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Draconic Humanism

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Draconic Humanism is a notable branch of the Draconic religion that is found within countries where the religion enjoys either a strong minority or a majority within their countries' populations. Draconic Humanism has its most politically powerful presence within Adrestia, where several members of its Regency Council are devoted adherents to its tenets. This sect of Draconic combines elements of National humanism with its own Traditionalist views to form, at the same time, both a religious and political ideology that has rapidly gained force within Ralgon in recent years.

The movement first came into being within Ralgon not long after the wider National Humanist movement gained popularity outside of Benacia from 1683 AN. The movement slowly spread to Ralgon following the Tarr Rebellion, when the then-government of Adrestia looked on in admiration of the brutal efficiency at which the Benacians crushed existential threats during the events of that time, especially compared to their nominal overlords in Valeria.

As of 1706 AN, the movement is most notable internationally for the grip it holds over key contenders for Ralgon's imperial throne, to include the young and seemingly palpable Prince Masamune IV of Adrestia, who is expected to take a different regnal name than his forebears upon his own expected coronation no later than his fifteenth birthday on 1710 AN.

Basic Tenets & Beliefs

In short, the newly powerful religious tradition combines the tenets of Draconic with many of the teaching of National humanism, the latter an ideology finding a foothold within the historically military-dominated state of Adrestia, itself a nominal part of the Holy Ralgon Empire.

Draconic Humanism differs strongly from its dogmatically more traditional counterpart in that its doctrine calls for strong resistance to "threats to Thr'or's Creation." (Thr'or is the creator god who gave his own body to preserve and protect the universe for all time.)

Protecting God's Creation

In current geopolitical context, this refers to extermination of what remains of the creatures that Ralgon fought during the centuries-long Great Swamp War that formally concluded in 1680 AN when the majority of Great Swamp fauna was exterminated, along with a majority of the hostile dragons on Drag'os. More recently, this threat to humanity has taken a wider tone under Draconic Humanist tenets: namely, that of the undead that ravage Northern Cibola and, more recently, portions of Drag'os following an outbreak of the infection over there.

Given the threat of zombified dragons, bugs, and humans alike, militant forces have begun to adhere to the ideals of protecting humanity so that they can more easily see Thr'or's Grace through their own works. Of all the tenets that Draconic Humanism stresses, this is singularly the most important that sets this sect apart from Draconic Traditionalism and other formerly mainstream denominations of Draconic throughout Micras.

Strong Central Government

While the traditional Draconic Traditionalism adheres to and celebrates diversity in all forms possible, Draconic Humanism holds a narrower view. That is, it celebrates human diversity, and the mythologically important wise spirits of the world take on a far less physical approach. In a word, the "wise dragons" and the "spirits of the great trees" that occasionally impart knowledge and wisdom are sources of spiritual renewal. Outside of sharing spiritual guidance, such spirits are so rare and, consequently, so weak, that their contributions to protecting God's Creation is negligible. Given that this remains the most noble activity possible for a Draconic Humanist, the concept of relying on spiritual help as a core principle of any grand strategy is unthinkable.

State Harmony: A Religious View

In the eyes of Draconic Humanists, they would disagree with other National Humanists in exactly one unnegotiable respect: the purpose of religion. For the majority of National Humanists in Micras, the sole purpose of religion is to contribute to the protection of the state. To a Draconic Humanist, the purpose of protecting the state is to adhere closely to their religion, and thus cause Thr'or's Grace to light the world and ultimately strengthen spiritual well-being throughout the world. This would, in turn, provide some sort of aid to the Gods in maintaining a form of spiritual balance without sacrificing their strength to intervene in temporal affairs.

Diversity is, by mandate of their spiritual beliefs, celebrated by Draconic Humanists. However, they still stress cooperation and unity as a community. Centuries of near-constant warfare has taught the Ralgon population that only one thing unites a state, and that is a cause bigger than itself. Therefore, the goal of Draconic Humanists is to maintain the State's constant effort towards overcoming national obstacles (preferably those spiritual in nature) to encourage espirit de corps within the population.

To this end, Draconic Humanists already see within Ralgon and Ralgonese states a strong apparatus of governance to achieve a far better version of itself. Namely, they see the power void left after the death of Emperor Shiro I of Ralgon as a tool to place a far stronger mode of centralized authority into power, that would not abandon lands callously as had happened in the wake of the 1680's general crisis that saw most of Drag'os lost to The Green, and then (even worse) to foreign powers that seemed to share absolutely no heritage at all with their people. Consequently, revanchism forms a significant part of most Draconic Humanists' political ideologies, even if such does not form some part of their religious beliefs.

Organization

The organization of the Draconic Humanist movement is, ironic to its principles, highly decentralized due to political events rocking the Ralgon Empire in the first decade of the 1700's AN. The religious sect as an organization has three centers of power.

The first center of organized Draconic Humanists is in Gondolin, where the court of Adrestia surrounds its child Prince with strong adherents. The Vizier of the kingdom, Duke Nikamura Hawkins of Gondolin (the scion of the famous Duke Kazuma Hawkins) heads the Draconic Humanist Front within the Regency Council, himself having embraced those tenets sometime in the late 1690's. The movement has centered around the Duke and his young Protege, the infant Prince Masamune IV. The Prince's parents died under mysterious circumstances, almost certainly on the orders of Masamune II for sedition and treason in early 1701 AN. The Prince himself died of old age on 1704 AN at the age of 46, leaving only his three-year-old grandson, Masamune IV, on the throne under the care of the Regency Council. The Duke since packed the Council with people at least tolerant of Humanist and Draconic Humanist ideals, in an effort to allow the Prince to genuinely adopt and adapt those ideas for himself when he comes of age.

The second center of organized Draconic Humanists resides in Glacier City, within the very halls of the Holy Draconic Temple. The movement is led from the City by the Elder of the Draconic Knights Templar, whose actual name remains a mystery, as he has been in the Order most of his entire 86-year life. The old knight embraced Draconic Humanism slowly over the course of the 1680's, and then spread the ideals to his Knights, who swiftly accepted these new teachings and incorporated them into their practices (and vows) of protecting adherents to the faith against border violence.

The third center does not originate from an MCS-recognized Draconic population. Instead, militant groups operating in the former Zamma have embraced the movement, and due to constant war and internal strife, have found a stronger version of the Draconic religion to strengthen their military position in the region. A separate, self-proclaimed order of the Draconic Knights of Zamma, led by Kenshiro Hatake, recently took command of an Adrestian Royal Navy garrison in the region in the wake of the recent succession crisis boiling in the midst of Emperor Shiro's final illness. Commodore Hatake learned to embrace the religion in an effort to unify Adrestian and Zamillian efforts, and established a very strong foothold in the territory of Dragon's Reach before the close of 1705 AN, not long after the Emperor's death.

History

{{{1}}} This article or section is a work in progress. The information below may be incomplete, outdated, or subject to change.