Infernal-Draconic Ascendancy
The Infernal-Draconic Ascendancy is the militaristic, maritime, and somewhat isolationist home of the dragonborn and tieflings, and the peoples of the Ascendancy proclaim the Kingdom to be the pinnacle of civilisation amongst the Draconic and Wild Isles.
Geography
The Infernal-Draconic Ascendancy is located within what is either described as the Wild Isles or Draconic Isles; with the distinction coming from the peoples of the Ascendancy, who claim any territories they own (or aspire to own) as the Draconic Isles, and any they have no interest the Wild Isles. To the North lays the Dragon Straight and across it the Ardenals and Kingdom of Thaxnoria. In the East the Wild Isles, and to the West the Kasari Dominion.Population
The population of the Ascendancy is made up primarily of metallic, chromatic, gem, prismatic, and scarred Dragonborn, and tieflings. Metallic and chromatic Dragonborn are the most populous making up about twenty percent of total population respectively, the Prismatic Dragonborn about fifteen percent, and the scared and gem about five percent each. Tieflings make up about thirty percent of the population.Religion
The vast majority of the peoples of the Ascendancy, Dragonborn and Tiefling, worship the Draconic Pantheon. Great temples dedicated to deities of the Pantheon are found in all major towns and cities of Ascendancy, and not attending regular services is seen as a great social faux pas.Racial Relations
The State and a significant portion of the population of the Ascendancy are racial purists, who believe that of the Dragonborn metallics and chromatic are ethnically superior to the other Dragonborn, with prismatic being viewed as lesser; however the scared and gem Dragonborn get the worst treatment, being view as deviancies in an otherwise pure race. The population are remarkably civil when it comes to races other than Dragonborn, as they do not see them as deviancies from perfection, rather they view the other races as simply inferior to them, and do not treat them with the venom they reserve for gem and scared Dragonborn. A significant portion of the Tiefling population have also been brought into this racist world view.Views on Magic
The Ascendancy regard magic as a potential danger, but believe that the danger is best combatted through acceptance and training, they believe fear and violence rarely lead to the desired result. Those capable of manifesting magical abilities are taken out of whatever education or profession they are within for a ten year period, and taught how to harness their capabilities and work for the kingdom for that time, unlike most Arcane Bastilles these mages are able to live where and with whom they like, and paid a, not insignificant, wage for the period.Politics
The Infernal-Draconic Ascendancy is racial dual monarchy, with a Dragonborn hereditary monarch known as the High Wyrm, while the other races elect a Primarch. The Conclave of Holy Flames serves as an advisory and suggestive legislative body, both the High Wyrm and Primarch appoint fifty percent of the Conclave for life. Both the High Wyrm and Primarch must agree for a law to be enacted or repealed, in the rare circumstances where they cannot the Conclave vote on the matter; to avoid any form of deadlock if the vote is equal, a coin with the crown of the High Wyrm on one side and the crown of the Primarch is tossed, and the victor makes the decision.International Relations
It cannot truly be said that the Ascendancy has any firm friends among the Kingdoms of Runetalras, although its strong military, navy, mercantile nature, and political isolationism have caused it to have few historic enemies. There is a stark difference within the Wild Isles, where the Ascendancy believe significant portions are the Draconic Isles, and a part of their Kingdom. To these people they display a disregard for sovereignty and a brutal imperialistic tenancy.Education
The Ascendancy requires the education of all citizens to be educated between the ages of 5 and 15, in various essential subjects, from maths to politics to practical artisan skills.Gender, Sexuality, and Inheritance
Within the Infernal-Draconic Ascendancy its peoples generally recognise a variety of gender identities, however, male and female are considered more ‘normal’. Recognition of sexual identies as just as varied within the Ascendancy, but just as with gender hetrosexuality is considered the default. Despite the general acceptance of gender and sexual identities there is a tradition of gender roles within the Ascendancy; men fill the more physical roles while women are relegated raising offspring and less well paid professions. Other gender identities must find ways of fitting into these roles despite themselves, oft being frowned upon while doing so. The Ascendancy possess an absolutel primogeniture which is a form of primogeniture in which sex is irrelevant for inheritance; this exists for all forms of inheritance from the monarchies to familial wealth. Individuals like experienced adventurers and mages are often spared the worst of this system as a result of the power oft control.Infrastructure
Much of the Infernal-Draconic Ascendancy is connected by stone roads, though it is the waterways that carry much of the internal trade and peoples of the Ascendancy. All Ascendancy cities and towns possess both sewers and aqueducts.Agriculture & Industry
The economy of the Infernal-Draconic Ascendancy is based up the export of high quality, time intensive goods, particularly jewellery, gilded armour and weapons, gemstones, Weaveite, and magically enchanted items. The land surrounding the Ascendancy is barren and arid, necessitating the import of agricultural produce. Much of the Ascendancy is based upon trade, and as such they have greatly developed their navy and trade ships, out of necessity to maintain their Kingdom.History
