NB: Subject to constant updates!
Refer to individual & regional descriptions for most recent version.Penddraig This mythical land consists of an island roughly the shape of a filled-in question mark, with three major land masses nearby. As far as anyone knows, the northern landmass is uninhabited.
On the SW landmass – the
Western Jungles, which is primarily jungle, with a coastal flat, and volcanic mountainous regions behind - live the contentious tribes of Wyvern (mostly Fever, Hellfire & Hellhorses). Flamingo and Tsunami live together on the coast. There are tribes of other dragon breeds as well, of a tropical nature, such as Neo-tropical, Canopy, Dorsal, Horses and Howler Drakes (as pets/slaves).
A group of Bright-breasted Wyverns is also established here and its Alpha female,
Maitresse Mambo, is trying to bring some sort of order and civilization to the Tribes. Major tribe has
MacHellacious as Alpha male and
Lady Tempestua as Alpha female. But a strong bond of mutual respect between them and Maitresse Mambo, allows them to live in relative peace with her followers.
All the
Western Jungles tribes have only a loose association with each other, tend to fight among themselves about everything. Maitresse and her BB’s are well respected fighters, despite their small size and their conversion to pacifism, and therefore can hold their own. Maitresse’s speeches about peace and tolerance are tolerated because she is so charismatic. She is trying to convert the Tribes to the Way, a passivist religion that advocates friendship and tolerance between the breeds of dragons.
Although there is no true leader of these tribes, because they don’t form a single unit, MacHellacious, who represents his
mate/leader in what passes for diplomacy in the jungles, has been converted to the Way and has some influence. He is also a signatory of the
KayMac Concordat and acts as diplomatic representative of the Tribes among the dragons of the Island. For most dragons of the
Western Jungles, this is all irrelevant politicking and of no interest to them.
Transit across the
Great Sea to the Island is controlled by Deep Sea and Two-Finned Bluna dragons. They dwell in Waterfall Cove along with Skywings and Red-Finned, Shimmer-Scales & Sea-Wyrm Pygmies. They use a combination of magic and powerful swimmers to propel basic bamboo rafts from Flamingo Coast to
Waterfall Landing, where, behind the falls, also dwell Blusang Blitz and Charlotte & Elizabeth, Two-headed Lindwyrms of the Wayist faith. They are dedicated to preserving the entrances to the caves that hold the ancient scrolls.
Few dragons make use of ferry service, as few choose to visit the dangerous
Western Jungles. But the dragons of
Spice Citychange all that with the
KayMac Concordat. After the
Old Spice Road is reopened, all things change for the better.
Coastedge Wood (Draco Clans) is a little to the west of
Waterfall Landing. Here again, the Drakes and fellow inhabitants are not of one accord, even though they are of a much milder disposition than the Wyverns. But they are essential to the reopening of the trade route, as they control the southern reaches of the desert.
The drakes here are mostly Day & Night Glory Drakes, as well as displaced Howler Drakes escaping the Wyverns harsh rule, and Ochredrakes. Glaucus Drakes can be seen floating idly by the coast nearest the
Coastedge Wood, accompanied by Skywings, other water dragons, and playful Waterhorses. Eventually, a dock will be set up here. Sunset/Sunrise dragons also dwell in the region.
At the time just before this Chronicle many inhabitants were looking to expand their territories into the lush and prey-laden forests to their Northeast. And so a new settlement emerged. This temperate and verdant region was comfortable home of many dragons, all living in relative harmony. Until strange events began to divide the loosely connected bands into two opposing camps.
These strange events consisted mostly of lightning raids on the usual prey of the locals - everything from a missing goat to the entire herd. A dimly perceived apparition was seen by many in the general area, and it was this creature's identity that became such a contentious issue.
One group were convinced the creature was the
Ice Goddess herself, or perhaps even, just a minion, come to punish the dragons for their extensive intrusion into the more mountainous regions of the forests. It had been a lean winter so far, and the move upwards had been largely an increase in hunting activity in these areas. This group advocated a sacrifice to the
Ice Goddess as the correct method of appeasement. But no one could agree on what would be considered a suitable offering.
