Dominion of Scales
The ancient Empire of the Dragonborn. The Dominion of Scales was a nation ruled by tyranny and lies under the control of The Red Prince, a Red Dragonborn who seemed to be reincarnated after every death. When he was overthrown by Saint Avaria and her accomplices The Red Prince was revealed to be an Ancient Red Dragon in the service of Tiamat.
The Dominion of Scales revered Tiamat as a saviour who mourned the loss of her dead lover Bahamut who died saving her and her people (the Dragonborn). In year 2389ND the capital of the Dominion of Scales was sacked and, Bahamut who was imprisoned below it saved. The destruction of Hadar'arac was the nail in the Dominion's coffin. The Empire collapsed within days, only at the end of the Age of Terror was the Dominion reformed in the guise of the Platinum Dominion under the rule of a bishop-prince in service to the Holy Platinum Empire.
Culture
Dragonborn were a strictly caste based society that had built their culture around the ingrained belief in The Red Prince as a messianic emperor and prophet. The vassal races were treated more as serfs than slaves, with specific roles assigned to each race. Kobolds were the farmers and miners in Dragonborn society, lizard folk were a subordinate warrior caste, yuan-ti were priests and minor functionaries, falling only just below Dragonborn themselves in the religious teachings. Other races were members of the Dominion but had been all but forgotten due to their rarity and existence only on the very fringes. These included the prime-saurians, more crocodile than lizard, these barbaric tribes ranged in roving herds, they would pay lip service to the Dragonborn should they come in force, an individual would just be lunch. Tortles existed in a variety of communities but preferred a slightly cooler climate to most Dragonborn - as such their villages were usually isolated but would pay tribute to the Dominion should a taxman show up from time to time. All these races fought in the Dawn War, though few remember that the Yuan Ti fought for the Adversaries. They all also fought in the primacy wars that followed the Dawn War and led to the establishment of the Dominion of Scales. As such they were all permitted a representative on the council of advisers should they desire. Kobolds never agreed on who should represent them, prime-saurians didn't care and tortles had long since forgotten that they had this privilege.Structure
The Dominion of Scales was an theocratic empire founded on the belief that the Red Prince is in fact a divine being. The Dominion is always ultimately ruled by the Red Prince, he has only been absent three times in the Dominion history, it is believed these excursions were times when he has to leave to fight holy battles against unknown enemies.
The Cult of the Sovereign was the foremost power in the Dominion after the Red Prince. The Cult oversaw strict adherence to the doctrines of Tiamat. This included the running of numerous schools of magic that focused on destructive magics along with the College of Dominance, an institution dedicated to the invention and production of advanced weapons of war. The Cult was led by the Divine who had to be a chromatic Dragonborn, along with the counsel of lesser divines who were usually yuan-ti.
The Legion of Fangs was the military arm of the Dominion of Scales. It was led by a general who had to be a Red Dragonborn. The general counseled with the concordat, a set of three advisers. One from The Cult of the Sovereign, one from the Order of the Platinum Dragon and one personally assigned by the Red Prince.
The Order of the Platinum Dragon was an order of Dragonborn knights, while anyone could join the Order only metallic Dragonborn can ascend past the rank of Knight Errant. The Order taught that Bahamud sacrificed himself so that Tiamat could live and establish the Dominion of Scales through the Red Prince. Built on the virtue of self-sacrifice paladins of Bahamud swore oaths to protect the Dominion as Bahamud protected Tiamat. The Order of the Platinum Dragon is the only known surviving institution from the Dominion of Scales, once they learnt the truth about Tiamat's deception they re-pledged themselves, becoming seekers of truth, justice and compassion.
Public Agenda
Ultimately the Dominion of Scales was created to further the goals of the Cult of the Sovereign.
The Cult of the Sovereign taught that the Red Prince is an avatar of Tiamat the co-creator of dragon-kind. After her lover Bahamud died in the Dawn War alongside his children Tiamat imbued the Red Prince to be the vehicle of her vengeance against the gods responsible for his death. Once they had been purged from the Drath-hadarac (the promise land in draconic), Tiamat tasked the Red Prince with establishing a nation that would safe guard draconic interests for millennia to come.
The Divine Order of Scales was the religious belief that Tiamat and Bahamud were the greatest of the gods, chosen by The Almighty to ensure an order to creation. Accordingly, all intelligent life on Eotha is given a clear hierarchy, with Red Dragonborn at the top, followed by Gold, followed by Dragonborn in general and then by intelligent saurians who form the bulk of the Dominion of Scales vassal species. After that you have all other intelligent life in a variety of orders.
The other (non-saurian) gods of Eotha were jealous of Tiamat and Bahamud’s power, according to the Trials of Tiamat (the core religious text of the Cult of the Sovereign) Tiamat witnessed them pull back from the fray against the Adversaries just long enough to ensure that Bahamud fell to them. They jealously wanted Tiamat’s mandate to rule and so concocted lies that they taught their children claiming Tiamat is not who she claims to be.
The primary teachings of Tiamat are found in the Trials of Tiamat, a text penned by the Red Prince following the founding of the Dominion of Scales. In it he claims to have walked with Tiamat during the days of her mourning for Bahamud, bearing witness to his grave deep below Hadar (the capital city of the Dominion.)
The Trials of Tiamat taught that her disciples would require strength of arms and cunning to overcome and outwit the combined ire of the other gods. Consequently, all followers of the Cult were encouraged to put their minds toward developing ways to ensure that The Dominion of Scales was the best trained, best equipped and most destructive fighting force on Eotha. The teachings encouraged adherence to ones station and an attitude of mercilessness toward ones enemies: for it was the gods’ ambition that left Bahamud alone and Bahamud’s restraint that led to his death. Ambition is therefore the vilest of virtues and restraint is the noblest of vices.
History
With the death of so many metallic Dragonborn in the Dawn War, Dragonborn society became dominated by the chromatic sub-species. In the turbulent years following the Dawn War a powerful Dragonborn known as The Red Prince emerged and rallied the disparate forces of his people, forging further alliances with “lesser” races in order to bolster his military and create a people strong enough to assert territorial dominance of the region known now as Drath-hadarac.
Disbandment
The beginning of the Fall of the Dominion of Scales marks the start of the Age of Terror. Beset on all sides by manifestations of evil deities, lizardfolk, yuan-ti and the Godless Horde the Dominion collapsed in less than a year. In the year 2389 ND the Godless Horde won the Battle of Black Wings crushing the vast majority of the Dominion's military. With the sacking of Hadar'arac and the death of the Red Prince alongside Tiamat's avatar the Dominions highly centralized government was left leaderless.
DISBANDED/DISSOLVED
Year 83 ND (New Dawn) - Year 1 AT (Age of Terror)
Type
Geopolitical, Empire
Demonym
Dominionite
Leader
Location
Comments