Sakara

The world is far from unified. Although great kingdoms and empires control considerable stretches of land, much of the world remains divided between smaller territories, independent settlements, tribal confederations, and competing warlords. Some regions are governed by established monarchies with centuries of history behind them, while others are little more than collections of villages that survive through uneasy agreements with their neighbors. Trade routes connect distant civilizations, bringing with them wealth, technology, religion, and conflict. Beyond the reach of established kingdoms, however, the wilderness remains dangerous and largely unexplored. Dragons occupy a particularly important place in the world's political landscape. They are not simply enormous beasts or creatures of legend, but individuals with ambitions, territories, followers, and considerable influence. Some maintain ancient kingdoms, others establish themselves as patrons of lesser civilizations, and many pursue their own interests through intermediaries rather than ruling openly. Their influence can be felt through the nobles they sponsor, the armies they command, and the territories they claim as their own. For ambitious dragons, wealth is not necessarily measured in gold. Land, political loyalty, resources, and the allegiance of entire populations can be far more valuable. One such dragon is Kendathar, the Dragon of the Moon. Having been exiled from his own family line, Kendathar has established himself as an independent power and is determined to surpass the dragons who cast him out. His ambitions have led him to conquer the Greatback Mountain Kingdoms, a collection of mountain strongholds and territories that once belonged to competing rulers. Through manipulation, political maneuvering, military force, and carefully cultivated loyalties, he has brought these kingdoms under his dominion. From his holdings in the mountains, he governs through appointed rulers, loyal nobles, and his own network of servants. The Greatback Mountain Kingdoms are only the beginning of his ambitions. Beyond them lie countless other territories, each with their own rulers, cultures, resources, and conflicts. Some are powerful enough to resist his expansion, while others might be brought into his dominion through diplomacy or political subterfuge. Kendathar has no intention of limiting himself to the mountains. He envisions an empire built upon territorial control and absolute loyalty, one that will eventually rival the greatest dragon dominions in the world. Currently, Sakara finds herself far from those mountain holdings, in the Ruby Isles. The Ruby Isles are an expansive archipelago consisting of numerous islands, scattered settlements, and isolated communities. Unlike the established kingdoms of the mainland, the islands are inhabited primarily by small, independent tribes and competing local powers. There is no singular ruler, centralized government, or unified political identity shared by their inhabitants. Instead, the archipelago is divided between numerous tribes, each with its own customs, leaders, traditions, and territorial claims. Conflict is a constant feature of life in the islands. Tribes compete over fertile land, fishing grounds, fresh water, trade routes, and other valuable resources. Some maintain longstanding rivalries, while others form temporary alliances to protect themselves against more powerful neighbors. Warfare is often localized, consisting of raids, ambushes, skirmishes, and occasional larger campaigns. A tribe might control several islands one season and find itself driven from them the next. Despite their fragmentation, the Ruby Isles are not necessarily primitive or unsophisticated. Their inhabitants have developed distinct cultures and ways of life suited to their environments. Coastal settlements rely on fishing, seafaring, and maritime trade, while inland communities may depend on hunting, agriculture, or the resources of their particular islands. Some tribes are relatively isolated, while others have established trading relationships with distant civilizations. Foreign merchants, mercenaries, explorers, and adventurers are not entirely uncommon, although their reception varies considerably depending on where they arrive. The islands are also valuable precisely because they are divided. Their scattered populations and competing political interests make them difficult to govern collectively, but potentially attractive to anyone with the ambition to bring them under a single authority. A sufficiently powerful outside force could exploit existing rivalries, offer protection to vulnerable tribes, or simply conquer communities one at a time. For someone like Kendathar, the Ruby Isles represent an opportunity to establish another foothold far beyond his existing territories. It is here that reports of a mysterious plague have attracted his attention. The outbreak may represent a significant threat to the inhabitants, but Kendathar is more interested in its potential applications. If it can be understood and weaponized, it could become a powerful instrument in his future campaigns. Sakara has therefore been dispatched to investigate the situation, determine the nature of the disease, and establish whether it might prove useful to her patron. Beyond the Ruby Isles and the Greatback Mountain Kingdoms, the world remains vast and politically fragmented. Numerous other kingdoms, empires, principalities, tribal territories, and dragon-held domains exist, each with their own interests and ambitions. Some are ancient civilizations with established institutions and powerful armies, while others are younger states still struggling to establish themselves. The relationships between these powers are constantly shifting, and no single individual or empire has managed to bring the entire world under its control. For now, Sakara is operating on the fringes of this larger political landscape. She serves a dragon who intends to build an empire, in an archipelago where no empire currently exists. The Ruby Isles may seem distant from the politics of the Greatback Mountains, but they could very well become the next piece of Kendathar's growing dominion.

