Draaken

**Drakonians** (or Draaken in Drakonian) are descendants of dragons, dragon gods and some non-dragon gods. They live scattered throughout Rathnir and in a colony of Eldham. They are most commonly found in the former lands of the High Kingdom of Drakonia in northern Nieden and their colony in Eldham, Nova Draakhagan, which now make up the Nova Draakhagen province and parts of the Convellirae province of Simulami as well as the lands of Dova.

Draaken settlements and very early nations have been some of the first on the face of Rathnir, but they were all wiped out before any other races on Rathnir founded larger settlements. The destruction left the Draaken of the three Draaken realms at the time in shock. The people of the Draakenkhaganate, whom lived in northern Nieden at the time, began moving south and started living underground. They did this originally to protect themselves from potential attacks, but later out of tradition and to more easily gather resources in mass to smith the finest tools in all of Rathnir, which sometimes found their way to the surface (thanks to some dwarves accidently stumbling upon them from time to time). The people of Goldengemme scattered, integrating themselves secretly into other races and hiding their true appearance. And at last, the people of the Draakenblüüt state of Sanctum started living as nomads, only moving at night or trough mist.

Almost all Draaken are able to hide their true appearance through magic, freely changing their form to other more humanoid appearances. Meanwhile, some Draaken naturally have the appearance of other races due to interbreeding. Regardless, they are still seen as Draaken, as a Draaken's main defining feature is the magical Dragonblood inside of them. Draaken are able to reproduce with all races, but it should be known that their offspring will always have Dragonblood, and thus by Draaken definition, be Draaken.

Still, any average Draaken who is not using magic to disguise themselves will have a humanoid, dragon-like appearance with colors corresponding to their elemental ancestry. Draaken can have a tail, which varies in length (from 30cm up to 1.8 meters) which sometimes have additional attributes like having a flame on top of it, a poisonous stinger, acting as a third hand and other things. Some, but not all Draaken, have wings. These wings are not always large enough to fly or even glide with though, and thus can be merely vestigal. The height of Draaken can vary from 1.6m up to 2.9m. The average Draaken reaches a height of 2 meters.

## Origin

Drakonians where created as part of a peace after dragons, gods and dragon gods fought a devastating war, now only known as the Blood War.

## Drakonian Subgroups

All Draaken have a strong relation to the type of elemental dragon they are descended from, and as such, are able to naturally produce elemental magic corresponding to the element they descend from from their hands and mouth. Additionally, they are naturally more skilled at any other magic corresponding with their element. Great Wyrms, meanwhile, possess an affiliation to all elemental types.

There are many subtypes of Drakonians with all of them, more or less, seen as equals to each other, with the Great Wyrms (or just Wyrms), being the exception. This is because they are seen as the leaders of Draakenkind, due to them being essentially demi-gods.

(There also is a special race which is considered Drakonian, but technically is not: the Balrog. After the Balrog that threatened Drakonians was vanquished, it didn't die. Instead, it reformed itself into a new being whose kind has no name. It was integrated into Drakonian society and it is considered Drakonian, despite not being related.)

The different Drakonian types are:

* The Iceborn (descended from white and silver dragons).
* The Firesouls (descended from red and gold dragons).
* The Lightningcallers (descended from blue and copper dragons).
* The Stormbringers (descended from grey and brass dragons).
* The Spiritkeepers (descended from black and mithril dragons).
* The Earthshapers (descended from brown and obsidian dragons).
* The Lightsplitters (descended from rainbow and bismuth dragons).
* The Poisonspreaders (descended from green and lead dragons).
* The Great Wyrms (descended from Dragon-gods).

## Drakonian Lifespan

Drakonians can become very old, up to 1,000-4,000 years, but many of them die years before that due to battles, disease, or because they ascend/travel to another plane before their death. Great Wyrms can become even older, some even rumor that they cannot die from old age, but again, almost all of them travel to other planes or choose ascension before the 20,000-year mark. Drakonians reach maturity around the 33 to 99-year mark. It is mostly chosen by themselves when they start considering themselves after the 33 year mark because, in general, it is thought that a person is able to determine the point that they want to be seen as an adult themselves.

