happening beyond their own borders.

The Sun Seraphidians cannot remain untouched by those conflicts forever.

Nor, apparently, do they intend to.

Their territory places them near an increasingly important defensive presence within Afor.

The Brass Dragons.

The Brass Bastion

The Brass Bastion stands as a center of Noble Dragon strength within Afor.

The Brass Dragons who gather around it have their own responsibilities, territories, and reasons for watching the darkness moving through the desert.

The Sun Seraphidians have found themselves sharing territory with them.

That might suggest a simple arrangement:

The Brass Dragons provide protection.

The Sun Seraphidians receive it.

But that would badly underestimate the Sun Seraphidians.

They are not helpless inhabitants waiting for dragons to save them.

They possess magic of their own.

They possess the will to use it.

And they understand that protecting Afor is not solely the responsibility of the Noble Dragons.

Standing Beside the Noble Dragons

The growing relationship between the Sun Seraphidians and Brass Dragons is therefore better understood as a shared interest.

Both have reasons to defend the surrounding lands.

Both recognize the dangers moving through Afor.

Both have something they can contribute.

When darkness threatens nearby settlements, the Sun Seraphidians are willing to stand alongside the Noble Dragons rather than simply behind them.

That distinction says a great deal about their people.

They accept allies.

They do not surrender responsibility.

Their strength remains their own.

Magic of the Sun Seraphidians

Much remains to be learned about Sun Seraphidian magic.

That mystery should not be mistaken for weakness.

Their people possess abilities of their own, shaped by their heritage and connection to the lands beneath Afor's blazing sun.

As their involvement in the conflicts of Vacari grows, more of those abilities may become known.

For now, one of their greatest strengths may be the quality that is easiest to underestimate:

Their will.

Magic can be powerful.

So can refusing to allow someone else to determine what you believe.

Strength Without Isolation

The Sun Seraphidians' willingness to cooperate with the Brass Dragons reveals another important part of their character.

Strong-willed does not mean incapable of cooperation.

Resistance to influence does not mean rejecting every outsider.

Independence does not require isolation.

The Sun Seraphidians can recognize that another people shares their goals without surrendering their own identity.

That may become increasingly valuable as Afor's conflicts grow more complicated.

Alliances throughout Vacari often depend upon different peoples finding the things they can defend together.

The Sun Seraphidians appear perfectly capable of doing exactly that.

They simply intend to make their own decisions about it.

And Then There Is Aurix

Sharing territory with the Brass Dragons creates one additional consequence.

It places the Sun Seraphidians near Aurix.

The Ancient Brass Dragon.

Powerful.

Experienced.

A defender of the Light.

And a dragon with...

stories.

Many stories.

Aurix possesses centuries of knowledge and experience, and he is apparently quite willing to share both.

Frequently.

At length.

Whether the Sun Seraphidians appreciate this aspect of their growing relationship with the Brass Dragons remains uncertain.

Perhaps they do.

Perhaps somewhere among the Sun Seraphidians is an individual who genuinely enjoys sitting beneath the Afor sun while Aurix begins another tale from several centuries ago.

Or perhaps their famous resistance to outside influence has developed an unexpected secondary benefit.

Patience.

Considerable patience.

The Ancient Who Keeps Talking

Aurix's tendency toward storytelling may provide a little humor, but his presence near the Sun Seraphidians carries greater significance.

He is the Ancient Brass Dragon.

If serious danger reaches the lands surrounding the Brass Bastion, the Sun Seraphidians are not merely living near a group of Noble Dragons.

They are near one of their Ancients.

And Aurix, regardless of how many stories he may tell along the way, takes the defense of his people and territory seriously.

For the Sun Seraphidians, that creates a powerful neighboring ally.

For Aurix, their presence provides something equally valuable:

A magical people willing to help defend the same lands.

Perhaps he even appreciates having a new audience.

The Sun Seraphidians may eventually have opinions about that.

Not the Moon Seraphidians

Because the Sun and Moon Seraphidians are cousins, comparisons between them are inevitable.

But neither people should be understood entirely through the other.

The Moon Seraphidians possess their own culture, mysteries, choices, and relationship with darkness.

The Sun Seraphidians have followed another path.

Their stronger resistance to outside influence is part of that distinction.

So is their decision to align themselves with the Light.

Their story deserves to stand on its own.

Two related peoples can emerge from connected origins and still become very different cultures.

Vacari contains many examples of that truth.

The Seraphidians may prove to be another.

More Than Golden Scales

From a distance, the Sun Seraphidians are striking.

Golden scales beneath the desert sun.

Magical beings moving through the sands of Afor.

But appearances reveal very little about what truly defines them.

Their greatest characteristic may not be something visible at all.

It is the ability to remain themselves when another force attempts to make that difficult.

Their resistance gives them independence.

Their will gives them direction.

Their choices give those qualities meaning.

And when they chose where they would stand, they chose the Light.

Defenders of Their Own Lands

The Sun Seraphidians do not need to become soldiers in someone else's army to matter in the battles ahead.

Their own lands are worth defending.

Their neighboring settlements are worth protecting.

Their home in Afor gives them every reason to resist powers that would threaten the region.

That creates common ground with the Brass Dragons without making the Sun Seraphidians subordinate to them.

When danger comes, Noble Dragons may take to the skies.

The Sun Seraphidians can bring their own magic to the defense below.

Different peoples.

Different abilities.

One shared interest.

Do not allow darkness to consume Afor.

A People Whose Story Is Beginning

Much remains unknown about the Sun Seraphidians.

Their deeper history has yet to be completely explored.

Their magic still holds mysteries.

Their relationship with their Moon cousins leaves questions waiting for answers.

And their growing connection to the Brass Dragons may prove increasingly important as events continue unfolding across Afor.

For now, however, several things are clear.

They are magical.

They are watchful.

They are remarkably strong-willed.

They are difficult to influence.

They are willing to defend the lands around them.

And they have chosen where they stand.

Beneath the blazing skies of Afor live the golden children of the desert sun.

The Sun Seraphidians.

Strong-willed.

Magical.

Watchful.

And firmly standing in the Light.

🎥 Featured Video: The Sun Seraphidians of Vacari

Journey into the deserts of Afor and meet the Sun Seraphidians, a golden-scaled magical people whose strength reaches far beyond their luminous appearance.

Discover their connection to the Moon Seraphidians, their remarkable resistance to outside influence, their decision to stand with the Light, and their growing relationship with the Noble Brass Dragons around the Brass Bastion.

And, of course, discover what happens when a people known for strong wills and considerable patience finds itself living near Aurix, the Ancient Brass Dragon.

Perhaps they really do enjoy his stories.

▶ Watch The Sun Seraphidians of Vacari on YouTube: https://youtu.be/UklC9A3lkrY