Dragon Empire

Many in Tyria whisper legends and tales of the Dragon Empire, which is found on the farthest western coast of the vast landmass that is home to their continent. It is said these lands were once a realm of humans ruled over by a horned empress, said to have been granted magical power and wisdom by the lord of the dragon spirits. Whenever the land was in crisis, the soul would be reborn to guide the land’s people to prosperity.

A cycle emerged, as every incarnation would bring about prosperity, only for the land to fall once more into decline after they passed, requiring the soul to be reborn once more. The last of this line turned to drastic measures, seeking a path to immortality shortly after being crowned Emperor. To attain this, he betrayed the spirits of the land and drained their essence into a potion; as he did, his human form changed to a clay shell, and he emerged with a new draconic body.

Using his newfound powers, he flew into the sky, opened a Voidgate and passed through it. As he did, a terrible storm came upon the land, transforming his people. Those who shared his blood were partially transformed, their faces twisting to resemble dragons, and their skin replaced with scales. Most, however, simply became one with the terracotta, unbending in both mind and body.

His newly changed people flocked to the capital for guidance but found none. Instead, they found his last edict: a note which declared his people unworthy of him and said that he had chosen to leave them. The now-draconic nobles mourned his loss and decided that they would leave his throne vacant until they could once more prove themselves worthy of him.

Though over a century has now passed since the disappearance of the Dragon Emperor with no sign of his return, the Dragonkin strive to rule over their land as it was before their transformation. Terracotta peasants walk through the streets, carrying out what duties that they once had in life as their rulers strive to maintain the order and beauty that once reigned over their land, without the aid of the Emperor or spirits they once lived alongside. Yet with each passing year, new cracks begin to form in the clay bodies of the labourers, the Emperor’s throne grows colder, and memories of their lost golden age pass farther into memory.

How will you prove yourself worthy of the lost Dragon Emperor?

History

Whispers of Legend

It is said that in the time before humanity, the lands of the Dragon Empire were inhabited by strange creatures and spirits who lived in harmony. These spirits were aligned into thirteen tribes, corresponding to the animals of the land; the most powerful of them were the Dragon spirits, but they also included Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig, and Cat spirits.

The Coming of Humanity

The arrival of humans threw the land into disarray, as they settled among the riverlands, and spirits competed for influence among them, driving both humans and nature into chaos. Floods, typhoons, storms, and other disasters plagued the land.

The Emperor’s Harmony

The mightiest Dragon Spirit chose a wise human and made a pact with her, investing a part of its essence to make the woman’s soul immortal, though her body would still age. She taught her people to live in harmony with the spirits, and those who embraced her teachings made her their ruler, naming her the Dragon Empress. Upon her death, she swore she would be reborn whenever her people had need of her.

The Cycle of Collapse

So it was for millennia; whenever the land was beset by disaster, whether by the hands of spirits or mortals, the people of the Empire would search for the latest reincarnation of the empress, seeking a child born with horns. Each new incarnation had only clouded memories of any past lives but held immense wisdom and magical power. Each incarnation would find chaos where they had left order and spend many years righting what had gone wrong in their absence.

Seeking Immortality

At last, in the wake of the floods brought on by the Rift, an Emperor came who was determined to break the cycle through the creation of an elixir of immortality. He hunted down the most powerful spirits from each of the tribes and extracted their essence into a cauldron. The disappearance of these spirits brought many disasters, but he never wavered.

The Transformation

The Emperor drank from the cauldron, and his body began to change; his skin hardened into terracotta. Then, his clay body cracked and fractured, and the Emperor emerged from his old body like a bird from an egg, rapidly growing into a dragon. Upon turning into a dragon, the Emperor flew into the sky, opening a Voidgate with his power and disappearing into it. As he left, a terrible storm began to rage, raining down upon the entire kingdom. It is said this storm rained down with all of the fury of the spirits, and all those beneath its clouds were transformed as their Emperor had been. Yet none changed completely; most had their bodies turned to clay, turning their movements and thoughts rigid and slow. Others emerged, yet they did not take the form of dragon spirits but rather creatures in between human and dragon: draconic features but still humanoid in shape.

The Vacant Throne

These Dragonkin sought their Emperor but found only a final testament; it said he had always planned to leave them as they were unworthy of him. Many mourned, unsure of how to face this crisis without their emperor or the spirits of their people. The highest ranked among them agreed to set aside their differences to rule as a regency in the place of their lost leader and guide. This desire to preserve the realm has ensured its unity for now, despite the lack of an overarching ruler.

An Empty Hope

While the Court of the Dragon Empire has preserved relative peace, others seek to go farther to prove their value and that of their people to their absent ruler. Some have undertaken great quests or campaigns, others have sought the secrets of the arcane and the spirits to entice his return, and others still have gone seeking him through the Planes.

Timeline

• 2925 BR - Humanity arrives
• 1678 BR - First Appearance of Dragon Empress
• 0 AR - The Great Floods
• 2 AR - The Last Emperor Appears
• 47 AR - The Ritual is Completed
• 68 AR - Creation of first Clay Constructs

Society

Once, the Dragon Empire teemed with life, filled with cities of a scale that rivalled any found in Tyria. Now, many of its former population carry out their ancient tasks with the same rigidity as the clay that now makes up their body. The Dragonkin preserve what they can of their lands and maintain the rituals of their ancestors, while the throne above them remains vacant. Yet, it has become a land that dreams not of the future but of a lost past.

