The couatl are celestial outsiders that appear as radiant, winged serpents.[5][8]
History[]
The couatl are believed to be born from the pure blood of Siberys, the Dragon Above, after he was killed by Khyber, the Dragon Below, before it touched the soil of Eberron.[9][10]
Couatl are thought to hail from Sarlona, where they were content to let the dragons explore the new world until the rise of the Overlords.[9] Couatls are also said to have ruled over Xen'drik during the Age of Demons.[8] When Khyber's first children, the Overlords, overran Eberron and claimed it for their own, the couatl supposedly fled and hid for a million years.[8]
Eventually, they were found by the dragons, and together they declared war on the demons.[8] Together, two of their great prophets, Ourelonastrix and Hezcalipa, discovered the Draconic Prophecy and turned it against the forces of the Overlords.[9] Over millions of years, the dragons and couatl were able to stand against the individual forces of the Overlords, but the immortal sage Hezcalipa knew it wouldn't be enough to permanently defeat fellow immortal beings.[9][11]
As the dragons fought, the couatls finally sacrificed their immortal essence around 100,000 years ago to form the Silver Flame and bind the first Children of Khyber for all time.[8][9]
Since then the Couatl have been largely extinct, although a few still remain on Eberron. A couatl journeyed with Tira Miron, the founder of Church of the Silver Flame, and sacrificed itself with Tira Miron to rebind the Overlord Bel Shalor in Thrane in 299 YK.[12][13]
Legacy[]
In their final days, they imparted several gifts to ensure their sacrifice would carry on without them.[11][14][15]
The shulassakar were gifted their form and psionic ability after the couatl invested some of their power into loyal humans of Sarlona.[11][14][15] They did so to maintain guards over the couatl ruins of the Age of Demons after they were gone from the world for good.[11][14][15]
The couatl also touched the dreams of the lizardfolk that dwell in the jungles of Eberron. Even today, the lizardfolk of Q'barra are guided by their dreams to remember the purpose of the dragonshards that house the essence of trapped Overlords, and seek to stop the greedy and foolhardy from releasing the Cold Sun from within its prison.[16]
Couatl are now virtually unknown, and are largely extinct after the majority of their kind sacrificed themselves to end the Age of Demons.[8] The Silver Flame is a major force in the world of Eberron and goes by many names. The couatl can exert their will through the Children of Eberron but most sacrificed their ability to directly influence the world while keeping the Overlords bound in the Silver Flame.[8] The Church of the Silver Flame's holy day of Silvertide commemorates the sacrifice of the couatl.[17][18]
Description[]
They resemble great, winged serpents.[2][5] The feathered serpents possess a pair of rainbow-feathered wings that allow it to fly. They are around 12 ft (3.7 m) in length, with a wingspan of 15 ft (4.6 m). They weigh around 1,800 lb (820 kg).[6]
Personality[]
Couatl are noble and kind creatures as well as fierce defenders of good.[2][5] They are selfless and most of their kind sacrificed their corporeal forms as well as seemingly their individual consciousnesses to form the Silver Flame that binds the Overlords to this day.[8]
Notable Couatl[]
While nearly all couatl sacrificed themselves to form the Silver Flame and bind the Overlords during the Age of Demons, some may still reside on Eberron for a particular purpose.[8]
- Hezcalipa: This sage worked with the draconic sage Ourelonastrix during the Age of Demons. Together they discovered the Draconic Prophecy and used it to bind the Overlords.[9] Hezcalipa is believed to have initiated the sacrifice of the couatl to form the Silver Flame and to have been the first to understand its necessity.[11]
- The Golden Serpent: One of the few remaining couatl and the celestial patron of the secret order of Miron's Tears within the Church of the Silver Flame.[19] He communicates with the head of the order, Prefect Samyr Kes, although he has not manifested physically in over 200 years.[19] He encourages the destruction of corruption within the church wherever it exists.[19]
Appendix[]
Gallery[]
External Links[]
- Couatl article at the Forgotten Realms Wiki, a wiki for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedMM5e-p43 - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Skip Williams, Jonathan Tweet, and Monte Cook (July 2003). Monster Manual (3.5 edition). (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 37–38. ISBN 0-7869-2893-X.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins (2014). Monster Manual (5th Edition). (Wizards of the Coast), p. 43. ISBN 978-0786965614.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Rob Heinsoo, Stephen Schubert (May 19, 2009). Monster Manual 2. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 38–39. ISBN 0786995101.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Bruce R. Cordell (April 2004). Expanded Psionics Handbook. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 193–194. ISBN 0-7869-3301-1.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedMMv.3.5-pp37-38 - ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedMM.p46 - ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 Keith Baker, Bill Slavicsek, & James Wyatt (2004). Eberron Campaign Setting. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 303. ISBN 0-7869-3274-0.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Keith Baker, Scott Fitzgerald Gray, Nicolas Logue, & Amber Scott (2007). Dragons of Eberron. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 8–10. ISBN 0-7869-4154-5.
- ↑ James Wyatt and Keith Baker (2009). Eberron Campaign Guide. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 32. ISBN 0-7869-5099-4.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Keith Baker, Nicolas Logue, James Desborough, C.A. Suleiman (2008). City of Stormreach. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 150–151. ISBN 0-7869-4803-5.
- ↑ Keith Baker, Bill Slavicsek, & James Wyatt (2004). Eberron Campaign Setting. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 229. ISBN 0-7869-3274-0.
- ↑ Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, Ari Marmell, & C.A. Suleiman (2006). Faiths of Eberron. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 60. ISBN 0-7869-3934-6.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Keith Baker, Scott Fitzgerald Gray, Glenn McDonald, and Chris Sims (2007). Secrets of Sarlona. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 12. ISBN 978-0-7869-4037-0.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Keith Baker (2004/09/20). Shulassakar: The Feathered Servants. Dragonshards. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2016/11/01. Retrieved on 2021/07/19.
- ↑ Keith Baker (December 2010). “Poison Dusk, Black Sun: Explore Q'barra, Part 2” (PDF). Dungeon #185 (Wizards of the Coast) (185)..
- ↑ Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, Ari Marmell, & C.A. Suleiman (2006). Faiths of Eberron. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 64. ISBN 0-7869-3934-6.
- ↑ James Wyatt and Keith Baker (2009). Eberron Campaign Guide. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 247. ISBN 0-7869-5099-4.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Keith Baker (November 2012). “Eye on Eberron: Miron's Tears” (PDF). In Steve Winter ed. Dragon #417 (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 28–30.