|====================================================| Riawin. The once great empire of the south, laid low by civil war and incompetence. Doomed by a three hundred year old prophecy foretelling twenty years of strife, and the march of a draconic conqueror from the north.
Now, a shadow of its former glory.
Sylvia sighed and stopped her horse and train of Dominion guards in front of the Riawinan capital. Thinking back, she was taking in just how long it had been since she had visited this city. Once a citizen in childhood, now a newly minted foreign ambassador. She still felt embarrassment for Riawinan Amberlands failures, but not enough to overcome her resentment for this country and the empresses complete indifference over the north’s fate, so fixated on Cormyral as the empress was.
Still, none of that mattered anymore. Sylvia Pendagast was now an emissary and ambassador of those conquerors, representing the interests of the Dakarrans in the court of her former homeland. While she wore the ‘revealing’ attire and had her hair dyed purple as was often associated with the people of the Riawin plains, she made it clear she was not native. The golden headdress upon her head along with the gold ornaments on her shoulders and the large neckpiece… all decorated in wings and scales. Scars marked her hands (as they did her tongue), signifying her sworn allegiance to Dakan, as well as her office of emissary and ambassador of the Dominion.
She represented a new age for the west, the arrival of a new empire. Carrying with her sealed documents concerning future relations between the Dominion and Riawin (formerly empire… now ‘kingdom’), it her mission to seek an audience with Empress Serina Runewind and then set up a Dakarragordic diplomatic mission in the foreign quarters of the city. Sylvia waited for the Riawin guards to approach her… then…
“Salutations, I am Sylvia Pendagast of the Dakarragordic Dominion. I believe you should have in your possession documents concerning the arrival of our diplomatic mission?” She said while they looked at each other quickly.
“Well, here we are, and I must speak with either the Empress or one of her dignitaries as soon as is possible”.
Sylvia waited for the guards response.
Sylvia Pendagast, Ambassador of the Dominion to Riawin and Duchess-In-Waiting of Tost
(OOC Note: I didn’t just go ahead and enter the city because I had no idea what the city, people within or leaders actually look like or are, so I’ll let Volus describe that)
It shall be noted that @Sigma, @Goldeagle1221 and myself are currently at working creating an IC Post. I will also begin work on my own independent IC post and probably update my sheets military section later.
How is everyone going with their sheets and IC posts?
Absolute Despotism Historically the Dakarran mountain tribes decided on their tribal leaders and warlords based on whoever was the strongest and most brutal, ruling based on nothing but absolute despotism. The Dakarran people have always had a social darwinist, 'survival of the fittest' outlook to both life and rule, and it is only recently that the Dakarrans have begun to even understand the concept of legalistic rule. The current ruler, unifier and founder of the newly formed Dakarragordic Dominion rules similarly to this ancient tradition, being a totalistic despot, however he has further fused this rule of strength and brutality with a unique charisma and ambition previously unfounded amongst the Dakarran people.
All in all, the Dominion is a nation ruled by individual strength rather than legal authority. It is still up in the air if the current "Supreme Tyrant" (yes, they literally refer their leaders as Tyrants) can successfully embed the legalism found in their new conquests into their own nation. It should also be noted that the human lands conquered by the Dominion while ruled over by this same ‘might makes right’ Dakarran absolutism as the rest are far more used to feudalism, including serfdom and feudal obligations of king and the aristocracy. While the ‘king’ is now a draconic barbarian conqueror, the human nobles still try to maintain a pretence of legalism in the lands they have left.
Head of State: The Head-of-State is also the head of government and is a position of absolute power. The Supreme Tyrant (of all the Dakarrans) is a new title created 20 years ago when the dominion was founded. Its current holder is also its creator and founder of the Dominion, Vaemaradosth Dakan the Conqueror. This position of undeniable power derives its authority from Vaemaradosths strength, charisma and vision. The vast majority of Dakarrans respect Vaemaradosth to insane degrees, seeing him as a kind of messiah for their race.
Succession: Title succession is open, so the strongest takes all. Prestige and respect are big factors in deciding who will succeed someone, so a list of achievements is far more important than your blood. A weak child can easily lose their inheritance to a far more powerful warlord that isn't even related to them. During highly contended successions, the Dakarrans may perform what is known as the Kasson, a duel to the death using nothing but their claws, tail, teeth and natural bodily weapons (or weapons, if both combatants agree). Alongside this, there has been some recent Civilist attempts at creating a more legalistic platform of succession, including a moot-style election with final verdict by the Supreme Tyrant.
Taxation Policy: Before the conquests and formation of the Dominion 20 years ago, the Dakarrans had only very rudimentary taxation, typically in the form of members of a tribe providing the warlord a certain amount of food and labour as well as military service. Subjugated vassals would be forced to provide tributes. Today, the Dominion has begun adopting far more advanced taxation systems taken from the humans, so to better finance and manage their new empire.
1: Darash Mountains: The Darash's are a range of jagged, snow-peaked mountains cutting a small line through the world. The Darash Mountains have some of the world's highest peaks. Of the very little food that exists on the Darash mountains include the extremophile Tykirroot, which can survive both extreme heat and cold, and the Wooly Baan, a kind of mountain goat that the Dakarrans herd and eat. The capital city of the Dominion and the Darash Region is Dakan, a city-fortress built into a mountain, much of the city being subterranean. The city-fortress is built over what once was a large dragon lair. The single most important aspect of the Darash Mountains is the subterranean river Anka, this river flowing through what is considered an unnatural tunnel (believed formed by ancient spirits, dragon gods or even the canal-building ghosts of Sondoper) and connecting the western strait-sea with the central Sakabanatu Region, thus making it extremely important for trade from east to west (and vice versa). Sitting in a massive cavern alongside the Anka is the citadel-city of Draka, a prominent slave-trading and slave-breeding city of the Dominion.
2: Sujan Lowlands: This region of the Dominion was known as the Lower Amberlands by the Riawin humans that live there, but as the Sujans by the Dakarran conquerors that now hold it. The Sujans were settled by both humans and Dakarrans millennia ago, the latter however with the help of neighbouring kingdoms pushed the Dakkaran people out and into the Darash Mountains. The Sujan Lowlands have numerous formerly Riawin major cities and castles. The capital of the Sujan Lowlands is Amberantia, a human city that is considerably larger and more populated than the Dakarrans own Dakan as well as a centre for the Riawin Erosian faith.
3: Arandeep: A small area of heavy woods, this forested territory was where the Dakarran conquerors came through to conquer the Amberlands. Renown for its magical properties and abundance of herbal/alchemical ingredients. The capital of the region is the human city of Aranitia, a city that also houses the Dominions magical and alchemical expertise.
