The Schism of the Ancient Thaumaturgic Tribe

To provide some context for the upcoming story. There's a substance in my world known as Life Stone for the moment. It only grows in areas that meet two requirements.

1: It has to be saturated with a good amount of nature based magic.

2: A large amount or an intense period of suffering has to have taken place in the area.

Life Stone has the ability to store different parts of a dragon's soul and/or mind depending on which organs it comes in contact with. If it comes in contact with the brain, it stores the more logical and mental side of the dragon, along with any damage or neural pathways that the brain has. If it comes in contact with the heart, it stores the complete conscience and soul of the dragon. Either way, they live on inside the crystal, and can interact with the outside world through speech via the vibrating of the crystal. They can also look out of the crystal and see things and hear sounds coming from outside the crystal as well.
Some see it as a stone blessed by the nature spirit Gaia, but others see it as a cursed stone used by those who practice black magic and the darker side of witchcraft. This reputation mostly comes from where it grows and its ability to steal the minds and souls of living creatures.

On to the story:

There are two ancient tribes of dragons that existed many years ago. And this is the story of their beginnings and their eventual end.

These two groups of dragons came from a larger, even older tribe that greatly prized the study of magic and technology. Even more so the ability to combine those two things to create more advanced machines. These dragons would study all manner of things, and eventually became advanced enough to use their knowledge to create mechanical bodies that could actually function, if given a soul. But, manipulating souls is extremely difficult and often very costly. So when they first began to create these mechanical bodies. They were mostly just a form of art. Until some of this larger tribe began to split off and search for a way to give their creations true life...

Back home, most of the rest of the tribe simply continued as normal. Living to further advance their understanding of the art of combining magic and technology. But there were some that began to delve further into the art of soul manipulation via magic. This resulted in several incidents of entire groups of dragons being found either dead or driven mad. And eventually the leaders decided to outlaw experimentation with the manipulation of souls outright.

Meanwhile, those who had split off from the main group and formed expeditions to find a way to give their creations life eventually discovered Life Stone. And, as would be expected, experimentation quickly began with the discovery of this new crystal.

They tried all kinds of things with the Life Stone deposits they found including simply touching it, grinding it up and using it in potions and rituals, ingesting it, and even implanting it in between scales or underneath them. But it didn't seem to have any effect. Aside from some bejeweled dragons and upset stomachs. In fact it was by pure accident that they discovered its true power.

In the process of extracting the stone to bring it back to the main group, they began a few mining operations. In their excitement and haste, safety had become a second priority, and a miner ended up falling into a pit where a new part to the mining operation was being dug. The crystals at the bottom were large enough and sharp enough to withstand the impact, and instead pierced through the dragon's scales, straight to the heart.

When the body was discovered, it was also noted that the crystal underneath had changed colors, not just from the blood. It had changed from the normal, vibrant, bright, emerald green, to a lighter, more ethereal, shimmering, sea green. As they were recovering the body, one of the dragons helping with the process brushed against the crystal, and within the crystal, the glow grew brighter and they heard the voice of the fallen miner come from it. While their body was indeed dead. They would discover that the crystal had captured the miner's soul. Within the crystal, aside from some obvious fear and confusion, they seemed to be just as they were in life.
At first, they left the crystal in the ground. They weren't sure whether extracting it would damage it, or what the consequences of damaging the crystal with the soul still inside it would be.

After a lot of communication with the miner trapped in the crystal, some gentle experimentation, and some more digging, they were able to isolate the deposit and begin to dig around it, eventually constructing some pulleys and a lift system. When they were sure that it was a smaller, isolated deposit, not connected to the larger deposits around it, they lifted the entire thing out of the ground and began further investigation.

They discovered that the miner was aware of the change in surroundings and was actually perfectly capable of seeing out from within the crystal as well as listening to them and responding. It was noted that only the individual crystal that had pierced the miner's heart had changed. That opened up the possibility of separating it from the rest of the deposit if they were very careful. And so preparations began, and the operation was carried out.

This gave the expedition leader an idea. This particular crystal was rather large, so upon extraction, they knew it wouldn't fit into any of the mechanical bodies that were already built. At least not if they couldn't cut it without damaging or killing the dragon's soul inside. Not to mention, those bodies weren't designed for that anyway. But perhaps, if they could create a new body and find a way to meld the crystal into the body, they could essentially bring this miner back from the dead. So they began the trek back home to the main group carrying the miner's crystal and as many loads of unused Life Stone as possible. If this worked, they would be the first to be able to have control over life and death itself. With this discovery, they could perhaps become the most powerful tribe in the world.

Upon returning, they discovered the laws against experimentation with the manipulation of souls. But the expeditioners decided that despite those laws, they had to bring their discovery before the leaders of the tribe. It was simply far too important to let go of. And so they did, rather brazenly in fact. And to their surprise, their project was approved, as was continued research, with some conditions…
They were not allowed to experiment on their own tribe members, and they were expressly forbidden from experimenting on females and hatchlings. This created a lot of problems for the researchers. This effectively meant that they could only experiment on male prisoners from prior conflicts. And when those ran out, their research would be over. So they focused most of their outward efforts on the construction of the miner's new body. Secretly, they began to plot out different ways to gain more subjects to experiment with.