The other group looked solely for real life solutions for, to them, a real life problem. The emergence of a new and dangerous rival for their food supply. For these dragons, the first priority was to identify the apparition's true form, find its lair, and find its weaknesses. They felt that their survival justified attacking this other creature, and fully intended to make war upon it.
Great acrimony arose between the two groups, because one wished to appease the intruder, while the other wished to destroy it. A third, much smaller, group decided the atmosphere was becoming a little too tense in their comfortable forest regions, and when
Tiny Sprite arrived looking for emigrants to
Spice City, this group, individually and collectively, chose to leave the forests.
The
Wayist Temple Of The Moon is situated above the
Waterfalls, in the
Alpine Ridge territory. There is no road to the Temple, pilgrims must find their own path to their Destiny – this is the essence of The Way. The
Wayists are moon worshipers who believe in the peaceful co-existence of all the breeds. Their pacifist ways attract adherents from Guardian and White dragons in particular, but even the most unlikely breeds have their converts. The BB Wyverns of Mambos tribe being a case in point. The Moon worship attracts Moonstones from the desert, and Nebulas and Electric from the mountains behind the Temple.
The most spectacular divergence from normal dragon lore is the
Wayist belief that all dragons were once humans, and thrived throughout all the lands of the known world. This peculiar idea comes from ancient scrolls found in the deepest caves behind the waterfalls, and accessed only from within the temple through a series of caverns and tunnels. The moisture in these caves has done a great deal of damage to these scrolls, and there is much that remains unknown about this supposed transformation. No dragon, not even the oldest – and they live a long time – can remember anything that might confirm these assertions, however.
The priests’ research suggests that a catastrophic explosion of magic, of monumental power, shattered the world as it then was, and transformed humans into their magical progeny, the dragons. The few humans now found in Penddraig are the children of the survivors. They have no magic, short and brutish lives, and no future. The documents place the centre of this past human settlement at the Seat Of Humans, the southern peninsular of the island. Some humans are occasionally seen there, and hunting in the Southern reaches of the Wilderness. There is also support for greater human numbers and civilization in the past, in the ruins of human dwellings found both at the
Spice City, and in the
Magenta Kingdom.
The Temple has a priest/ess caste, led by both an Abbot, traditionally Bleeding Moon dragons, and a
Seeress - whose word is final in all things. The Seeress is a Blind Gilded Bloodscale, a creature hatched only every 1000 years. She is gifted with the powers of prophecy, based on study of the phases of the Moon, and contemplation.
Believers send their hatchlings to the Temple as offerings of respect/submission to the Moon and
The Way, where they are schooled in the religion. Many remain forever at the temple, never seeing anything else of the world, but some return to their homes to act as emissaries and missionaries, spreading the precepts of the Way.
Desert Dwellers
are very good hunters, very territorial and sometimes solitary. Can be aggressive to traders en route through their lands. Spitfires & Yellow-crowned, Black Tea, Sun & Moonstone, Greys, Nebula & Sunstone, all reside in the desert and the
Spice City on its eastern rim. Only unity among these disparate breeds can ensure the survival of trade in the region. (see also
https://genkisgamegab.forumotion.com/t2498p40-penddraig-chronicles#19705)
It was
Fragrant Rain’s genius to convince them to even try. With the signing of the
KayMac Concordat, civilization really begins to flourish throughout Penddraig for the first time.
Spice City is the largest population centre in Penddraig. It is situated on the NE rim of the desert, with the
Alpine Ridge region reaching out behind it, and facing the
Volcanic Regions across the wastes, where a solitary Brimstone, Yellowcake, leads a lonely existence.
Here the Greys rule the much less numerous and more easy going Black Tea population. But all breeds are represented here. Pygmies come down from both mountainous areas, and many desert dwellers can be found in the street markets, which are nestled among the ruins of a human city. Although the dragons of the area do not use human forms of habitation, they have found the ruins a convenient place to meet, with a reliable supply of water in the centre of the crumbling rock walls, and even some shelter from the elements. The spice trade is the coalescing factor, and the city has begun to thrive once more since the
Old Spice Road has been reopened.
