The Draconic Theocracies (Various City States)

The Draconic Theocracies (Various City States)

 

Home Nations/Region:

A northern nation that calls the barren tundra home, the City States pop up around the numerous hot springs that assist in making the climate hospitable.

Life span:

Lizardfolk live approximately 100 years and are able to breed from the time they hatch. Their breeding season happens only once a year for the three days that Nilisar is in conjunction with Toketos. During that time, the normally docile people grow incredibly fierce and the lizardmen compete in ritualized combat to prove their worth to the kobolds and earn a mate for the season.

Physical Appearance:

The lizardfolk are reptilian as their name implies and have short, non-prehensile tails and pebbled, often colorful, skin. Dragon motifs are popular in their clothing and accessories and many go so far is to layer their clothing in such a manner as to give them the appearance of having wings folded across their body. The female members, called kobolds, are especially fond of armor. The dimorphism between the sexes is extreme to the point that the lizardmen and kobolds are often mistaken as separate species. The kobolds are built short with thick, powerful arms and legs. The lizardmen stand at least half again as tall as the kobolds but with narrow torsos and slender appendages.

 

Those who are Awaiting often wear metallic colors, mock scales, and make-up and enhance the features granted to them by Nilrissa's kiss. Despite the cold climate, the internal body temperature of the lizardfolk runs high enough that it does not negatively affect them and their clothing is light and flowing.

 

Once the Awaiting has finally achieved godhood, their form is remade. Dragon Kings are colossal, towering over trees and cities, and rumble with power even when still. Mountains quake when they walk, and seas boil with their anger. It's easy to see why the Lizardfolk worship these forces of nature, just as other nations worship mountains or storms.

Origin:

Eons ago, the hero Nilrissa gathered the reptilian people from the southern swamps and led them north to fight the Black Bloods, those tainted by a Source Leak. Though their losses were heavy, she rallied the people and with their support, she struck down the beast that attempted to rise from the pit. In that moment, those that followed her fell down in worship and Nilrissa was remade, not in their image, but as something greater than them. As a dragon she ruled over her people and as time passed she began to pass on her gift to others, and thus the Awaiting were created. Most came from the lizardfolk but those few travellers who find themselves in the far north may receive the kiss. All who receive this kiss are partly remade that instant, taking on draconian traits to ease the transition towards that of a Dragon King. Thick scales and spikes, pointed teeth, sometimes even small wings; there is no mistaking an Awaiting for anything other than what they are, a being caught between mortality and godhood.

Faith:

The dragons are not only kings in the far north, but gods who wield power fuelled by the faith of those who worship them. Alongside the dragons the Awaiting are worshipped to varying degrees, depending on what feats they have accomplished thus far,  until they are remade into a true king. It is known that any may become a Dragon King but this is not a status sought by all, for it is a burden as much as it is a blessing.

Culture:

The lizardfolk of the north are a hearty and friendly people, surprisingly welcoming to outsiders. Though rare, it is not uncommon for one outside of their race to be found worth of receiving Nilrissa’s Kiss and amassing enough of a following to become a king themselves. The Awaiting are, or should be, perfect representations of the lizardfolk as a whole. A stubborn people, for them to put their faith in a being, they must be blinding examples of excellence, admired and loved by the people.

 

Within the various cities, all professions are practiced and respected. The lizardmen lean towards more craft based professions and are the caregivers to both the eggs and the youngest of their society while the kobolds lean more towards military roles. In their early days, all were warriors who came together to fight under Nilrissa’s banner but the people have softened over time. Though none can truly breathe fire, they can belch small flames. The flames are seen as a gift from the gods for their piety, with the more devout being granted longer flames.

 

In the past, there were hundreds of the Dragon Kings protecting the cities of the north but the rise of the lesser races has impacted the Theocracies severely. Border skirmishes from up and coming would be empires, heroes of other races wishing to prove their worth by defeating a dragon, and the wholesale slaughter of worshippers have left the world with barely a dozen of the Dragon Kings. More than one has fallen into a form of madness upon losing all of their worshippers. They still roam the tundra, more beast than god and a threat to all around them.

 

Those that still exist have turned inward, protecting both themselves and their people from the outside world in gloriously radiant cities. When the Source came, where armies of Dragon Kings rose up to defend against it in centuries past, only one answered the call and has not been heard from again. Cut off from the larger world by both the walls of their cities and the vast wasteland that they live in, the lizardfolk are largely unconcerned with events that fall outside their borders though news is welcomed as an interesting change of pace. .