Dragonera

The Imperial Dominion of Dragonera
Flag Coat of Arms
Motto: Strength of the Dragon
Anthem: Forward the Empire
Map versions
Capital	San Draconis
Largest city	San Draconis, Palmas, Las Brujas
Official language(s)	Common tongue, Minorcan
Official religion(s)	Church of Minorca
Demonym	Dragoneran
- Adjective	Dragoneran
Government	Constitutional Monarchy
- Emperor	Francisco Dei Barbone
- Prime Minister	Julian Marques
- Legislature	Parliamento
Establishment	1455 AN
Area
Population	20,108,135
Active population	3
Currency	Real (R)
Calendar
Time zone(s)
Mains electricity
Driving side	left
Track gauge
National website
National forum
National animal	Dragon
National food	Minorcan Rice
National drink	Dos Equis
National tree	Palm
Abbreviation	IDD

The Imperial Dominion of Dragonera, commonly known as Dragonera, is a constitutional empire located in the southern reaches of Micras on the island of Pacary. The empire is based out of the small Isla Dragonera, located along the northwest Pacarian coast. The empire was founded by the Dei Barbone family, former rulers of the Holy Empire of Minorca, who settled on Isla Dragonera following Minorca's collapse. Utilizing the local dragon population as steeds, the Barbone's led a Holy Crusade across Pacary and united the Imperial Dominion. Originally an absolute monarchy, the empire has evolved to adopt a constitution and an elected parliament. The empire emphasizes military prowess and its armored dragons are feared on the battlefield.

History

The story of Dragonera begins in the former lands of the Holy Empire of Minorca (now occupied by Athlon). The decaying Minorcan empire was crushed by a wave of new immigrants from the Kingdom of Lovely and temporarily subjugated by the cult of Psycotia. When Lovely collapsed the Minorcans briefly regained their isles but before they were able to regain full strength were again crushed by Bovic crusaders from Natopia who then established Athlon. This time the Minorcan inhabitants were forced to flee the isles and seek refuge elsewhere. The surviving imperial family, the Dei Barbone's, fled by ship with a retinue of Holy Crusaders and eventually came to the shores of a small island along the northern coast of Pacary. The island had a native population of dragons, and thus the refugees decided to name it Isla Dragonera, in honor of the ancient city from their homeland.

The Minorcans originally were quite wary of the draconic population. However, Emperor Ferdinand IX, himself a seasoned veteran, saw a golden opportunity and, through much trial and error, nearly costing his life, he was able to tame some of the dragons as steeds for the Holy Crusaders. Thus the dragon became an emblem of the empire and immortalized when the Imperial Dominion of Dragonera was declared as the official successor to the Minorcan Empire. By the time of Ferdinand's death (albeit of natural causes), he had established a breeding stock of tamed dragons and a full battalion of mounted crusaders to defend the island.

Of the scattered Minorcan population, many came to settle on Isla Dragonera and soon the small settlement became a bustling city known as San Draconis. Many other refugees settled along the coast of Pacary and nearby islands. For several hundred years the small state operated under the rule of other powers, most notably Alexandria, where the imperial trappings of the Dragonerans fit well with those of Geneva. Most recently it came under the sway of Vyktory, a nation that arose on the Pacarian mainland. While establishing a fort and settlement at Georgetown, the Vyktoryans were often preoccupied with fighting on Pacary to hold much sway over the island. Eventually Vyktory too passed into oblivion, leaving the Dragonerans free to re-establish their empire.

It was under the reign of Emperor Marcus XVI that the Dragoneran empire began a serious military buildup with eyes toward expansion. The Holy Crusaders were reorganized and expanded. Dragons were fitted with better armor and modern weaponry, not simply the sword and shield of tradition. Under Marcus' reign the crusaders tripled in size and expeditions were launched to lead a conquest of the mainland and secure the resources of Pacary. The crusaders swept onto the mainland, crushing those that opposed their rule while being welcomed in those settlements established by Minorcan refugees. This expansionism only halted when Marcus was killed fighting along the shores of the Great Sand Lake.

