A cruel empire shrouded in mystery...

An island buried in vengeance...

A culture scattered

like ash across the waters...

RACES

Dragonborn:

The Justly Persecuted

The highest good is reputation
The most powerful person is the one who has no limits
The most sacred life is the legacy
The most sacred duty is the realization of ambition
The most wicked evil is weakness
The most heinous crime is cowardice

a word of caution...

Little is known - and even less willfully remembered - about the Dragonborn. They are a cursed race credited with inciting the Seafolk Massacres.

When their island was dragged into the ocean, none pitied them. Today, the rising city-state of Sahr'Bárabor is all that remains of this once proud race, but the violent cruelty their old culture is seared into Amaura's memory for all time.

overview

Dragonborn culture was dominated by the protection of legacy: for color and clan. Life on the steppes of their island of volcanic rock trained the Dragonborn to adopt ferocity and resilience to survive. Upon that firm foundation, they built a culture that eventually blossomed into an empire as beautiful and terrifying as the fire itself.

Dragonborn children bear the coloration of their parents, making marriage outside one's clan evident in one's offspring. A muddied coloration is a sign of intermingling. Unnatural colors, a signal of divine affliction. The punishment for either case was exile to the treacherous crags and canyons of outer Isle Pyros.

Cities

Rhastis'th: the City of the Shining River

It is sadly difficult to separate the idea of Fire from images of chaos and destruction. Yet there was a time when Isle Pyros smoldered in the dark not as a symbol of desolation but as a beacon of light to remind Amaura of the beauty that can be wrought by fire. The river valleys of the island, plump with fertile volcanic soil, were a bastion of unimaginable natural splendor that rivaled the pristine island of Ëidine.

During the height of the Infernal Dynasties, the city of Rhasti'th (so named for the River Rhastiste [light - river] by which it was built) was home to the red dragonborn. Their clan remained most strongly connected to the Ancient Magic of their dragon ancestors and were the stewards of natural life on Isle Pyros.

Syoris'th

Snaking through the jagged sea cliffs that defend Isle Pyros was the city of Syoris'th. This unique city spanned the entire perimeter of the island, running through the miles of canyon at the islands outer edges. It is said that the green dragonborn of Syoris'th were guardians of the Wings of their ancestors. Their swift, lithe bodies made them excellent candidates for moving quickly through the tunnels and ravines of the Khra'Khazakh (Ancient Teeth): the jagged spires of rock that guarded the coast.

Ghrava Astis'th

The city of white dragonborn stood as the cultural center of the Dragonborn clans - a guardian of the Divine Wisdom of the ancestors. Since it was the White Dragons who are mythically credited with instigating the sacrifice to restore the life of Isle Pyros after the Hundred-Years War, it was an unspoken truth that the white dragonborn were without reproach, and often were called upon to provide judgment and justice between other clans.

Vohlis'th

It was said that the dragonborn of Vohlis'th were once white, but living so close to the smoke and ash of the sacred volcano - Gal'Ordon - darkened their scales to the deep ebony that they are today. The city of Vohlis'th was quite young compared to its siblings. It was established first as a monastery by a collection of pious white dragonborn who singularly sought to regain the Breath of Fire. Believing that proximity to Gal-Ordon would grant them the solitude and atmosphere to find this enlightenment, the fabled band of hopefuls made their pilgrimage from Ghrava Astis'th to the sacred rim of the volcano and there spent the rest of their days in religious search of the power of their ancestors, even going so far as to rekindle the practice of ritual sacrifices to the Old Dragons.

Unto the day of the Drowning, they were never successful in reclaiming the art of fire-breathing, but the black dragonborn who survived in Sahr'Barabor remained the most well-versed in the spiritual heritage of the dragonborn race until the last of their kind, Ranokh the Sage, perished in Sahr'Bárabor in 1626.

History

The Ancestors

According to their mythic history, the dragonborn race are direct descendants of the Ancient Ones who molded the continents of Amaura at the beginning of the world.

