The Dragonlands

The Dragonlands are an arid expanse of badlands, deserts and sprawling mesas to the northeast of Andara. For centuries, the rest of the world thought that no civilised people lived in this treacherous land, for the dragons which darken its skies make a formidable foe for even the most veteran of knights. This was not so, however, as some time during the Age of Dawn, halfling settlements along the border in Warmwood made first contact with an enigmatic race of dragon-men who called themselves dragonborn. These dragonborn spoke of a grand city made of gold, nestled high in the mountains, where they lived amongst civilised dragons with scales of glittering metallic hues. Today, the Dragonlands and its inhabitants are well-known and respected throughout the rest of Andara, engaing in all manner of trade and diplomacy with their scaleless neighbours.

Geography
Large swathes of arid badlands cover most of the kingdom's surface, broken up only by a handful of sheer mountain ranges towards the centre and sprawling mesas to the east. The smallest and sheerest mountain range is known as the Jagged Peaks, great spires of rock that point towards the sky, holding the glittering city of Odinex aloft in their stony grasp. To the east of the Jagged Peaks lies the Spine of Kaxlnakzaar (often referred to simply as 'the Spine'), a snaking row of mountains fabled to have formed from collected sand and rock building up upon the immense skeleton of a gargantuan serpent known as Kaxlnakzaar, though there is little evidence to support this. Natural springs scattered throughout the Spine flow together down the mountains, joining to form the river Moax. This crystal-clear water flows down to lake Moax. Much of this lake is hot and acidic, being unable to support much life at all save for a small zone of clear water around the tributary. A jagged coastline of several headlands spreads into the Great North Ocean, with Trader's Bay bordering the western coast, and the Dawn Sea bordering the eastern coast. Somewhere amidst the slightly more verdant shrubland in the south of the kingdom lies the border with Warmwood.

Just on the horizon, barely visible from the northernmost headland of the Dragonlands lies Dragon's Reef, a barrier reef that supports a handful of small islands and atolls. This peculiar archipelago is littered with countless shipwrecks and home to countless curiosities and treasures that lie beneath the waves. Such treasures are of course well guarded, as the reef is known to be home to multiple dragon turtles, and other draconic leviathans have been rumoured to haunt the seas around it as well.

Settlements
Much of the Dragonlands are inhospitable, either due to the hostile climate or fierce dragons which have already staked their claim to the land. The dragonborn, and many metallic dragons confine themselves to the great city of Odinex, or a few towns scattered nearby. There are also a handful of towns on the border with Miyr, but they are small and disconnected from much of draconic culture.

Odinex
The name 'Odinex' roughly translates to 'Gleaming Nest' in an ancient draconic dialect, hinting at the city's history. Originally the hoard of an ancient chromatic dragon, Mount Yezzerak was besieged by an early clan of dragonborn with the help of a gold dragon by the name of Rakkonthran. With their newfound riches, the clan would go on to found a permanent settlement atop the mountain, decorating their bridges and roofs with some of the plundered treasure. As more riches were amassed from nearby lairs, more dragonborn clans and metallic dragons flocked to Mount Yezzerak, becoming a formidable force which eventually drove chromatic dragons out of the Jagged Peaks for good. By the time this was achieved, the settlement had grown into a bustling city by the name of Odinex, and the title of dragonking was bestowed upon Rakkonthran by his kin. Much of the treasure held within Odinex was used as decoration and building material, as a sort of 'shared hoard' for all its inhabitants. Thus, almost every citizen will protect the city with their lives, and countless ancient dragons have lost their lives trying to raid the city.

Today, Odinex sprawls across multiple mountain tops, connected by great bridges hundreds of metres long. The gilded architecture comprises thousands of pagodas, citadels and towers which all stretch towards the sky, and so many of the roofs are plated with polished gold and silver that it can be blinding to look upon at certain times of day. Atop the very precipice of Mount Yezzerak is the Grand Temple of Bahamut, the centrepoint of draconic religion and home to the Order of the Platinum Scale; a religious doctrine of paladins and clerics devoted to rooting out and exterminating any worshipers of Tiamat, from lone cultists to ancient chromatic dragons. The Pagoda of Rakkonthran has housed draconic royalty for millennia, and is currently ruled by dragonking Rolduurnax.

