Dracarys (druh-KAHR-iss)

Pinterest Board: The Draconic Dominion
Music Playlist: Draconic Dominion Aesthetic
Referred to as Dracarys, the Draconic Dominion, or simply the Dominion, this nation used to be a land rife with chaos and anarchy: conquered, a government established, and then sundered back into instability over and over and over again. It wasn't until the Order of the Dragon Knights took power that Dracarys had ever tasted some semblance of peace and order.
The Dragon Knights are a militocratic assembly of powerful Vallan clans who banded together in order to bring balance and peace to their lands. Each of them rule their own territories now - with some variation of an iron fist - but it isn't as if it's impossible to live and work under the Dominion as long as you follow the rules.
Dracarys - as a nation - is a center for trade and entrepreneurial efforts, dripping with gold, blood, gems, weapons, and almost anything else valuable under the sun.
Dracarys is inhabited by largely uneducated, mob-mentality citizens who capitulate to the Dragon Knights, even as the Knights continue to focus only on their own wealth and power. While this place is technically safe to live in, it is rife with suffering and problems of other kinds, and thus continues to be prolific with demons even after the instability of the past.
The Order of the Dragon Knights is a government of subjugation, constantly keeping their tributaries in line through shows of force and other political efforts. They highly encourage nationalism, and have one of the strongest armies in the world. They keep humans and demihumans as slaves, and treat other non-Valla as second-class citizens even if they were born there.
At the end of the day, though, the Dominion is still a place where people can make a living and work together. The borders of settlements and even the nation at large are well protected, there are many opportunities for research and other technological advancement, and the upper class at least has access to exquisite luxuries from all over the world.
It's like a bandit nation, if the bandits decided to be benevolent tyrants.
The reward of living here is usually worth the price to many; jobs and opportunities are both welcome and in abundance. Often, the people live in fear of another change in governance, and discourage dissent amongst each other. As a silver lining, a giant trading hub like this is bound to have an easy way to get from city to city, so medieval public transport is nice.
The dragons found in the Draconic Dominion are of a certain brand; their sentience is only on the level of dogs, horses, monkeys, and other animal companions, though they can be rather cunning at times so it's more comparable to monkeys or dolphins. Their average size is also relatively small for dragons in general, making them the perfect mounts, ready and willing to fuel a culture of dragon riders. Dracarys has yet to be challenged by another nation, probably due to their implementation of this technique.

