Dray are draconic humanoid, an artificially created race by the Sorcerer-King Dregoth.
As a former champion of Rajaat the War-Bringer and a believer in the concepts behind the Cleansing Wars of more than 2,000 years past, Dregoth detests demihumans and humanoids. His greatest hatred is reserved for giants (and will extend to the newer half-giant race when he learns of their existence), but he also loathes dwarves, elves, and even a flings. The mul, too, will come as a surprise to Dregoth, who has not been paying any attention at all to events that have been transpiring on the surface. The Dread King is barely aware that the world he knew has withered and nearly died as a result of defiling magic and the horrors of the Cleansing Wars. In the case of thri-kreen, who apparently did not spring from the halfling metamorphoses of the time of Rebirth, Dregoth will express curiosity and amusement over these intelligent insects, but he will not display the hatred he lavishes on the halfling spawn. At least not at first. Later, when he realizes that his new age must only be occupied by the worthy result of the Rebirth – namely humans and his new race of dray – Dregoth's loathing will extend to the thri-kreen as well. While the other sorcerer-kings have long since decided to end their extermination of the nonhuman races and sweep aside plans to restore Athas's Blue Age, Dregoth still holds these goals in his undead heart. He believed Raiaat's claims, sure that humans were the next stage in the evolutionary process. However, Dregoth does not believe they are the end result. Look how the sorcererkings change as they grow more powerful. They were once human. They will become dragons. If dragons are the ultimate Stage – and Dregoth believes they are-then humans need to evolve into something worthy of serving the dragon kings. That's why Dregoth invented the process to change humans into dray.
First Generation Dray
Dregoth started his experiments years before his death. By the time of his murder, the Dread King was close to developing the transformation process that would change his human followers into a new race. One essential piece of the puzzle eluded him, however. Even with the Way and nearly unlimited arcane powers at his command, Dregoth continued to fail. What's worse, he knew from history that the halflings had the secret to transforming one race into another. He needed the secret of the Rebirth if he was going to succeed. And it had to be more refined than the random power still spewing from the Pristine Tower. It had to be so concentrated that the transformation would follow the pattern he designed.
After returning as the undead dragon king, Dregoth decided to seek the knowledge of the ancients in the ruins beneath Giustenal. He bestowed immortality on his two trusted templars so that they could assist him in the centuries to come. Mon Adderath, his High Templar, was already imbued with agelessness and had served Dregoth since the Dread King had become a champion of Rajaat. His new High Priest, the templar Absalom, received the gift in a different form. To be his priest, Absalom had to become like his god. So Dregoth killed the templar and turned him into an undead creature. In truth, Absalom was the first dray ever to live beyond its creation. Up to this point, all of Dregoth's attempts had resulted in dray, but the process was not stable. Those who participated in the experiments continued to mutate beyond the point Dregoth had hoped for. They became strange monstrosities that eventually died. The only way to stabilize the process at the time was to kill the subject at the stage Dregoth desired and then turn him into an undead of some sort. This was what was done to Absalom. It took almost 200 years, but Dregoth and his assistants finally made sense of the records left in the halfling cities. The experiments started again, and they appeared to work as Dregoth had hoped. He ordered all the citizens of New Giustenal to undergo the process. More than 100 first generation dray were created before the first signs of failure became evident. The initial recipients of the transformation process began to mutate. Dregoth was infuriated by this setback. He ordered everything to stop while he conducted more tests.
The first generation dray continued to mutate, changing from the perfect draconic specimens Dregoth had envisioned into flawed reflections of his dream race. He wanted tall, lean beings with muscular frames. They were to be proud, near-replicas of the dragon kings. Instead, most were hunched over, not tall and straight. Their claws were jagged, not long and sharp. Their scales were mottled, uneven. What was worse, unlike his failures of the past, these mutations did not die out. In fact, they were capable of breeding. Dregoth considered them to be mockeries of his perfection. He ordered Mon Adderath to banish these hideous creatures, to bar New Giustenal's gates to them forever. The first generation dray roamed the tunnels of the ancients for a time before finally settling in the cavern they would come to call Kragmorta. The descendants of those who were cast out still worship Dregoth as their god, but they also hate the Dread King for banishing them. They hope to one day prove their worthiness to Dregoth so they can return to live in the heaven that they believe New Giustenal to be.
Second Generation Dray
More years passed, and another generation of humans died out. The experiments continued, and eventually Dregoth was ready to try again. This time he succeeded. The second generation dray were born. They were humanoid reptiles of great height and lean, powerful builds. Their draconic heads rested atop long necks, and snaking tails stretched out behind them. Talons grew from the end of long fingers and toes, and armored scales covered their bodies. This was the race Dregoth dreamed of, and his dream had finally come true. All of New Giustenal's citizens were forced to undergo the process, whether they wanted to participate or not. It was the will of their god, and he would not be denied. Even Mon Adderath was subjected to the transformation process. He did not change, however. Some side effect of the immortality bestowed upon him earlier made him immune to the change. To this day, Mon Adderath is the only human still living and serving Dregoth in New Giustenal.
