The Great Iron-Forged Empire

== Overview ==
The Great Iron-Forged Empire is a young, flourishing Empire located in and around the Great Furnace of the Ashfall Waste. The majority of the populace lives inside the volcano, in a pocket of sorts on the side, still far from the boiling magma in the center. The parts of the Empire outside of the Furnace are known as the outskirts, and this is where farming communities alongside a few small dragon groups thrive. It may seem suspicious to some how fast and well it rose, but that is, at least in part, due to the fact two of the leaders have previous experience when it comes to leading an Empire.
The Empire is mainly Fire-aligned, due to the placement and the element of the Founders, though in recent times, it also is considered slightly Wind-aligned due to the other two leaders, something that slowly happened over time as the Empire grew and some of their customs got slowly added. Both cultures are represented overall in the Empire, though heavily fire-leaning as expected, and the Mistral Jamboree is the second most celebrated festival after the Flameforger's Festival as well (Brightshine Jubilee is also heavily celebrated overall). They also do a lot of trading with nearby Wind clans.
Unsurprisingly for a Fire Empire, when it comes to services and exports, there is a heavy focus on metalworking as a whole, blacksmithing, and the sell and trade of weapons and armour as a whole. Enchanting weapons and armour is also common as a paid service, along with the sale and trade of already enchanted items. This would include enchanting gems to put into weapons and armour as well. 
But of course, things relating to armour and weapons aren't their only profitable exports. Another one of their major exports is gems, metals, and minerals. There are at least a couple of mines set up within the Furnace itself, just outside of the main city's limits. Some of the most sought-after items include rose quartz, obsidian, diamonds, smoky quartz, lead, chalcedony, amethyst, gold, copper, and the special lava opal. The lava opal is a special type of opal only found within a few volcanos in the Ashfall Waste and has a couple special magical qualities which are the main reason why it's so sought after. They're brighter than regular fire opal as well and have a very dull glow. 
In fact, one of the citizens of the Empire, Daneth Cinderforge, specializes in making imbued obsidian weapons. Enchanted to keep the usually fragile stone from breaking or losing the sharp edge, the weapons are quite popular, and also quite expensive. He's cautious on who he sells them too, knowing how dangerous they can be, and not wanting them to end up in the wrong hands if he can help it. 
Food, especially seafood and meat, are abundant in the Empire and also serve well for trading and selling. Plants such as Cindermint, Cindershroom, Cindervine, Flameweed, and Potash Peaches are common and also popular plants that are grown and sold. Cindermint is especially popular for using in teas to give the drinks a good, but not powerful kick. 
=== Military ===
Another thing the Empire seems to be well-known for is their military. text 
Along with the military, there is a specific War Council that meets up every once in a while (and more often if anything comes up that would involve them) to discuss the military and the offenses and defences of the Empire. It technically is led by Johnson Evrain, Neelm Icethorn, and Arc Sunclaw, though the two Emperors, Kero and Iaeste sometimes drop in to oversee a meeting. If they don't, it's up to one of the three leaders of the War Council to report to the Emperors after the meeting is over if anything important happened. 
===Appearance===
The first thing you come upon when the Empire comes into view is an expanse of buildings, crops, and the occasional animal sprawled out over the cracked, yet fertile land that surrounds the Great Furnace. 
=== Wildlife ===
insert wildlife info here
== Individuals of Note ==
The Great Iron-Forged Empire has many, many members, and thus, there are a good number of notable individuals who are well-known throughout the Empire and also likely outside the Empire. This includes the leaders, along with high-ranked military officials and Ambassadors.
