Draconic Combine

The Draconic Combine is a political organization consisting of a few countries and a large network of alliances. The Combine's leader is titled as the Drayke's Paw, and is given the full authority to speak for the Great Draykes. The current Paw is Durus Whyte, as selected by the Prophecy. The Combine's primary religion is Draconae, which worships the dieties of Eberron, Sylberis, and Kyber. The faith's leader is titled as the Hierarch, whom is currently Velephia Seth. Geographically, the Combine is split into a northern wing and a southern wing, which are well connected by a string of Godstones.

The northern wing exists in and around Chaeronea. It consists primarily of the Dragonmarked Houses and the Kingdom of Galifar. The city of Stormreach is the capital of the Combine and the largest center of power in the region. The current Paw rules the Combine from here.

The southern wing exists primarily in the Battle Plains (within the European Theme). It consists primarily of Varia and Khand. The city of Meifod is the largest center of power in the region and is where the current Draconae Hierarch resides.

## Government

The Draconic Combine is best described as a feudal monarchy. The Paw normally does not interfere in the internal matters of loyal members of the Combine. The exceptions are that members cannot outlaw Draconae worship and must allow the College of Esserai to work with their Psiarchs. This means each loyal member's laws may differ radically from one another. The Paw's succession law has not yet been defined. In writing, the Paw holds absolute authority over loyal members... but in practice the Paw tends to be careful to maintain positive relationships with members of the Combine.

### Loyal to the Paw

* The Ruling Council
	+ Kalaet leads a Combine base in the Pent Forrest and at Court of Inns. He also leads the Stormreach Research Institute
	+ Khaliya commands respect from the Borduchai, is a Falcharnese Duke, and is connected to the Kingdom of Maratha
	+ Aka is connected to the Weyrfolk of Dragonne
	+ Ellesea is connected to the Queen of the Sindar Elves
* The 15 Dragonmarked Houses
* The Church of Draconae
* The College of Esserai
* Jaycinthe Wilks - Kell and Mayoress of Stormreach
* City of Meifod (needs confirmation - unsure if this city is directly Combine ruled or if it belongs to another state first)
* Kingdom of Cyre (needs confirmation)
* The Weyrfolk of Dragonne (Pernese Dragon Riders)
* Fake Religious Order that replaced the People of the Spear
* Nations of Varia and Khand [Needs confirmation, but this is a safe assumption]

### Loyal to the Paw without a Formal Agreement

* Kingdoms of Aundaire, Breland, Thrane, and Karrnath
* Borduchai that choose to follow Khaliya

### Pledged a Full Military Alliance with the Draconic Combine

* Shaara, leader of Na'Kalaaana
* Sukothai
* The White Horde

### Pledged Support Against the Masters

* The Pent Elves
* Principality of Man
* Queen Elessea Lodelfohn, of Forest Primaeval
* The King of Maratha (later trivialized when his liege, Emperor of Arya, did the same)
* Atlantis and their god, Kosmos
* Morinatar, Emperor of Arya
* Jan Hus of Grievswald

## Military

* The Combine has the third most powerful navy in the known world
	+ Hispaniola has arguably the most powerful, after receiving gunpowder
	+ Ilyria has the second most powerful
	+ The power of Atlantis's navy hasn't been effectively measured yet
* The Combine has the second most powerful airship fleet in the known world
	+ Na Ka'Laaana's airship fleet is arguably the most powerful
		- High Discipline and use of Spark Cannons are large enough of an advantage to offset a lower numbers of ships and an inability to effectively rebuild
	+ The Empire of Arya's airship fleet is probably the third most powerful, if it was rebuilt
* [Land army is WIP]

## History

### Before Durus

Long before Durus, other Paws did exist. Marbaran is the only one known by name. Little is known about any of them, or even how many of them existed. What is known is that at some point there ceased to be a Paw and whatever various peoples that followed them dispersed. When Durus attempted to restore the power of the Paw, only well-read historians had any knowledge of the title.

