(Reposting cuz mine wasn't placed in the lore thing)
Draconians - A Guide to the so-called "Dragonmen" (WIP)
Draconia's FormationDraconians, as you might expect, are a species from the old, dark meteor crater known as Draconia. This creator was created from an old asteroid impact of an asteroid about 15km in diameter, landing straight into North Terra. The crater is 534,553 m wide and 1,490m deep (for reference, that's about the size of Romania). Due to the odd way in which the asteroid landed (which was much faster than anything that had hit the planet before), there was a 'silent earthquake' of Richter 11, yet with no sound. This earthquake was extremely powerful, releasing over 47687.91 megatons of TNT (Again, for comparison, the Tsar Bomba only released 50 megatons. Calculations were made
here. The material seems to have been a hardened iron, and has since been mined to all hell. Draconian iron, despite being extremely expensive, is a rather powerful and deadly material, comparable to other 'high-class' metals. There are also rumours of large oil deposits and coal pockets, making it a ripe area for any which want to make use of these materials.
The Beginning of CivilisationDraconian civilisation, like all others, began once the temperatures had begun to settle in the North, creating a rich river valley stream, with the Kingdom of Draconia rising in 2,000BT, both as local tribesmen scrambled to protect themselves from Terran influence (despite being in the North of the continent) and as a great leader, known as Hasperoux I unified them, winning several wars against the young Terran state* (It should be noted that many claim that Hasperoux was a Daemon lord who manipulated corrupt Draconians), and becoming larger. The Draconian Empire, forming itself under the House of Draconia, formed in 1,000BT* , as Hasperoux III held strong control of the North and became an ally of the Terran Empire, enjoying a very good peace for a nice, long time.
Draconia-Sterpol and Draconia-PersnachtAfter this period of peace, during 0BT*, whilst the Terran Empire was fighting the First Crusade, Hasperoux IV held an imperial congress, presenting calling for all to join the crusade. There was a split: one side of the House of Draconia, including Hasperoux IV , said that Draconia shouldn't join the Empire, merely be an ally and trade partner but* stay away from it in all affairs. Another side, which included the heir at the time, soon-to-be Liecsturn II, split off* from the main house, who supported imperial integration (and secretly tried to influence the Empire). And so, Hasperoux IV formed the branch of Draconia-Persnacht and Liecsturn II (Oddly enough General Liecsturn's namesake) formed the house of Draconia-Sterpol. They made a tradition of having their candidates spar when the Emperor is dead, along with anointing the new Emperor in the blood of both his opponent and the old Emperor. After the congress, however, Hasperoux IV decided to join the First Terran Crusade* in order to help their allies out, whilst Liecsturn attempted to build connections within the Empire to create future plans for integration.
The Empire KneelsAfter the death of Hasperoux IV in a battle, Liecsturn II took the throne and agreed to bow down to the Empire if he was given power and autonomy within his territory, along with a position in the Imperial Guard. The Empire agreed, thanks to some political manoeuvring and connections, to this deal, as the Draconians were known for being good commanders and soldiers. Liecsturn II slowly positioned himself to a position of power, before being stabbed and poisoned in 9,129AT* (Some records say he resigned from his position before then), which led to the collapse of the Draconian holdings due to a large succession crisis. The traditional Draconian houses only hold a minority of territory there, with Liecsturn III, or as he's known today, General Liecsturn of the House of Draconian-Sterpol, succeeding him. Now, Draconians look to the future for Liecsturn III to be like Liecsturn II.
Why a Minority?You see, after Liecsturn II's death, the Draconian realm collapsed as per usual. However, in this case, General Liecsturn was on a foreign campaign helping out the Emperor. So, many of the local lords, emboldened by the 'immortal' Liecsturn II's death, declared revolutions, and Liecsturn III was busy, and so he wasn't able to stop them in time. Luckily for him, however, very few soldiers actually defected, and so he still has the chance to destroy them, as most of the recruits only have a few centuries experience at most currently. Liecsturn III and IV were known as the Silent and the Weak due to their lack of authority over Draconian holdings and general lack of ability to hold power.
A List of Nicknames for Each Draconian King/Emperor In Chronological Order, Along With How And When They DiedHasperoux I - The Daemon - Slain by Terran Soldier* 1,900BT
Hasperoux II - The Corrupt - Died of "Decay"* 1,500BT
Liecsturn I - The Iron Guard - Slain by Soldier of Unknown Origin, 952BT
Hasperoux III - The Forgotten - Assassinated by Erbatz I, 942BT
Erbatz I* - The Tyrant-King - Unknown, Unknown (Estimated around 240BT)
Erbatz II - The Greedy - Botched Surgery, 196BT
Hasperoux IV - The Crusader - Slain by Daemon, 12AT
Liecsturn II - The Immortal (Purpotedly used vampire blood) - Died of Vampiric Disease, 9,192AT
Liecsturn III - The Silent - Died of "Decay", 10,904AT
Liecsturn IV - The Weak - Killed by Liecsturn V, 11,450AT
Liecsturn V - The General - Still Alive
But What Are Draconians?Draconians, despite popular belief and description, aren't actually hybrids. They're a completely separate species, with some having reproductive - and blood - comparability with vampires. This is rare, with only 10% of the population possessing this trait, mostly the upper classes of Draconian society, but also many peasants. Terran scholars suspect that this is due to Daemonic 'blood' and/or 'spirits' spreading from Hasperoux I, but Draconian scientists point to similarities with vampires, calling it merely a 'coincidence'. Despite this similarity, and many witch hunts, Draconians are tolerated a lot more in society than Vampires, as they don't eat human blood or flesh, and act a lot more like regular humans or dragonborn rather than vampires. You can usually distinguish a Draconian from a dragonborn/human using their higher than average height, thicker skin, emotional stability and higher than average intelligence and sensory abilities. What they lack, however, is the social bonds and connections of humans, as they are often compared to human psychopaths behaviourally, along with being quick to anger, weak in the heat and starving extremely quickly. They, believe it or not, have mechanisms within their body preventing the natural process of aging and/or slowing it to the point they'll die of non-aging related causes by then. The longest living Draconian is said to have lived for 12,000 years before being mauled by a bear. One must note, however, that they destroy all degradation within their cells by injecting vampire blood if they have the right gene. The longest
recorded lifespan of a Draconian not known to have used and/or suspected to have used vampire is about 3,000 years. Draconians usually take 500-1,000 years to fully mature physically.