The Infernal-Draconic Ascendancy is the successor state to the Holy Draconic Empire, which has a long and turbulent history in its own right. The Ascendancy was born in the Age of Contempt after the Holy Draconic Empire's death in the Age of Blood.The Age of Contempt
Foundation of the Draconic Ascendancy 63:Contempt. The Age of Blood wreaked devastation upon the lands and people of the Holy Draconic Empire. Within the city Ixensular in 63:Contempt the Draconic Ascendancy was proclaimed as a new kingdom. Initially Draconic Ascendancy was effectively a city state and its territories consisted of the immediate territory that surrounded Ixensular. Invitation to the Tieflings and the Infernal-Draconic Ascendancy 69:Contempt. In an effort of both humanitarianism and pragmatism, the Draconic Ascendancy offered a place for tieflings as part of a joint kingdom named the Infernal-Draconic Ascendancy. Tieflings were offered a full and equal place in the Ascendancy, a stark contrast to the discrimination and violence they faced elsewhere as they were viewed as a reminder of the horrors of the Age of Blood. The Ascendancy gained vital population and workers that were used to rebuild. Reconstruction and Renewal 69-149:Contempt. The Ascendancy entered a long period of reconstruction and built its new economic and political structures. A constant stream of migrants, in the form of tieflings, greatly improved the ability of the kingdom to recover. Succession War 149-173:Contempt. Tensions amongst the more than two dozen successor states that formed after the fall of the Holy Draconic Empire reached a boiling point in 149:Contempt. The war encompassed all the petty kingdoms and city-states, it resulted in a victory for the Ascendancy; the Ascendancy absorbed the territories of the other kingdoms and became a great kingdom in its own right. The victory of the Ascendancy was in no small part due to its greater economic potential and larger population. Righteous Crusade 180-204:Contempt. In 180:Contempt the Righteous Dawn, a faction of crusaders launched an attack of the Ascendancy. The Righteous Dawn sought to rid Runetalras of the corruption and influence of the Hells and Abyss. To achieve their goal the Righteous Dawn sought to destroy the Ascendancy and obliterate the tieflings that made their home there. Righteous Dawn issued an ultimatum to the peoples of the Ascendancy, give up the tieflings and live in peace, or burn and share the flames of the lower planes with them. Almost all rejected the ultimatum, and for the best part of two decades blood was shed in the streets once more until the Righteous Dawn was thrown from the shoars of the Ascendancy. Ardenal-Ascendancy War 207-218:Contempt. A series of disputes over fishing in the Dragon Strait between the Kingdom of the Ardenals and Infernal-Draconic Ascendancy escalated into a full scale war in 207:Contempt. The Ascendancy soundly achieved a victory at sea by 211:Contempt, however, on land the Ardenals repelled the invaders. In 218:Contempt a peace was secured with no territorial exchanges nor was a solution for fishing secured. First Armada 253-272:Contempt. In 253:Contempt the Infernal-Draconic Ascendancy began the construction of a great armada in an effort to reclaim territory lost by the Holy Draconic Empire. In 272:Contempt the armada mere hours after the armada passed beneath The Behemoth, and before it broke up to sail to their various targets, a great storm destroyed the armada at sea. Of the over 130 ships at sea only 13 limped back to the Ascendancy, this scuppered the Ascendancy’s effort to restore the overseas territories of the Holy Draconic Empire. Ascendancy-Kasari War 302-313:Contempt. After a series of trade disputes and exchanged blockades a war broke out between the Kasari Dominion and Infernal-Draconic Ascendancy. The Ascendancy attempted an invasion of the Elector-Kingdom of Thurinarz and Aine Aevon within the Kasari Dominion. Between 306-310:Contempt the Ascendancy made gains, however, from 310:Contempt the Kasari Dominion soundly repulsed the Ascendancy from their shoars. Colonisation of the Outlaw Isles 330s-360s:Contempt. Throughout the 330s-360s:Contempt sparse settlements and outposts were established Infernal-Draconic Ascendancy. War for the Waves 347-403:Contempt. The War of the Waves was a lengthy conflict between the Infernal-Draconic Ascendancy and the Kingdom of Valantia. A series of conflicts and boardings between the ships of the Ascendancy and Valantia escalated to war in 347:Contempt, the War for the Waves was almost exclusively fought at sea. The decades long war first favoured Valantia, however, by 389:Contempt the Ascendancy was dominant and secured victory, in the peace that was secured Valantia was humiliated and forced to pay significant sums of coin and provide the Ascendancy with a large number of vessels. The War of the Waves did much to destabilise the Kingdom of Valantia which suffered a successful revolution in 440:Contempt. The Prismatic Rebellion 426-429:Contempt. In 426:Contempt rebellions broke out throughout the Ascendancy, which focused on the mistreatment of the Prismatic Dragonborn minority within the kingdom. The rebellions spread and sporadically lasted until 429:Contempt, each was put down with force and brutality. Second Armada 440-447:Contempt. In response to the formation of the Republic of Valantia, and its repudiation of the payments to the Ascendancy as a result of the treaty which