### Founding of the Combine

Following the Battle of Zero Nexus, the Great Draykes named Durus as their Paw and gave him the mission to destroy the Throne of the Masters. Durus was to rally anyone he could to his cause, but especially to focus on the draconic allies of old. The Grey Company eventually agreed to help him accomplish this. Together, their accomplishments included:

* Retreived Shaara's stone from the pirate, Ingivar, after expensive negotiations. Gained an airship in the process. Party elected to name it the "Grey Company Ship Akayama" in honor of their fallen comrade
* Restored Shaara to life (from Shaara's Stone) and forged an alliance with her
* Secured the rights to a Mithril mine in Na Ka'Laaana
* Helped Khaliya to become reknowned as the first human (and first non-orc) to prove himself as a true Borduchai
* Defended Shaara from the Amritzari with the aid of the Chaeronaen Borduchai
* Crowned Jaycinthe as Mayoress of Stormreach, under the Paw. Also took some immediate action to benefit Stormreach.
* Gained the loyalty of the Dragonmarked Houses, including House Vol and House Tarkanan (which were both thought to be exterminated)
* Secured an agreement with the Pent Elves, for aid against the Masters
* Secured communications with the Prince of Man, via proclaiming Durus as King of Galiphar. Nations of Galiphar have played along and aided the Combine against the Masters since, but have never formally recognized Durus as King of Galiphar. This is true with the exception of Cyre (I think), who did recognize Durus as King of Galiphar after receiving plenty of help in reconstruction and being promised more.
* Unleashed unknown numbers of previously sealed away sheglien upon the world
* Defended Meifod from Morinatar and Adonniel
* Supported the battle of Shaara's airship fleet against Morinatar's airship fleet
* Followed Morinatar's flagship into a pocket dimension, and thus got trapped for ~27 years. This left only five of the Grey Company remaining on Aesira (Velephia, Kalaet, Khaliya, Milo and Ceridwyn)

### Velephia's Rule

While Durus was absent, Velephia ruled as "hand of the Paw". Under her watchful eye the Combine grew tremendously in power. The other members of the Grey Company supported her efforts and took these years as an opportunity for personal growth. While ruling, Velephia's accomplishments included:

* Established a propaganda department aimed at promoting Draconae and popularizing Grey Company members
* Converted Meifod to Draconae, started improvement/expansion projects, and used it as the southern capital for the Combine
* Converted nearly all of Varia and much of Khand to Draconae
* [Needs confirmation] Eventually won enough elected seats with members loyal to the Combine, that Varia is essentially Combine controlled. Not sure where Khand stands.
* Founded the Meifod College of Medicine, using her own arrivee medical knowledge. She also invited invited House Jorasco and the Madoniella Nera to collaborate at the college. Finally Velephia founded an elite group of traveling health professionals with stations in the major cities of Varia. (Were any of these new organizations named something else?)
* Publicly denounced the awnsheglien
* [High Level Combine Secret] Discovered the cure to the highly addictive drug, Blue, and called it Red. Also discovered how to make blue. Made a trade deal where the Combine would pay Ingivar to grow the ingredients necessary for Red. Secretly spread an epidemic of Blue usage somewhere in Urgluk. The Combine then makes and sells both Blue and Red to Urgluk at a significant profit.
* [High Level Combine Secret] (Duke?) Khaliya of Felsharne defended against many Borduchai raids. He was so successful that he was sponsored by someone (perhaps a guild?) in the Vreistaten. He has now "conquered" himself some impressive territory, and continues his successes to this day. This has gained him considerable influence in Felsharne and made his sponsors very wealthy. What most do not know is that all of the battles are staged - and that Khaliya also commands the Borduchai.
* [High Level Combine Secret] A false christian religious order was established and conquered all of the remaining forts belonging to the People of the Spear (which were all located in Felsharne). This order is secretly loyal to the combine, and also exerts its own influence in Felsharne.
* Kalaet built a Draconic Research Institute in Stormreach. He also built a large lab in the Pent Forest with an airship dock.
* Constructed a large army of Draconae followers led by Velephia (Paladin of Sylberis), Ceridwyn (Paladin of Eberron), and Bereschal (Paladin of Khyber).
* Constructed a massive fleet of ships and airships (I think?)
* Created an alliance with Sukothai against the growing power in Arya
* Evoked massive cultural changes surrounding Draconae and the perception of dragons (perhaps not the right wording, but close enough)
* Confirmed the return of the Paw and the missing Grey Company members
* Probably did more I can't think of at the moment