It’s interesting, being born a curse. Not bad, but different. My parents must’ve pissed off a god or something, I never got a chance to ask. As soon as I came out of the womb, I turned my father to stone while he held me in his arms. My mother, just barely, got a cloth wrap around my eyes, not without taking several bites from my hair. By the time she could hold me properly, she was already half stone. I consider myself lucky. My parents had chosen to live down the street to a Scaled Temple. They found me soon after my mother’s organs began to fail. Matilda, the Dragon Priest of the little town my parents chose to call home, found me blind and wailing like some sort of feral animal. Supposedly, it took a week to just get my hair to stop biting her. Eventually, though, she managed to wrangle me and take me back to the temple. I spent my childhood under the boot of everyone who saw me. My days were a mix of being berated and being beaten. I would be starved so thoroughly that there were days when I could hardly lift my hands to eat. Even the woman who brought me in seemed to have only done it out of obligation. She would slip me food, occasionally, but it was never enough to keep me from going to bed hungry. And, I could never fight back. If I dared even to raise my hand to protect myself, I would be the monster I was already seen as. And the temple would have all the proof they needed to put me down like the horrid little creature I was. It was there, catching rats just to keep myself from withering away, that I made a promise to myself. I owed the world nothing. I had earned my right to take what I want. Starving, broken in the basement of a temple, would be the last time I let myself be punished for how I was made. Eventually, my break would come. I’d only survived 14 years as the temple’s dirty secret. Matilda had died, as had any of the other priests who had any sympathy for her decision. I woke in the middle of the night to find the temple empty, and the smell of char wafting down the stairs into the cellar. I climbed the stairs to find the temple’s roof had been burned through, and the bodies of its inhabitants littered on the floor. Standing above them was a man, bathed in moonlight, with white scales, just like mine, resting in patches along his body. He stood over one of the priests, still barely breathing, and crushed him beneath his boot. Being 14, I immediately did the same to a body resting next to me. I heard him laugh and walk over to me. I felt him lift the blindfold from my face, and I saw him with my eyes, my real eyes. It was the first time I’d used them since I could remember. And he didn’t turn to stone, he just smiled, introduced himself, and asked if I’d like to come with him from this wretched place. I nodded vigorously, and he took my hand, leading me from the temple that’d caged me all my life. Kendathar was an angel. He made something of me from the first day he took me under his wing. I quickly found out the reason behind his scales, as he revealed himself to be the dragon of the moon. Banished from his family line, he had ambitions unlike those of any other dragon. He wanted his horde to be land, loyalties, and dominion. And he wanted it far from the interference of lesser dragons. He trained me, day in in day out. He was a mentor, and the first one to ever look at me with anything other than fear and disgust. It was odd, being told that I had a purpose, that I could do something other than hide in a cellar all my life. In fact, Kendathar treated me almost like a prized possession. I had an actual chamber, all to myself. Sure, I did have to wear a blindfold again, as not evrrryoje in his circle was immune to my eyes as he was, but the one he had made for me was far more comfortable than the one the priests forced upon me. All of this was reciprocated in a sense. Kendathar’s first expansion was into the mountains of Edasseril, when I was about 15. Kendathar was a mastermind. He turned the mountain lords against one another, slowly watching as their internal alliances crumbled to the promises he made. Riches, technologies, protection. He played every card perfectly. Ruler refusing to reason with an entrenched family line? Just incite a present revolt. Old warlord refusing to capitulate? Simply offer to educate his child and raise him as a loyalist. Eventually, after he secured a foothold, I began to play a darker role. He forged me a blade made from his shed scales, and gifted me with an aspect from the moon, ensuring I never slept. From then on, I was his assassin. Rebellious lords, scheming courtiers and dangerous preachers all fell to my blade. It was wonderful. I got to extract vengeance for how the world treated me. And, for the first time, I had friends. People within Kendathar’s court started to see me less as a monster, but more as a respected and revered asset. I took to decorating my chambers with statues of those who wronged me on our campaign, made from my very own eyes. Eventually, by the age of 22, I had watched Kendathar totally subdue Edasseril. And so he turned his gaze outward, planning for another expansion. And I was given a new mission.