Brotherhood of Dragons
How did the Brotherhood Start?
Towards the end of “The 100 Years of Turmoil”, The Common Folk revolted against their corrupted alpha dragon leaders. This civil revolution was called The Freedom Wars as the revolution was a series of skirmishes that hindered the Realm’s Overseer. A strong Omega Dragons named Inanna led this war. The Alpha Dragons lost their authoritative power, and The Common Folk removed the Overseer from leadership. Alphas continued to live in the Realm, but were sent to live on the outskirts of communities. When the dust settled, Alpha Dragons came together in secret and created a Brotherhood of Dragons. This was very unusual, since dragons rarely wanted to work together. However, out of necessity, the brotherhood formed to protect the assets, lands and remaining authority of the Alpha Dragons.
Structure
How does the Brotherhood Function?
At the end of The Freedom Wars, the overseer and the rebels agreed to a peace treaty that changed the rule of the realm. This treaty was called the Freedom Treaty, and its purpose was to limit the power of the overseer and alphas whilst protecting the folk.
This treaty significantly reduced the alpha’s breadth of power and the brotherhood has found creative ways to maintain power. They do this by supporting rulers of The Common Folk who have similar values and goals. They subsidise guilds and strategically place guild leaders. Besides negotiating trading agreements, the brotherhood ensures equitable treatment for all parties involved, while receiving a percentage of profits from both sides. Lastly, they promote and support the Unified Religion of the New Realm, influencing future generations regarding values, family life, roles in society, and other critical areas of folk life.
Below is a chart describing the extent of the Brotherhood's control.
Legend
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Leadership
An Unknown alpha dragon leads the brotherhood. Only two other alphas know the real identity of the supreme leader, the secretary and treasurer. This is to protect the alpha, his interests, and keep the brotherhood's assets secret.
Members and their Benefits
The brotherhood acts like a collective, where profits are divided equally among members. The supreme leader of the brotherhood, the secretary and treasurer receive additional payments for their work.
Outside Support
The brotherhood employs loyal leaders to oversea the natural resources they control. Secrecy has enabled the brotherhood to expand and become a wealthy society.
Culture
Community Improvement
The society has contributed to improving farming and the development of natural resources. They support the blacksmith, mason, merchant, farming, and shipping guilds, which stabilize life in the New Realm. The Brotherhood is devoted to the Unified Religion and contributes financially.
Public Agenda
he Brotherhood's public mission is to offer financial and logistical support in order to enhance the livelihood of the Realm's citizens.
Secret Agenda
The Brotherhood's true objective is to maintain their grip on the citizens of the Realm and to continue harvesting the power of the Omega Dragons, a fact kept hidden from the public. Omega power is highly valuable to Alpha Dragons, as it is a type of power that can merge all the alpha's strengths together. This power makes him stronger, smarter, and faster, something every alpha desires. It's crucial to remember that Alpha Dragons were not supposed to have this power at their disposal. The power needs to be returned to the omega, as it is not to be used continuously. Yet, despite this, they continue to take it, and keep it, for their selfish needs. A dangerous side-effect of this is that many Alpha Dragons can not handle the power and ultimately go insane. The brotherhood is keeping this side-affect a secret and has created a small group of assassins to conduct mercy killings to stop the insane dragons from causing significant damage. Their assignments include killing the alphas and their omega.
Assets
he complete list of assets is unknown to the Realm. Since Alphas live a long time, any paperwork can be manipulated or forgotten. Where the society is open about their charitable work, they are very secretive about their income and assets.
Demography and Population
he brotherhood holds various mines throughout the realm. A metal called Enki was the first resource that they capitalised on. The mines are precious to the realm and there is a continuous demand for the natural metal found there.
The mines became a source of family income and many folk came to the mines to find work. Mining companies under the Brotherhood's watch pay minors well, leading to thriving mining communities. Additionally, inhabitants of these communities include blacksmiths, healers, tradesmen, and farmers. Most of the mines also host important ports of call where ships come for trading.
Territories
he territory of the brotherhood is both vague and powerful. Since they are a secret society, the brotherhood works like tendrils of an octopus. They can manipulate and influence many territories due to their intelligence and power as a secret society.
Military
espite being a secret society, over the years, the brotherhood has built a strong and deadly military group called the Obsidians that are publicly under the control of the Unifed Religion. The Obsidians consist of elite soldiers that are recruited from the Realm's militararies and are secretly overseen by alpha dragons. They conduct public missions on behalf of the Unifed Religion, while conducting secret missions for the brotherhood. Their strength is not in their numbers, but in their reach. They have effectivly toppled leaders simply through propaganda and can silently assinate opposition without public knowledge. The common folk are too afraid to ask questions and often leave the area when the Obsidians arrive.
Religion
he brotherhood has a powerful influence on religion and society. This is necessary to control the power of Omega Dragons. Back on Old Earth, The Dragon Folk followed a Matriarchal Society where omegas provided balance to civilization. Omegas borrow power from their alphas. However, they must return the power to restore balance. Yet, alphas in the New Realm desire this power but refuse to return it, thus creating an imbalance of force and energy. Only a few Alpha Dragons understand this instability. Regardless, the brotherhood views creating a culture of control and subservience as imperative. They have established a culture of patriarchy through the Unified Religion, with females in a subordinate role. Additionally, they created a false narrative where the omega’s power was a gift from the Fates and the Unified Religion has decreed that the gift must be given to their alphas permanently.
Foreign Relations
he key to the brotherhood's success is their ability to spread throughout the realm without anyone noticing. Since the brotherhood consists of Alphas that came from various regions, this meant that they had influence throughout different kingdoms.
Laws
hey endorse key leaders who create laws that reflected the brotherhood’s values. By doing this, they maneuver civilization and the political landscape to their own advantage. Over time, the brotherhood has influenced multiple laws including:
- Trading agreements
- Guild regulations
- Money lending policies
- Omega rights and freedoms
- Shipping policies and regulations
- Religious influences
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