Draconian CultureDraconians have a very detailed culture, with complex social structures based upon need rather than willingness (like humans). This section will mostly be about general Draconian culture as there's a whole list of things for nobles and such. Firstly, unlike modern human society, Draconian culture isn't actively sexist, albeit it still makes women work in the home due to both need and so women can work even when pregnant with a child. Secondly, drinking is encouraged, along with drug-taking, as, believe it or not, it's actually a tradition to take a special type of drug on your marriage day. Speaking of marriage and polygamy, people have multiple marriages in order to produce the most children, and yes, this includes both men and women.
However, having children with someone you are not married to is considered taboo. Same-sex relations are often ignored, however, a person is expected to have at least one heterosexual relationship for the purposes of creating children. Furthermore, beggars are considered to be 'scum of the Earth' and often have sharpened rocks or wood thrown at them to make them stop. This does not, however, prevent many from begging outright. There are two things which are a symbol of status: house size and number of relationships. The more wealthy you are, the more relationships you are expected - and allowed - to have. The Draconian religion, whilst actively punished by Terrans, is still worshipped in private by most of the population, along with several 'underground' temples which often perform acts of terrorism, with many Draconian priests being heads of rebellions in Draconia. The religion's deities often mirror that of regular everyday citizens, as it is believed that "all men, women and children are born equal in right, but not in wealth.". The main Draconian deity, as there are often several which many forget, is known as Parvurst, a being of pure light and strength, albeit not one of pure morality. Parvurst's sign is the Sun, as so is mistaken for many as a Sun God. Whilst this is true, there is a second Draconian deity: Erpoux, a being of thought and will, one which populates the night sky. Erpoux is the Moon, and Parvurst is the Sun. Erpoux is thought, and Parvurst is heart. Erpoux and Parvurst, despite their differences, aren't enemies in the Draconian mythology, but some fringe groups proclaim allegiance to one of them, with the "Rays of Parvurst", despite being an almost defunct heresy, calling for mass executions, genocide and oppression supporting Parvurst and the "Sons of the Night", which is a more benign terrorist organisation calling for a meritocratic society, the death of the upper class and a society built on leadership of the powerful, and not those born from royal blood. Furthermore, Draconian religion is one of the most materialistic in Terra, believing in no morality and rather the existence of only matter (Erpoux) and force (Parvurst), as such, Draconians often look decadent and destructive to foreigners, with a stereotype of Draconians (including non-Draconian Draconians too) being known as drunkards, decadent, disloyal, immoral but also intellectual, intimidating and mentally strong. Scientific discovery isn't looked down upon in Draconia as much due to the nature of its religion (Some people even call it Erpoux's gift to mankind!), so Draconia might soon become home to a scientific and political enlightenment because of its so-called 'overtolerance'.
Noble Customs of The Draconian CultureOf course, these are merely the general customs and customs of the commoners, but how about the nobles? A quick note: You'll often note, when visiting Draconia, that, instead of merchants, nobles are often the ones at the head of large trade operations, hiring people to manage it and all, but they're often the profiteers of it, hence why wealth is often connected to nobility status: nobles often own literally everything within their holdings, including what would normally be the property of a small middle class of merchants and artisans. Nobles, along with being expected to be polygamous (see above section), are also expected to be great generals and/or stewards, and so often get placed into two classes: 'generals' who mostly do fighting (As expected, the main line is often held by them) and 'stewards' who often manage vast tracts of land in order to give the most profit to themselves and their superiors (nobles in this rank are often more powerful influence-wise but are usually unskilled when it comes to war, leading non-economic revolt to be a.....bad option to say the least.). But anyway, succession of titles is done in a very easy - yet dangerous - way. Nobles are supposed to do something like this: all children, all siblings, all 1st cousins, all 2nd cousins, and *then* parents, grandparents, all 3rd cousins, 4th cousins and so on. The way in which they order them doesn't actually matter. One could have the youngest child as the first pick, and the oldest one as the second pick. But they can't have their brother as a first pick and then their son. This is technically gender neutral, but 99.9% of the time, most nobles, even female ones, pick a male.
*These claims/people are disputed by Terran scholars and usually only exist within Draconian records. The likelihood of these claims is disputed heavily within academic circles.