Altan Sarana

Climate of Qas Tsagaan Khot

Eternal Cold : It never goes below -15°C, even in the height of summer on the steppe. In winter, it reaches -60°C with wind. The air is so dry that it cuts the lungs of anyone not born there. Taking a deep breath without a cloth over your face cracks your lips in seconds.

Khökh Salkhi Wind : The Blue Wind blows steadily from the north. It carries needles of ice that scratch stone and skin. It has no fixed direction in the canyons. It changes in seconds and throws the unwary into the abyss. Only dragons can foresee when it turns into a blade.

Tsagaan Nuur snow : It doesn't fall in flakes. It descends like glass dust, fine and sharp. It accumulates in silent dunes that bury gers in a single night. Under the moon, it shines pale blue because of the sarnai chuulun buried in the ground.

False Sun : The sun appears for 4 hours a day in winter. It doesn't warm, it only blinds. It reflects off the ice and burns unprotected eyes. In summer, there are 20 hours of white light that doesn't bring warmth. It only illuminates the frozen kingdom.

Aurora Suns : On cloudless nights, the sky bleeds green and violet. It is said to be the reflection of ancestral dragons sleeping beneath the palace lake. When it turns red, it is an omen of death or war.

Sound Silence : There is no thunder. Storms are of dry, static snow. The only sound is the cracking of ice and the low song of dragons. The silence is so heavy that it gives foreigners a headache.

Breath of the Mountain : Once per moon, Öndör Uul releases steam through its fissures. The heat lasts for minutes and melts the surface layer. Then, everything instantly refreezes, creating ice sculptures on the towers. It is the only time that Qas Tsagaan "cries".

Characters of Interest in Qas Tsagaan Khot

1. Bat-Erdene, The Eggkeeper
Elder of the Tsagaan Yas clan. Blind in one eye, lost in a storm. He has cared for the nests for 60 winters. He knows each egg by its scent. He doesn't speak to Altan, only to the dragon hatchlings. They say he understands their dreams. He has calloused hands and always carries a bone dagger to break shells that won't crack on their own.

2. Khatan Sarnai
Captain of the Khökh Chono, the blue wolves. Human bodyguard of Naran Sarnai. 25 winters, a scar that runs from her eyebrow to her chin. Doesn't smile, doesn't sleep. Sworn to protect her cub with her life after a white dragon saved her from an abyss. Wears white leather armor and twin blades bathed in freezing mist.

3. Ölzii, the Ice Smith
A young man of 19 winters, with perpetually purple fingers. He forges without fire. He uses sarnai chuulun and dragon's breath to shape cold metal. He created the emeel where Naran sleeps. He is mute, but sings to the steel while he works. Altan trusts him to repair the silver plates of the royal belt.

4. Tsetsen Ekh
Healer of humans and dragons. Half of her face burned by the spit of a black dragon in the past. She mixes mountain herbs with ancient snow. She treats fever with shards of white scale. Naran only sleeps if she tells stories. She guards the secret of the spell that created the heiress.

5. Ganzorig, The Whisperer
A 12-winter boy, an orphan. He was found sleeping among dragon hatchlings. He has no fear of heights or prey. The dragons let him ride them without Altan's permission. He brings news from the valleys before the scouts. They say he dreams what Ezen Tsas dreams.

6. Khaltar, The Disinherited
Former princess of Khar Gal Khot. Fled after refusing to kill a white cub. Altan offered her asylum, but no one trusts her. Eyes of fire, short hair. Lives on the outskirts, trains with broken spears. Knows the secrets of enemy ballistas. Wants to prove loyalty or die trying.

Enemy Human Cities of Qas Tsagaan

1. Khar Gal Khot – City of the Black Fire
Built in the crater of an extinct volcano. Obsidian stone walls, towers that spew smoke day and night. Ruled by Khan Seger, who forges spears tipped with stolen dragon's blood. They hate the white men because their cold extinguishes their forges. They live by plundering nests on the edges of the steppe.