4: Hinterhills: Southern reach of the Darash Mountains, a lighter density of rocky hills, renowned for possessing a high number of defensive constructs that the Dakarrans have been building to separate the Sujan Lowlands from the southern empire. The area is plagued by harpies and other insurgents from the Riawin lands to the south, the area now turned into a bloody guerrilla war between the baby-snatching harpies and harpy-eating Dakarrans. Hinterhagst is a notable fortress built into the hills and considered the regional capital of the Hinterhills.
5: Upper Amberlands: The upper Amberlands was a region dominanted by the Kingdom of Amberland for which the region is named for. The Amberlanders were the humans that drove the Dakarrans into the mountains and enslaved them. They themselves would eventually be driven north by invasions and conquest from the Riawin Empire. The Amberlandish humans were constantly at the mercy of the Riawin Empire, forced to open themselves up to Erosian priestesses and banning slavery (though slavery was still used widely, just driven underground). The Amberlandish Kingdoms capital was the city of Ciclantine (after losing Amberantia to the Riawins), now a favorite slave market as well as a highly developed city that competes with Amberantia.
6: Lower Hyrkos: Conquered during the invasion of the Amberlands, the Dominion now controls an area that is culturally Hyrkosian. This region was a war-zone already when the Dominion invaded, as part of a war between the Kingdoms of Amberland and Hyrkos. The Dominion invasion was rapid but quickly disintegrated into a chaotic three-way fight at the Battle of Numon, eventually ending in Dominion victory. Numon acts as the capital of the region, though it is heavily damaged due to the siege and battle there.
7: Taroshlands: The southern most territory of the Dominion of Greater Dakarragord, conquered from the Yeonese rather than the Riawin Empire, Amberlanders or Hyrkos. Unlike further north, this area remains heavily contested between the Dominion and Yeon. The capital of the region is the former Yeonese city of Daecheon, now recently renamed to Vaemahagst after its recent conqueror, the Supreme Tyrant Vaemaradosth.
8: Sanjudown: The Sanjudown is a region of slightly less fertile plains compared to the Sujan, and is named after the Sanju river in the Sakabanatu Region. As the Sanjudown plains approach the Sanju river, the plains become increasingly dry and more Savannah-like. The Sanjudown region was mostly controlled by independent merchant city-states that either surrendered or were steamrolled by the Dominions armies. Today, the Sanjudown region is a major trade and slavery nexus for the Dominion, with its furthest most city of Ertzean being a former clay-fort and settling area for the Sakabanatu people, now used to send expeditions eastward towards the Empire of Mycae.
Climate: Most of the Dominion of Greater Dakarragord is highly fertile and what could be considered a 'breadbasket', filled will lush grasslands, forests, rivers and an overall temperate environment excellent for farming. The exception to this are the Darash Mountains, the actual homeland of the Dakarran people that rule the Dominion. The highly volcanic and cold mountains are barren of most vegetation and life. While the volcanic ash creates extremely effective fertiliser for the farmlands below, the mountains themselves are plagued by insufficient food, one of the primary reasons the Dakarran people eventually invaded the 'lowland kindoms' of the humans.
The Dominion has a number of species inhabiting it, the ruling species being the Dakarran people, large, biped draconians that are a derivative cousin of the Zi'an people. Dakarrans grow proportionally to their age and the amount they eat. This scale of growth does not stop, so some Dakarrans may be smaller than humans while others the size of ogres. Dakarran culture is traditionally barbaric and uncivilised, however after conquering numerous lands belonging to more civilised peoples, they have begun to adapt… slowly. Humanity is also present throughout the Dominion, mostly as former members of the countries the Dominion conquered between 20 years ago and today. The majority of the humans belong either to the former Amberlander or Riawin cultures. There is also a minority of various species that inhabit the former Riawin territory, particularly Harpies that continue to harass the Dominion’s troops.
Strengths:
Natural scales/armour: Obviously they have scales, so they have a second layer of armour that makes them additionally resistant to slashing and stabbing weapons, though it doesn't change resistance to physical trauma/shock weapons (maces, hammers, etc) or magic.
High physical growth potential: the Dakarran start off skinny and more lizard/snake like, however as they age and eat, they grow more saurian and as such go through a metamorphosis phase. Dakarrans on average (if not starved or living through famines) are often very large, around the size of warhammer orks (with a similar degree of variance) and can potentially just keep on growing to ogre/giant scale.
Wings: Some can grow wings. While the wings for a vast majority cannot actually be used to fly, , they can be used to glide, making said winged Dakarrans effective mountain fighters or when fighting with a height advantage. The Dakarans typically use eugenics/breeding programs to ensure that winged Dakarans are born among certain bloodlines.
Weaknesses:
High food requirements: Each Dakarran has a high maintenance requirement, particularly food, this mostly because of said growth potential demanding it, otherwise their growth stumps at 'lizard like'. This puts the Dakarrans in a situation where they constantly require high quantities of food and food production to successfully fight and grow an army. This may mean that Dakarran armies may take longer to replenish troops in areas away from food, and also means that the Dakarran economy and warmachine is highly dependent on their food resources, more so than other species.
Poor eyesight: The Dakarrans have lived such a long time in the subterranean tunnels and halls of the Darash Mountains that their eyes have become myopic considerably compared to the average human. This means they tend to possess inferior archers to humans.
Brightly coloured scales (poor stealth): Dakarran scales are similar to peacocks, intentionally designed to be exaggerated displays of bright colours to impress potential mates and scare off rivals. No longer animals but rather intelligent beings that wage war, this is pretty annoying when you are trying to keep an army hidden from sight.
Traditional Dakarran Culture: Dakarran traditional culture is brutal and primitive. For over 600 years until just 20 years ago, Dakarrans lived in many small tribes and warbands of a few hundred at most, centred around the largest, strongest and most ruthless Dakarran warlord of the group. Social Darwinism is deeply ingrained into Dakarran culture. The strong thrive and weak perish. The Spartan Way has been their code of life for centuries. Defective hatchlings are thrown off the side of the Darash Mountains or eaten by their siblings (particularly during famines).
Slavery: Slavery is considered socially acceptable by Dakarrans since their belief is those too weak to dominate others deserve to be dominated by their betters. It has been like since for centuries, though originally slavery was brought to the Dakarrans by the ancient humans, who enslaved many when the first Dakarran settlers were defeated and banished to the mountains. Dakarrans are particularly renowned for making use of slave-soldiers (Usually bought from other countries to reduce internal unrest) as well as Janissary soldiers, who while are not slaves are forcibly taken from their families (or kidnapped from foreigners).
