Scaleheart — City Of Dragons And Intrigue
A journey of world-building.
Significance
Scaleheart is the Capital City of The Dragon Empire. It sits at the heart of the empire and is home to the Dragon God — The ruler of the empire.
Weather
Scaleheart’s weather is relatively warm. There is snow in the Winter. The sun is hot in the Summer. Many flowers bloom in the Spring, and many of them fall off and die in the Autumn. The seasons are longer than our contemporary world. The journey of Terra’Yesh — the planet Scaleheart belongs to — around the sun is slightly slower.
Technology
Terra’Yesh is not technologically advanced. Technology can always thrive where Order is cultivated. The lands outside the Dragon Empire are lawless chaotic and dangerous — technology can’t thrive there. On the other hand, the rule of Dragon Gods has made the people dependent on their providence and monarchy. The regular people of the empire are not wealthy enough to pay for such research endeavors, and the nobles of the city are preoccupied with Power and political disputes. And so, Terra’Yesh mostly resembles our own Medieval times.
Magic
Magic exists on Terra’Yesh and is widely available to the people living on the planet. The Magic system of this world is a work-in-progress and will be discussed in future world-building articles.
Politics
Scaleheart is the Capital city of the Dragon Empire. The middle of the city is occupied by a palace elevated from the rest of the buildings. The Emperor or Empress is always a humanoid Dragon God (or Goddess).
In such a place where so much Power is concentrated, there is always intrigue. The bars and Taverns around the city are filled with spies from Noble houses that oppose the throne, homeless, bastards, hookers, and bandits, among the fair folk who come to enjoy a good fire beer.
Being at the heart of a vast empire, Scaleheart mostly enjoys some peace as opposed to the towns closer to the Lava Wall which protects the realm. Those towns are usually invaded or raided by impostors who come to take refuge in the empire but secretly serve the Godly Bastards.
Religion
Scaleheart is also home to The Dragon’s Teeth. A religious order which serves the Dragon Gods and roams the roads of the empire. The Teeth believe in the Fire religion and always keep a fire going.
The city of Scaleheart is also home to the Scaleheart University. A place of learning that allows people to educate themselves about their gods, magic, and current technology. Research is also being conducted there into studying the elements. The University mainly opposes the fire religion and their inconclusive beliefs.
People
The population of Scaleheart is in the tens of thousands. Living near the palace is a feat only the wealthiest can afford. As the castle is at the heart of the city, the poor usually live at the farthest reaches of it or even outside the city wall, that was built after many coup attempts to overtake the throne from the ruling Dragon Emperor.
Notable History Events
Bel’Crest Assassination
The only time in history that the Emperor was assassinated was by Lady Aramithya Bel’Crest of Flowing Skies, a city in the Rogue Mountains west of Scaleheart.
Aramithya planned for weeks how to make the emperor — Jorgan Kesterwing — fall in love with her. She was a supremely talented actress and an even better planner. Many claim she had help from insiders at the palace though no one ever discovered them. When Emperor Jorgan finally took her to bed, she slit his throat with a God-Essence dagger as he climaxed inside her. The Emperor’s God essence passed on to her as she was impregnated and for a brief period in time, the Empire had an Empress.
After many assassination attempts on her person for the first weeks of her rule, Empress Aramythia decided to step down not before granting herself an island where she and people she chose went to live the remainder of their lives, choosing to cut themselves from the empire.
Civil War
When Empress Aramythia stepped down, Civil war ensued in the empire. Each sect was fighting for their own Emperor on the crown. Those times are remembered as the “Turmoils of Folly” that ignited after the Empress’s treachery. Many people died in the turmoils. It has shaped the people of Scaleheart to be wary of their neighbors and distrust their rulers. The boundaries and jurisdiction of the noble houses had shifted dramatically throughout the turmoils, and many ancient houses have been completely decimated.
The turmoils are remembered as the worst of Empire History.
Current Rulers
House Agareon emerged victorious from the civil war with house Ignis, their leading supporter. To this day, House Agareon still rules the Dragon Empire from Scaleheart.
The current Emperor is Enxis Agareon ‘The Fierce Wind’. Enxis is 29 years old and can transform into a full-grown High Dragon. He wields the God Essence of many slain Godly Bastards and the faith of the majority of his subjects who believe in his rule and see him as the change the empire needed.
He is ruling the empire for five consecutive years.
In those years, Enxis has united the houses of the empire by reminding them of the empire’s common foe — the godly bastards. During his reign, the empire’s conquered lands had increased more than any ruler in the 30 years before his rule in the same amount of time. People close to him have often said the emperor had set a goal to himself to expand the empire more than Emperor GoldFeather who had developed the empire more than any emperor excluding Emperor Cornelius ‘The Red’ himself.
Conclusion
Scaleheart is full of mysteries, secrets intrigue and magic. It is the nexus of the empire, and many of the most important decisions had been taken in the palace at the center of the city. It will be a fertile base for many adventures.
Thank you for reading this work in progress! It is subject to changes and is not set in stone.
Have any questions? Want to suggest changes? Don’t hesitate to start a conversation below!
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Oren Cohen is a Software Development Engineer, Gamer, Geek, and Writer. He is writing in all sorts of topics on Medium, though his passion lies with Fantasy and Video Games.