The Ancient Ones were supposed to have dueled upon a watery planet for control over the cosmos, and in their clash of divine powers created the land masses that support Terra life today. With the creation of land, the dragons paused from their war to enjoy their creation, but peace did not sit well long with the restless dragons. They squabbled in small territorial skirmishes until a coalition of the three dragons - the Gold, the Silver, and the Bronze - took the noble duty of ruling their more savage brethren - the Red, Green, and White. These Guiding dragons established their throne upon a volcanic island that served as a symbol of their divine right to rule the lower dragons, and for a time, the Guiding dragons ruled the universe with order and stability.

But even in legend, nothing good can stand.

The lower dragons became weary and irritated with the pompous Guiding dragons. Rather than seek out thrones on other darkened planets, the three lower dragons gathered to overthrow the volcanic capital. Their terrifying battle raged for a hundred years until finally, the powerful Gold, Silver, and Bronze were overwhelmed by the frenzied might of their brethren. The White, Green, and Red slaughtered there brothers and seized the island and the world for themselves.

But what the victorious dragons did not realize was the terrible toll their coup would unleash upon Amaura. The Hundred-Year War had left the world in ashes, there was nothing left to rule over. It is believed that the white dragon was sister to the wise Silver dragon for it was she who finally determined what must be done. Sacrificing herself, the white dragons released her magic into the soil of the continents. Even the Red and the Green joined in this sacrifice. And as the dragons poured their life into the ground, the world was reborn. From their ashes on Isle Pyros, their emerged a new race - one not as magnificent or omnipotent as the dragons themselves but certainly more capable of stewarding the world. From the bones of the dragons came the Dragonborn.

"Ranguil the Conquerer" and the Infernal Dynasties

Before their deaths, the Red, White, and Green dragons squabbled and skirmished often, barely tolerating each other. When one would rise to power, the other two would briefly cooperate to restore balance than inevitably break apart again. This triangular power struggle continued in their children.

Throughout the first and second ages, the white, red, and green dragonborn clashed for control of Isle Pyrose until Ranguil Tymanchebar - a White from Ghrava Astis'th rose in a furious surge of power to dominate the continent. Tymanchebar did the unthinkable by forming the first multi-colored army that swept across the island, utilizing the three talents of the Dragonborn clans to overwhelm the pure-colored cities. in a matter of months, Tymanchebar had conquered the entire island and establish his dominion over Isle Pyros as its first Emperor, establishing the first of the Infernal Dynasties.

Tymanchebar became a legend among the Dragonborn races. Myths began to circulate that he had lost his parents at a young age, grew up in the crags and ravines of the island slaying monsters to stay alive, even rediscovering the Breath of Fire (this was never confirmed). Regardless, Tymanchebar became something of a god - the closest to the Ancient Ones that any Dragonborn had ever been in centuries.

"Valsis the Uniter" and the Death Champion

For a time, the emperor's throne passed exclusively to the descendants of the white Tymanchebar. This - of course - led to much unrest and rebellion from the Greens and Reds. However, Emperor Valsis shocked Isle Pyros when he chose not to pass his sovereignty to his weakling son, but instead opened the throne to a contest for power that would come to be known as Khel'Avara - the Death Champion. In this contest, the families of each clan would vote for a representative for their color to fight to the death against the other two champions, and the victor would be named the new Emperor.

The rise of the Khel'Avarga was readliy accepted by the Green and Red, while the White were disdainful of the new threat to their authority. In the end, their discomfort was well-placed, for it was Wyvile Khurhan, a ferocious Green who emerged as the Death Champion. However, as part of the new regime (stipulated by the final edicts of Emperor Valsis' rule) the emperor would be required to rule through a Gon'Ovolo - a "Council of Colors" made up of a red, green, and black who would advise the emperor on matters of environment, security, and spirituality respectively all while keeping the emperor mindful of the welfare of the Dragonborn from each clan at large.