10.1. Religion and Culture
[Note: This decribes only the world as the *Humans* see it. Dragons have
no time for the silliness of powerstructures and political jurisdiction.]
There are two political units in the DragonLands: The Landbound Nation
and the Warren Nation. Unlike most nations, there are not hard-and-fast
political boundaries to divide the two. The DragonLands is riddled with
patches of land that belong to one nation or the other. The people of the
Warren Nation are all Humans joined to Dragons and all unjoined Humans who
live with them and support them; the territory of the Warren nation is the
land the Warren sits on. The people of the Landbound Nation are the
people from the cities and villages scattered over the DragonLands; the
majority of land belongs by default to the Landbound. The two nations
have two distinct rulers: the Landbound look to the King; the Warrenfolk
look to the DragonLady. A crime committed by a Landbounder on Warren soil
constitutes an international incident, and vice versa.
Culturally, the two nations are as different from each other as night
and day. The differences in their lifestyles have led the two cultures to
almost opposing positions. By the necessity of their partnership with
Dragons, the people of the Warren Nation are sexually and socially
permissive. The Landbound Nation can be equated with a pre-Industrial
Revolution monarchical Europe. As a consequence, each views the other
with a certain amount of suspicion and resentment. Warrenfolk are viewed
by Landbounders as perverted and amoral. Landbound are viewed by
Warrenfolk as rigid and petty. In the Warren "landbound" is an
all-purpose insult synonymous with "repressed" or "backward".
There are four or five major religions in the DragonLands and several
minor ones. Followers have become so scattered and fragmented that holy
wars, ethnic clensing, and political persecution of religion is virtually
impossible, so there is startling freedom of religion in even the most
oppressed corners of the Landbound Nation. This doesn't mean that some
faiths don't face social popularity or persecution.
A few religons of The DragonLands are:
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10.2. The Guilds
Most Marketable skills are organized into Guilds. Guilds can be focused
on a Craft, such as the Guild of Clothworkers (Carzuani's Guild); a
service, such as the Guild of Healers; or simply the pure skill itself,
such as the Guild of Swords. These Guilds are semi-autnomous under the
rule of the Landbound King. They are in charge of recruitment, training,
and most forms of discipline for their members. In exchange, Guild
members must live by Guild rules or face expulsion.
Internal structure varies greatly from Guild to Guild. Nearly all have
a single city in the DragonLands that is the headquarters for Guild
activity, plus smaller chapters in most cities. Some have chapters in
Warrens. All have some means of ranking Guildmembers. 'Master' is the
commonly accepted title for someone who has reached a high level of
distinction in a Guild. Most Masters take the title as a surname.
Examples: Cyrano Mastersinger, Ames Blademaster. Guild-based surnames are
*not* passed on to children and are frequently not shared by spouses.
Most Guilds require some form of tithe from their members to support
internal structure and action/lobying on the Guild's behalf. Guilds have
no official political power in the Landbound political structure, but they
can have a significant amount of influence on nobles and the King. This
clout varies from Guild to Guild, usually based on how valuable the
Guild's craft or service is considered. The Guild of Swords has a
significant amount of power. The Guild of Assassins officially has NO
power, since no one would want to publicly support its activities (no one
knows how much influence it has behind the scenes). Interestingly, the
most powerful Guild in the DragonLands is the Guild of Bards. Rumor has
it that the Master of the Bard's Guild has collected enough blackmail
information on the powerful figures in the DragonLands that no one dares
oppose him.
Guilds that have been created in the DragonLands:
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10.3. Regions of the DragonLands
There are currently 3 known regions of the DragonLands, each with its own
unique geography and history. Each region has a certain amount of Warrens
and their Domains-- the regions of Landbound territory they are
sworn to protect. [More information will be provided as the Admin has
time to write it down.]
10.3.1 DragonLands Proper
When our story opened, this region was the sum total of the known world
to the people of the DragonLands. It is a roughly circular region of
land surrounded by mountainous "wastes", very dangerous distorted places
where the unique magic of the DragonLands overlaps with the magic of the
neighboring lands. Since Dragons can only live within the magic of the
DragonLands and overland exploration was so hazardous, very little was
known of the outside world.