Marriage Laws: Traditionally, the Dakarrans traditionally have no form of marriage, in fact the concept has only recently been introduced with the conquest of the human lands as of 20 years ago. Powerful Dakarrans are usually polygamists and collect mates as a measurement of prestige. The concept of political marriages is a new and useful concept, but also rejected by traditionalists.
Religion: Dakarrans are traditionally ancestor worshipers, worshiping the spirit-remnants of great heroes and conquerors of their race. There is also a faction within the traditionalists that continue to worship the pantheon of gods of their origins, gods such as Xochitl. While the Dakarrans have been separated from the Zi'an for centuries since they crossed the strait, a bastardised branch of the old faith of sacrifice still holds true in some areas. The traditional Dakarran religions have struggling these days against the far more organised human faiths, though ancestor worshipers are resorting to caeseropapist worship of the current Supreme Tyrant as a kind of messiah-conqueror to counteract this.
Names and Succession: Dakarrans don't take family names, instead their second name is simply their place of birth, usually being a city, tribe or mountain name. Dakarran children are supposed to achieve a certain level of respectability and glory before they can claim succession to anything. A weak Dakarran child can and will be challenged by a stronger or more respected rival for succession rights, even if they aren't even related to the actual owner.
Glory and Respect: Prestige is extremely important among the Dakarrans, since it determines who can claim authority and power over many things, including land and soldiers. Dakarrans are instinctively geared towards conforming to powerful individuals however their social darwinist views mean they will regularly challenge those considered weak or lacking in glory.
Spartan Way: Traditionally, Dakarrans are supposed to live austere and disciplined lives focused on war and glory, something that gives them a distinction from other barbarians who are far wilder and less organised. Dakarrans are trained and disciplined ruthlessly from a very young age. Weakness is punished severely and those that fail to catch up are left behind - or trodden on by those who are willing to do so. Traditionalists who emphasis this way of life as the epitome of glory reject the soft decadence of the human filth, seeing their civilisation as in fact inferior and weak.
The Kasson Duel: The traditionalists favorite manner of dealing with disputes. Usually used for contended successions, the Kasson is a duel to the death using natural weapons on the body (claws/teeth/etc) or if both contestants agree, weapons such as swords. The Kasson is a vital mechanism in the function of the traditionalists state, as it acts as a pressure valve that reduces rebellions and civil wars from the Dakarran leadership, since those that fail to contest titles die in the Kasson, thus leaving only the victor.
Traditionalists vs Civilists: There is an ongoing culture war between Traditionalist Dakarrans who put emphasis in the above values and the old Dakarran ways, against the Civilists, who put emphasis in adapting to the civilisation of their new empire and overall embracing human values as a way of maintaining the integrity of the nation.
Human&New Culture: Much of the Dominion is in fact populated by the conquered human peoples, many of whom originate from Riawin. Riawins culture is particularly strong in the former Amberlands. While crushed militarily by the Dakarran invaders, the Riawins have surprisingly excelled in peace, not only enduring but growing throughout the Dominion. This growth is mostly caused by the power vacuum caused by the Dakarran barbarians taking over a vast region of land without having a deep enough understanding of advanced civilisation to run it, thus many of them being forced to learn and convert towards Riawin methods to maintain it.
Religion: The humans have a number of faiths, however the most prominent is the Erosian faith of the fallen Riawin Empire of the south. While the Dakarrans initially attempted to stamp out the highly sexualised fertility religion, they eventually relegalised it as an effective means of 'bread and circus' as well as to stop human rebellions, thus allowing them to control and distract the humans. This backfired horribly however, as the religion is now spreading among their own people to the incredulous dismay of traditionalists who emphasize strict austerity and self-control. This spread is mostly occurring simultaneously as the Dominion adopts more of the humans technological and societal norms, and since the Dominion requires a more organised government and society to survive, this side-effect will likely continue to grow. (For more information on how this religion works, see Volus' nationsheet)
Slavery: The humans of the Dominion are generally anti-slavery due to the influence of the Riawin faith, however historically the pre-Riawin Amberlanders enslaved the Dakarrans during the invasions that pushed them into the mountains. Since their overlords are pro-slavery, this position is meaningless. Many humans were enslaved during the initial invasion. Furthermore, the Dominion makes use of slave-soldiers, though these slave-soldiers are usually acquired from outside the country.
Marriage Laws: The humans of the Dominion are blatantly polygamist due to the influence of the Riawin faith. Succession is often skewered due to the high degree of adultery and such relationships, forcing either the Riawin priestesses to dictate who takes titles or the Dakarran state intervenes and decides for them.
Erosian Priestesses:
Child hostages: Of the human nobility who still hold their titles and land after the invasion of the Dakarrans, many have their heirs taken as hostages and held in the Dakarran cities, particulary Dakan. Besides acting as a political deterrent against rebellion, these child-hostages are also brought up among the Dakarrans and so are more aligned with their new overlords than their own families. To keep this strategy functional, the child hostages are not abused and treated humanely (for Dakarran standards), though they are often placed through the same system of spartan austerity and discipline as Dakarran hatchlings. Some of these child hostages as well as other human children taken to the capital are trained to become Dominion Janissaries, elite human soldiers that are intended to be a new model for a loyal human army.
Scar Markings: A very new concept for humanity as it was designed and forced upon them by their Dakarran masters. Any human that joins the Dominions new government, army (with certain exceptions), or continues ruling in the human regional governments must be 'scarred', that is have a Dakarran claw tear the office and allegiance of the human into their skin. This practice is mostly used to ensure the humans loyalty, as it makes defecting or disappearing more difficult, since other humans will recognise them as servants of the Dominion. Interestingly, some of the more pro-Dakarran humans (Such as the Janissaries) take on the mark as if it is a kind of oath and turn it into a ritualistic ceremony. The Dakarrans have decided to run with the idea and allow the humans to turn it into a ritual if they want.
Strategy: The Dominion's military has experienced many battles now due to nearly 20 years of constant war. In those wars, a majority of the engagements have been offensive ones, so the Dominion troops have gotten used to the idea of attacking. The Dominion leadership is highly experimental and fast to adopt new practices and otherwise be adaptive, as they try hard to not get rooted down into 'one strategy', else their next enemy they fight may easily prepare and counter them (fighting so many different enemies, one after the other, forces you to be experimental).
That said, the Dominion is infamous for its use of polearms and heavy shock-infantry (maces, flails, etc) and other anti-armour weapons, while at the same time as generally putting less emphasis on archers due to the Dakarran peoples poorer than average eyesight. The Dominions army is also very well known for its copying of other nations techniques and weapons, including adopting Riawin knights (Human Janisarries and Drakaknights).