The Greys form an imperial ruling class, but have suffered many setbacks in the recent past. The
Old Spice Road, on which the city is totally dependent for its intercourse with other dragons, became impassable as more and more desert dwellers raided merchant caravans, and the Greys squabbled among themselves, each jockeying for position in the Imperial court, while their power and prestige was eroded by corruption and decadence.
Jien Shen Zhong (whose name is considered prophetic, meaning “build successful middle path”. Whether his Naming Cleric meant it to be so is hotly debated by historians) took as his 3rd wife a Black Tea dragon named
Fragrant Rain, after she was presented to the court by the noble
Myster Mac, his close confidante, and her father.
Myster Mac was convinced that his daughter would be a great asset to the court and indeed, far more than could ever have been anticipated, she was.
Although she never became Empress, she bore the Emperor the many fine sons and daughters who carried on both the Imperial bloodline and the important work of peace. She is honored by the dynasty’s name, which throughout Penddraig’s long history is remembered as the
Fragrant Rain Dynasty, and one of the highpoints of civilization in the region.
It was
Fragrant Rain who first began the conversion of
Jien Shen Zhong to the idea of a peace pact between the various breeds along the full length of the
Old Spice Road. She pointed out that such a thing would be in the self interest of all the breeds, and could restore the
Empire to its previous glory. Her own father was the first emissary to the least hostile outsiders, the Pygmy flocks from the mountains, with whom his own mate had a longstanding peaceful and prosperous relationship. It was actually the Pygmies who first bruited and then framed the famous
KayMac Concordat, which was, in essence, a Peace Pact for the entire region.
Following the pygmies’ example, the Greys signed the Concordat with the Black Tea dragons as well, and the first empire to acknowledge their citizenship was formed. The next to sign up was
Dovasi Kay, as she came to be known. Her mysterious mate
Colthor agreed to cease attacking the traders as well, but chose not to sign the Concordat for reasons of his own. The
Zoya Clan of Yellow-Crowned Dragons likewise made an unofficial agreement to leave traders alone, but refused to commit to ceasing all aggressive behaviours.
It took years of diplomatic entreaties to get the Drakes of the
Coastedge Wood to agree to protect the entrance into the desert along the
Old Spice Road. Eventually, they became confident enough of the
Concordat to allow use of a pier closer to the Wood and create a direct route through it to the desert. This greatly increased their own prosperity, and helped forge strong bonds with the dragons of
Spice City.
The one truly curious signatory is only a rumour. There is believed by many to be a solitary vampire left from the
Vampire Wars of a century before.
William The Bloody is said to have preyed upon travelers – empty eggs from distant places were often found at known way stations along the Road. Since no dragon would eat the unborn hatchling of another, no matter what tribe, it was assumed that these abominations were his work.
Until he was allegedly captured and brought to
Jien Shen Zhong and
Fragrant Rain. It is claimed that she so charmed him that he agreed to restrict his predations to the north coastal regions of the desert, away from the other signatories of the Concordat, and to change his name to
William The Bloody Mac in line with the others. Since nobody has ever seen this vampire and lived, there is no way to confirm this story, but there has been only a single empty shell found in the many years the
Concordat has been in effect.
Tru Dru is the real reason
William The Bloody Mac signed the treaty. Found as a newly hatched vampire, and near death, by the children of
Myster Mac &Mistress Kay,
Tru Dru became something of a pet to the family.
William The Bloody fell in love with her on sight, and it was mutual. But she loved, too, her rescuers. In the only known agreement of mutual non-aggression between dragons and vampires, the pair agreed to “drift northwest” into the desert and disappear.
The
Volcanic Regions to the NE & SE of the desert and alps are sparsely populated.
Yellowcake, a lonely Brimstone dragon, shares the northern wastes with Crimson Flare Pygmies. Also occasionally seen is inexplicable
Trans Lucia Materna with her
strange immortal hatchlings, who appear never to reach maturity and are permanently under her protection.