ended the War of the Waves, the Ascendancy began the formation of the Second Armanda. The Second Armanda itself was made up of a significant number of Valantine ships sent to Ascendancy as a result of the peace of 403:Contempt, as well as another 80 Ascendancy ships, which made the Second Armada larger than the First at about 140 ships. The Armada set sail in 445:Contempt, and its voyage seemed cursed from the outset. Early on the Armada was caught in storms which pushed it further east than anticipated into the Sea of Storms, there the Armada was scattered and a dozen ships lost. After the Armada reassembled it was forced to sail through the Outlaw Isles and were caught up in the The Wolf’s Prowl at Sea a conflict between the Kingdom of Thaxnoria and the pirates of the Outlaw Isles. Amidst the war ships within the Armada were captured, damaged, or ship wrecked, by the time the Armada sailed into the Seuibe River they numbered less than 100. After they passed through the mouth of the Seuibe River, many sailors in the Armada suffered strange illnesses and mania; the most afflicted underwent physical changes: a mucus layer formed on their skin, webbed toes and hands, and some unconfirmed reports existed of crewmates that formed gills. After the illnesses took hold mutinies began, by the time they were brought under control only less than half the Armada, as mutineers fled with ships; however, illness no longer troubled the Armada. The Armada then arrived of the coast of Valantia, instead of a unprepared, weak, and disordered state they found a well organised Republic with a large fleet to meet them; the Battle of Baia Smaraldo led to a humiliating defeat for the Ascendancy with what remained of the Armada forced to flee, few than twenty ships from the Armada returned to the Ascendancy in 447:Contempt. Invasion of the Adrenals 460-466:Contempt. In 460:Contempt The Ardenals and Kingdom of Thaxnoria were in a state of disorder, whilst the Ascendancy were keen to restore prestige and wealth lost with the Second Armada. The Ascendancy launched an invasion of the Ardenals in 460:Contempt, the rest of Thaxnoria did not respond to the Ardenals calls for aid and in 462:Contempt the rest of Thaxnoria erupted into civil war. The Ascendancy conquered a significant amount of territory and even constructed a number of fortifications; however, once the Second Thaxnorian Civil War ended the unified Kingdom repelled the Ascendancy from the Ardenals in 466:Contempt. Bloody Purges 500-512:Contempt. The High Wyrm decided that throughout the Ascendancy there were those within society, the bureaucracy, academia, and army that were fermenting radical ideas and who were committed to rebellion and revolution. After careful planning in 500:Contempt, special forces began an over decade long operation to root out disadents, more than a thousand were killed, and ten-thousand placed in forced labour camps. The Bloody Purges were brought to an end by the Primarch with the death of the High Wyrm. The Dissenting Rebellion 528-532:Contempt. Disaffected groups within the Ascendancy, made up mostly of prismatic, scarred, and gem Dragonborn, kobolds, and Lizardfolk, launched a rebellion to put to the abusive nature of racial discrimination of the Ascendancy. The Dissenting Rebellion received support from some members of civil society but it was violently suppressed. Those who survived fled into Wild Isles and opposed the Ascendancy as the rebel group the Dissenters. Crystalline Convergence in 533:Contempt. Although far away from the Ascendancy, the Crystalline Convergence has significant implications for the Ascendancy. Ixensular, the capital of the Ascendancy, suffered attacks from mages loyal to the Crystal Catalyst; within the attacks the Grand Cathedral of IO, Dual Palace, and Circle of Sorcery were all damaged. The damage caused by these attacks were minimal compared to the Arcane Tempest which emerged and wreaked havoc. Arcane Tempests Rage 533-539:Contempt. Throughout the 530s:Contempt, particularly furious, Arcane Tempests burned away the flesh of those within the Ascendancy, mages lost control of magic and turned to madness, and Warped ones and Weave Aberrations caused widespread destruction. The widespread chaos was abated when the Arcane Tempests lulled in their fury from 539:Contempt. Invasion of the Wild Isles 553-:Contempt. In 553:Contempt the Ascendancy launched an invasion of the rest of the Wild Isles, as yet it is unclear what the long term impacts will be. Draconic Resurgence 553-:Contempt. Starting in 533:Contempt Draconian attacks and the sophistication of them, greatly increased. Meanwhile, increases in attacks from Dragons afflicted by the Dracoplague, plagued the Ascendancy and Wild Isles.
Population: 1,300,000
Founding Date
63:Contempt
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Capital
Demonym
Ascendant
Government System
Monarchy, Constitutional
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Traditional
Currency
The Coins of the Infernal-Draconic Ascendacy are unique as it has two heads of state, therefore profiles of leaders appear on both sides of the coins, leading to them simplely being refered to as Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Copper.
Major Exports
Fish, Weavite, Dimeritium, Copper, Silver, Sulfur, Marble, Silk, Glass, Sheep, and high quality industrial products.
Major Imports
Yew Wood, Adamantine, Coffee, Incense, Ivory, Jade, Spices, Sugar, Tea, Mithral, Ironwood, Tungsten, Salt, Lead, Wine, as well as extra-regional foodstuffs.
Official State Religion
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
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