The second generation dray worship Dregoth as their god and king. They believe his doctrine and see themselves as the chosen people of Athas. None have ever visited the surface world, but all know the stories circulated by Dregoth and his templars. They know about the evil sorcerer-kings who betrayed their god, and they long to help Dregoth achieve his revenge. They have been taught to feel sorry for the humans who have not yet received the gift of transformation, but the only human they have ever seen in person is Mon Adderath. They have also been taught to hate demihumans and humanoids, for they have been convinced of their superiority over the nonhuman races.
Dray Relations
The first generation dray consider themselves superior to their second generation cousins. They do not understand what they have done to earn Dregoth's displeasure, but as his first children they consider themselves to be better than the dray who replaced them. They watch for signs of the second generation dray, for Dregoth's templars sometimes invade Kragmorta with hostile intentions. They do not hate their cousins, but they do not trust them either.
Absalom secretly aids the first generation dray, as he feels an affinity toward them. He also preaches Dregoth's doctrine to these banished children, keeping them a part of the flock even though Dregoth has all but forgotten about them. Someday Absalom hopes to reconcile the rift between the exiles and their god, for the Day of Light should be shared by all Dregoth's children. Second generation dray, on the other hand, have nothing but hatred and contempt for their poor predecessors. They feel superior because they still bask in Dregoth's presence. They are the beloved and the chosen-the others were only the first. Many second generation dray are also afraid of the first generation dray. They see them as almost demons, nightmares given shape and form. Some believe that the first generation dray should be wiped out before whatever caused them to mutate is passed on to the perfect dray of New Giustenal. Others feel that if they somehow disappoint their god, Dregoth will banish them too. The mutations, they believe, are a result of the banishment, a mark of shame.
Dray and Visitors from the Surface
In Kragmorta, visitors from the surface stand a better chance of surviving intact than they do in New Giustenal. While none of the first generation dray have ever seen a live human or demihuman, they haven't been subjected to the teachings of Dregoth's templars either. They don't automatically feel hatred for the surface dwellers. They won't welcome them with open arms, but they won't go out of their way to kill them on sight either. They respect all classes, but have an overwhelming distrust of templars – even the templars of other sorcerer-kings. The hunting packs or the tunnel guards will probably encounter visitors to Kragmorta first. The visitors will be watched for a while to gauge their intentions and see how well they handle the hazards of the fiery city. If the visitors meet the Kragmorta dray before they have finished observing them, the dray will behave in an unfriendly and suspicious manner. While they have all heard tales of the surface world, none of the dray believe that it can be reached without the help of Dregoth. And certainly no nondray could make the trip in any case.
Should the surface dwellers attempt to trade with the first generation dray or even offer them gifts, they discover that neither option will work. These dray don't engage in merchant activities. If someone in the settlement needs something, it is provided. If the settlement doesn't have it, then the community's leader figures out some way to get it. They do not accept gifts, either, for giving and accepting gifts are signs of weakness in their savage world. To prove themselves, surface dwellers must pass the same coming of age tests that all the dray of Kragmorta undergo. Mosak, leader of Kragmorta, calls for tough but fair tests suited to the talents of those participating in them. Failure to accept or complete a test is seen as a sign of weakness. To refuse or fail is to be marked as a child, and all first generation dray will treat such a character as a child forever after. Children are tolerated but ignored, not allowed to participate in adult discussions or trusted to handle matters of consequence. If a character fails a test, he is allowed one more try, After that, he can never be anything more than a child in Kragmorta.
Passing a test bestows all of the rights and responsibilities of adulthood on a character – including hunting and helping the dray community in any way necessary In addition to the normal tests of passage, surface dwellers can distinguish themselves by performing some act of extreme bravery in the eyes of the first generation dray. These brave acts include: defeating the fire giant, slaying the dark naga, or killing the fire drake. Performing one of these acts gains the visitors immediate status as adult dray. Second generation dray are a different matter. They have been schooled in hatred and intolerance for all things that are different. Nonhumans are treated as abominations, and those that visit New Giustenal will be taken captive and brought before the templars for judgment. These nonhumans will not be killed outright, as the templars want to learn more about the situation on the surface in anticipation of Dregoth's eventual invasion. After undergoing extensive interrogation, they will be turned over to Dregoth for transformation into undead warriors to further swell his growing army.
Humans, on the other hand, will be viewed with awe and pity. Awe, because humans (other than Mon Adderath) have not walked the streets of New Giustenal in centuries, and pity, because they have not yet been advanced to the state of grace that is the dray existence. Humans will be offered the opportunity to voluntarily become dray. If they refuse, they will be taken to Dregoth's palace to undergo the process anyway. It is the will of the godking – and the destiny of all humans.
Humans who undergo the process have a small chance of becoming first generation rather than a second generation. Either way there is a chance they won’t survive the process.