Scaelor

One of, if not, the oldest nations from the Age of Dragons. Scaelor has fallen and risen several times since its first founding.

Structure

The Sovereign & The Wytmthrone

The Monarch of Scaelor, simply refered to as the Sovereign, is considered the "Wyrmthrone Successor", tracing their rule back to the last mortal-appointed governor of the area during days of the Draconic Empire. Unlike typical monarchies, the ruler is not strictly hereditary, but earned. Instead they are confirmed by the Draconic Electorate, maintaining a semblance of the imperial meritocratic system. Silverkeep, the seat of power, was originally a dragonlord’s citadel, now repurposed for mortal rule. Named for its silvered roof, the keep stands defiant on top of a hill overlooking the capital. The Sovereign is expected to rule with wisdom and martial prowess, ensuring that Scaelor remains strong both politically and militarily. The Rite of the Crimson Claw
To prevent tyranny and incompetence, the Draconic Electorate holds the power to challenge the ruler by invoking the Rite of the Crimson Claw. Under this law:

The Electorate may nominate a challenger if the ruler is deemed unfit or weak.
The challenger must be a proven warrior and leader, often a noble, military officer, or renowned champion.
A ritualized martial duel ensues, where the victor claims the throne.
If the challenge is denied, the Sovereign’s legitimacy is severely weakened, often leading to rebellion.

The Crimson Claw itself, an ancient draconic relic, is the ceremonial weapon used by the Sovreign in these duels, symbolizing the empire’s old traditions of strength through combat. It is always kept at the Sovereign's side, as important a badge of office as the crown itself.

The Draconic Electorate (Council of Scales)

A small but powerful council of noble houses, military leaders, and scholars, each with a symbolic draconic title (a remnant of imperial tradition). Their role is to manyfold, but mainly to elect and advise the Sovereign. While the ruler governs, their decisions must be implemented by the Electorate, ensuring that the Sovereigns rulings are fair and wise. The council also ensures that Scaelor honors its legacy while adapting to modern governance by preserving the spirit of the ancient imperial law. By overseeing key affairs of the state, such as controling taxation, foreign diplomacy, and military strategy, they act as a check on the absolute monarchy. There are many titles and seats on the Council of Scales, but the most notable are:

The High Warden (Lord of Legions): Head of the military, descended from Draconic Legates.
The Magister of Aurix (Keeper of Lore): Oversees magical law and knowledge, ensuring arcane traditions endure.
The Argent Chancellor: Controls the treasury, maintaining economic stability based on imperial coinage.
The Grand Speaker (Voice of the People): Represents commoner interests, ensuring the mortal population is heard.

The Provincial System

Scaelor is divided into Provincial City States, each ruled by a Legate-Governor, a title that originated in the Draconic Empire. These rulers maintain order, collect taxes, and enforce royal laws in their regions. Some provinces are still ruled by noble families, tracing their lineage to draconic appointees. Others are governed by military officials who enforce the will of the monarchy. Major cities may have semi-autonomous councils, particularly those with strong mercantile or academic influence.

History

The Age of Dragons: Scaelor as an Imperial Province

During the height of the Draconic Empire, Scaelor was a key province, ruled by a powerful dragon-governor appointed by the imperial court. Known for its fortified cities, disciplined legions, and rich trade routes, it became a military and administrative stronghold, ensuring the empire’s control over its mortal subjects. The capital, Drakhal’s Roost (now known as the Wyrmthrone), housed one of the empire’s grand citadels, a towering fortress built from obsidian and enchanted stone. Legate-Governors, both draconic and mortal, ruled from this seat, maintaining order under imperial law. However, as the empire began to weaken due to internal strife and the growing divide between Chromatic and Metallic Dragons, Scaelor found itself at the heart of the struggle.

The Fall of the Empire & the Ballet of Scales

When the Draconic Schism erupted into full-scale war, Scaelor was one of the primary battlegrounds. The once-mighty province was divided, with some noble houses and military legions siding with the Metallic Dragon Bahamut, while others remained loyal to the Chromatic faction. The Battle of Shimmerpeak marked the empire’s final collapse, as the Platinum Dragon Bahamut and the Infernal Tyrant Tiamat clashed in a cataclysmic duel that shattered the mountain range. The surviving metallic-aligned forces in Scaelor declared independence, severing ties to the dying empire. With no dragonlord to govern them, the mortal legions and noble houses convened, forming the first Draconic Electorate, a ruling council meant to guide the nation in the absence of their former overlords. However, power struggles between the nobles and the military led to constant instability.