Human Spear Levy: Humans levied from across the Dominion by their human feudal lords as part of their obligations to their Dakarran overlords. The human levies have helmets and usually cheap armour, leather, studded leather and chainmail at best (for the more wealthy levies, such as from cities). The levies are armed with spears, glaives and shields. They are expected to hold positions while Dakarran troops deal the actual damage.
Traditionalist Skirmisher Warband: Traditional warbands are typically populated by Dakarrans that are naked (besides their natural scaled armour) and wielding either javelins, light spears, slings, axes and most often shield and sword. These warbands while considered inferior stoke to the more prestigious Dakarran elite, they are still savage and experienced fighters compared to levied human peasants. They are not above using their teeth/mouths and some even enjoy entering battle with nothing but a shield and their own claws. Despite their appearance and weapons, they make effective anti-cavalry units, as they are trained to hide behind spear formations during an enemy cavalry charge, then rapidly rush at and dismount (even pounce onto) enemy cavalry when they are engaged or trying to disengage.
Civilist Crossbow-Warband: Dakarrans usually avoid ranged weapons due to being considered both cowardly and due to their poor far-distance eyesight/myopia. That said, the reforms and advancements brought by conquering human lands has given Dakarrans access to far easier to use ranged weapons, such as the crossbow. Needing far less training and much easier to use and aim with, the crossbow is a great weapon for poor archers. These Dakarran crossbowmen are usually low-class 'failures' and weaklings given the crossbows during important sieges and defensive battles where there are no human archer alternatives. The crossbows are usually fired into large groups of enemy infantry to increase chances of hitting, and furthermore the crossbow bolts are smeared in poisons imported fro Zi'an so that even scratches are lethal.
Human Archer Levy: Much like the spear levy, these archers are usually peasants levied by human lords (those usually taken from woodlands where huntsmen may have more experience with bows) and armed with light armour and bows. Dakarrans due to their poor eyesight do not put much emphasis on ranged weapons outside of cheap easy to use or splash damage weapons (crossbows and siege engines), however with humans it becomes easier. Besides bows, these archers are given stakes that they can place in the ground as an anti-cavalry deterrent. In some battles, these stakes are important enough that placing them is their main purpose rather than firing arrows.
Human Sergeant-Infantry: These are trained human soldiers, many of them also being exceptionally experienced due to the Dragon Wars of the last 20 years. The Supreme Tyrant has applied his 'many threads' philosophy concerning these human soldiers; this philosophy in action included fusing his former enemy, Riawin soldiers into his army to invade the Amberlands (a hated Riawin enemy), then using the Amberlands to invade the southern Hyrkos (A hated Amberlandish enemy), then using all three to invade the Yeon (A mutual outsider). These actions created both a highly experienced fighting force, but also acted as a team-building exercise, uniting former enemies against common threats. Many of these soldiers wear chainmail, studded leather, scale-mail or partial-plate and are armed with polearms or pikes.
Traditionalist Core Warband: The bulk of a traditional Dakarran army, that is before the rise of Vaemaradosth and the incorporation of human regimented soldiers into the army. These Dakarran warriors are the ideal Dakarran, a hulking, saurian dragon-like biped rather than their flimsy lizard inferiors. Despite their size... they are also fast. This alone makes them incredibly dangerous, as it allows them to use their enormous cleaving and crushing weapons (Claymores, morning-stars, maces, flails and so on) to defeat heavily armoured opponents even when wearing very little armour themselves. Some of these core warband warriors are more modernised, taking on some civilist concepts such as using some pieces of armour or using proper shields.
Civilist Drakaknights: An imitation of humanity, the Dakarrans have adopted the knightly appearance and tactics of Riawin and Amberlands elite noble soldiers. Wearing plate-mail and possessing large shields and long swords or maces, these Dakarran soldiers are slower but heavily armoured as well as possessing organisational discipline and patience not found with their faster and more savage brothers among the traditionalists. Civilist Drakaknights also ride armoured raptors into battle, so also play the role of heavy cavalry for the Dominion.
Human Janissary-Knights: Janissary-Knights are the children of human lords and aristocrats of the former kingdom of Amberlands, Riawin Amberland or Northern Yeon taken to Dakan to be collectively reared and taught to be first loyal human subjects of the new Dominion, and then as elite soldiers and guards. Of particularly note is the tendency of Dakan to fuse this practice with child-hostage tactics, essentially turning human lords heirs into loyal pseudo-Dakarran knights. While armed in plate mail, given shields and swords as well as lances while mounted... the Janissary-Knights main strength is their fanaticism and indoctrinated discipline, including freakish willingness to die when ordered.
Now the undisputed supreme leader and founder of the Dominion of Greater Dakarragord, Vaemaradosth begun as a nobody, hatched in a deep tunnel hovel to a single mother with no standing. This did nothing but stop his inevitable, bloody and swift rise to power. While strong, he was not the strongest. While ruthless, he is the not the most brutal. While charismatic... this was not what brought him inevitable victory. It was the visions.
Visions of the distant past, visions of lands far away... and visions of the future. Guided by a messianic understanding of visions of the future, Vaemaradosth rose to power 20 years ago, unifying the never before unified Dakarran clans of the Darash Mountains. Built on the promise of salvation from an endless hell in the Darash Mountains and a manifest destiny to conquer the world, the armies of the Dakarrans rode out behind Vaemaradosth. From there, he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
Now known as the Supreme Tyrant, Warlord, Overlord or to the humans, "Emperor" (after crushing to former Riawin Empire in the north). In the last 20 years, no other single individual has caused so many wars in such a short period of time. The Dominion of the Dakarragord has consumed whole kingdoms of the west. Yet, Vaemaradosth now is no longer concerned with mere conquest, but also on coming to better understand and control the very concepts of fate and destiny themselves. Obsessed with prophecy and a messiah complex based around his visions, he will do anything to bring further clarity to these snippets of future events.
Vaemaradosth is capable of a considerable amount of magic. His most powerful abilities are tied with his precognitive abilities. Vaemaradosth has limited power over actual prophecy (only gaining such 'inevitable' visions rarely and usually in ways that don't particularly aid him), however has great power over 'causal precognition', or the ability to see future events based on the current actions taken. So long as events or actions do not change significantly from the current course at the time, his visions will come true.
Among Vaemaradosth's other powers are based around the standard Dakarran magical techniques, including enchantment of weapons and armour, magical reinforcement of his skin to resist elements or magic, mental protection against mental strikes and finally magic-draining and siphoning attacks. overall, he is proficient at killing other magic users particularly.
“Askor shall suffer through two decades of war before the East brings an even greater conflict.”
