Drakari
The dark skinned underdwellers.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Bipedal, humanoid.
Biological Traits
Almost all Drakari have silver hair, long pointed ears, and either black, steel, or in rare cases dark copper colored skin.
Genetics and Reproduction
Drakari reproduce bi-sexually
Growth Rate & Stages
Drakari, if they live that long, reach puberty at roughly one hundred years of age, and are considered adult at two hundred-fifty years.
Ecology and Habitats
Drakari are biologically engineered to survive anywhere, but they thrive best in dark, hot, high pressure areas.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Drakari, like their Silvari ancestors, are primarily vegetarian.
Additional Information
Facial characteristics
Drakari typically have angular facial features, with thin noses and pointed chins. Typically they have Silvery eyes, though some shades of yellow and and violets have been known to pop up from time to time.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
There are sparse pockets of Drakari settlements all through the underworld, but most are situated under the Northlund region.
Average Intelligence
Drakari have average intelligence
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Drakari can see in total darkness.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Drakari, like their Silvari ancestors, like long flowery names. Names that feel lyrical are very well perceived. As such, it is uncommon for multiple Drakari to have similar names. This can lead to some... uniquely difficult names.
Major Organizations
- Priestesses of the Web: these are the high priestesses in service to Lilith, led by High Priestess Arrietta Quessanis. They serve as the ruling body of the Drakari, setting and presiding over the laws.
- Nightmasters: These are the armored warriors, serving as police, military, and brute force of the government
- High Houses: these are the nobles who have earned favor and stature within society. It is usualy from their number that priestesses and Nightmasters are picked.
- Returners: A group of Drakari fighting to return the Drakari to a more civil way of life, though mostly fighting for gender equality. After the Kolonati return, they work as spies to pass information to to those who would stand up to the Kolonati
Beauty Ideals
Much like their Silvari ancestors, the Drakari find beauty in shiny metals. Unlike the Silvari however, they like all shiny metals, not just silver. It is common to find intricate metal decorations in Drakari clothing, jewelry, even woven into their hair. Drakari also find beauty in femininity, and find the male form unpleasant. This, coupled with the low class standing of males, has led many Drakari parents to force their children into body bindings to give them a more feminine form.
Gender Ideals
Because of the strict societal pressures in Drakari culture, Females are seen as superior, and males have no chance to succeed. Because of this, there have been many cases of men trying desperately to pass themselves off as women. This doesn't end well for those that are caught.
Courtship Ideals
Most Drakari look for romance above all else, particularly the older generations. The Noble houses however can ruin this, as they treat potential husbands like livestock, and will often enforce their will on lowborn houses.
Average Technological Level
The Drakari have been sneaking Kolonati weaponry from time to time to try and learn it, though it often has proven more then they can understand, and the Kolonati are not keen on sharing their knowledge with a potential threat.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
Drakari speak Silvari, though they have developed their own slang and terms over the years.
Common Dress Code
Drakari women tend to wear loose fitting, full body clothing, laced with intricate metalwork adornments, unless they are soldiers, in which case they tend to wear full body armor. Men tent to wear whatever they can get.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
The Drakari have all but thrown out their Silvari heritage, save for the concepts of noble houses. Over the years their ability to use magic has faltered, and there are none living who remember how to Silver Shape.
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
Drakari pray regularly to Lilith. Once a moon phase however, the Drakari have a celebration for Silvain's Advent Day, one of the few ties to their Silvari heritage left.
Common Taboos
It is forbidden for a male to spy on a female when she is naked. This is a crime punishable by public humiliation followed by execution. Only one who is promised as a mate may see his lady unclothed.
History
The Drakari were Silvari who were altered through a combination of science and sorcery to infuse them with Kin (dwarf) genes. Specifically, the Unterforge Kin. This turned their originally silver skin to more of a steel color, made their skin harder, their bodies hardier and over all made them stronger and more resiliant. This was done to combat the Kolonati centuries ago. Once the Kolonati were defeated, the Drakari tried to return to Silvari life, but found they couldn't. They couldn't be restored to their original forms. Silvari also found the Drakari form to be ugly. This, coupled with the Drakari's heightened aggression, with many of them bearing with post traumatic stress, eventually lead to conflict within the Silvari. Eventually, the Drakari had a mass exodus. They found there was little place for them in the world though, and eventually made their way to the underworld, to the very ruins of the Unterforge Kingdom. They tried to make a home there, but skirmishes broke out, factions formed, and chaos ensued. This all changed with the rise of their new goddess, Lilith.