This has been the way of the Dragon Empire for over a century, and the cracks only grow. The terracotta bodies of the Dragonkin’s servants are every bit as prone to splintering and shattering as regular clay. Over the century that has passed, many Clayfolk have lost limbs or even shattered completely, leaving only inert stone. 

Despite the edicts of their rulers, many farms and buildings have fallen into disrepair, with the Dragonkin themselves too few to maintain all of them, while the Clayfolk seem unaware of the world beyond their specific routine.

The Court of the Dragon Empire

The Dragon Emperor’s old court has been left vacant, its walls marking a boundary that none are allowed to cross, guarded by thousands of terracotta warriors embedded in the outer walls of the city. Instead, the Dragon Empire is presided over by a collection of noble houses who gather together in times of need but otherwise concern themselves primarily with presiding over their own domains. 

Their shared devotion to their Emperor unites the Court, but disagreements arise over how to express it. Some believe elaborate rituals or conquests may appease their absent liege, while others devote themselves to preserving the realm.

The Spirits of the Land

Once the spirits lived in harmony with the people, but these times are now a distant memory. Many have gone into hiding since the Dragon Emperor drained the essence of their leaders and are often considered something to be warded against or harnessed by learned scholars, unlike the benevolent allies and patrons they were once seen as. 

Still, many provinces retain symbols and rituals tracing to the spirits that once inhabited their region. The most powerful houses of the Court of the Dragon Emperor are those who were once allied with one of the thirteen spirit tribes, with two vacant seats, with the seat of the Dragon belonging to the Emperor himself and the seat of the Cat being left abandoned since its holder sided against the Emperor.

Blood of the Emperor

Almost every incarnation of the Emperor would leave a family behind, who would act as his heirs once he died. Those descended from more recent Emperors held positions of high power, gradually replacing those descended from older incarnations. Over the two millennia since the first Emperess, many in the Empire were able to claim some descent from him.

A common theory among Dragonkin is that those who possessed the blood of the Emperor received a draconic form, while those who lacked it were left in bodies of terracotta.

Clayfolk

The majority of the Dragon Empire found themselves not transformed into draconic hybrids but instead saw their bodies forever turned into clay. Initially after the transformation, many were slow-moving and silent but still clearly possessed some memory of their lives before. Now many of these originals carry out the tasks that they once would have done in life, changing their routine only when ordered by Dragonkin. 

Yet the terracotta making up their bodies is vulnerable to weathering and damage, and some have deteriorated to the point where they are no longer mobile, seemingly existing in a dormant state.

The Dragonkin have found a method to create new animated terracotta statues, though it remains highly secret. Some claim they bind spirits to their creations, while others say that they simply recycle the souls of existing statues. These statues are largely indistinguishable from those transformed by the ritual, save that those that have been newly created will remain motionless until given a command. 

The Terracotta Wall

Over the millennia of the Empire’s existence, several scattered border walls were constructed to ward against threats such as the Ogres and later Shadowstalkers. Since the disappearance of the Dragon Emperor, the most ambitious project undertaken by his court has been the expansion and consolidation of this wall to protect their land against future disaster. 

An army of Clayfolk has been assigned to work tirelessly on repairing, maintaining, and expanding the fortification. Those that show signs of wear or damage during this process are made into part of the wall, inlaid into alcoves where they rest as statues until an invader is seen, when they will emerge to fight them. Hundreds of thousands of Clayfolk now watch motionlessly over the boundaries of the Empire, ready to fight any who dare march against their homelands.

The Dragonkin protect the wall as well, both from guard towers dotted along the vast fortification and from above in a massive network of floating lanterns. When they see the Clayfolk stir from the wall to fight an intruder, they are responsible for sending the word back so that the full might of the Dragon Empire might be brought against any invaders.

The Rift‍

The Rift in Tyria caused tremors as far as the Dragon Empire, particularly the phenomenon known as the White Water Floods, where vast tracts of farmland were swallowed by flooding, leaving only white foam behind. Many blamed the spirits for these disasters, causing them to readily side with their Emperor when he began to capture these spirits for his ritual. Now, some believe the Rift is ultimately responsible for the Emperor abandoning them and travelling to Tyria to investigate its cause and seek revenge. 

Language

The language of the Dragon Empire traces its origins to the first peoples to settle the lands and commune with the spirits. The dialect spoken by the Dragon Tribe would influence the others significantly, as it traditionally served as the seat of power for the Emperor. Little has changed with the language over the last century, however, due to the extended lifespan of the Dragonkin and Clayfolk.

The Dragon Empire has a relatively small number of surnames; most of these are associated primarily with the noble houses of various tribes. These are worn proudly by the Dragonkin who bear them, while most Clayfolk are referred to only by their first name, though exceptions exist.

Examples

[Yih] [Winmei] - [Family Name] [Personal Name]

Male Names

• Ouling Naitang
• Iunyei Sootue
• Aing Datchui

Female Names

• Yih Winmei
• Souc Uiyue
• Tai Hauhei

Note that characters are usually referred to by their personal name (in italics).

Trivia

Proverbs

• A good child heeds the words of their parent when they are told; an excellent child seeks to emulate them even once they are gone.
• Study the edicts and preserve the rituals, and you will know a just life.
• Follow a life of simple habits and you will want for nothing; this is the wisdom of the Clayfolk.
• A faithful child can soften the heart of a strict parent; a loyal subject can earn the love of a distant lord.
• One must temper the fire in their own heart in order to learn to better mould those who come after.
• Even in his absence, the Emperor rules all under the heavens.

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