Bahamut

History
Bahamut is the antithesis of Tiamat, being her former rival for aeons. He was the god of justice and a subservient deity to Torm, god of law. Before entering the Faerûnian pantheon, he was an elder draconic deity of good dragons, metallic dragons, wisdom, and enlightened justice (justice tempered with mercy and punishment with forgiveness).

Bahamut came into existence as a lesser deity when the dragons first came to Faerûn, along with the rest of the draconic pantheon. In those ancient times he was known by the name of Xymor by his dragon followers. In some traditions, he was the son of Asgoroth and brother of Tiamat and Null; other traditions claimed that he was the son of Lendys and Tamara. Whatever the truth, his cult grew rapidly in the communities of metallic dragons, especially among young gold dragons.

Once dragons as a race had established themselves by about -30000 DR, the draconic gods encouraged their followers to battle each other in their divine names. This lasted for about six millennia until various draconic philosophers decided that all of the fighting was wasteful and that gods who encouraged such behavior were not worthy of the religious fervor that they had been given since their conception (This is the event that started the draconic apathy towards their gods which has lasted, for the most part, throughout recorded history). That is, all except the followers of Bahamut and Tiamat. Their followers continued fighting in what was known as the Dragonfall War. The war waxed and waned in intensity, with the last era of intense fighting occurring between -2087 and -1071 DR.

It was during this time that the Untheric empire began and with it, their pantheon became prominent. Tiamat was worshiped by a cult of Untheric humans, forced underground because of her status as nemesis of the gods, especially Gilgeam, whilst Bahamut had an aspect in the form of Marduk who was more widely worshiped. A second front in the Dragonfall war had opened between the humans and the two gods fought each other personally, with neither being able to gain the upper hand. In 1071 the Untheric pantheon went to war with the Orc pantheon and, in a fight known as the Battle of the Gods, while Gilgeam fought with Ilneval, Tiamat saw her chance to strike, but before she could kill the God-king, Marduk struck a wild, lethal blow at Tiamat, saving Gilgeam's life at the expense of his own.

With both of their Untheric aspects dead, Tiamat and Bahamut were both stripped of their divine power. Marduk's church was eradicated and Bahamut was reduced to the status of Celestial paragon. He was forced to stay like this, without enough followers to worship him as a god, living in the Upper planes or wandering the Material plane, doing whatever good he could until 1359 DR, when Gareth Dragonsbane and his party returned from the Abyss after destroying the Wand of Orcus. They brought with them the Tree-Gem which Bahamut gave back to the party as a sign of his covenant to protect Damara from Orcus and other demons. It also brought renewed interest in the worship of Bahamut as a god and mortals began flocking to his faith once more, at last restoring his deific status as a lesser deity once again. However, at some point Bahamut was trapped in an ancient prison.

In 1373, after the destruction of Sammaster and the end of the High Magic that sustained the Dracorage mythal, Bahamut was able to free himself from his prison and reappeared in Celestia, soon invading Tiamat's demesne in Dragon Eyrie.

With the renewed faith in him, Bahamut began preparing for the resurrection of the Dragonfall War as Tiamat had regained her status as lesser deity thirteen years prior. He gifted his most devout followers with the ability to turn themselves into Dragonborn of Bahamut, the antithesis of the Spawn of Tiamat so that the war could continue between mortals again, albeit now with special 'weapons' on both sides of the conflict.

The destruction of the Dracorage mythal also heralded the prophesied "Turning of the Great Cycle" which sparked off the religious fervor lacking in dragons since the beginning of the Dragonfall War.

In 1374, lightning strikes and meteor showers pounded Faerûn, Bahamut and Tiamat instructed their respective followers to seek out such sites as they would each contain some form of dragon egg. Unfortunately for Bahamut, Tiamat's followers were much more effective in retrieving the eggs than his own. The Dragonfall War was set to begin anew and Tiamat seemed to have the upper hand.

Appearance
Bahamut was depicted as a massive dragon (approx 180 feet (55m)) long with a tail the same length as his body) with platinum scales and blue eyes, the exact color of which was hard to specify and may have depended on Bahamut's mood. As Xymor, he was described as a huge dragon wrapped in a scintillating aura of light so brilliant that it was impossible to tell his color.