Within the DragonLands Proper, there are the 7 "original" Warrens and
Domains. The DragonLady resides in the Warren most centrally located in
that region, Keldarra. The capital city of the Landbound Nation,
Ralengarde, is located in Keldarra Domain.
Warrens and Domains of the Dragonlands proper:
See Unit Homepages for more information.
Keldarra Warren and Keldarra Domain
Norwall Warren and Norwall Domain
Daere Warren
and Daere Domain
Whiteriver Warren
and Whiteriver Domain
Marrid Warren and Marrid Domain -- Non-roleplaying Warren
Marrid has been closed due to a shift in the magic (which created Cleft Warren, see Nomadlands). The dragons and their riders transferred to other warrens.
Telnor Warren and Telnor Domain -- Non-roleplaying Warren
Telnor was partially destroyed when a falt line running under the warren cracked, causing massive earthquakes and volcano erruption. Few dragons and riders remain, most having transferred to other warrens.
Falagand Warren -- Non-roleplaying Warren
Falagand Warren lies in the Southeast corner of the DragonLands, cut
into a series of mountains practically in the Wastes themselves. Its
entire domain was part of the Empire of Feldrik the Conqueror, and thus it
has had more than its share of tricky political maneuvering. This kind
of appeasing of the rigid and violent emperor has warped the culture of
Falagand to some extent. It tends to combine the negative aspects of
both Warren and Landbound cultures.
In recent history, Rhina, the former WarrenLady, became a
pawn to her mate Roland (who held no offical power at Falagand). Roland
became obsessed with male power, and began driving all females out of high
positions at the Warren. Some of those females were driven away from
Falagand altogether. When the other Warrens became aware of this, Roland
and Rhina were called to the floor of the Council of Warrens, found guilty,
and sentenced. Roland was banished. Rhina, unable to cope with leaving
the Warren or living without Roland, committed suicide. Roland has sworn
revenge and is still at large.
- Warrenlady: B'nair, Queen- Teraichen (metallic red)
Strong-minded, bitter woman in her early thirties who has grabbed
on to her new power as Warrenlady with both hands.
- Junior Queenrider: T'Lar, Queen- Quanti (russet-gold)
Timid, shy creature barely 16. VERY recently joined (within the
last few months).
Falagand Domain:
Feldrik teamed up with Roland and a band of regade dragonriders from
Falagand after Roland was banished. In the Summer of the year 2998, they
orchestrated an attack on Ralengarde to seize power of the Landbound
Nation by wiping out the seat of government and the Almaren royal family.
The attempt just barely failed, leading to the fall and capture of
Feldrik. His direct influence has been removed, but his legacy lives on
as his empire tries to reintegrate itself into the Landbound Nation.
- Misty Valley: "Capital" of Feldrik's Empire
- Feldrik, age 57
- Maralee Rochefort, age 42, former housekeepr of Misty Valley Manor,
current slave (and sometimes concubine) of Feldrik
- Oakenhold: Northest of Falagand Warren
- Location of a branch of the Bardic Collegiate
- Bedin, Master Bard: Father of A'rillia
- Tegra: Town Healer, Mother of A'rillia
- K'Chain: Traveling Bard
- The Order of the White Hand: Underground organization attempting to
overthrow Feldrik's rule.
- "The Captain", legendary leader of the Order of the White Hand
10.3.2 The NomadLands
Fluctuations in the magic of the DragonLands led this area to become
unexpectedly blanketed by the magic of the land. That made it subject to
wraith attacks. In an attempt to protect the strange people of the
"Southlands" from annihilation, a new Warren was formed.
Cleft Warren
Nomadlands Culture Supplements:
10.3.3 The Lost DragonLands
One time in the distant past, the volatile magic of the Dragonlands
receded, pooling into 2 separate regions which eventually became unknown
to one another. Each formed their own structure, with a Landbound King
and a Warrenfolk DragonLady. Early in the year 2999, a bridge of magic
linked these two lands together again. This was the "Great Discovery".
The two lands haven't quite learned to work with each other yet.
Geode Warren
Xylian Warren
Jasra Warren
Ismene Warren
NOTE: only Jasra warren is open for role-playing.
