“At last, in the year when Earendil was seven years old,
Morgoth was ready, and he loosed upon Gondolin his
Balrogs, and his Ores, and his wolves; and with them came
dragons of the brood of Glaurung, and they were become
now many and terrible.” - The Silmarillion.
It is unknown of the origins of the Draconians. Walking upright on their hind legs in the same manner of men. Grasping at weapons and tools with their clawed hands, their likeness not dissimilar. Aside from their snout and maw, and the wings and long tail at their backs, from their head spouted curved demonic horns.
The greeks wrote of them little, although it was said a small army journeyed alongside Alexander in his conquest of Persia, spreading them and their seed and influence far and wide. However they don’t enter their own in history until the rise of the Great Rome that their cities, their warrens and homes become recorded by history. Serving Rome as mighty warriors they filled the most important legion of the praetorian guards.
However their numbers dwindled during the troubles. As the Empire split asunder and Emperor fought Emperor, they bled and died on the fields of battle. Their great halls, some suspect stolen from long dead Dwarves, echo with the sounds of the few that remain.
Calling themselves the Melkorohini, they accepted Baptism and communion with the Christ, and thus gained the Pope’s favour and protection during the troubled times.
House Melkorohini, under the Matriach Ancalagonae the Wise, saw fit to protect her people.
Draconians of whom mostly resemble humans through breeding with humans were known as dragonborn, while full draconians are known thereof; collectively known as the dracos.
Our starting positions/realms two weeks ago.
I joined the Hermatics and gained a shitload of learning and going through the Lovecraftian event chain gained enough culture tech points to get Legalism 3 to switch to Primogeniture (Since gavelkind is bad and I don’t know how to work around it).
I expanded into Genoa which the King of Italy (AI) gracefully granted me the Duchy of. Clearly I was up and coming and gaining in power and he needed to pick his battles with regards to his subjects.
Mike, my rival for Italy, was likewise expanding quickly, acquiring Tuscany and Pisa and had leaped over to Corsica.
The stage was set, and our first clash was inevitable.
I had created a faction to set myself up as the King of Italy, and pressed my claim. I quickly defeated the Italian armies but was stopped by Mike, clearly some Elvish blood in that one, sensing his old foe awakening anew.
However I managed to cut my losses and extricate myself from utter defeat, enough so that I could consequently plot my next attempt.
Which would come fairly soon, but first, a side quest.
The duchy of Brescia was in dire straights, they were an old Dwarven stronghold, but its Dwarven inhabitants had been driven out long ago and were now freezing and starving on the hills outside their former homes.
Seeing their plight and sensing an oppurtunity, Ancalagonae approached them with an offer, pledge their fealty to her and her descendents, and their home shall be restored.
With Brescia, and most importantly the jewel of the north, Milan, now in her clutches, it was time to wait for a new moment to strike and seize the crown of Italia.
The opportunity could not have presented itself any sooner, as the Duke of Verona (Mike) had launched their own bid for the crown! The gall of them! (In truth, Mike’s AI launched the coup, and Mike rejoined mid-session) It was a tough fight. Scheming merchants from the Near East pledged their coffers to Verona, and the Dwarves of the North only begrudgingly offered their former ancient enemy a pittance in turn.
Nevertheless, despite their smaller numbers, the Draconians under Ancalagonae, lead by her sons, Darigaaz the Sneaky and Malfegor the Ready had held their Italian human soldiers firm, with threads of being burned alive for cowardice.
Despite multiple defeats on the field of battle, Verona could afford to continue the war, and its armies dissipated like water on a rock, and they soon ended their rebellion and bent the knee to the Italian King, Bson.
(The Verona Problem)
The war involved raids from the West, and raids from Venice which had to be beaten back during this time, when the war ended.
Round III.
With Mike’s own shot thwarted by a combination of bad luck and well, misfortune, and stubbornness by me, the stage was set for round three after a short respite.
Once more Ancalagonae would raise her hosts in rebellion against the ill suited Italian King, and Mike was not in a position to stop it, his reaction had been much slower this time, and when he did raise an army and hire mercenaries, they were quickly dashed apart with swift marching, as the Draconian armies first headed for the heart of Verona before heading further south.
With Verona defeated, and the King captured, Ancalagonae declared herself Queen of a new Draconia; or in the old tongue, Angondor.
Mike was forced to relinquish an additional Duchy, his capital duchy of Verona, henceforth nailing in the last nail of that coffin for the possibility of an upset victory, Italy, no Draconia, is now a land of Dragonfire and embers.
Due to Ferra putting me over my 3-duchy limit for duchies outside my de jure, I had to temporarily relinquish. Next session I’ll take what remains of Modena and Tuscany since they ar my de jure, and tributize the Merchant Republics near me for their income boost.
Mike I believe currently intends to move to France, where I hope he has a much more successful time, much more successful. Since he will have an important roll in containing Clonefusion (Aragon), Tazzzo (North Germany/Bohemia) and Ranger (Bavaria/Austria/South Germany).
This leaves only Yami in Southern Italy, it is unclear to be if Ferrara and Abruzzo are meant to be a part of his de jure and if by created a custom King title he broke it? Regardless, due to size limits neither of us has much to gain fighting each other, when we have much more in common in fighting off the larger, wealthier powers at either end of the Med.
My main goal hence will be to develop Italy as much as possible, and convert with the highest development; a goal I am likely significantly behind on, but I shall make an attempt nonetheless.
