Draconian Empire

The Draconian Empire, perhaps the grandest in recorded history, was a long-standing, expansive, and powerful league of nations, which at the height of its power controlled nearly the entire expanse of the continent.

Legendary Origins

The Draconian Empire's foundations are nearly mythical, so fantastic do they seem. The story goes like this as recounted by Devis Rivers, Fochlucan Lyricist:

Thousands of years ago, the land was home to small and plain peoples, living their lives out in their petty cottages. On the cold morning of the Winter Solstice, soaring on the shining wings of dawn, came the dragonriders. They were four in number, consisting of two twin sisters and two twin brothers, astride the dragons that had raised them as their own children. Following in their tail was their army of winged creatures who accompanied them down to the land.

For a time.

Rise of Power

Over the thousands of years of its reign, the Draconian Empire flourished and expanded, spreading itself over the vast reaches of the entire continent. From the delta of the Anoch, to the sun-baked balmy keys of the Bearded Coast, and to the wind-swept barrens of the Eastern Reach, Draconia's power was unquestioned and absolute. The only area of land they did not manage to completely conquer was Elmdale, a vast and tractless woodland that the Elves called home. After a hundred years of war they signed an uneasy truce, agreeing to not enter the Elven lands if the Elves agreed not to attack border foresters or assist their enemies.

Despite such setbacks, times were prosperous, and they ruled their Empire successfully from their cloud-topped castles in the Dragonspine Mountains.

The Senate - The Beginning of the End

The empire began to grow lazy, however, and started to become obsessed with the mysticism and glory associated with their name. Sloth led to depravity, and the strong rulers of the Empire lost the respect of their people. This resulted in the formation of a Senate which represented the will of the people as a whole and enabled them to exercise influence on their monarchs.

The final symbolic blow came when the main houses of leadership were moved away from the high northern mountains to the valley of the river Anoch. Little by little the Senate gained more and more power, until at last the ruling class were mere figureheads, sitting in their high palaces, isolated from the problems of a world so far away.

The Tyrant Rises, and the End

The Senate lasted about four-hundred years. During this time the Empire fractured and shrank, losing their lands in the farther reaches and having increasing difficulty keeping itself under control. Soon the country was down to the four provinces which today are recognized as traditionally "Draconian": Juno, Alizarin, Drakenheim, and Lasaedar.

Desperate for aid, the Senate appealed to the recently-risen Temple of Heironeous for aid. The Temple did what it could, but another factor came in.

A new royal, Skrae, had recently taken power. His name meant "ice" in the old Draconic tongue, and it was said he was, indeed, ice. It seemed that with his birth, the draconic blood that had been sleeping for generations had awakened in full force, and he set out on a conquest to bring the empire back to its former glory.

What Skrae had in ambition, however, he lacked in wisdom and kindness. He recruited barbarian tribes to assist him in his conquest and headed south swiftly to the capital. There he rode into Juno and made a bloody coup against the Senate, murdering it and appointing a new one in its stead. He ruled with an iron fist for about one year. He succeeded in expanding the Empire, but at no small cost to human life. The people hated him and his ways, but none were courageous enough to rise against him and his army.

So the people turned to Heironeous for aide. The clerics of The Invincible decided that it was time to do something, and they assembled the armies of various princes and vassals who opposed the leadership of Skrae. Together they rode to the capital and laid seige on it for six months. At the end of it, the desperate townsfolk (and most of Skrae's soldiers) gladly opened the gate for them, allowing them to ride unmolested to the castle at the center of the town.

The castle's walls were swiftly breached and Skrae brought out. He was convicted, tried, judged, and executed on the spot in full view of the entire town. With that, the royal reign of the Draconic princes was ended, and the Empire shattered once and for all.

The person who had led the charge into town was a tall, strong dame known as Lady Elizabeth Beigh, matriarch of what would become the Junoan royal family. The other principalities went their separate ways, doing whatever they saw fit to survive in the uproarous new situation they found themselves in.

Mysticism

Such is the legend as told by the orators of fable, for the true origins of the empire is shrouded in mystery. One thing is for certain. The Empire, as far back as anyone could remember or read, had always regarded itself as the progenitors of the draconian ideal of honor, power, and prosperity. Rumor had it that the original siblings, the first generation of the Imperial family, had draconic blood running thickly in its veins.