Lilith was an ordinary Drakari woman, who had been through some terrible tragedies. She had been enslaved, raped, beaten and abused. She eventually escaped, and found her way down deeper in the Underworld then any Drakari ever dared go. It was there in the depths that she found the old home of the Kolonati, and their vile technology. She came afoul of some long abandoned, and forgotten experiments. In the depths she was warped and mutated into a half spider monster. She loved her new form, the power it gave her and, as she would eventually come to discover, the unnaturally long life. She wasted no time in returning to her people and granted agonizing deaths to those that had wronged her. She convinced other Drakari that she was a long forgotten god, and soon built a new religion around herself. Even though many of her high priests knew she was not a real god, the power and sense of order and purpose she gave them, made sure they would play along. Lilith soon took complete control of Drakari society. She would not soon forget the cruelty she had endured though, so in her new society most males were subjugated and treated as little better then slaves.
After nearly one thousand years of Lilith's rule, a rebellion of men began to crop up, lead by the son of the first Drakari. This man, named Denarque, claimed to be a messenger from the true Silvari God, Silvain. He and his rebellion would go round with Lilith's High priestesses and Nightmaster warriors. He had a sword, a relic of the Kolonati wars, blessed by Silvain himself. Eventually he and Lilith came to blows, with him eventually landing a blow with his "Soul Blade", which unmade Lilith, returning her to her true form. It was at that moment, that the Caataclysm struck, ripping the world asunder. The underworld was hit hard, and Denarque and Lilith found themselves trapped in a cave in for almost a week. It is unknown what happened in that time, save for Denarque tending Lilith's wounds. When they were rescued, Denarque was imprisoned, and Lilith taken to her palace. Lilith would frequent the prison where Denarque was held, and refused to allow her priestesses to execute him.
Then the Kolonati attacked. They had returned, and they wanted their underworld back. The Drakari City was in ruins, their forces already decimated by the Cataclysm, they stood no chance. The High Priestesses were about to call for a complete evacuation, when the Nightmasters called all forces to the city gates. In front of the gates stood Lilith and Denarque. Denarque was wielding his father,'s the first Drakari's, lance. Lilith was wielding the very Soul Blade that had stolen her power. The Drakari watched in awe as Denarque ripped through the Kolonati ranks with his lance. Hundreds of the lizards fell in swaths, until Char appeared. She grinned her silver laden grin, informing all present that she had ended the Silvari. The Drakari were the only remnants of the once great Silvari Nation. Denarque was enraged, which cost him. Char finally struck down the Drakari hero. Lilith quickly stole Denarque's lance away from Char, and the Kolonati tried to swarm her. But in a flash, Lilith regained her spider form. This time however, she grew in size. Her spider appendages became armored, and she seemed to glow with a purple light. She let loose a wave of purple light, which caused most of her attackers to start to melt.
It was then that Karlaak came and stopped the attack. He asked to speak to Lilith. Lilith agreed, and bade her High priestess Quessanis to accompany her. While they stood waiting for Karlaak, Lilith revealed that Silvain had given her his power in order to save the Drakari, the last of his people. She had become what she had pretended to be for so long... a god. All be it, a weak one. Karlaak struck a deal with Lilith. The Drakari would accept Kolonati rule. They would serve the Kolonati as soldiers in their empire. In exchange, the Kolonati would spare their lives, and help them rebuild. It was a polite way of saying they would be slaves and cannon fodder, but they would survive. Lilith agreed to the terms. She then confided in her bewildered High Priestess, that this was temporary, that she had been shown a prophecy that told of on of their people who would rise to lead all others back to glory. They just needed to play along, and bide their time until then.
Lilith took Denarques spear, his corpse, and Soul Saber, and departed for a time. No one knows where she went, or where she buried him and his weapons.
Both sides stayed true to their words. The Drakari were already feared and disliked on the surface world, but now they would likely be hated. At least for now. Time makes all things possible, and Drakari can be very patient.
Historical Figures
Denarvan: the creator of the process that made the Drakari, and the first Drakari.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
The general disdain for Drakari by the rest of Erathia makes this uncommon, though not unheard of. There are even reports of Half-Drakari hybrids within the Kai Clan.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Lifespan
400 to 500 years
Average Height
1.6 meters (5' 2")
Average Weight
68 kg (150lbs)
Average Physique
Usually slim and lithe.
Geographic Distribution
Related Myths
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