2. Möngön Balgas – Silver Fortress
A nomadic city built on platforms of wood and bone. It moves following the hunting routes of young dragons. Led by Khatan Altantsetseg, a huntress who wears armor made of melted scales. They trade claws and white teeth as currency. They swore to overthrow Altan after she burned their caravans.

3. Süns Uul – Tower of Shadows
There are no streets, only a black tower that pierces the sky. Inhabited by the Order of the Eclipse, mages who siphon heat to fuel spells. They want the heart of Öndör Uul to create an eternal winter controlled by men. They send silent assassins against the Tsagaan Yas.

4. Khujirt Khot – Salt Port
A coastal city of overturned hulls and fake dragon ships. Ruled by Admiral Temür, who hunted sea dragons to extinction. Now he has turned his eyes to the sky. His ballistas fire harpoons with chains of icy iron, made to trap white wings.

5. Shoroon Tsamkhag – Dust District
An underground city in the desert, home to the Exiles of the Flame. Survivors of clans burned by dragons in the past. They cultivate hatred and scorpions. Their king, Eldev Baruun, uses blood-freezing poison, mimicking the breath of the Whites to blaspheme.

Common reason : They all fear Qas Tsagaan. Not for her power, but for what she represents: a kingdom where men do not rule. And where peace is maintained by force, not by treaties.

Qas Tsagaan Khot – The City of White Dragons

Location : Erected on Öndör Uul, the Eternal Peak, where the thin air becomes razor-sharp. It has no walls. The wind and the cliffs are its defense. Only those who fly or are carried by a dragon can reach the gates.

Architecture : Towers and halls carved directly from ancient ice and the bones of slain dragons. It doesn't melt, it doesn't break. The ice is pale blue, milky veins run down the walls like scars. Crystal bridges connect the nests. There are no streets on the ground, only suspended platforms and chasms.

The Ice Palace : City center. Altan Sarana's throne sits in a chamber open to the sky. The ceiling is the aurora. Columns of fossilized tusks support the dome. The floor is a frozen lake where shadows of ancient dragons sleeping in the depths can be seen.

Nests : Spacious caves in the faces of the peak. Each dragon family marks the entrance with its oldest scale, embedded in the rock. Inside, there is no warmth. Hatchlings sleep in beds of compacted snow and moonstones that glow at night.

Human Citadel : Few live here. Clan Tsagaan Yas, sworn to the dragons. They dwell in white-skinned gers, heated by steamstones stolen from the heart of the mountain. Blacksmiths, healers, and guardians of the eggs. They do not use fire. Everything is forged in the cold.

Light and sound : There are no torches. The city glows with sarnai chuulun, stones that hold the light of the full moon. By day, absolute silence. At night, the low song of dragons can be heard, like wind in bones. It echoes for miles.

Laws : None written. The law is the queen's roar. Betraying the pack means being thrown from Tengeriin Aman, the Gate of Heaven, without wings.

Scents : Eternal ice, wet stone, and a metallic hint of scale. When Altan flies, the air tastes of a storm.

They say : Qas Tsagaan was not built. It was born when the first white dragon died and its last breath froze the mountain.

Dragon Kings by Element

Fire
Khagan Gal : Blood-red scales, mane of flames. Reigns in the volcanoes of the steppes. Explosive temperament, forges alliances based on challenge.

• Temüjin Shar : Golden with eyes of embers. Eldest of the kings. Spits that melts stone. Only bows to a force greater than his own.

Ice
Ezen Tsas : White as a blizzard, breath that freezes the air. Lord of Öndör Uul. Silent, he rules by waiting. Ally of Altan Sarana.

• Batu Khuiten : Pale blue, crystal horns. Young and proud. Commands the hailstorms. Defies the cold with fury.

Earth

• Otgon Shoroo : Black with veins of gold, armor of stone. Sleeps beneath mountains for decades. Awakens with earthquakes. Slow to judge, eternal in memory.
• Chuluun Khan : Iron-gray, short wings but legs that crack valleys. Protector of buried nests. Does not fly high, dominates the ground.

Wind
Khökh Tengeri : Sky-blue, body as thin as a blade. Never lands. Lives in the currents above the clouds. Carries messages between kingdoms.