The First Founding of the Wyrmthrone

Realizing that Scaelor needed a strong central ruler, the Electorate established the Wyrmthrone, anointing the first Sovereign, a former legate-general who had commanded Scaelor’s armies during the empire’s fall. However, this rule wouldn't last. With rising voices demanding freedom from the old ways, the first mortal King of Scaelor was forced into an impossible position and despite the fact that he had managed to gather the people in the liberation of their land he quickly lost the backing of his subjects. Soon two factions would arise to try and establish a new rule from under the Sovereigns fragile reign.

Division

The fall of the Draconic Empire left Scaelor in chaos. With the empire shattered after the Ballet of Scales, the once-unified province found itself divided between rival factions. The Draconic Electorate, originally formed to provide stability, quickly fell into infighting, as noble houses, former military legates, and mercantile elites all sought to claim power. At the heart of the division was a core question: should Scaelor continue following the Imperial Draconic Traditions, or should it forge its own path free from the influence of its fallen overlords?

The Draconic Traditionalists, composed of old noble houses, remnants of the imperial military, and scholars of the Magisterium, believed Scaelor should remain loyal to draconic ideals, maintaining the empire’s hierarchical structure.
The Mortal Reformists, made up of regional warlords, common-born generals, and merchants, argued that Scaelor should sever its ties to the fallen empire and establish a new, purely mortal government.

Civil war erupted, with both sides gathering armies of mercenaries, former imperial soldiers, and hired mages. Battles raged across the land, and for decades, no single ruler or government lasted long. The once-mighty fortresses of the empire became ruined battlegrounds, and the roads that once carried imperial legions fell into disrepair. As Scaelor stood on the brink of total collapse, a desperate compromise was reached. The Electorate agreed to crown a Sovereign, but only under strict conditions—giving rise to the Second Founding.

The Second Founding

After years of internal strife, the strongest remaining noble and military leaders met in a summit at Silverkeep, once the seat of the imperial governor. Here, the Second Founding of Scaelor was declared. The Draconic Electorate would remain, but it would no longer rule directly. Instead, it would elect a Sovereign to sit upon the Wyrmthrone, acting as the ultimate leader of Scaelor. To prevent tyranny, the Electorate was granted the ability to challenge a weak ruler through the Rite of the Crimson Claw, ensuring that only the strongest and most capable would hold power. Sectretly the Electorate also created the Crimson Order, to give them a force with which to combat the Sovereign should the need arise. The Imperial Legions were reorganized under the new monarchy, keeping the discipline and tactics of the old empire, but now sworn to Scaelor alone. A new King of Scaelor was crowned—a seasoned general who had led the last remnants of the empire’s forces against the rebels. Under his rule, Scaelor stabilized, and order was gradually restored. However, the peace was fragile. The old Draconic Traditionalists resented the new government, while many Reformists believed the monarchy was still too closely tied to the empire’s shadow. These tensions would later explode into the Chroma Council Conflict.

The Chroma Council Conflict

Generations after the Second Founding, the Draconic Electorate grew increasingly divided, with its factions becoming more politically entrenched. The Chroma Council, a group of noble and military leaders who still revered the old empire, sought to expand its power, arguing that the Electorate should hold greater control over the monarchy. When a weak Sovereign took the throne, a ruler elected largely due to political maneuvering rather than strength, the Chroma Council seized the opportunity to push for reforms that would strip the monarchy of its military authority. This move was met with outrage from the noble houses that still backed the Wyrmthrone. The conflict quickly escalated beyond politics. The Argent Guard, still loyal to the Sovereign, clashed with military legions controlled by Electorate factions, leading to a period of assassinations, skirmishes, and open battles in the streets of Scaelor’s major cities. Key moments in the conflict included:

The Night of Silver Blades: A failed assassination attempt on the Sovereign by rogue elements of the Crimson Order, resulting in the execution of several high-ranking Council members.
The Siege of Silverkeep: Rebel legions attempted to storm the royal citadel, but were repelled by loyalist forces, leading to a violent purge of suspected conspirators.
The Blooded Accord: After years of infighting, the surviving factions reached a fragile truce. The Chroma Council was dismantled, and new laws were introduced to prevent the Electorate from directly undermining the Wyrmthrone’s authority.

Though the monarchy survived, the conflict weakened its grip on the realm. Scaelor’s provinces, once tightly controlled, began to drift toward semi-autonomy, and many military legions started acting as independent power blocs, answering more to their generals than the crown. This led directly to The Third Founding, a desperate attempt to rebuild order.