General Dracaryan Information

Real-World Inspiration: Ancient Venice
Geology & Biomes: The horizon of Dracarys is dominated by a volcanic mountain range known as the Wyrmspine Mountains, or the Wyrmspine for short; the region then slopes almost imperceptibly downward as it leads to the coast.
The general terrain beyond is referred to as the Lowlands, and is made up of humid jungle criss-crossed by a cornucopia of rivers and tributaries, while plateaus caused by volcanic and seismic activity peek up out of the ground to reveal dark earth and stone.
The main centerpiece of this region - the "High Lake" - is an unusual landmass of earth which rises up, curves outward, and then dips back in on itself to create a raised "bowl"; an unfathomable amount of water rises up into this bowl from a deep underground basin, and then spills over the edge to create waterfalls that turn into even more rivers as they follow the slope of the land into the ocean.
At the coast itself, an enormous Delta resides; the rivers - which had been rich in nutrients and minerals when they started their journey - have had their nutrients absorbed by the land before it, and have turned the land after it into a blackwater swamp (or "flooded forest") called Basangrove, the Ambrosial Rot-Heap (bah-SAHN-grove).
Finally, an archipelago of flying islands can be found somewhere just above the clouds; these are referred to as the Dragoncrest Isles, and their location tends to be obscured for reasons of national security.
Population: (Unclear, pending an official world map; the best estimation is currently ~700,000)
Native Appearance: Of the four subtypes of Valla, only the Teradyr tend to wear clothing that covers most of their body; for the majority of the species which dominates the Dominion, only the bare necessity for modesty's sake is worn, in the form of simple cloth and belts or even bandage-like wrappings to let their scales breathe. Dracaryan fashion, then, is shown in the form of jewelry and accessories: bone and stone are the most common, with precious metals and gems representing a higher degree of wealth or status.
When the Valla of Dracarys do wear more, they wear garb that is generally sparse and breathable: vests, tight pants cut down the sides, wide-brimmed hats, and the like. Your average female tends to favor sturdy and comfortable corset-type affairs, and men tend to favor jackets. Pants and (especially) skirts are uncommon, and are usually replaced by footwraps that stop just above the claws, as well as thigh accessories.
The only other notable fashion trend is with the human slaves kept by Dracarys. Most slaves are only given simple, mass-produced tunics and trousers, and are discouraged from requesting more than they absolutely require, leading most humans to be dressed in well-worn, even tatty, many-times-repaired clothing. For families of higher status and wealth, slaves are dressed better in order to reflect on the family, and are given more regular replacements to keep them looking clean and presentable.
Government: Militocracy. The nation is ruled by a league of dragon riders known as the Order of the Dragon Knights. Thus, the hierarchy goes as follows; the Dragon Knights hold the most influence here with their armies and maintain tight control over the territory they share with each other. Followed by that are non-Valla, who are legally treated as second-class citizens but still given the ability to live and work without too much issue. Finally, there are the humans and demihumans of Dracarys, whose population is almost entirely enslaved.
Technology: As one of the most wealthy nations on Aelladore, Dracaryans enjoy many of the benefits of modern living; not only just about everything from the General Technology Level entry, but airships, firearms and explosives.
Airships, of course, are usually owned by a faction, guild, or other group, and crewed by specialists for hire; in fact, airships are one of the more common forms of travel here, acting as the aforementioned "medieval public transport".
Firearms are about as widely available as it can get, with at least one gunsmith in each major settlement who can craft and repair guns for those educated in their use, as well as restock their ammo; Dracarys' military has entire outfits of musket troopers, and a few famous Valla have been known for their unique firearms/ballistic combat style. Most Dragon Knights own at least one gun and have at least basic training in firearms.
Commerce and Goods: A complex system of high-speed transportation weaves it's way throughout Dracarys, and this combined with the numerous valuable resources which dot the land make Dracarys very wealthy.
Ores and gems from mining, reagents from places strong with the Veil, importation and exportation of goods across the nation, and a surplus of food from ground made fertile by blood all make Dracarys a tempting place to go to for nobles, researchers, mages, and other people drawn to abundance.
However, this also makes the land ripe for thieves' guilds to rise...
Defenses: As described, Dracarys is essentially beyond reproach when it comes to any kind of military assault; the tamed dragons under the control of the Dragon Knights, combined with well-trained and well-funded troops who include firearms squads means that they have virtually no equal on the geopolitical landscape.
Despite their military advantage, however, they do not currently use it to push into new territory; the law and order that they have brought to the chaos of their nation has come only recently, and they are more focused on defense than they are on offense... for now.

Trivia

• The Valla of Dracarys are believed to bear the battlescars of their forefathers in the form of unusual birthmarks. These birthmarks are said to show the location of such killing blows; a ring around the neck, a mark across the chest, a blind or strange-looking eye, etc.
• Fortified settlements are called "boroughs" here.
• The Wyrmspine Mountains host one of the capitol cities of Dracarys, which goes by the name "Rachis" (WRACK-iss). Rachis is graciously allowed to exist by the benevolence of a great Spirit known as the Darkflame Phoenix - though it does demand sacrifices in exchange for heating the city in the winter, dampening the heat in the summer, powering special smithies that harness it's flame, and protecting the city from the volcano it neighbors.
• Basangrove is home to Basan the Great Mud Beast; it is said that all of the regrets and bad dreams of Dracarys trickle down from it's many rivers to this massive lizard's domain, forming into a type of offal that the creature feeds on. Some people take journeys to Basangrove to offer the Mud Beast memories that they do not want.

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