Grakonlar
As Vrassnai, the Thunderous Devourer flew up into the sky, the mighty roar echoing from his fanged maw and shattering the will of the hapless vidashlar below, Zëga'coldar swept from the skies above, astride her deer Astar and firing her grand bow. The arrow pierced the beast in its heart, and the blood that dripped from its wound gathered into a small pool... When the battle with the dragons had ended, Pa'ilver came to the small ponds of congealed dragon blood, all kinds of colours, and cast a ritual over them. One by one, large reptilian people came out, a multitude of colours, and their hands picked up the spears and shields of the fallen. With one large battle cry and a multi-coloured column of elemental fury, the grakonlar moved to fortify the city of Rosanri as the armies of Yanüs arrived on the fields... ~The Hymn of the Eselar
Appearance
The grakonlar live up to their draconic origins. Their skin is a series of scales and bony ridges, with the colour of their skin referring back to their dragon ancestors. Male grakonlar sprout small round horns from their heads, never longer than a few dozen centimetres. One large bony ridge is found on most grakonlar on the top of the head, not unlike hair in other races of Orkanis.Senses
Like dragons, the grakonlar use infravision to see at night, using residual heat from the day to see things until well into the wee hours of the morning. While they cannot fly, they also have a quick and innate understanding of changes in velocity and height, which usually means that teleporting is very dizzying for them.Dragon's Breath
Their relationship to dragons gives them a two-fold benefit. Firstly, they find themselves capable of breathing out a certain kind of elemental attack, which can be fire, ice, lightning, poison or even rarer elements. Secondly, they find their bodies and internal organs resistant to the same element. A fire-breathing grakonlar would be resistant to heat, for instance, and an ice-breathing one resistant to cold.Civilization and Culture
Major Organizations
The current Baron of Shakida and leader of the United Townships of Britaxia is a Mraskar, and all previous leaders of that nation have been as well.
Among the Dorshkar, many organizations look out for their well-being in the wide world. The Bright Scale, for instance, protects caravans of Dorshkar when they move from town to town, and the Thousand Paths of Welonius adopts many orphaned Dorshkar in the Empire of Quempo.
Beauty Ideals
Sleek and brightly-coloured scales have been seen as markers of health and beauty among the grakonlar since their creation, especially those along the tops of the heads. To this end, many clans have, over the centuries, slowly and methodically interbred to the point where the colour of a grakonlar can be used to identify their clan.
Gender Ideals
The grakonlar are rare in that they readily accept those of their number that do not ascribe to traditional binary gender norms. Called the Voporsh (gender-less), they live a comfortable life as accepted members of their clans, although the rest of Sedesta is rarely as accommodating.
As far as gender norms go, the grakonlar believe that the men are the ones to explore the world while the women create stable households. Men are expected to be the ones who leave the household, whether to learn new crafts or to make their fortune or bring glory to the clan. Women are the moral support of being the home and clan to return to. Neither is actively prevented from doing the opposite, however, and both are heavily prized. The Voporsh are obviously allowed to choose their path.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
The clan is the base organization of any group of grakonlar. Every grakonlar does things for the improvement or continuation of their clan, especially in these troubled times for their race. A dragonborn without a clan has no one to impress and nothing to lose, and many of the fairy tales of the grakonlar centre around the fears of losing a clan or finding one's own.
History
The great dragons that fell in the Battle of Rosanri were used by Pa'ilver to create the first grakonlar. Taking on the dragons' innate resistances and elemental breath, these people immediately swept in to help turn the tide of the battle against the armies of Yanüs. They were hailed as a miracle race, a cure against the scourge of the undead. How ironic, then, what was to come.
Following the battle, they began to split off into clans, which settled around Rosanri until the Sundering. After that, the grakonlar spread out across the world. The three large distinctions were the Mraskar, the Dorshkar, and the recently rediscovered Zsarkar in the mountains near Nātor.
The Mraskar and the Dorshkar settled in Sedesta, with the Mraskar forming the ruling class of the city of Shakida and the Dorshkar following their wanderlust across the Lorian Plain. Up until the Third Era, they were simply a part of the fabric of the nations that they either ruled or resided in.
Then came the two-fold destruction of the Rendscale Plague and then the machinations of Nakrûl Virstoras. The former reduced their numbers and turned many of them to improbable or downright illegal ways to protect themselves from death, the latter causing the remaining dragonborn to be suspicious or sacrilegious in the eyes of the Free Ones.
Following that catastrophe, the grakonlar spread out across the continent, forming new clans and opening up their cultures to the wider world.
Historical Figures
Each clan of grakonlar keeps track of its own heroes and historical figures, as winning glory for one's clan is highly prized. Naturally, the Barons of Shakida are all major figures among all the Mraskar if not the whole race.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Grakonlar are both shunned and welcomed, depending on who is doing the shunning or welcoming. The Britaxian tepilar and the other races of that nation have the most favourable relations with the grakonlar, but even they might have a wariness of them. Their respect diminishes more and more the further one gets from Britaxia, with the Quempians having very demonstrable fear of them.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Lifespan
65-70 years.
Average Height
1.8-2.1 metres tall.
Average Weight
90-150 kg.
Naming
Male Names: Asric, Mlaysr, Nakrûl, Rogâr, Zranir Female Names: Bêklul, Ksalo, Osheka, Virano Non-Binary Names: Ptigru, Kaslar, YsroLanguages
Grakonlar communicate amongst each other using the Draconic of their dragon forebears, and it is from this language that their names originate as well. The Dorshkar often learn Common Orkanisan or the local tepilar language to get by.Geographic Distribution
The grakonlar can be found in any major city in some small numbers. Outside of Britaxia, these are mostly Dorshkar, while the Mraskar are mainly confined to Britaxia. In Britaxia, the Mraskar and Dorshkar are found in nearly equal numbers, and their numbers are strongest in the deepest parts of the Greatwood.Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
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