Dakarrans once lived across the grasslands of the Amberlands, known to them as the Sujan. Their ancestors came to the Sujan by boat millennia ago, crossing the strait from the jungles of Miquiztli with their cousins, the Zi'an. Their presence in the Sujan lasted for centuries until seven hundred years ago, when they were finally driven out by the humans of Amberland and later Riawin. The human invasions gradually pushed the Dakarrans into the Darash Mountains, cut from the strait from which they first arrived from. For the next 680 years, the Dakarrans resided in the mountains, surrounded by the Kingdom of Amberland and the vast human empire of Riawin, both blockading them from access to the sea or fertile soil.
The Dakarran did their best to adapt to such inhospitable living conditions, but their physiological requirements being as they were, the mountains were harsh for them. The Dakarrans would suffer cyclic famines and Malthusian catastrophes, cullings of their own population. Their only means of trade was the river Anka, considered a holy river due to its miraculous formation through the subterranean tunnels moving through the mountains. While Anka gave them trade, it also made them a target, and the Dakarrans would repeatedly fight off invasions from Riawin and the Amberlanders who tried to take control of the vital trade river. Because of this the Dakarrans came to deeply resent the humans, often launching attacks on them (usually after Anka invasion attempts) but always driven away in turn, too fractured into petty tribes to ever take a foothold in the Sujan lowlands.
This was until 20 years ago. It was then, a fateful moment arrived… the greatest opportunity the Dakarrans have ever witnessed. The Riawin Empire was fractured by strife and civil war, just as the greatest Dakarran to ever live finally took power, uniting all the Dakarran warlords under a single banner. Vaemaradosth Dakan declared himself the Supreme Tyrant of all the Dakarrans, and with incomparable charisma and ambition among the Dakarrans declared a great campaign to conquer the human lands of the world. This 20-year conflict is now known as the Vaemaran Wars (or Dragon Wars to outsiders). Part revenge for centuries of misery, part desire to take control of the fertile farmlands of the lowlands (just as signs of another famine was appearing), and part hunger for glory… The Dakarrans marched out and conquered a string of nations; beginning with the lowlands from the Riawin Empire; then marched north to conquer their arch-tormentors the Kingdom of Amberland; They further scattered the armies of Riawin that dared stop them in the Hinterhills... and they did not stop there. Like a tide, they overwhelmed the Yeon, slaying their king in battle and conquering what is now the Taroshlands; they marched north, conquering part of Hyrkos. They then finally marched eastward to take control of the slave road to the east.
Now, this unified army of barbarians and hillsmen rules over a vast empire of many races and gleaming cities, cities that they still did not know properly how to manage. For the first time in seven hundred years, they had control of a port to the ocean. The Dakarrans today must balance between learning how to rule a civilised land they do not understand and continuing the conquests foreseen in the Supreme Tyrants visions of a glorious future for the Dakarran people... all the time somehow coping with the changes to their culture and society as the human culture and norms gradually take over from within.
Sisuranth is a relatively young adult Dakarran that has spent much of his life exploring or otherwise living among the humans. Hatched shortly before Vaemaradosth Dakan unified the clans and begun the Vaemaran Wars, Sisuranth was hatched and raised in the fledgling trade-city of Ertzean, then ruled by human merchants monopolising the trade route between east and west. His parents were exiles, his father being a failed claimant to a clans rulership that (somehow) successfully faked his death in a Kasson Duel... and his mother one of the victors harem that was bribed (with pretty gems) to join his father in exile. Sisuranth as such grew up to be a cunning trickster of a bastard, inheriting much of his fathers sly tricks and flighty lifestyle and using it to great effect as a travelling merchant and adventurer, seeking to find distant lands to trade exotic goods back and forth between them and his homeland (or other clients) while making himself filthy rich in the process.
Absolute Despotism Historically the Dakarran mountain tribes decided on their tribal leaders and warlords based on whoever was the strongest and most brutal, ruling based on nothing but absolute despotism. The Dakarran people have always had a social darwinist, 'survival of the fittest' outlook to both life and rule, and it is only recently that the Dakarrans have begun to even understand the concept of legalistic rule. The current ruler, unifier and founder of the newly formed Dakarragordic Dominion rules similarly to this ancient tradition, being a totalistic despot, however he has further fused this rule of strength and brutality with a unique charisma and ambition previously unfounded amongst the Dakarran people.
All in all, the Dominion is a nation ruled by individual strength rather than legal authority. It is still up in the air if the current "Supreme Tyrant" (yes, they literally refer their leaders as Tyrants) can successfully embed the legalism found in their new conquests into their own nation. It should also be noted that the human lands conquered by the Dominion while ruled over by this same ‘might makes right’ Dakarran absolutism as the rest are far more used to feudalism, including serfdom and feudal obligations of king and the aristocracy. While the ‘king’ is now a draconic barbarian conqueror, the human nobles still try to maintain a pretence of legalism in the lands they have left.
Head of State: The Head-of-State is also the head of government and is a position of absolute power. The Supreme Tyrant (of all the Dakarrans) is a new title created 20 years ago when the dominion was founded. Its current holder is also its creator and founder of the Dominion, Vaemaradosth Dakan the Conqueror. This position of undeniable power derives its authority from Vaemaradosths strength, charisma and vision. The vast majority of Dakarrans respect Vaemaradosth to insane degrees, seeing him as a kind of messiah for their race.
Succession: Title succession is open, so the strongest takes all. Prestige and respect are big factors in deciding who will succeed someone, so a list of achievements is far more important than your blood. A weak child can easily lose their inheritance to a far more powerful warlord that isn't even related to them. During highly contended successions, the Dakarrans may perform what is known as the Kasson, a duel to the death using nothing but their claws, tail, teeth and natural bodily weapons (or weapons, if both combatants agree). Alongside this, there has been some recent Civilist attempts at creating a more legalistic platform of succession, including a moot-style election with final verdict by the Supreme Tyrant.
Taxation Policy: Before the conquests and formation of the Dominion 20 years ago, the Dakarrans had only very rudimentary taxation, typically in the form of members of a tribe providing the warlord a certain amount of food and labour as well as military service. Subjugated vassals would be forced to provide tributes. Today, the Dominion has begun adopting far more advanced taxation systems taken from the humans, so to better finance and manage their new empire.