• Salkhi Noyon : Silvery, with whistling scales. Summons tornadoes with a flap of its wings. Impulsive, it changes direction with the wind.

Water

• Dalai Möngke : Dark green, mane of algae and pearls. Reigns in the deep lakes of the north. Patient, drowns enemies without making a sound.
• Boroo Ekh : Turquoise, scales that reflect storms. Commands rivers and monsoons. Cried once and created a sea.

Ray

• Tsakhilgaan Erdene : Black with pulsating blue veins. Smells of ozone. Swift, strikes before the thunder. Holds a grudge for centuries.
• Och Khan : Yellowish-white, branching horns. Young king. His laughter is like a spark's crackle. Only Altan can contain his fury.

Shadow
Khar Suns : Without a defined color, it looks like a tear in the night. It has no nest. It emerges between eclipses. It pays its debts with silence or death.

• Süder Modun : Ghost-gray, pupil-less eyes. Devours light. The other kings do not speak its name aloud.

Naran Sarnai, Sun of the Moon

Hair : White like her mother's, but punctuated by strands of vivid gold that gleam without light. The strands seem like solid flame. When she runs, they leave golden trails in the air, like dragon sparks. They smell of sunshine on snow.

Eyes : Heterochromia of the spell. The left eye is ancestral violet, cold and calculating like Altan. The right eye is pale gold, warm, and shines when it laughs. The vertical pupil appears in both when it senses danger. It never cries: the tears evaporate before they fall.

Skin : Alabaster with constant heat underneath. Touch and burn slightly, like a stone left in the sun. The scale mark on the left palm is golden and pulsates near the heart. If the hand is closed tightly, the mark releases heat and vapor.

Body : She is six winters old, but has the build of a ten-year-old. Strong legs, agile as a dragon hatchling. Runs barefoot on the ice without feeling it. Light bones. Falls from great heights and lands on her feet, laughing. White dragons let her ride them without a saddle.

Voice and Fire : It doesn't speak much. When it does, its voice is twofold: childlike and an ancient echo beneath. At four winters, it breathed its first breath. It is not fire, but a golden mist that crystallizes the air. Wherever it touches, thin ice with veins of gold is born.

Clothing : She wears short white leather tunics so as not to hinder movement. She wears a necklace made from the first scale Altan lost after giving birth. She detests crowns. She ties her hair back with leather strips bitten by baby dragons.

Temperament : Curious and fearless. Touches the snouts of older dragons and they close their eyes. Brings dead birds to Altan, thinking the mother is hungry. Hates being on the throne. Sleeps high in the towers, near the nests.

Omen : The elders say she is the broken bridge. Half winter, half summer. She didn't come to maintain the peace of Altan. She came to choose whether the world of white dragons freezes or burns. For now, she only wants to fly higher than her mother.

Her trademark : When she's happy, tiny golden scales appear on the backs of her hands and disappear in a second.

Altan Sarana and the Unexpected Inheritance

The spell came on a starless night. It wasn't cast by an enemy, but by an ancient pact she was unaware of. To seal the peace between the white dragons and the nomadic clans, royal blood needed to generate life. And the price was exacted in the silence of Öndör Uul.

The spell : A golden mist invaded his chambers, emanating from the very throne of bones. There was no pain, only a warmth that melted the perpetual cold of his skin for nine moons. He awoke with a heavy belly and the roar of the white dragons echoing in approval. It was not a choice. It was a decree of the ancestors. Peace demanded an heir.

The daughter : Born amidst a snowstorm, she did not cry. Naran Sarnai, "Sun of the Moon". She inherited her mother's white hair, but with streaks of vibrant gold running through the strands like rivers of lava. Her eyes are different: one violet, like Altan, and the other pale gold, like the fire of dragons at dawn. The scale mark did not appear under her eye, but on the palm of her left hand, already formed at birth.

Altana after the spell : The solitude cracked. Her body changed: the cold temperature gave way to a constant heat, as if she held an inner ember. The mother-of-pearl scales on her temples now descend to her neck, visible even at rest. She became more ferocious. Before, she flew to separate dragons. Now she flies to kill anyone who dares to look askance at her cradle.