Marcus' son and successor, Felipe V, was an adept dragon rider and member of the Holy Crusaders. Tasked with picking up the pieces of Marcus' unchecked expansionism, Felipe was faced with fighting battles on multiple fronts spread out across several territories. It soon became apparent that sustaining such a military offensive was impossible, and he was forced to retreat from central Pacary . Felipe realized that the Dragoneran military was outnumbered and recognized that in order to achieve the conquests his father sought he would have to establish superior firepower. Thus he embarked on a major modernization of the military, investing a great deal into research and development.

Marcus had been seeking to gain control over the lost city of Mu, the ancient capitol of Lemuria, now sunken in the center of the Great Sand Lake and rumored to contain ancient secrets. But the region was controlled by hostile tribes whose sheer numbers could overwhelm even the superior strength of the Dragoneran military. Felipe realized he could not yet gain control of Mu, and therefore sought other avenues of victory. He established forts along the coast of Pacary that would gain him footholds for inland expansion. Meanwhile he continued to search for ancient relics that could aid his crusade. Reaching the southern extremes he came to the frozen and feared shores of the Witches Isle, Las Brujas.

Las Brujas is an ice-encased island shrouded under a blanket of snow and thick frost pines. Long feared by locals, the island was settled by a group of sorceresses whose origin was rumored to be from long-lost Lemuria or possibly even an older civilization. The coven was occasionally consulted by locals, some seeking healing, others less ethical spells. But for the most part they were avoided and shunned; their price of blood payment often too high for the tribespeople to stomach. Felipe knew of the rumors and sought to either put the witches and their magic to use, or vanquish them entirely.

Felipe approached the witches settlement with a small retinue of dragon riders. Seeing the Emperor astride his dragon the witches were awed. Here were men wholly unlike the ruffian tribal folk that often came begging for scraps. The High Witch, Lucretia, agreed to a pact with the the Emperor, who took her for wife, making her Empress. In return Lucretia mixed the blood of dragon and emperor, granting steed and rider unparalleled unity. Felipe had increased strength and stamina, and could now see through the eye of his dragon, even directing him with his thoughts. Thus Felipe became the first Dragon Emperor, and returned to San Draconis with his Empress and several witches to aid his army, with Las Brujas now under imperial protection.

The Emperor was a shrewd tactician and put the witches magical skills to use in improving his military capabilities. Through this combination of science and magic the metallurgists created a powerful new alloy called fyrlantium. Stronger than steel, corrosion/heat resistant, and as light as aluminum, fyrlantium became the perfect metal for armoring the dragons. It was also suitable for armoring his soldiers. The disadvantage was that fyrlantium took three times as long to manufacture as traditional steel, in the process consuming an equally larger portion of materials. As such it took Felipe several years to re-arm the entire Dragoneran military.

In the interim the Emperor looked to other potential sources of military development. The Minorcans had a unique relationship with whales, and Felipe sought to capitalize on this ancient tradition. Thus he began a program of husbandry with a captive whale population. Within a short period he had developed armored whales that could crush a ship's hull like paper. With a combination of armored dragons and whales the empire had both air and sea superiority. Thus, even as he found himself in his late forties, Felipe launched another major campaign against mainland Pacary.

The Second Crusade, as it became known, was much more successful than the first. Having built himself a massive army, the Emperor was able to rout many of the remnant tribes of the mainland. Much of western Pacary fell or surrendered to the advancing armies. Old cities were burnt, their walls shattered, preventing any resistance from regrouping.

Foreign Relations

As a relatively young nation, Dragonera has not yet undertaken active foreign relations with other nations. Although not actively hostile towards Natopia, it contests the occupation of its former home isles by Athlon. Diplomatic contacts have not been made yet with neighboring Stormark and the Florian Republic.

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