1: Darash Mountains: The Darash's are a range of jagged, snow-peaked mountains cutting a small line through the world. The Darash Mountains have some of the world's highest peaks. Of the very little food that exists on the Darash mountains include the extremophile Tykirroot, which can survive both extreme heat and cold, and the Wooly Baan, a kind of mountain goat that the Dakarrans herd and eat. The capital city of the Dominion and the Darash Region is Dakan, a city-fortress built into a mountain, much of the city being subterranean. The city-fortress is built over what once was a large dragon lair. The single most important aspect of the Darash Mountains is the subterranean river Anka, this river flowing through what is considered an unnatural tunnel (believed formed by ancient spirits, dragon gods or even the canal-building ghosts of Sondoper) and connecting the western strait-sea with the central Sakabanatu Region, thus making it extremely important for trade from east to west (and vice versa). Sitting in a massive cavern alongside the Anka is the citadel-city of Draka, a prominent slave-trading and slave-breeding city of the Dominion.
2: Sujan Lowlands: This region of the Dominion was known as the Lower Amberlands by the Riawin humans that live there, but as the Sujans by the Dakarran conquerors that now hold it. The Sujans were settled by both humans and Dakarrans millennia ago, the latter however with the help of neighbouring kingdoms pushed the Dakkaran people out and into the Darash Mountains. The Sujan Lowlands have numerous formerly Riawin major cities and castles. The capital of the Sujan Lowlands is Amberantia, a human city that is considerably larger and more populated than the Dakarrans own Dakan as well as a centre for the Riawin Erosian faith.
3: Arandeep: A small area of heavy woods, this forested territory was where the Dakarran conquerors came through to conquer the Amberlands. Renown for its magical properties and abundance of herbal/alchemical ingredients. The capital of the region is the human city of Aranitia, a city that also houses the Dominions magical and alchemical expertise.
4: Hinterhills: Southern reach of the Darash Mountains, a lighter density of rocky hills, renowned for possessing a high number of defensive constructs that the Dakarrans have been building to separate the Sujan Lowlands from the southern empire. The area is plagued by harpies and other insurgents from the Riawin lands to the south, the area now turned into a bloody guerrilla war between the baby-snatching harpies and harpy-eating Dakarrans. Hinterhagst is a notable fortress built into the hills and considered the regional capital of the Hinterhills.
5: Upper Amberlands: The upper Amberlands was a region dominanted by the Kingdom of Amberland for which the region is named for. The Amberlanders were the humans that drove the Dakarrans into the mountains and enslaved them. They themselves would eventually be driven north by invasions and conquest from the Riawin Empire. The Amberlandish humans were constantly at the mercy of the Riawin Empire, forced to open themselves up to Erosian priestesses and banning slavery (though slavery was still used widely, just driven underground). The Amberlandish Kingdoms capital was the city of Ciclantine (after losing Amberantia to the Riawins), now a favorite slave market as well as a highly developed city that competes with Amberantia.
6: Lower Hyrkos: Conquered during the invasion of the Amberlands, the Dominion now controls an area that is culturally Hyrkosian. This region was a war-zone already when the Dominion invaded, as part of a war between the Kingdoms of Amberland and Hyrkos. The Dominion invasion was rapid but quickly disintegrated into a chaotic three-way fight at the Battle of Numon, eventually ending in Dominion victory. Numon acts as the capital of the region, though it is heavily damaged due to the siege and battle there.
7: Taroshlands: The southern most territory of the Dominion of Greater Dakarragord, conquered from the Yeonese rather than the Riawin Empire, Amberlanders or Hyrkos. Unlike further north, this area remains heavily contested between the Dominion and Yeon. The capital of the region is the former Yeonese city of Daecheon, now recently renamed to Vaemahagst after its recent conqueror, the Supreme Tyrant Vaemaradosth.
8: Sanjudown: The Sanjudown is a region of slightly less fertile plains compared to the Sujan, and is named after the Sanju river in the Sakabanatu Region. As the Sanjudown plains approach the Sanju river, the plains become increasingly dry and more Savannah-like. The Sanjudown region was mostly controlled by independent merchant city-states that either surrendered or were steamrolled by the Dominions armies. Today, the Sanjudown region is a major trade and slavery nexus for the Dominion, with its furthest most city of Ertzean being a former clay-fort and settling area for the Sakabanatu people, now used to send expeditions eastward towards the Empire of Mycae.
Climate: Most of the Dominion of Greater Dakarragord is highly fertile and what could be considered a 'breadbasket', filled will lush grasslands, forests, rivers and an overall temperate environment excellent for farming. The exception to this are the Darash Mountains, the actual homeland of the Dakarran people that rule the Dominion. The highly volcanic and cold mountains are barren of most vegetation and life. While the volcanic ash creates extremely effective fertiliser for the farmlands below, the mountains themselves are plagued by insufficient food, one of the primary reasons the Dakarran people eventually invaded the 'lowland kindoms' of the humans.
The Dominion has a number of species inhabiting it, the ruling species being the Dakarran people, large, biped draconians that are a derivative cousin of the Zi'an people. Dakarrans grow proportionally to the amount they eat and this scale of growth does not stop, so some Dakarrans may be smaller than humans while others the size of ogres. Dakarrans culturally are barbaric and uncivilised, however after conquering numerous lands belonging to more civilised peoples, they have begun to adapt… slowly. Humanity is also present throughout the Dominion, mostly as former members of the countries the Dominion conquered between 20 years ago and today. The majority of the humans belong either to the former Amberlander or Riawin cultures. There is also a minority of various species that inhabit the former Riawin territory, particularly Harpies that continue to harass the Dominion’s troops.
Strengths:
Natural scales/armour: Obviously they have scales, so they have a second layer of armour that makes them additionally resistant to slashing and stabbing weapons, though it doesn't change resistance to physical trauma/shock weapons (maces, hammers, etc) or magic.
High physical growth potential: the Dakarran start off skinny and more lizard/snake like, however as they age and eat, they grow more saurian and as such go through a metamorphosis phase. Dakarrans on average (if not starved or living through famines) are often very large, around the size of warhammer orks (with a similar degree of variance) and can potentially just keep on growing to ogre/giant scale.
Wings: Some can grow wings. While the wings for a vast majority cannot actually be used to fly, , they can be used to glide, making said winged Dakarrans effective mountain fighters or when fighting with a height advantage. The Dakarans typically use eugenics/breeding programs to ensure that winged Dakarans are born among certain bloodlines.
Weaknesses:
High food requirements: Each Dakarran has a high maintenance requirement, particularly food, this mostly because of said growth potential demanding it, otherwise their growth stumps at 'lizard like'. This puts the Dakarrans in a situation where they constantly require high quantities of food and food production to successfully fight and grow an army. This may mean that Dakarran armies may take longer to replenish troops in areas away from food, and also means that the Dakarran economy and warmachine is highly dependent on their food resources, more so than other species.
Poor eyesight: The Dakarrans have lived such a long time in the subterranean tunnels and halls of the Darash Mountains that their eyes have become myopic considerably compared to the average human. This means they tend to possess inferior archers to humans.
