An experiment in draconic nation-building, Drakonia began as the head of a confederacy of powerful dragons across Chaldonia long ago. As these individual dragons waned in power, the capital city of Wyrmscrown consolidated its influence, and became a nation in its own right. Drakonia is simultaneously a shadow of its past as well as a more centralized nation of the draconic races of Chaldonia.
The island of Drakonia, of which the nation shares its name, is a volcanic island off the coast of The Verdant Expanse and the territory of The Dread Clans. Drakonia is a fairly isolated nation, though does trade out of ports dotting the coast, primarily to the Verdant Expanse. Fortunately for Drakonia, the legends of dragons and their ferocity keep raids from The Dread Clans at a manageable level. That, and there being more tempting targets on the mainland.
While home to the draconic races of Chaldonia, the current social structure of Drakonia is rather similar to some of humanity’s feudal systems. Though these social strata are much more attuned to the racial makeup of the society. There is some degree of social mobility, though it is generally quite rare
Kobolds, the abundant and meek of the draconic races, serve as the serfs of Drakonia. Lowly workers, merchants, and conscripted soldiers primarily. There are a handful of kobolds in higher positions of society, though this is usually in extraordinary circumstances. A wealthy merchant may buy their way into social standing, or a soldier prove themselves on the battlefield to be a cunning leader, though it is very much an uphill battle. While a majority of Drakonia’s population, most of them live in villages and warrens outside the capital city.
Drakins, who claim the closest heritage to the true dragons of the humanoid races of Drakonia, make up much of the “upper-crust” of Drakonian society. There are rumors that Drakins arose from a bloodline of kobolds that had interbred with dragons, much like the Wyvaran with wyverns, though they disavow such rumors. The generally preferred narrative is that they arose from dragons themselves, rather than being descended from lowly kobolds.
Wyverns, a lesser breed of dragon, though one still capable of being “civilized”, if not a bit aggressive. The “knights” of Drakonian society, they generally serve as guards and military troops, with the higher eschelon of wyvern serving as the owner and protector of a village.
Wyvarans, a crossbreed of kobolds and wyverns, are fairly uncommon, though they tend to be of a higher social standard. This is due to the kobold heritage of a wyvaran often needing to be exceptional in some way for their relationship with a wyvern to be socially acceptable. Otherwise, a kobold would be seen as “going above their station”, and the wyvern “debasing themselves”. Wyvarans and drakins have a rather fraught relationship; drakins feel wyvarans are born of desperation to claim draconic power, while wyvarans claim drakins feel threatened by the similarity of wyvarans to drakin, with additional capabilities that wings provide them.
Drakonia has one primary metropolis in Wyrmscrown, the capital of the draconic nation. Scattered about the coast are villages, often built into the volcanic magma tubes running underground. The primary port of trade with the mainland is one of these villages, built up into a town more reminiscent of those on the mainland, though still built upon a traditonal kobold village.
The capital city of Drakonia, and the head of draconic power in Chaldonia, Wyrmscrown is carved into the Dragon’s Spire. Superficially similar to the dwarves’ propensity for subterranean cities, the scale of Wyrmscrown is ever more massive to befit the size of the dragons of old. Much of the city is carved to be open to the sky, particularly the older districts. As the city expanded, it did so further underground.
A collection of kobold villages whose borders grew into one another over time, forming one large cluster that came to be known as “The Warrens”.
The chief station of export to the mainland, out towards the Verdant Expanse. This is a fairly sizable town that had built up out of a fishing village. Much like other villages, most of the denizens are kobolds, though there are a fair amount of non-draconic inhabitants. Mostly merchants and dock workers that moved in as the trade with the mainland built up the port. Much of the food that feeds the island moves through this port.
The island of Drakonia is dominated by the dormant volcano that gave rise to the land. Volcanic tunnels dot the island, making a welcome environment for the many kobolds that call the island home.
The volcano upon which Wyrmscrown is built, and which gave rise to the island of Drakonia. Truly massive, rivaling the mountains of Vas-Taruk. Long dormant, fairy tales are told of the dragons that used to stoke its lava into flowing. While its dormancy is quite natural, such a tale does line up with the decline of the dragon’s prominence in the world.
A reef of massive sharp rocks off the shore towards the Dread Clans, these form a natural barrier to invasion from the sea. Though it isn’t exactly natural, these rocks seem to have been placed here strategically, hauled by large dragons to protect their land. Or a ludicrously strong wyvaran, hard to say.