Scars of Scale and Tooth
For hundreds of years, the small, cloistered dragonborn nation of Draconia reigned over the Dreemoth Ravine to the south of Xorhas, removed from the troubles of the wastes. The erudite draconbloods of the ruling houses, marked by their intellect, jeweled tails, and ostentatious wealth, looked down from the floating chain of islands that formed their capitol while the droves of tailless slave dragonborn, known as ravenites, toiled away in the ravine below, gathering resources and serving their masters for generations. This structure collapsed around twenty years ago, when the Chroma Conclave, a union of ancient dragons, destroyed Draconia and left the city ruined in the ravine below.
When the Conclave was destroyed, the surviving dragonborn ravenites outnumbered their previous masters, who were bereft of their former privilege and power. In the uprising that followed, many draconbloods were executed for their crimes, and others fled to the empire for asylum. Thus freed from their shackles, the ravenites built a new society adjacent to the ruins of the old nation of Draconia.
The past two decades have seen the rise of a new society, known as the Scars of Scale and Tooth, and it is wracked by the growing pains inherent to the dawn of a new nation. The Scars' leadership is tenuous, as many seek to claim the prestige of leading their people, and disagreements have led to bloodshed between the newfound councilors. This has made the building of the new city of Xarzith Kitril slow and fraught. Some heroic figures are seeking to establish a better direction for the ravenites, while others fled to the empire to seek better fortunes away from the infighting in their homeland. The war between the Kryn and the Empire has closed the border pass into Western Wynandir, so the ravenites must find a way to coexist and thrive before the strife of warfare engulfs them.
Public Agenda
The conflicting goals of the Scars' leaders have placed their nascent settlement in peril. Every would-be ruler wants something different for their people and has sufficient support within their faction to cause the streets of Xarzith Kitril to run red with ravenite blood, if they so desired.
Some amid the Kitrilians are outraged over news that a massive number of ravenite and draconblood refugees have been relocated to a shantytown called Talonstadt. Not only is the treatment of their kin unfair and inhumane, but this makeshift settlement practically straddles the Dwendalian Empire's eastern border, and they fear that Talonstadt will soon become the first casualty of a Kryn invasion.
Meanwhile, the monstrosities of the Xhorhasian wastes can sense the power vacuum left in the wake of Draconia's fall. Xarzith Kitril has no formal military, just a loose militia of hunters and trappers. This leaderless force is stretched to its limits, and more hunters are lost every day to opportunistic monsters. Outside aid is urgently required, but the squabbling councilors of Xarzith Kitril can't agree on whose aid they should request.
Foreign Relations
Rumors of the Dwendalian Empire mistreating dragonborn ravenites have bred a heavy distaste for King Dwendal and his nation. The empire has recently sent emissaries to request an alliance against the dynasty, but Kryn diplomats have also arrived in Xarzith Kitril, seeking friendship and offering to aid the dragonborn in their efforts to rebuild. The Scars have heatedly debated which power they should side with—or if they can afford to aid either.
Ships from the Clovis Concord have docked on Kitrilian shores in recent years, eager to resume trade with the dragonborn people. In particular, Nicodranas has welcomed the emerging nation, and a few emissaries from Marquis Zhafe Uludan currently reside within Xarzith Kitril to keep an eye on the developing city-state and to aid to whatever limited extent they can.