Brightly coloured scales (poor stealth): Dakarran scales are similar to peacocks, intentionally designed to be exaggerated displays of bright colours to impress potential mates and scare off rivals. No longer animals but rather intelligent beings that wage war, this is pretty annoying when you are trying to keep an army hidden from sight.
Traditional Dakarran Culture: Dakarran traditional culture is brutal and primitive. For over 600 years until just 20 years ago, Dakarrans lived in many small tribes and warbands of a few hundred at most, centred around the largest, strongest and most ruthless Dakarran warlord of the group. Social Darwinism is deeply ingrained into Dakarran culture. The strong thrive and weak perish. The Spartan Way has been their code of life for centuries. Defective hatchlings are thrown off the side of the Darash Mountains or eaten by their siblings (particularly during famines).
Slavery: Slavery is considered socially acceptable by Dakarrans since their belief is those too weak to dominate others deserve to be dominated by their betters. It has been like since for centuries, though originally slavery was brought to the Dakarrans by the ancient humans, who enslaved many when the first Dakarran settlers were defeated and banished to the mountains. Dakarrans are particularly renowned for making use of slave-soldiers (Usually bought from other countries to reduce internal unrest) as well as Janissary soldiers, who while are not slaves are forcibly taken from their families (or kidnapped from foreigners).
Marriage Laws: Traditionally, the Dakarrans traditionally have no form of marriage, in fact the concept has only recently been introduced with the conquest of the human lands as of 20 years ago. Powerful Dakarrans are usually polygamists and collect mates as a measurement of prestige. The concept of political marriages is a new and useful concept, but also rejected by traditionalists.
Religion: Dakarrans are traditionally ancestor worshipers, worshiping the spirit-remnants of great heroes and conquerors of their race. There is also a faction within the traditionalists that continue to worship the pantheon of gods of their origins, gods such as Xochitl. While the Dakarrans have been separated from the Zi'an for centuries since they crossed the strait, a bastardised branch of the old faith of sacrifice still holds true in some areas. The traditional Dakarran religions have struggling these days against the far more organised human faiths, though ancestor worshipers are resorting to caeseropapist worship of the current Supreme Tyrant as a kind of messiah-conqueror to counteract this.
Names and Succession: Dakarrans don't take family names, instead their second name is simply their place of birth, usually being a city, tribe or mountain name. Dakarran children are supposed to achieve a certain level of respectability and glory before they can claim succession to anything. A weak Dakarran child can and will be challenged by a stronger or more respected rival for succession rights, even if they aren't even related to the actual owner.
Glory and Respect: Prestige is extremely important among the Dakarrans, since it determines who can claim authority and power over many things, including land and soldiers. Dakarrans are instinctively geared towards conforming to powerful individuals however their social darwinist views mean they will regularly challenge those considered weak or lacking in glory.
Spartan Way: Traditionally, Dakarrans are supposed to live austere and disciplined lives focused on war and glory, something that gives them a distinction from other barbarians who are far wilder and less organised. Dakarrans are trained and disciplined ruthlessly from a very young age. Weakness is punished severely and those that fail to catch up are left behind - or trodden on by those who are willing to do so. Traditionalists who emphasis this way of life as the epitome of glory reject the soft decadence of the human filth, seeing their civilisation as in fact inferior and weak.
The Kasson Duel: The traditionalists favorite manner of dealing with disputes. Usually used for contended successions, the Kasson is a duel to the death using natural weapons on the body (claws/teeth/etc) or if both contestants agree, weapons such as swords. The Kasson is a vital mechanism in the function of the traditionalists state, as it acts as a pressure valve that reduces rebellions and civil wars from the Dakarran leadership, since those that fail to contest titles die in the Kasson, thus leaving only the victor.
Traditionalists vs Civilists: There is an ongoing culture war between Traditionalist Dakarrans who put emphasis in the above values and the old Dakarran ways, against the Civilists, who put emphasis in adapting to the civilisation of their new empire and overall embracing human values as a way of maintaining the integrity of the nation.
Human&New Culture: Much of the Dominion is in fact populated by the conquered human peoples, many of whom originate from Riawin. Riawins culture is particularly strong in the former Amberlands. While crushed militarily by the Dakarran invaders, the Riawins have surprisingly excelled in peace, not only enduring but growing throughout the Dominion. This growth is mostly caused by the power vacuum caused by the Dakarran barbarians taking over a vast region of land without having a deep enough understanding of advanced civilisation to run it, thus many of them being forced to learn and convert towards Riawin methods to maintain it.
Religion: The humans have a number of faiths, however the most prominent is the Erosian faith of the fallen Riawin Empire of the south. While the Dakarrans initially attempted to stamp out the highly sexualised fertility religion, they eventually relegalised it as an effective means of 'bread and circus' as well as to stop human rebellions, thus allowing them to control and distract the humans. This backfired horribly however, as the religion is now spreading among their own people to the incredulous dismay of traditionalists who emphasize strict austerity and self-control. This spread is mostly occurring simultaneously as the Dominion adopts more of the humans technological and societal norms, and since the Dominion requires a more organised government and society to survive, this side-effect will likely continue to grow. (For more information on how this religion works, see Volus' nationsheet)
Slavery: The humans of the Dominion are generally anti-slavery due to the influence of the Riawin faith, however historically the pre-Riawin Amberlanders enslaved the Dakarrans during the invasions that pushed them into the mountains. Since their overlords are pro-slavery, this position is meaningless. Many humans were enslaved during the initial invasion. Furthermore, the Dominion makes use of slave-soldiers, though these slave-soldiers are usually acquired from outside the country.
Marriage Laws: The humans of the Dominion are blatantly polygamist due to the influence of the Riawin faith. Succession is often skewered due to the high degree of adultery and such relationships, forcing either the Riawin priestesses to dictate who takes titles or the Dakarran state intervenes and decides for them.
Erosian Priestesses:
Child hostages: Of the human nobility who still hold their titles and land after the invasion of the Dakarrans, many have their heirs taken as hostages and held in the Dakarran cities, particulary Dakan. Besides acting as a political deterrent against rebellion, these child-hostages are also brought up among the Dakarrans and so are more aligned with their new overlords than their own families. To keep this strategy functional, the child hostages are not abused and treated humanely (for Dakarran standards), though they are often placed through the same system of spartan austerity and discipline as Dakarran hatchlings. Some of these child hostages as well as other human children taken to the capital are trained to become Dominion Janissaries, elite human soldiers that are intended to be a new model for a loyal human army.