In Drakonian society, one rises with how useful they are to all.  Instead of most societies, which are based around nepotism, Drakonian society is mostly (if not entirely) built around meritocracy. As an example: anyone (no matter what origin) can acquire a noble title through hard work, though someone who is Drakonian may be rewarded with one earlier than others.

While Drakonians were created to seal a peace between higher powers, they themselves are by no means peaceful. While negotiating with the enemy first is a core Drakonian value, the act of war is just as much a core value of Draakenkind. War is hugely celebrated with large feast, marches and of course the battle against the enemy. Many Drakonians use war as a chance to prove their worth, in hopes of acquiring a title of some sort. At the end of a war, Drakonians collect the helmets of their enemies and smelt them to forge new things for themselves.

## Drakonian Titles

* Erz Wyrm König or High Wyrm King (Ruler of Drakonia)
* Steward (Lesser co-ruler of Drakonia)
* Erzherzog/Erzherzogin or Archduke/Archduchess (Appointed ruler of an important area of land/territory/city/castle, part of the Drakonian advisor council, holds more weight then the Herzog title)
* Herzog/Herzogin or Duke/Duchess (Appointed ruler of an area of land/territory/city/castle, part of the Drakonian advisor council)
* Stadthalter (Elected ruler of a territory, part of the Drakonian advisor council)
* Vize König/Vize Königin or Vice-King/Vice-Queen (Appointed or elected ruler of a colony, part of the Drakonian advisor council)
* Fürst (Owner of a fort, town or castle in Rathnir)
* Graf/Gräfin (Owner of a fort, town or castle in Eldham)
* Citizen (Trusted member of Drakonia)
* Resident (New member of Drakonia)
* Edler (Honorary title given to people outside of Drakonia for their service to the state)

## Traditions

* It is expected for a Drakonian to always have a krukibel, or crucibel/cauldron, in their home as it's used to cook, brew, smelt and wash.
* At a feast, the host must provide a krukibel filled with soup, alcohol or potions for their most important guests to drink from. If not provided, it is seen as incredibly rude.
* Except high nobility, a Drakonian should not wear a helmet unless necessary.
* If a Drakonian ruler meets with another ruler, they are expected to take off their helmet.
* Drakonian corpses are disposed of in a ritual where they are thrown into lava or buried deep beneath a mountain.
* Marriage is a foreign concept to them outside of alliances, they believe that love does not need to be bound by a contract or oath. Due to this, the concept of bastardry is absent in Draaken society.
* Drakonians believe that everything can be improved. No building nor even nature is ever truly perfect or finished.
* Drakonians are expected to accept the gods of Dygrathos but aren’t forced to only believe in them.
* Most families have their own minor patrons, like the dragon they descended from or a minor god.
* After defeating an enemy their helmet is taken and smelted in a krukibel to forge something new.
* An old Drakonian phrase is: “*It’s better to ask for the helmet then just take it.”/ “It’s better to talk to the person under the helmet instead of immediately smelting it.*” This phrase mostly means that that a Drakonian should always try the diplomatic option before the violent option.
* Any Drakonian noble family and/or city, realm, vassal should have a coat of arms and/or flag of their own.
* Calling a Great Wyrm a worm is the highest insult someone can utter to them, though a non-Drakonian may be forgiven the first time if they were unaware of this.
* Draaken have a great love for potatoes and they are one of their main food sources.
* Draaken tend to hold on to grudges for a long time.
* Draaken tend to not care if a person is from another race.

## Translation of Drakonian Words

Krukibel: Crucible or cauldron

Draaken, Draakenkind Draakenblüt, Draakonien: Drakonian