The researchers' strongest arguments for getting rid of the restrictions on experimentation were the fact that those whose souls they captured kept all their knowledge, and the fact that their experiment with the fusing of the crystal to a mechanical body was successful. The miner had survived the project, and was now able to continue living, albeit with some drawbacks. They also no longer needed food, water, or sleep, just maintenance of the body. And that could be done very easily by way of magic and enchantment of the body itself. Effectively, the miner was now immortal and no longer consumed resources. This was a massive leap forward in the researchers' eyes... And it managed to get one of the restrictions lifted. They could now experiment on fellow tribe members. And so it began.

In a rush of renewed fervor and excitement, the researchers began the process of literally immortalizing themselves. Starting with the leader. In their experiments with the prisoners, they had discovered that they could cut the crystals before use and it had no effect on the outcome of the end procedure. This meant that their supply of Life Stone had essentially increased by a thousandfold, and other expeditions could be sent out to collect even more. Once the leader of the researchers was successfully converted from an organic being to a mechanical one, the others began doing the same.

This quickly led to a cultish tradition beginning. The oldest and wisest of the tribe could be literally made immortal, and among the researchers, this was how it should be. Their wisdom and knowledge should be made immortal, and with the loss of flesh, they could be made stronger than any normal dragon. The abandonment of the flesh became something to be prized above all else.

But not everyone agreed with this radical ideal. While some of the tribe leaders, and a fairly large portion of tribe members, did come to join the emerging tribe of mechanical dragons, many did not. The others were terrified of the power to steal the souls of others as well as the extreme passion the researchers' cult had for the rejection of the flesh. It was also terrifying to see the corpses left behind after dozens of dragons were converted from flesh to machine. And so the tribe split into two. And a civil war began.

It didn't last long. The mechanical dragons with their enchanted bodies of metal and fitted with all manner of weapons easily overran those who fought to keep their bodies intact. Many were captured and held as test subjects for further experimentation. But a treaty was struck with a few who survived and were willing to be exiled. Thus the two tribes separated, each to form their own traditions and cultures.

The mechanical tribe began expanding by conducting raids on surrounding tribes or smaller groups and taking prisoners. They would offer these prisoners a choice. Immortality as a member of the mechanical tribe, or immortality as a mindless slave drone. They had discovered that by damaging the crystals after they held a soul, they could dull the mind of the person within and make them easier to control. And by using certain curses, they could also inflict pain on those trapped in Life Stone. They had begun the construction of a slave army of immortal, powerful, and easy to control mechanized creatures that held the souls of captured prisoners. This enslavement also became a punishment within the tribe itself for the most heinous of crimes, or blasphemy against the power and immortality of the Machine. Endless work and torture at the hands of an enemy who would never die, never forget, and never forgive.

The tribe that kept their bodies simply ran for the longest time. But eventually their minds wandered back to the powers of Life Stone. And they decided that they would use it. But not as their mad, mechanical brethren had. They would use it to pass on their histories, their knowledge, and their very minds. They discovered that if a Life Stone came in contact with the brain, it would store the knowledge and memories of the dragon, but not quite their entire soul. It would be like having a readable or viewable copy of the dragon's mind. It became tradition that, when an elder or leader of the tribe was on their deathbed, they would have their mind taken into a Life Stone. That crystal would then be embedded into an engraved stone or slab of metal with the name of the dragon that was inhabiting its crystal. They would then add these slabs to a library that contained all the knowledge and memories of their wisest and strongest tribe members. Their leaders could help them even after death.

In a cruel, but by this point very well deserved, twist of fate. The mechanical tribe ended up nearly being made extinct when their slave army turned on them. Due to sheer numbers the slaves were able to win the war and crush their masters in a rage. The only living remnants of this tribe are groaning, ancient constructs, and the occasional mechanical dragon wandering the lands with its Life Stone core cracked and broken, unable to do much other than take swings at anything nearby or lumber away into the distance.

The tribe that kept their bodies went on to keep building their library for a long time after the mechanical tribe died out. But the inevitable lure of power and the nature of dragon minds, eventually grasped at them again. And the highest Elder of the tribe made a decision. They could see the lust for immortality growing again. And they decided that the tribe and their knowledge of Life Stone must die. So they let the mechanical dragons begin to appear again and start their takeover. But then, at the height of the greatest battle, the Elder took a few of their trusted friends and began to crack the Life Stones of their mechanical enemies. When all was said and done, the Elder and their comrades lured the now wild mechanical dragons to the Library, and chained them to the entrance. They then put the mechanical dragons to sleep, only to wake again if someone approached the Library. They sealed themselves inside the Library and they were never seen again. The Library has since faded into myth and legend.