First, there is the orrery. Massive spheres of stone float in the air, seemingly suspended. Though you’d likely never notice it, the spheres are in fact moving. Each of them is keyed to a different plane, and the orrery tracks the location and movement of the planes with respect to each other and Eberron itself.

Second, you’d notice the walls of the ravine lined with anywhere from many dozen to several hundred dragons. Much like the orrery, the dragons themselves seem to be unmoving and lifeless; the only evidence to the contrary is when one of them raises a strange pipe to its mouth and inhales deeply. You’d never see the dragon exhale, though, but if you’re observant you might notice fine wisps of smoke escaping its nostrils.

The dragons here are under the influence of a narcotic called omen weed which grows near the ravine. Their dragonborn attendants dutifully harvest the drug and deliver it to the massive, furnace-like hookahs. Each hookah has dozens of pipes, each running to a languishing dragon.

The drug alters its users sense of time and space, which the dragons find helpful in their study of the orrery’s glacially-slow movements. Many dragons spend years, decades, even centuries constantly under the effect of the omen weed, losing touch with the world around them as they commune with the draconic prophecy.

The dragons of Rith set aside their territorial disputes to save the world. Dragons have three qualities in abundance; patience, intelligence, and wrath. Their plan was made in secret and one day every major mortal city found the skies darkened by the beat of wings.

No one was spared. Not the dwarves in their mountains, nor the eladrin in the Feywild, nor the Shadar-kai in the Shadowfell. Most of the cities fell within three days. Only Amanellis, crown jewel of the human empire, withstood the siege much longer, but within a month its walls too crumbled. The death toll was catastrophic among all sides.

Afterwards, the few remaining dragons retreated and banded together, forming the Rithian Stewards. They would monitor the mortal races carefully, preventing any civilizations larger than a small town from flourishing.

The culling was a success. Rith was saved, and over time the world healed. All the ancient magics were lost to time. It was not without a price, however. Without their large cities, the mortals have become acutely vulnerable to the predations of the wild and of other mortals as well.

It seems there’s always a pack of wolves or tribe of orcs making life difficult for the poor people just trying to eke out an existence. As a result, mortal towns have become insular and xenophobic. Strangers are mistrusted and hurried out of town; there is little hospitality to be found anywhere.

Some have tried to recapture the glory of old, but there is little they can do. Though the dragons no longer make their presence known, the Rithian Stewards are ever vigilant. Whenever any mortal city begins to reach the point of old excesses, it is quickly razed.

Things quickly proceed down hill from there. The dragon accidentally toasts a cherished mount, demolishes buildings with its tail, and claims anything that’s valuable and not nailed down as its own (as well as quite a few things which are nailed down). Through it all the dragon is very kind to the PCs, for example throwing a feast in their honor (“borrowing” all of a village’s cattle and grains to do so, of course).

Like many other drakes, sniper drakes can fire gouts of flame. The sniper drake’s is unique, though. Rather than creating a cloud of flame, their breath weapon is extremely focused, cohesive and accurate. Thanks to their excellent eyesight, a sniper drake earns its name by shooting at its prey from dozens of yards away. The effect is achieved with a thick, viscous mucous which ignites when it comes in contact with oxygen. In essence, it’s a biological napalm.

Sniper drakes are not especially intelligent, and can be exceptionally difficult to obtain and rear, but those who take the time and effort find that they are remarkable pets, guardians and allies.

Encounters with Sniper Drakes

Some small cataclysm, such as a drought or plague, has killed much of the local wildlife and driven off many of the survivors. A small flock of sniper drakes still hunts the area, though, and the creatures are driven mad by hunger. They don’t usually attack things larger than a fox or small dog, but in these desperate times the PCs look like the best food source available.

A falconer by the name of Miles Gendrick lays dying, his body consumed by age and disease. He’s already given away the rest of his pets, and is left with just one: a sniper drake named Tizzy. Miles is very protective of Tizzy, even more so than the birds he used to raise, and is actively seeking out anyone who’s both qualified to handle such a creature and who proves that they’re worthy of it. To this end, Miles sends for a PC to offer him Tizzy, but first the PC must pass a test…

The bridge is, perhaps unsurprisingly, a very real dragon named Oernaelius, the protector of the Dragon’s Ward. For the most part, Oernaelius keeps to himself. The monastery has few unexpected visitors, and Oernalius is quite content to maintain his stony facade while secretly gauging the potential threat any given visitors might pose to it. Many never even realize that he is anything beyond an expertly-crafted bridge.

Oernalius has protected the monastery for hundreds of years, taking over his father’s charge who took over his father’s charge. Needless to say, it is one of the oldest buildings still standing. The library, though not especially large, contains some books which are thousands of years old. It is a veritable treasure trove of lost knowledge to those who would seek it, though many of the languages used in the oldest tomes are lost to history.

Oernaelius is stalwart in his duties, even though he does not know the original reason his line took to guarding the Dragon’s Ward. He is also quite personable and curious, though, and loves talking with people who look like they’ve got some interesting stories.

The monks are dedicated to the pursuit of enlightenment. Every thirty years, a group is sent out to collect contemporary books for the library and seek new members for the monastery. They travel across the world seeking out everything from storybooks to textbooks and bring them back. Most of the harvest will end up thrown over the cliffs into the river below; typically only one or two books are deemed fit to be added to the collection, and some years they are all discarded.

Encounters with the Dragon’s Ward

Characters might encounter the monks of the Dragon’s Ward on one of their book-seeking expeditions. The monks could seek help in retrieving a well-guarded book, or might even ask the PCs for their opinions on any important works of recent times. They also may wish to recruit one or more of the PCs to the monastery.

Alternatively, it could be that the monks have acquired the last known copy of a tome the PCs desperately need, and they have to get the book back from them. There could even be a book which is too dangerous for the monks to keep, and the PCs need to convince them to destroy it.

Of course, there are a variety of reasons the characters might want to travel to the Dragon’s Ward. Inclement weather could force them to the nearest shelter or they might seek out an arcane secret and be directed there. Once there, the PCs will have to convince Oernaelius that they are no threat and may even befriend the kind dragon.