Dragon Empire
Each clan of the Dragon Empire commands at least as many seasoned soldiers as we have here in the entire Zone. The Emperor's forces are the equivalent of two clans spread over the sub-continent. If the Emperor regains his sanity or is ever replaced, the Empire could quickly take over the known world.
They say every inch of the Dragon Isle is covered with trained fighters, millions of 'em! It's not just the Emperor keeping them in check though! They really don't believe that anything besides their island is real. They're more concerned with the status and power of their own clans and fighting over the lands they know. They could care less about us or our "fake" lands.
The Dragon Empire has continuously ruled the sub continent of Darastrix Tolgalen for countless millenia. The dragons were the First Children of the gods and given dominion of the world in the early mists of the Age of Gods. The Empire lasted through the Age of Monsters and the mortal races believed it had ended when it disappeared under the Red Dome of Heaven.
Then on the Day of Dispelling the island reappeared off the coast of Krosia, returned to reality after being trapped in a pocket dimension for 100,000 subjective years. The island was populated by dragon rulers and their scaly followers: dragonborn, kobolds, lizardfolk, yuan-ti, bullywugs, kenku, and other non-mammalian races. To survive the millenia trapped on a small continent with limited resources, Emperor Harmonic Horizon had to make some hard choices.
Over the millenia, the Empire has determined that the island can support 1,000 true dragons. If a true dragon dies, an egg in the Dragon Hatchery is allowed to hatch and the wyrmling is raised by the Empire. Eggs that have been in the Hatchery too long are not wasted, they become "true" dragonborn.
The Darastrix Order
The Darastrix Order refers to the right of dragons to rule over everything they can perceive based on their innate powers. The Order defines the heirarchy of dragons based on their power.
The Emperor
The Emperor rules in the name of the Five-Headed Mother and serves as her Avatar in the Truth. He has been the Emperor for more than 100,000 years and official orthodoxy is that he is the only Emperor that ever was or that ever will be. There is no reality except for what he wills. The Dragon Isle and everything on it are the personal property of the Emperor. Others are given stewardship of his property and manage it in his name. He can take it back whnever he wants, for whatever reason he wants.
The Emperor is mad, holding the Empire together through his own overwhelming power and force of will.
The Inquisitors of the Red Dome of Heaven
To help him administrate and enforce his will, the Emperor relies on the Red Shogun and the Inquisitors of the Red Dome of Heaven. These direct followers of the Emperor hold no lands or other titles and work to maintain the Truth and the Fallacy of the Empire.
Most of the Inquisitors are true followers who continue to believe every single one of Harmonic Horizon's increasingly mad pronouncements. Some of them, including perhaps the Red Shogun himself, make what they can of a bad situation. They enrich themselves with "contraband" from beyond the Boundary Markers and wait until such time as the Emperor's time is over.
The Provinces and the Prefectures
The Island is divided into eight regions each ruled by a dragon of appropriate age, an ancient wyrm. These Princes of the Empire rule the prefectures, sub divisions of their regions in their as they see fit. Many of them encourage the clans of scalyfolk living on their lands to battle amongst each other. They then choose the victors of these internecine wars to become their personal servants and lead the rest. Becoming the leading clan of your prefecture and region is extremely prestigious, leading to great wealth and power.
The Clans
There are many major and minor clans squabbling amongst each other for the approval of their dragon masters. These tribes of the scaled (lizardfolk, yuan-ti, tortles, kobolds, troglodytes), and the unscaled (bulllywugs, grippli/grung, kenku, kuo-toa, locathah, sahuagin) make up the vast majority of the island's population.
Major Clans
The Major Clans of the Empire are currently: Alligator, Tapejara, Tyrannosaurus, Allosaurus, Raptor, Quetzalcoatulus, Dilophosaurus, and Triceratops.
Minor Clans
The Minor Clans of the Empire are: Tortoise, Crow, Snake, Sauropod, Spinosaurus, Therizinosaurus, Ankylosaurus.
The Primacy of Scales
The Emperor has instituted a strict caste system on the scaled sophonts of the Dragon Isle called The Primacy of Scales. Dragons and their closest relatives, the scaled, stand at the top of the Primacy. Next come the unscaled, amphibious and bird-folk, while mammals are at the bottom, just higher than food animals. Most mammalian sophonts suffer under the doctrine of "Mammals are Meat." The only widespread mammalian sophonts are the nezumi rat-folk.
There is only the Truth.
Maps
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Darastrix Tolgalen
The mythical Island of Dragons reappeared after the Day of Dispelling. Inhabited by reptilian sophonts and a new race: the Dragonborn. The island is surrounded by a magical boundary that protects the mysteries of the lost Dragon Empire.
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