10.3.4 Independent of Domain
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10.4. Rogue Dragonriders
These are dragonriders who have fallen from grace in the Warren system
somehow, who have sworn to destroy the Warrenfolk. They are the greatest
fear of Warren society (and some pretty dastardly villians).
- Rixx Highsun, Dragon- Jade (green): Deceased. A one-time combat legend
of Norwall Warren. When wraith attacks ceased 20 years ago, he fell
into drunken decline and eventually became clinically paranoid. Seven
years ago, he kidnapped his 11-year-old son Shard and disappeared into
the wilderness, poisoning many of the Norwall Dragons to avoid pursuit.
Norwall has never completely recovered from this loss. Rixx died in the
wilderness, but his betrayal is still felt strongly at Norwall.
- Malk Bromitz, Dragon- Yenal (black): Somehow, a Warren castoff who
somehow has made an alliance with the wraiths (formerly believed to be
incapable of thought). He has become completely insane, and
has sworn to destroy all Warrens. He has a terrifying wraith army to
back him up. Yenal has retained is sanity and is in constant conflict
with the rider he is joined to and once loved.
- Roland, Dragon- Talthalar (maroon): Deceased. Formerly the male-power obsessed mate of Rhina, WarrenLady of Falangand. After he was banished as punishment for his abuse of Rhina and Falagand, he swore revenge on Keldarra (and specifically Christalla and Evelle) for his fate and Rhina's death. Rumor has it that he was consorting with Feldrik the Conqueror.
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Dining hall - because of the communal nature of warren society, riders and warrenfolk usually eat at a central dining hall within the warren (though some may choose to keep their own supplies and do their own cooking in their quarters). There are no prescribed mealtimes due to the dictates of rider patrol schedules, though most of the warrenfolk tend to eat at the usual breakfast, lunch, and dinnertimes. (Some dragonfolk do keep their own supplies, usually for special occassions, and some apartments have facilities for cold storage and cooking.) The dining hall also generally functions as a meeting hall.
The Green - A large, flat expanse of open ground where dragons can take off and land. A warren's green is found at the base of the warren cliffside dwellings. The green is large enough to accommodate an entire wing of dragons for takeoffs and landings.
Hatching cavern - Usually the largest interior space at a warren, this is where the queens lay their eggs and where hatchings and joinings occur. The hatching cavern has a sandy floor, which the queens use to partially cover the eggs; the queens keep the eggs warm by heating the sands with their fiery breaths. To the side of this main area are tiers of bleacher-type seats, which are hewed into the stone, where the Warrenfolk sit to observe the hatchings. The hatching cavern is ground-accessible and located adjacent to the warren offices.
Hatchling barracks - temporary housing for the newly-joined and their dragons. When the dragons are capable of flight, they are expected to find an apartment, since a fully-grown dragon will not fit into the hatchling barracks.
Medical center - basically a hospital for treating sick or wounded riders and other warrenfolk. A med center is headed by the master healer, supported by a staff of subordinate healers, nurses, and orderlies. The med centert is located as far as possible from the living areas of a warren, to slow the spread of disease. Wounded dragons are tended by dragonhealers, whose skills are distinct from those of human healers because of the vastly different physical characteristics of humans and dragons. Ismene has both human healers and dragonhealers. Sick or wounded dragons are treated in a large cavern near the med center, since the size of these creatures makes it impossible for them to enter human-scale buildings.
Searchling barracks - temporary housing for new searchlings to stay between the time they are searched and the next hatching. If they do not join, searchlings may continue to live at the barracks pending the next hatching. Eventually, though, searchlings who do not join would be expected to find a job and an apartment at the warren, or return to the Landbound Nation.
Shops and crafthalls - Most warrens have a variety of goods and services available from merchants and craftsmen who make their homes in the warren. These range from metal and leather goods to food items, wines, clothing, or jewelry..in short, every type of good or service that a town or village's business district would provide. While the warren provides all basic needs to its riders, the merchants and craftsmen provide the luxury items. Barter is the usual means of exchange in the warrens.
Warren offices - Each queenrider and wingleader, has his or her own office from which to conduct business. These are located together, near the queenrider apartments and dining hall, and are ground-accessible.
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