Drakar Oga
"The serenity of Oga is betrayed by those who know its history. Where visitors feel the solace of lives remembered, historians feel the hatred of lives lost." - from the memoirs of Lewin Von Treet, Vault: the Land of Stuff and Things
Drakar Oga, or eye of the dragon in Common, is a place many of the Drakar visit annually, if not more frequently. The landscape high in the peaks, as all places in the Highlands are, is marked by larger-than-life stone monuments to dragons who have gone before. Names worn by time etched in eroded stone mark the final resting places for each of these individuals. Whether due to the cost of war of the slow entropy of the ages, when a dragon dies, there is no greater honor than to be buried among the sky-touched heights of Drakar Oga. Indeed, to not be buried there is seen as a great shame, and the Drakar do all in their power to ensure every dragon earns their spot of rest.
However, this resting place was not always a place of peace, and the massive earthen monuments to those laid there aren't always what they seem.
If the effigies constructed in Oga resemble their real-life counterparts exceedingly well it is because some are not effigies at all. The practice of constructing monuments to the deceased began after finding the site already littered with dragons frozen in time, forever displayed in stone. When the elder dragons first arrived in Vad, bringing with them their kin of many ages, Oga was the site chosen to decide the fate of their kind after their defear in Highcroft during Dragonfall. While it is unknown what transpired at that fateful council, the result was the petrification, and death, of thousands of dragonkind by their own elders. Some blame Esperwake or Embergore, but none who were present would ever speak of it. Whatever disagreement fueled the conflict, whatever action spurred the hateful reprisal, all that is known is that thousands of dragons lost their lives in an eye blink.
Now, Drakar Oga is a place of respite and rest for the weary and the devout. Pilgrimages to pay homage to the brave souls who fled Highcroft during a time of persecution are made by many in the Highlands. It is not uncommon to find small communities form in Oga during times when many arrive to pay their respects. These communities can persist for months before dispersing. They tend to the seemingly endless fields of markers, hedges, and beautiful floral gardens, believing their service to creating a place of reverence for the dragons they hold as deities will procure them a life well lived. During these times, Oga functions much like a small village or city, with vendors, inns, and entertainment to be found. But they never last.
Those deemed worthy by dragons are allowed to be buried in Oga, and for a being of Vad, it is the highest honor one can receive. The names of legendary people are etched into headstones beneath the rigid statues of mighty draconic warriors, sharing a tomb and a bit of dirt with their gods.
Perhaps the great sadness of Oga, one unavoidable, is the place the Drakar people have reserved for a glaring omission from the cemetery of the dragons: Glainwing. Of the two deceased elder dragons, Glainwing's body continues to degrade at the base of Demon's Hollow, and all attempts at its retrieval have failed. This crushing emotional turmoil can be felt even by those who do not hold dragons in high regard. It is a despair born of a cruelty even a Highcroftian could understand.
It is very common to find dragons of all colors, sizes, and species visiting Oga, weeping over "Glainwing's Absence," meditating over old friends, and speaking with the mortals who visit in friendship. To help deliver a dragon to their final resting place in Oga, regardless of their deeds in life, earns the love of all in Drakar.
