Dragons have been around since the dawn of time. Most theologians hold that dragons were the first creations of the gods, drawn up from Formless Chaos and pressed into a series of ideal coalescence by divine hands. They were inherently magical, using the natural energies of Gorgh to sustain their innate sorcery and fly (for how else could something so large fly but by magic?), and also possessed of immense strength. They were designe to occupy separate ecological niches, the apex predator to end all apex predator, fiercely territorial and master of their domain. But the Dragons held too much power to need the gods. Dragonkind saw no reason to worship at any altar, so when the gods created the various mortal races, they never again put so much power in any single race.

Dragons are functionally immortal, although as they age and grow truly colossal they also become slower and craggier and begin to enter what the dragons call the dreamstate, retreating further into their own minds and eventually becoming part of the landscape. Many geographic features take their names from the dragons, although how much of this is true is something of a mystery.

Although dragons are divided into the chromatic “good” dragons and the metallic “evil” dragons, all dragons believe in power. Arrogant to the point of extremes, dragons see no need to reign in their own natures. All dragons desire dominance and a hoard, and even good dragons see weakness as something vile. Few truly ancient wyrms remain known to mortal races, mostly keeping to themselves after their ancient war with the elves, although Mystara broke some few who sought dominance. They move in the shadows and the far places, and only the recurrence of young dragons ranging out and impacting settled areas show evidence that with two notable exceptions

The Dragon Bank

In the current year of 1628 AM (After Mystara), most banking is run by the Dragon Bank. With the waning of mortal power in the years after the Castlecrash, the dwarven banking clans consolidated together into something of a consortium. This was going quite well for the dwarves, until a treasure caravan crossing the arid wastes in the southern desert land of Shahel was waylaid by Animantarax the Azure. Promising a secret worth more than the gold demanded by Animantarax, a nameless merchant explained compound interest to the dragon.

In 1324 Animantarax and his attendant kobold tribe soon relocated to the coastal city of Ephemera and put his thousands of years of cunning and considerable intellect to the task of opening a bank. With his hoard as seed money, Animantarax signed treaties with local rulers and slowly but surely expanded, cutting out the dwarven banking clans and staffing the facilities with kobolds and dragonspawn. The dwarves, for their part, are happy to sell the Dragon Bank the vaults, locks, and the services of digging out secure facilities in exchange for great wealth and very reasonable business loans. The dwarven artisans see no fault in this, as the banking clans were always a thorn in the side of the workers.

Dragon Bank scrip and notes are worth their weight in gold in all the civilize parts of Gorgh, and the fastidiousness of the record-keeping done by the kobolds is well-regarded. The kobolds, for their part, see their service to the bank as an act of worship. It is convenient to have one’s god as one’s employer; your holy book is the Employee Manual, and any tricky theological questions can be submitted up the chain of command.

The Dragon Bank is popular with adventurers. The bank protects all assets as though they were part of Animantarax’s hoard, and helpful amenities like item appraisals, life and limb insurance, and currency exchange are on offer, although not cheaply. However, the trust in the Bank is absolute; the little lizards will not swindle or prevaricate, as that would impugn the honor of their god, and he’s not the forgiving kind.