When he wished to interact with mortals, he appeared as an old man, accompanied by seven gold great wyrms polymorphed into canaries. Some claimed that these wyrms were reincarnations of dead kings, renowned for their sense of justice.

Exarchs
The Seven Great Gold Wyrms are the closest of Bahamut servants, guarding his palace and escort him disguised as canaries when he is traveling the world. They also are emissaries of Bahamut in tasks that don't demand Bahamut's personal attention. Although powerful, they are not immortal: many gold wyrms in the circle have died, and new gold dragons are chosen to replace them. These are the current seven great gold wyrms:


 * Borkadd the Claw, a male gold dragon, is Bahamut's hand of justice. He is sent to enforce the law when there is no alternative.


 * Kurya the Eye, a suspicious female gold dragon. She is the spy of Bahamut, sent on tasks that demand secrecy.


 * Sonngrad the Wing, a female gold dragon who is the messenger of Bahamut.


 * Gruemar the Voice, a male gold dragon, is a negotiator who prefers peaceful words over bloodshed.


 * Marroshok the Tail, a massive male gold dragon, is the bodyguard of Bahamut. Though he is a merciless warrior, he is usually friendly and genial.


 * Troannaxia the Presence, a female shining gold dragon, who with her intimidating presence is sent to subdue resistance when nothing else will suffice.


 * Urgala the Fang, a female gold dragon who serves as a leader and chief tactician when Bahamut musters an army.

He is the Bahamut emissary to the dragonborn race. Kuyutha was the last of the greatest dragonborn paladins of the long-lost empire of Arkhosia, and he saved many of the surviving dragonborn clans after the fall of the empire. For his deeds, Bahamut rewarded him with a divine spark. Kuyutha now lives in Mount Mertion (one of the seven mounts of Mount Celestia), training a new order of dragonborn knights of Bahamut.
 * Kuyutha is the best known of the exarchs of Bahamut.

The Dragonborns of Bahamut
The dragonborn children of Bahamut are a unique race in that they are not born; they are ''reborn. ''Each one enters the world as a halfling, an elf, a human, or a member of some other humanoid race with all that race's propensities and traits. Bahamut beckons to his would-be followers, and those few who might choose to serve him.

Most of those who hear the Platinum Dragon's call discover it early, before they reach adolescence. A few heed it after reaching adulthood and beginning their careers. Not all who are called answer.

The call is a strange event that one must experience to understand. It takes the form of a courteous mental question, asking if one's heart and soul are able and willing to undertake dedication to a noble and arduous purpose, protecting the world from the spawn of Tiamat.

Bahamut's call asks the chosen one if she is willing to give herself over entirely to this cause, giving up all that she was before to transform into one of Bahamut's children. This choice is never easy. The chosen one is made aware of the many sacrifices she must make, from her racial identity to her family and friends, even her whole way of life. The only reward for those forfeitures is service to the Platinum Dragon and his abiding love.

The Rite of Rebirth transforms a character into a dedicated draconic servant of Bahamut known as a dragonborn.

Becoming a dragonborn isn't undertaken lightly. It is a long process full of self-reflection and commitment. Those supplicants raised in the ways of their original race must carefully consider what they're giving up. While a human might be content to give up her natural versatility, it's rare for someone heavily invested in her racial identity to forfeit that race's abilities.

When the rite begins, the supplicant lays aside all her equipment and possessions for the duration of the ceremony. Dressed in a loose, linen shift, she spends a full day and night fasting and meditating upon her choice. Her mind fills with all the things she is giving up, reminding her she must forgo much of herself to become a dragonborn.

When dawn comes, the prospective dragonborn crawls inside an egg-shaped structure that she has built in order to sleep for the last time in her original form. This symbolic act represents her acceptance of the transformation. When the next dawn arrives, she is transformed into a dragonborn. After awakening inside the sealed egg, she breaks out of it as a glorious, metallic draconic child of Bahamut.