The Third Founding

With Scaelor on the verge of fragmentation, a new reform movement emerged, spearheaded by a young and ambitious Sovereign determined to reclaim the throne’s lost power. The Third Founding was declared, enacting sweeping changes to recentralize control over the kingdom:

The Electorate’s Authority Was Curbed: While the right to elect a Sovereign remained, the council’s ability to override royal decrees was restricted, ensuring that the Wyrmthrone held true executive power.
The Legions Were Reformed: Military generals were forced to swear direct loyalty to the throne, breaking the trend of autonomous warlords rising from the ranks.
The Provinces Were Reorganized: The Legate-Governors were required to answer directly to the monarchy, preventing local rulers from acting as independent kings.

Though these reforms restored a sense of unity, they did not erase the deep-rooted tensions within Scaelor. The Electorate still seeks to reclaim its influence, while ambitious generals quietly gather strength, waiting for a moment to challenge the Wyrmthrone once more.

Territories

The kingdom of Scaelor stretches from the Conari river in the east all the way to the Allerdale mountains in the west, ruled by the dwarven mountain holds under the flag of Dhil Ahldur. The Allerdale mountain range encloses the nation from the west, north and over to the east were the Conari river flows down from its peak. To the south lies the great ocean whose currents slither along the southern coast of Scaelor and are only stopped by the Serpent's Bay where the currents gather nutrients, making it a plentiful area for fishing. From the east, stretching almost halfway over the nation is the Feyfire Forest. The ancient forest used to be the home of another powerful dragon called Niarvenax, that in times past tried to steal these lands away from the current Dragonlord. Now this wild and untamed forest acts as a hindrance for most travellers or as a challenge for those willing to brave the many ruins and monster dens that lie within.

Military

Scaelor maintains a highly organized military system inspired by the old Draconic Empire but adapted for modern governance. The military is divided into several branches:

1. The Royal Legions

The backbone of Scaelor’s military, the Imperial Legions function as the standing army. Each legion consists of:

Dragonshield Cohorts (Heavy Infantry): Disciplined and heavily armored troops trained in phalanx and siege warfare.
Skyfang Riders (Cavalry): Elite riders on trained wyverns or drakes, used for reconnaissance and fast attacks.
Stormcallers (Mage Corps): Battle-mages who wield elemental magic, often trained in royal academies.
Auxiliary Forces: Composed of mercenaries, foreign recruits, and specialized shock troops.

Each Legion is led by a Legate-General, ensuring strategic autonomy while remaining loyal to the Wyrmthrone.

2. The Argent Guard

The Argent Guard is an elite force responsible for:

Protecting the Monarch and Silverkeep.
Enforcing imperial law within the capital and major cities.
Leading local Guard regiments in the different provinces of Scaelor.
Serving as the final line of defense in palace coups or attempted overthrows.

Only the best warriors from the Legions are selected for this elite unit, and they take an oath to serve the Sovereign until death.

3. The Crimson Order

A specialized force trained in dueling, assassination, and internal security, the Crimson Order serves as the monarchy’s covert enforcers under the direct control of the Draconic Electorate. Their key roles include:

Eliminating threats to the throne before they arise.
Acting as spies and informants within noble courts.
Training challengers for the Rite of the Crimson Claw, ensuring only the strongest warriors may contest the throne.

Religion

While the worship of dragons has declined, there are still temples and sects dedicated to Bahamut, the Platinum Dragon from the Battle of Shimmerpeak, seen as a symbol of justice and order. Other deitys that are regularly worshipped are Sarenrae, Iomedae, Nethys, Gozreh, and Erastil. Worhip of less benevolent dieties is generally frowned upon, but not outright outlawed.

By Scale and Steel

Maps

Scaelor

Founding Date

6957 AD

Type

Geopolitical, Kingdom

Capital

Wyrmthrone

Demonym

Scaelorian

Head of State

Balric Tyrister

Government System

Monarchy, Constitutional

Power Structure

Feudal state

Economic System

Market economy

Currency

Copper, Silver, Gold and Platinum Coins

Judicial Body

Scaelor follows The Codex Aurix, a set of laws first written in the age of the Draconic Empire, but updated over the centuries.

Executive Body

The Argent Guard

Controlled Territories

Neighboring Nations

Related Items

Crimson Claw

Scaelor

Structure

The Sovereign & The Wytmthrone

The Draconic Electorate (Council of Scales)

The Provincial System