Ancient and terrifying, but wracked with civil war, the Empire of the Dragonborn stretches over the marshy continent of Hionan, in Autica's southern seas.
A race nearly as old as Autica itself, the Dragonborn developed free of the influences of the Gods, New or Old. The secluded, inhospitable swamp that covers most of Hionan served as a dumping ground for the twisted, or flightless children of the Dragons, where they could hunt the plentiful, slower creatures of the marsh. Over the centuries, these broken creatures banded together, interbred, and eventually became the Dragonborn of the current era. Most Dragonborn share their coloration with chromatic dragons. Metallic Dragonborn exist, but are considerably rarer, and are considered somewhat ugly by their brighter brethren.
While the Dragonborn spent the Origin War building immense temples and intricate stone cities, another race was developing on Hionan, one that would play a pivotal role in their history.
A group of Wood Elves, suffering from the Curse of Lycanthropy, had made a refuge in the drier western woods. Eventually, they gained some measure of control over their transformation. They would become the Shifters.
The Dragonborn, relatively few in number, soon took notice of their new neighbours. Lavishly decorated envoys were sent to treat with the "savage" elves, and bring them into the glorious empire they were building. The Dragonborn claim, that the Shifters were so inspired by their leaders elegance and power, that they volunteered their services to the empire. The reality is somewhat harsher. After their first few envoys were turned back, the Dragonborn marched on the Shifter's villages, enslaving all who did not die fighting. Thus, the Shifter and Dragonborn societies became intertwined, with the Shifters serving as slaves for the Empire for thousands of years.
Dragonborn society is very much focused around the glory of their empire, and more importantly, their leader. The whole empire is led by one God-King, an immensely powerful Dragonborn sorcerer, who, by virtue of the immense reverence poured upon him or her by their subjects, actually ascends to a minor form of divinity. And so, the Dragonborn create their own deities, and worship them as long as their reign lasts. Underneath the God-King serves the Chroma Council, a collection of Sorcerer-Lords who deal with the running of the empire.
Extravagant dress and adornment are incredibly important to the Dragonborn of the Empire. Huge feather headdresses, intricate bone adornments, gold, and other precious metals make up the dress. The higher your status, the more elaborate these costumes become. The Sorcerer-Lords are truly awe-inspiring to behold, and the God-King surpasses them by miles. Gemstones that share their colors with the Chromatic dragons are especially valued, but are only to be worn by those whose scales match the colors.
Though most Dragonborn have some latent magical ability, and spell casters are quite common among them, in the construction of their idols, temples and cities, they believe the physical labour best venerates the God-King, and so they refuse to shape anything with magic. That does not mean however, that they do the work themselves. The Shifters make up the bulk of the physical labour in the empire. Their beastial nature gives them the strength and endurance to make excellent labourers. After the Shifters do the all the grunt work, only then will the Dragonborn craftsmen step in for the finishing touches.
While the subjugation of the Shifters lasted centuries with little interruption, the Dragonborn grew complacent in their slave-keeping, and a clan of Shifters calling themselves the Bloody Scale managed to escape captivity, and began systemically freeing other Shifters, while hiding in the swamps that the Dragonborn were no longer familiar with. This led to the current Civil war, pitted between these escaped slaves and the rest of the Dragonborn empire.
They are not amused.
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