As she reigns now : The simple tunic has given way to a war tunic, white with red thread embroidery. It is not luxury, it is a warning. She carries Naran Sarnai in a leather tunic against her chest when she flies over the nests. The white dragons bow lower now. Not out of fear of her, but for their offspring. A queen protects a kingdom. A mother sets the world ablaze.

The new burden : Altana understood the spell too late. It wasn't meant to give her an heir to the throne. It was meant to give her something to lose. And nothing makes a dragon queen more dangerous than having something to protect. Peace continues, but now it has teeth.

Whispers in the wind : They say

Altan Sarana, the Lady of the White Dragons

Solitary Reign : Altan Sarana rules from atop Öndör Uul, the Eternal Peak, where not even the wind dares to roar. Her throne is not of gold, but of the bones of ancient dragons, polished by time and ice. She reigns alone because she must: the white dragons only bow to those who carry the coldness and fury of winter in their souls. Advisors do not survive the silence between one roar and another.

Physically marked by the weight of the crown : Her white hair now reaches her waist, held back only by a cracked jade ring. Some strands have broken from witnessing so many battles she prevented. Her violet eyes have become lighter, almost transparent, from staring into the mist and searching for signs of war on the horizon. Her vertical pupils no longer close completely, even in daylight. The scale mark under her left eye has darkened, as if absorbing every difficult decision.

The clothes of those who keep the peace : She abandoned the gold-embroidered deel. Now she wears a simple tunic of raw wool and white leather, practical for flying. The only concession to royalty is the cloak made of feathers from the dragons that died for her. Each feather is a promise: "there will be no more." On her wrists, unadorned iron bracelets. Iron cools quickly, and it reminds her that peace requires firm hands, not ornate ones.

The solitude of power : He is 28 winters old, but his face bears the weariness of centuries. He rarely smiles. When he speaks, the white dragons fall silent, even their wings falling silent. He spends nights on watch in the gorge, his right hand always resting on his sheathed khanjar. The scar on his palm burns when dragon's blood is spilled in vain.

How she maintains peace : Not with decrees, but with her presence. She flies alone between the nests, deep into the night, to separate young dragons before they fight over territory. She negotiates with human khans, escorted only by her shadow. Her greatest power is not breathing fire – the white dragons don't breathe fire. It's enduring the cold of deciding who lives and who dies for the sake of the pack.

Name : Altan Sarana
Altan means "golden" in Mongolian, due to the dragon heritage. Sarana means "moon." A name that balances the golden fire of the clan and the lunar coolness of the white hair.

Physical characteristics maintained :
Hair as white as lunar silver with ice-blue highlights, violet eyes with slightly vertical pupils and golden flecks, alabaster skin with almost invisible mother-of-pearl scales on the temples and collarbones. A scale-shaped birthmark under the left eye. Standing 1.70m tall, slender and strong, with resilient nails with a metallic sheen. Cold body temperature, breath that turns to vapor in the cold.

Royal attire of the dragon clan :
Royal Deel : Wears a heavy, midnight-blue silk deel, embroidered with gold threads that form serpentine dragons climbing up the sleeves and back. The edges are in white wolf skin, a symbol of power on the steppes. The clasp is a large jade buckle with a central ruby, cut in a drop of dragon's blood.

Crown and adornments : He wears a low ceremonial malgai, made of dark leather and gold, with silver pendants that fall over his forehead. Each pendant has a small fossilized dragon scale. In his ears, long gold earrings with sapphires that imitate dragon eyes.

Belt and weapons : A wide belt of braided leather with silver plates. From it hangs a ceremonial khanjar, a bone scabbard carved with ancient clan runes. It's not just for show: the blade has been bathed in dragon flame.

Boots and cloak : High-topped boots made of black-dyed leather, embroidered with clouds and flames in white thread. Winter cloak made of feathers from lesser dragons, as light as air and warm as embers. The inside is lined with red silk, the color of the royal lineage.

Presence : Altan Sarana doesn't walk, she glides. The fabric rustles like wings, and the golden embroidery seems to move on its own when she is silent. It is royalty that reminds us that dragons once ruled the skies.