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Empress Kero Firestar - Founder and Leader
Emperor Borix Whiteflame - Founder and Leader
Emperor Iaeste Farholde - Leader
Empress Aldll Farholde - Leader
Perhin Nightglow - Co-Leader
Tazuta Greenhorn - Captain of the Royal Guard and Iaeste's Personal Guard
Kizeri Wavewings - Tazuta's Mate and Aldll's Personal Guard
Oldick Slityre - Borix's Personal Guard
Kiminn - Kero's Personal Guard
Sequoia Rosebush - Perhin's Personal Guard
Rolan "Johnson" Evrain - Military Commander and part of the "Frightful Trinity", occasional Council Member
Ashek - Military Commander and part of the "Frightful Trinity"
Neelm Icethorn - Military Commander and part of the "Frightful Trinity"
Evangeline Evrain - High-Ranking Combat Medic and mate of Johnson
Arifah Farholde - Daughter of Iaeste and Aldll, Princess
Auran Farholde - Son of Iaeste and Aldll, Prince
Ormat Farholde - Adopted son of Iaeste and Aldll, Prince
Takashi Oshiro - Mate of Arifah, Prince
Helios Morninglight - Mate of Auran, Prince
Zaith Rothque - Mate of Ormat, Prince
Kestrel Firestar - Daughter of Kero and Borix, Princess
Prometheus Firestar - Son of Kero and Borix, Prince
Hephaestus Firestar - Son of Kero and Borix, Prince
Wrustik Whitestar - Adopted Daughter of Kero and Borix, Princess
Hayden - Adopted "son" of Kero and Borix, Prince (NPC currently)
Hazel Firestar - Adopted Daughter of Kero, Princess
Kalas Darklight - Prince from the now fallen Kingdom of Ajela'ar
"Legend" - Strong Demigod Royalty
===Ambassadors===
Atria Flickerflash - Lightning Ambassador
Eoro Highwinds - Wind Ambassador
Hemlock Gallagher - Nature Ambassador
Issyen Ishibashi - Fire Ambassador
Ittor Coldclaw - Ice Ambassador
Jani Almaaz - Earth Ambassador
Micleri - Water Ambassador
Mikael Moonfang - Beastclan Ambassador
Nytana Starscape - Arcane Ambassador
Sunburst Sunseeker - Light Ambassador
Lerosi Deepshadows - Shadow Ambassador
Yerxem Devray - Plague Ambassador
===The Council===
Tassay Coldheart
Foresight
Akaash Sunray
Nadja Runecast
Nuraci Opalheart
Riruha End'ver
Latta I'Darkin
Rinasa Comettail
Reincarnation
Isao Fe'i
Worbess Vinetwist
Hysulet Warmshadow
Puget Thorn
Kyo Oshiro
== Ranks/Castes ==
The Empire has a unique set of ranks with special names. Each member of the Empire, big or small, all are considered to have one of these named Ranks.
Platinum Caste - The 
Andesite Caste - 
Gold Caste - 
Silver Caste - 
Bronze Caste - 
Titanium Caste - 
Steel Caste - 
Cobalt Caste - Ambassadors
Obsidian Caste - 
Rhodium Caste - 
Iron Caste - 
Alabaster Caste - 
Basalt Caste - 
Copper Caste - 
== Factions ==
There are a few notable factions that members of the Empire are a part of. Some of these factions are located strictly within the Empire, while at least one is expanded throughout Sornieth.
=== The Circle of the Celestine Guardians ===
This Faction has many branches all throughout Sornieth, with at least one location in each Flight. They are focused on magical protection and defense, and the places they choose to settle down correspond with either leylines or the territory's Sanctum.
The leader of the Empire's branch is Nadja Runecast, a very old and immortal, Primal Arcane Pearlcatcher. She is said to be one of the founders of the Circle, which has also been around for a long time, but no one has confirmed nor denied this, not even Nadja herself. They set up not long after the Empire started gaining traction, feeling like it was a good idea to do so.
==== Notable Members- ====
* Nadja Runecast (Leader)
* Rinasa Comettail (Co-Leader)
*Strange (Co-Leader)
* text
=== The Corvid Faction ===
No one outside of the faction really knows what the dragons within it do. With a name that only really matches the outward appearance of many of the dragons who work within, there's no hints to what they really do.