### Durus's Rule

Following his return to Aesira, he and the Grey Company's accomplishments included:

* Recovery of the Soul Sword
* [High Level Combine Secret] Established trade deal with Deadwood Gulch, especially for a large amount of gunpowder
* [High Level Combine Secret] Gained the Observatory - a magical tower capable of spying on a great many things. The residant wizard moved his whole tower and setup just outside Stormreach as he agreed to work for the Combine.
* Discovered "the Undead Vortex" which was a hostile fighting force loyal to (either Metatron or Sandalphon)
* Convinced Adonniel that the Draconic side was the one she should fight for, not the Masterish side. Would've been impossible without Velephia's gesture of kindness. Used many saved resources including DRMs, plot twist cards and a natural 1 on a kriin influence weave. Definitely among the 3 most important moments of the entire campaign.
* Temporarily allied with Jon Hus against the Masters. Jon Hus was acutely aware of an unsettling force among the Catholics, but he didn't have the words or knowledge to describe the Masters. The Combine and Jon Hus agreed to share intelligence with each other on the matter.
* (What the heck all happened with the Inquisitor we found again? I recall he was a Masterish agent that was augmented with Masterish technology. I vaguely recall he or someone with him was planning to go rogue and use power selfishly. I know we removed their technology, but not what we did with them thereafter. I recall we gave them orders somehow beneficial to us and set up some scheme, but not the details of those orders.)
* Successfully stole the Hispaniolan plans for making Spanish "ships of the line" with multiple gun decks. Kalaet and Durus both received an award while in disguise and decided to keep them as trophies.
* Helped the Basque population of Hispaniola evacuate to Combine territory, so they could avoid the following Inquisition.
* Abharan attempted to assassinate Rhobe, but Kalaet saved him. Rhobe becomes potentially powerful enemy.
* Secured the support of the Queen of the Sindar Elves in Forest Primaeval against the Masters.
* Established Kalaet as the ruler of Court of Inns, and unlocked the true potential of the location's massive magic circle. Angered Ingivar in the process.
* Established an alliance with the Kingdom of Maratha, against their overlord the Emperor of Arya.
* [Needs confirmation] Established communications with the Empire of Chi'in, through contact Chin Chow Hai. Empire of Chi'in agreed to mobilize troops in a method that would distract Arya (and perhaps mess with their troop placements). This way, the Empire of Chi'in could aid the Combine against the Empire's largest rival, without having to risk war.
* Secured an alliance with the god named Kosmos, against the Masters. Followed his instructions and raised Atlantis (home to his people) from the sea. While this secured a powerful alliance in the area, it did unfortunately cause a massive tsunami to sweep through the region - killing vast numbers of people. The Combine put massive effort into protecting against and recovering from this event.
* Secured an alliance with the White Horde, because of Durus's marriage to Melena. Used this alliance to negotiate for Kagan Mora of the Horselords to join the Combine in invading Arya (their neighbor).
* Successfully destroyed the Throne of the Masters. Sithera≡, Sandalphon, Adonniel, Morinatar, Kosmos, Lelena Harper, and Kalaet all helped immensely. The main party of Abharan, Securis, Durus (with Pablo), Simean, Chaeldon, and Ileyda performed magnificently.
* Secured an alliance with now free Morinatar against any remaining Masterish forces, and a generally favorable relationship.
* Returned to Stormreach - which brings us to the present day!