Human Spear Levy: Humans levied from across the Dominion by their human feudal lords as part of their obligations to their Dakarran overlords. The human levies have helmets and usually cheap armour, leather, studded leather and chainmail at best (for the more wealthy levies, such as from cities). The levies are armed with spears, glaives and shields. They are expected to hold positions while Dakarran troops deal the actual damage.
Traditionalist Dakarran Warband: Traditional warbands are typically populated by Dakarrans that are naked (besides their natural scaled armour) and wielding either javelins, light spears, slings, axes and most often shield and sword. These warbands while considered inferior stoke to the more prestigious Dakarran elite, they are still savage and experienced fighters compared to levied human peasants. They are not above using their teeth/mouths and some even enjoy entering battle with nothing but a shield and their own claws. Despite their appearance and weapons, they make effective anti-cavalry units, as they are trained to hide behind spear formations during an enemy cavalry charge, then rapidly rush at and dismount (even pounce onto) enemy cavalry when they are engaged or trying to disengage.
Civilist Dakarran Crossbow-Warband: Dakarrans usually avoid ranged weapons due to being considered both cowardly and due to their poor far-distance eyesight/myopia. That said, the reforms and advancements brought by conquering human lands has given Dakarrans access to far easier to use ranged weapons, such as the crossbow. Needing far less training and much easier to use and aim with, the crossbow is a great weapon for poor archers. These Dakarran crossbowmen are usually low-class 'failures' and weaklings given the crossbows during important sieges and defensive battles where there are no human archer alternatives. The crossbows are usually fired into large groups of enemy infantry to increase chances of hitting, and furthermore the crossbow bolts are smeared in poisons imported fro Zi'an so that even scratches are lethal.
Human Archer Levy: Much like the spear levy, these archers are usually peasants levied by human lords (those usually taken from woodlands where huntsmen may have more experience with bows) and armed with light armour and bows. Dakarrans due to their poor eyesight do not put much emphasis on ranged weapons outside of cheap easy to use or splash damage weapons (crossbows and siege engines), however with humans it becomes easier. Besides bows, these archers are given stakes that they can place in the ground as an anti-cavalry deterrent. In some battles, these stakes are important enough that placing them is their main purpose rather than firing arrows.
Human Sergeant-Infantry: These are trained human soldiers, many of them also being exceptionally experienced due to the Dragon Wars of the last 20 years. The Supreme Tyrant has applied his 'many threads' philosophy concerning these human soldiers; this philosophy in action included fusing his former enemy, Riawin soldiers into his army to invade the Amberlands (a hated Riawin enemy), then using the Amberlands to invade the southern Hyrkos (A hated Amberlandish enemy), then using all three to invade the Yeon (A mutual outsider). These actions created both a highly experienced fighting force, but also acted as a team-building exercise, uniting former enemies against common threats. Many of these soldiers wear chainmail, studded leather, scale-mail or partial-plate and are armed with polearms or pikes.
“Askor shall suffer through two decades of war before the East brings an even greater conflict.”
Dakarrans once lived across the grasslands of the Amberlands, known to them as the Sujan. Their ancestors came to the Sujan by boat millennia ago, crossing the strait from the jungles of Miquiztli with their cousins, the Zi'an. Their presence in the Sujan lasted for centuries until seven hundred years ago, when they were finally driven out by the humans of Amberland and later Riawin. The human invasions gradually pushed the Dakarrans into the Darash Mountains, cut from the strait from which they first arrived from. For the next 680 years, the Dakarrans resided in the mountains, surrounded by the Kingdom of Amberland and the vast human empire of Riawin, both blockading them from access to the sea or fertile soil.
The Dakarran did their best to adapt to such inhospitable living conditions, but their physiological requirements being as they were, the mountains were harsh for them. The Dakarrans would suffer cyclic famines and Malthusian catastrophes, cullings of their own population. Their only means of trade was the river Anka, considered a holy river due to its miraculous formation through the subterranean tunnels moving through the mountains. While Anka gave them trade, it also made them a target, and the Dakarrans would repeatedly fight off invasions from Riawin and the Amberlanders who tried to take control of the vital trade river. Because of this the Dakarrans came to deeply resent the humans, often launching attacks on them (usually after Anka invasion attempts) but always driven away in turn, too fractured into petty tribes to ever take a foothold in the Sujan lowlands.
This was until 20 years ago. It was then, a fateful moment arrived… the greatest opportunity the Dakarrans have ever witnessed. The Riawin Empire was fractured by strife and civil war, just as the greatest Dakarran to ever live finally took power, uniting all the Dakarran warlords under a single banner. Vaemaradosth Dakan declared himself the Supreme Tyrant of all the Dakarrans, and with incomparable charisma and ambition among the Dakarrans declared a great campaign to conquer the human lands of the world. This 20-year conflict is now known as the Vaemaran Wars (or Dragon Wars to outsiders). Part revenge for centuries of misery, part desire to take control of the fertile farmlands of the lowlands (just as signs of another famine was appearing), and part hunger for glory… The Dakarrans marched out and conquered a string of nations; beginning with the lowlands from the Riawin Empire; then marched north to conquer their arch-tormentors the Kingdom of Amberland; They further scattered the armies of Riawin that dared stop them in the Hinterhills... and they did not stop there. Like a tide, they overwhelmed the Yeon, slaying their king in battle and conquering what is now the Taroshlands; they marched north, conquering part of Hyrkos. They then finally marched eastward to take control of the slave road to the east.
Now, this unified army of barbarians and hillsmen rules over a vast empire of many races and gleaming cities, cities that they still did not know properly how to manage. For the first time in seven hundred years, they had control of a port to the ocean. The Dakarrans today must balance between learning how to rule a civilised land they do not understand and continuing the conquests foreseen in the Supreme Tyrants visions of a glorious future for the Dakarran people... all the time somehow coping with the changes to their culture and society as the human culture and norms gradually take over from within.
I'm just waiting on Volus, but my sheet is pretty much done. I guess I can post it now (if people are alright reading about details that don't exist yet, like Volus' peoples culture)
Your options: #1: Become a vassal (I suggest to reds Not!Rome or pinks Mary Sue!Military state) #2: Play as the northern maroon island at the extreme north (it isn't actually claimed as the guy playing it is now Teal) #3: Play as the burned out wasteland on that island next to white in the south-west, though I am not sure if that location is plot relevant or not.
My nationsheet is making good progress, about as done as the others in the completed section. Darkspleen has looked over it and approved of it so far, though I will not be posting it yet as it depends on Volus' nationsheet, so I will wait until Volus (Blue) posts.
Right, I have a plan to make them balanced (That is to say, have legitimate weaknesses). I will send you a PM concerning my ideas so you can give advise/critic it.