==== Notable Members- ====
* Kimnydar Ravenfeather (Leader)
* Shyrkal Ravenfeather (Co-Leader, Leader of Thieves Guild)
* Burage Ravenfeather
* Arestu Ravenheart
*Tassay Coldheart
=== The Forgotten Children ===
Lead by a Skydancer named ZP and a Spiral named Zyx, the Forgotten Children is a small faction that focuses on the protection of young dragons who don't have parents to watch over them in one way or another. Most of the children had been abandoned, disowned, or had to deal with abuse of some kind, with a handful who lost their parents as well. 
The faction consists of the leaders, the young members that make up the majority of the faction, and a handful of young adults who were brought in before they grew to adulthood, but who are now adults. Those young adults help the leaders with tasks, and a couple of them are specifically charged with the duty of keeping the younger dragons safe and taking them to designated safe spaces when fights or other nasty things break out. 
==== Notable Members- ====
* ZP (leader)
* Zyx Shadowstrike (secondary leader)
* more
* text
== Locations of Note ==
There are multiple locations within the Empire that are either important in a way, or just well-known. This includes landmarks and shops/businesses.
===The Hot Springs===
Located on the edge of the outskirts, near the border to the Windswept Plateau, the Hot Springs are a small area, guarded by the Imperial named Malachite and the Guardian named Fathom. In fact, the area is Fathom's Charge and no one has seen the dragon away from it; he's been there since before the Empire was built. He's often lying by or within one of the Springs, ensuring the area is properly guarded.
Not many dragons live permanently around the Springs, so there's usually only a handful seen roaming around it.
===Firefall Forest===
text goes here
=== The Golden Sword ===
The Empire's most popular tavern.
=== Thanks A Latte ===
text
=== The Lit Candle ===
The largest Inn within the main city of the Empire, also the one most used, thanks to its placement near the gates.
=== The Amphitheatre ===
text
=== The Emperor Skeleton ===
The title says it all. Within the edges of the main city, not far from the main Market, is a very large, four-headed Emperor skeleton perfectly preserved in the wall of the volcano. Due to it being only a skeleton, there's no knowing how it actually perished, though it's speculated that the Flamecaller took care of it in some way. Don't worry, since it is a skeleton and watched over closely, it is unlikely that it would be resurrected, and even if that happened, that it likely wouldn't have the urge to destroy like the typical Emperor.
=== The Outskirts ===
teeeeeeeeeeeeext
==Other Members==
text here
== Alliances of Note ==
text
=== The Moonlight Caverns ===
text
=== Clan of the White Tower ===
text
*feel free to contact me if you want to set up an alliance
== History ==
The Great Iron-Forged Empire did not start even remotely close to an Empire. The very beginning was far before even the thoughts of living within the Great Furnace, and started not even near the Furnace. Instead, it started with a chance meeting at the Molten Scar.
=== The Rescue ===
It started one ashy morning. The dragons who would eventually be the Founders of the Empire, Kero and Borix, were only hours away from meeting the first time. Borix was just traversing the cracked land, following the trail of his Charge, which felt close, while Kero was emerging from her den by a large lava pool, alone and hungry. It wasn't long before she was able to find prey, which, unfortunately, would attract a hostile group of harpies as she finished her hunt and started eating.
Borix, having had an encounter with a pile of Broken Heartstone early in the morning, had taken that as a sign and was in a hurry, nearly running as he pressed onward, hoping to find his Charge in time. This was urgent, and his worry grew as he continued on, seeing nothing and hearing nothing other than the local wildlife. His worry grew as time passed, for he didn't know how long he really did have, and it felt like he was making progress too slowly, even if it had only been a few hours since he had encountered the Heartstone pile. It was about midday when he saw the commotion, and feeling the pull, he didn't hesitate to jump into the fray that consisted of a bunch of harpies and a now obviously injured Mirror dragon.