Tru Dru is also behind the mysterious
"Immortal Hatchlings" of
Trans Lucia Materna. She has it in her head that she would like to be a mother, so she sometimes bites an egg despite the
Concordat, hoping to create a little vampire egg to raise. On very rare occasions, the hatchlings have survived, but not unchanged. These small creatures seem trapped forever in hatchling bodies, doomed to feed on dragon's blood, but totally without the ability to fend for themselves. Tru Dru, not seeing the result she was looking for, ignores these little souls, and it is Trans Lucia Materna, having lost her own egg to a vampire bite, who finds and cares for them.
The
Southern Volcanic Region hosts flocks of Falconiform & Seragamma Wyverns.
The
Alpine Ridge that separates the northern deserts from the lush but savage land known only as the
Wilderness is largely uninhabited. Occasional Nebulas and Nhiostrife Wyverns, and an Electric or two; Brutes and Stones, sometimes, can be spotted. To the south, the
Wilderness is a fertile but untamed and uninhabited area.
Just why this should be so is a matter of conjecture, but the
Wayists believe it is related to the previous prevalence of humans in the region. It is considered possible, from the references, that the humans hunted this area’s native inhabitants to near-extinction before the catastrophe that led to their almost-extinct status themselves. That would certainly have had to be a very long time ago, because that region is now burgeoning with life-sustaining food for predators and herbivores alike.
The
Magenta Kingdom is contained by the landmass to the SE. There has ruled a single royal family, of which
Maleficent Magenta is the last of the line. It has been a relatively stable and peaceful rule, where most citizens are free and equal, although Black Guards are usually liege-sworn to a particular Royal or Noble family. With the diminution of the families, Blacks have been gaining their freedom more frequently, and now many, proud of their higher status, have taken to adding ‘Free’ to their names.
Again, almost any breed can be found in the
Magenta Kingdom, where the enlightened use of books and knowledge has led to the greatest concentration of mages and other magic users in Penddraig. Unlike the only other “city” in Penddraig, dragons here have made full use of the human artifacts in their region, including magic items, books and even dwellings where intact. There are even a couple of human “attendants” in residence.
Maleficent Magenta left her kingdom to travel to
Dragon Cave Island, in search of a mate of sufficiently regal bearing and prestige to wed, and thereby continue her family’s rule. She put together an entourage of several vital magic users, as well as a personal guard for her protection in the potentially hostile lands. These came to be known as the
Magenta Retinue.
It consisted of Fecunda Rosa; (Red) midwife; Prentisce, (Pink) Courtier, wielder of the Influence magic; a trio of powerful teleporters – Bethelem Gold, Frankinscense, and Myrrh Oil (Magi), who act as emergency communications and who also have their own purposes for what is for them a secret “pilgrimage”. Also Cainte Slane, (White) Druid; Inge & Hippolyta Free, (Black) Guards; and NightSword, formerly known as Martin Free before his Wayist conversion, (Black) Guard – later to leave the Retinue.
At the landing point on the South coast of the
Wilderness, were left many Blacks, Reds, and Greys. These remained ostensibly to guard the vessel used to cross the Southern Sea, and the supplies. It is believed that
Maleficent’s true purpose in coming to the Island was to expand her territory into the now-verdant feast of the
Wilderness. If so, it explains the many hunting and exploring excursions conducted by those she left behind at the shore, and explains their excessive numbers.
In any event, history shows
Maleficent got both a suitable mate – if from a very unexpected quarter! – and the
Wilderness as an expansion of the
Magenta Kingdom’s domain. And she and her consort
Alikhan III rule there happily and prosperously to this day.
Alikhan III is a surprise from the officially uninhabited northern continent. He claims that his people are many leagues north of this their southern coast, and live in comfortable terrain with sufficient of all they need to pose no threat to the peoples of the island, jungles, and desert of Penddraig. He has come south in search of adventure, there being no real place for him in his kingdom, as the third son of the king.
After exhaustive tests and trials, it is determined that he is a suitable mate for Maleficent, and they are duly married in her land, he then returns to settle the
Wilderness as its King, joined by Maleficent once her palace had been built.
To be revised endlessly...
Last edited by JustTheFacts on Tue Jul 22, 2014 6:48 am; edited 13 times in total