Culture and Tradition
What outsiders know as draconic culture is often based upon the practices and traditions of the dragonborn clans of Odinex, though the kobold clans and chromatic dragons also have their own culture, though they are much less inclined to share it with outsiders.

Religion
Draconic religion is usually monotheistic; metallic dragons, most dragonborn and other citizens of Odinex worship Bahamut, whilst the chromatic dragons and their minions worship Tiamat. Finally, religious kobolds, who make up a relatively small portion of the kobold population, worship their patron deity Kurtulmak. Bahamut is the only one of these deities with any sort of noteworthy temples, and his worship is usually colloquially referred to as the dragon faith, even though he is not the only draconic deity. The Order of the Platinum scale is the biggest religious order devoted to Bahamut, and its name holds weight across Andara as a zealous doctrine devoted to the destruction of evil. Paladins and clerics from this order undertake seemingly impossible tasks, such as scaling a mountain to slay a dragon and claim its hoard, or destroying entire cults with just the help of a few other companions. As such, these individuals often die in the field, and it is commonly held belief that anyone who finds their remains and claims their belongings will receive blessings or spiritual guidance from Bahamut.

Additionally, the Old Faith and Wild Faith have some footholds within the Dragonlands, and whilst worshipping the gods of these pantheons is not outlawed, it is few and far between. The inhabitants of Dragon's Reef hold the ocean god Yen in particular reverence, and the ancient dragon turtle deity known as Sekhrevek is also worshipped by some of the dragons that inhabit this region.

Marriage and Family
Marriage is a relatively small part of draconic life; only dragonborn engage in this practice, dragons and kobolds have no concept of marriage or monogamy.

Family life for most dragons falls under the umbrella of clan culture, as most dragons and dragonborn who live in Odinex or the border towns will belong to a clan, which dictates their social standing. Unlike dwarvish clans however, draconic clans are far less concerned with bloodlines and familial ties; a dragon will join a clan based on popular vote after proving their worth. Clan culture is also somewhat less important to dragons than it is to dwarves, as not belonging to a clan is rarely something to be ashamed of, rather it is a personal preference. Quite a few dragons prefer to go it alone, uninterested in the idea of sharing their wealth.

Food and Drink
Being more or less obligate carnivores, draconic cuisine is almost entirely meat-based. Any use of vegetables or plant matter is purely for use as flavouring and seasoning, and they rarely form a substantial part of a meal. Most of their meats are sourced from hardy goats, chickens, and fish. These meats are usually heavily seasoned with pungent spices to deter birds and pseudodragons from stealing meats during the hang-drying process.

Common dishes in the Dragonlands include curries, spit-roasted carcasses and jerky. Certain meats are considered delicacies, and are highly prized and sought after. Such meats include tortoise, lion, and parrot, with tortoise being by far the most sought after meat in the kingdom.

Dragonborn are relatively new to the concept of alcohol, having been introduced to wine by the high elves. Since their kingdom's climate favours it, some dragonborn farmers have taken to growing grapes and producing their own wine, which gets mixed with spices to better suit the draconic palate. Spiced dragon wine is a said to be as delicious as it is expensive, and is highly sought after in most other kingdoms.

Ecology
The ecology of the dragonlands could be considered somewhat alien by outsiders. The seas surrounding it are dominated by a myriad of different sea serpents, krakens and aquatic dragons which all prey on anything they can find, from sharks and dolphins to pirates and sailors. Further inland, one could expect to find enormous flocks of axebeaks trying to avoid falling prey to bulettes which stalk the vast expanses of badlands. Dinosaurs are also incredibly common in certain areas of the Dragonlands, with species such as carnotaurus, velociraptor, and quetzalcoatlus preying on herbivores like protoceratops, diplodocus and styracosaurus.

Of course, by far the most common taxon within the Dragonlands is the dragons themselves. Whilst many of them are civilised and live in settlements, many more are bestial, and fill far more active roles within their food webs. All manner of drakes, pseudodragons and even chromatic dragons make up part of the kingdom's strange ecosystem, preying on almost anything they can find that is made of flesh.

Plantlife in the Dragonlands is similarly alien; large swatches of the most northern reaches have weird, sparse forests of cacti and spiny trees which produce beautiful, ephemeral blooms on winter nights. Further south, the scrubland is more uniformly covered in plantlife, with hardy grasses, aromatic herbs and dwarf oaks providing the bulk of the vegetation.