His appearance turned the tide of the battle, and it didn't take long to run the rest of the harpies out; they obviously were not willing to fight against this very large and uninjured Guardian dragon. It felt as if a lot of weight had dropped off Borix's shoulders; he had done it, he had saved her. She didn't seem too grateful about it, even when he pointed out that she had little to no chance of getting out of that battle alive. He also quickly learned that her name was Kero.
Due to her injuries, she couldn't walk, so after some convincing words on Borix's part, they both ended up settling in a large cave nearby, one larger than Kero's original home. She wasn't happy with it, being more of a loner than the average Mirror dragon, but she did accept after a while that she did need the help, due to the fact she couldn't do much on her own at this point, including hunt for food. She hated it, but she accepted it in the end.
=== The Beginning ===
Somehow they grew closer over time, even with Kero's brash attitude. He brought her food as she healed, guarding the cave at almost all other times, and they slowly learned to get to know each other. After Kero had healed, she didn't leave permanently, seeming to have figured out that she wasn't going to shake off this other dragon. Not after he had claimed that she had something to do with his Charge. Kind of annoying but oh well.
They even became sort of mates for a short while. It didn't last, for it wasn't something they were able to keep, but it did result in a nest of three eggs. They took turns watching over and incubating them, Kero preferring to do that more often herself, and the night that they ended up hatching, a couple of interesting things happened.
Borix would learn that Kero was not his sole Charge. So were his children, and so was... something else outside the cave. He had no idea what it was, not until he saw a very young Snapper hatchling wandering outside the cave. To this day, none of them have any idea where she came from, or why there was just one ice-aligned baby Snapper, who wasn't in bad condition, thankfully, wandering about alone. But they took her in, nestling her among the newly hatched Mirror and Guardian hatchlings, naming her Wrustik. Their biological children ended up being named Kestrel, Prometheus, and Hephaestus.
After more time passed, and after they took in a young black Fae, named Hayden, who had obviously been through a great ordeal, Borix finally figured out what his Charge really was. Not Kero, not just family (which it seemed to be at first), instead, it was their growing clan.
=== Gaining Members ===
More time passed, the small amount of dragons moving to find a bigger and better place, in anticipation of getting more members. They had originally planned to live with only their adopted children, but upon learning his Charge was actually the clan, Borix wanted to expand it and let more dragons live with them. It took a bit of convincing to get Kero to agree, but she eventually did. She wasn't fond of the idea at first, being used to being solitary: an odd trait for a Mirror dragon.
Two more dragons had joined by then, a nervous Imperial named Endyt who desperately needed a place to stay and relax and an eccentric, silver-eyed Pearlcatcher named Zan, who had been searching for a more secluded place to live in. This made it obvious they needed more space, especially if they were going to keep letting in members. It was getting cramped.
After a long search, they found a cave network within the Blacksand Annex that had been abandoned long ago, large enough to fit all the dragons so far and many more. They promptly moved in once it was determined that the area was safe.
=== The Lair of the Bubbling Pit ===
It took off after that. After some renevations, they started getting more members, slowly, but surely. Over the next several years, it grew. The tunnels were expanded, businesses started being created, and more dragons chose to live there. Both Borix and Kero were a bit surprised by how easily they were able to get new members, since they weren't doing anything special. The dragons just naturally came to the cave, and there had been jokes on how dragons might just be drawn to it for some reason. Perhaps that was the reason, or maybe it was something else.... they would never really find out.
The name was chosen due to a larger than average pool of lava that resided in the middle of what was called "The Town Square", a landmark of sorts. It seemed fitting, especially with the fact that it wasn't rare to see the pool shift and bubble. Due to how special it was considered, no one was allowed to step in the pool for any reason. If a Fire dragon wanted to take a lava bath, there were many other pools along with edges of the clan.
=== The Trouble with Erebos ===
text oh no
=== Disaster ===
text
=== Meet Up ===
text
=== The Empire's Creation ===
text
=== Pre-BoTE ===
text
=== Post-BoTE ===
text
== Written Lore ==
there will be links here eventually
== Navigating the Empire ==
Category:Clans
Category:Fire