The History of Tellaia: Rise of the Dragon Princes

After the death of his sire, the red dragon Morignus realised that there was no way to defeat humanity head-on. With the miracles wielded by the church, even the power of dragons could be cast down. Morignus gathered the leaders of the other dragon clans and proposed a new conquest, not by force of arms but by guile. Over hundreds of years, the dragons took humanoid form and infiltrated the city-states. They could afford to be patient, with their vast life-spans.

Morignus and the red dragons slowly took control of Vanzenia, the richest city in the world. Using the weapons of commerce and economics, they began to cripple enemies who would stand in their way. Meanwhile, the blue dragons went to Fiumenze, where they established themselves among the nobility. Slowly, they eliminated their rivals and became the dominant banking family in Tirenia. The green dragons, with their natural gifts at deception, slowly corrupted the church. They turned the interests of the Ordinarchs slowly from the sublime to the profane, and in doing so, slowly poisoned their faith - and, in the process, the church's moral authority and ability to perform miracles. The black dragons entered southern Vanzenia, where they gradually took over the underworld. Only the white dragons, the least powerful and intelligent of dragonkind, did not take part.

Over hundreds of years, dragons guided the course of history. All rivals to their power were brought down or bought off. The final phase in the conquest came with the crusade against Crescentia, the homeland of the Prophet. There had always been tensions between Crescentia and Tirenia about who should be the leader of the Church, which was amplified as the Crescentians watched the continuing corruption of the Tirenian Church with dismay. Finally, Tirenia's church declared war on Crescentia. Forces from all of the city-states, led by the church, invaded the east to seek plunder. Crescentia won the war, humiliating the Church. Many became disillusioned with the church's moral leadership, and many of those who had died were those who resisted the dragons.

The crusade had been a greater loss for Tirenia than anyone knew. In the following generations, the dragons completed their conquest of the city-states from within. Finally, the dragons began to reveal themselves, but it was too late for anyone to resist them. As the good dragons realised what had happened, they began to interfere, but it was too late. The era of the Dragon Princes had begun.

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Art: 'Michelangelo showing Lorenzo il Magnifico the Head of a Satyr.' Ottavio Vannini, c. 1640.

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