The Draconic Empire
Summary
Legend tells that the continent of Lanrath was once ruled and terrorized by dragonkind. The humans were enslaved by these savage beasts and forced to sacrifice their young and elderly to the dragons to eat. Eating young women alive would allow the dragons to remain youthful forever and eating elderly men would grant them the wisdom and experience of a lifetime. During this same time, the elves, dwarves, gnomes, and other minority races were driven away to their secluded forests and caves where the dragons couldn't find them. This terror remained for thousands of years until a couragous young man from a poor village rose up and led a rebellion, heroically defeating the dragons and driving them off to hide in the northern tundras. It is also believed that dragons were giant, winged, fire-breathing lizards the size of houses.
Historical Basis
The fourth age was truly ruled by dragonkind, but they did not terrorize the people and instead were benevolent rulers. The kingdom experienced an unprecedented peace for almost three millenium. Despite being a relatively minority race on the continent, the dragon's individual strength was enough to disuade many other countries from trying to attack the kingdom for its riches. Additionally, the young dragonlings were sent out on missions to protect various settlements in the kingdom as both a training exercise for themselves and to provide the common folk with peace and security. During this phase, taxes were higher in the form of livestock and meats. The rebellion that ended the dragon age came forth because an arrogant dragonkind diplomat from another country set fire to an inn and killed the workers in a remote village on the way back to his own country. Kalathen Mardion, the son of one of the inn workers vowed revenge on dragonkind and began to hunt them all down with the help of other individuals who felt that the dragons were oppressing people. The rebellion was a drawn out affair with the rebels targetting dragons that were on their own and weakened. The country entered a state of fear. When the rebel party finally managed to kill the ruling dragons and seize the throne, they set out to erase all history of the benevolent dragons and spread the tale that the dragons were evil. Regarding the form of dragons - their natural form was almost human-like instead of being a giant, winged reptile. These dragonkind were born as humans with small indications of their supernatural abilities. They would often have small, soft scales around their necks or sometimes small bumps on their foreheads. They had the ability to transform into their large form that the myth is based on and they would depending on the situation, but often preferred to stay in their humanoid form and live in their comfortable houses.
Spread
Most people in the current empire know some version of this myth, though the details are fuzzy. The one thing that everyone knows is that Kalathen Mardion is the great hero who saved the continent from the tyrannous dragonkind lords.
Variations & Mutation
The original history was deliberately transformed by Kalathen Mardion and his ruling party to state that the dragons were stealing the people's food and starving them. They said that the dragons were hot-tempered and would kill people for the smallest mishap. Over time and many generations later, this myth has been modified to say that the dragons were giant, ferocious beasts that ate people to preserve their beauty and minds.
Cultural Reception
For most of the kingdom, this myth is simply told as a fun bedtime story for the children and a warning that a dragon will come take them if they are bad. For the small, hidden village of Kaerin, the only place in the kingdom that still holds dragonkind, it is an affront to their long history.
In Literature
Several different versions of Kalathen's heroic are being circulated throughout the kingdom, but are only accessible to those with the gold or the connections. There are also several poems written to commemorate the heroes.
In Art
There are several statues at the king's castle that depict different scenes of the dragon's defeat. One is of a heroic spearman stabbing a dragon through the throat. Several art pieces are being preserved in the castle's vaults while recreations are displayed in the halls. Some of the event they depict show a dragon flying over burning a village, a dragon falling from the sky with a huge arrow embedded in its chest, and a spearman, a swordman, and a mage standing on a dragon's body during the sunrise.
Date of First Recording
Year 3 of the Klandrath calendar
Date of Setting
The fourth age of the world - before the Klandrath calendar began
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In response to the prompt Write about an old, fallen empire that many have completely forgotten about.
