Lycene

First Empire of the Serpente Sea

One of the first large human empires, Lycene expended along the shoreline of Aquanius where it bordered the Serpente Sea. Its people soon expanded across the sea and settled unto the southern shore of Miran. An insular nation, Lycene conquered its neighbors or forced them to submit tribute to its Dragon Kings. Its downfall came with the naming of a Dragon Queen in 998 AE, which caused a massive civil war. Its cities in sacked and its rulers killed, the nation fell into ruin and its few remaining treasures picked over by Zentirovan.

• Time Period: 56 - 1018 AE
• Government: City dictators selected by artifact; Dragon Kings
• Etymology: Lyceneans
• Periods:

  • Founding; 56 - 318 AE
  • Dragon Kings; 318 - 772 AE
  • Dragon Queen; 772 - 791 AE
  • Warring Dragons; 791 - 1018 AE
• Ethnicity:

  • Lyceneans 94%
  • Marakii 5%
  • Other; 1%

What became Lycene started as a small town in Aquanius ruled by a powerful warlord with a ancient artifact that he claimed was a gift from a Dragon. The artifact killed anyone, except him, that touched it. Carrying this artifact into battle his fanatical followers conquered nearby villages. Eventually he reached the Serpente Sea and demanded his people construct a house worthy of a dragon. Around this “palace” grew the city of Lycene and nearby villages soon proclaimed him their rightful ruler.

In 145 AE the first Dragon King died - after living over one-hundred (100) years. The city fell into despair and would have collapsed, but in 153 AE a young man touched the artifact and did not die. This man was gifted by the artifact with all of the strength and wisdom of the first Dragon King, so he was proclaimed the Dragon King. Under the second Dragon King, Lycene expanded its territory and demanded tribute from nearby holdings.

In 318 AE a second Dragon King was chosen by the artifact and granted the same strength, wisdom, and longevity as the existing Dragon King. Lycene did not fall into civil war, instead the two Dragon Kings fought in single combat for control of the palace. The loser did not die, instead he left the territory and built his own palace several days ride to the east. He claimed the people living on the lands to give tribute to him as he was their rightful ruler.

There were a series of battles between the two kings, but that ended after the artifact selected two more Dragon Kings in 359 AE. Instead, this started the large period of expansion for Lycene. Each Dragon King fought for control of the First Palace and the defeated king left the area to secure his own territory. Each king ruled their own territory with absolute authority; although they paid a nominal tribute to the First Dragon.

This was the height of the power for the Lycene Empire. The Dragon Kings had constructed large palaces, each one more opulent than the next. They conquered the entire northern coast of Aquanius and had several territories along the southern coast of Miran. While the Zentirovan had a superior navy, they paid a heavy price each time they attempted to raid a Lycene town.

In 772 AE an event occurred that led to the destruction of the Lycene Empire - a woman was selected by the artifact to be a Dragon Queen. Not only was she the first woman to survive touching the artifact, but scholars believe she was not even human. This last point is unknown because any depictions have either been destroyed or defaced. Rather than face the First Dragon, as all before her did, she fled the city and made her way east until she reached the Dengal Strait near the Abjurer Mountains. She built herself a palace and claimed herself equal of the Dragon Kings.

The Dragon Kings assembled an army and from 775-789 AE they besieged her palace, but where never able to break the city. They were forbidden from entering the mountains and so they could only attack up the steep rocky slope that faced the Serpente Sea. The Dragon Queen not only obtained help from the shoag of Sithara, but a dwarven clan that lived in the mountains. This was not made easier by the Dragon Kings inability to work together - instead each king vied for the honor of slaying this false Queen.

In 790 the First Dragon appeared with his army. He took most of the soldiers of lessors and commanded them to work together and storm the city from the sea with what he left them. While the other kings were attacking the city, the First Dragon marched into the Abjurer Mountains and attacked the city from the south. The city fell as they expected no attack from the sacred mountains and the Queen was killed.

The blasphemy of the First Dragon entering the mountains caused a crisis among the other kings. These divisions led to the breakup of the complicated system of respect that had built up over the years. Factions centered around several of the strongest Dragon Kings and in on the year anniversary (791 AE) of when the First Dragon killed the Dragon Queen war broke out.

From 791 - 1018 AE the Dragon Kings waged an absolute war with each other. Alliances changed as each Dragon King fought for control over the Empire. Instead of the small battles for respect that took place decades before, this was total war for domination. Crops were fired, peasants killed, and livestock butchered to feed the attack army. Cities did not surrender, they were sacked and the populace put to the sword. Even the sacred palaces were torn down as the Kings slew each other.

The war did not end after one side sued for peace. Instead it ended in 1018 when the last Dragon King died, killed by the starving peasants he ruled over. The artifact had been lost in the wars so no new Dragon King would rise save the Lyceneans. With their cities razed, their land burned, and their livestock killed the surviving Lyceneans were conquered by their neighbors who once paid tribute to their kings.

Lycene was governed as a strict dictatorship over individual territories. While the Dragon Kings of bordering territories would often quarrel and war with each other, in practice this was done in more of a “ritualized” combat between small groups fighting for prestige and petty wealth.

The Dragon Kings were the absolute rulers over Lycene. They were not chosen by blood, heritage, or even the “gods” like other nations. Instead, the rulers whose word was law were selected by a dragon artifact that was carried from city to city. When it arrived in the city those who felt its draw would place their hands upon it. If they were touched by the power of the dragons the artifact would respond to their power - if they were not they would burn to death over several agonizing minutes.

When a new Dragon King was selected they would fight in single combat with the existing Dragon King of the territory. The right to rule went to the victor. Occasionally a Dragon King would leave before combat and conquer new territory in which to rule. Oftentimes the existing Dragon King would aid the new Dragon King in conquering a nearby territory and thus hold the new Dragon King as his lesser. This led to a very tangled web of fealty among the dragon kings.

In their territory the word of the Dragon King is law - the punishment for defying his word was a torturous death. Petty crimes were handled by territorial dracori appointed by the Dragon King and typically involved payments to the Dragon King - either in wealth or labor.

The First Dragon was the additional title given to the Dragon King that ruled in the First Palace. Every other Dragon King paid a small tribute to the First Dragon and at least publicly recognized him as their superior. Due to this Superior-Among-Equals of the First Dragon he was challenged more often than any other Dragon King. All Dragon Kings must accept a challenge from another Dragon King. This challenge was always public combat and traditionally to the death.

There was only one woman named as a Dragon Queen and her ascension directly led to the civil war that destroyed the civilization. Her hand was forced upon the blood artifact by a mob hoping for divine justice for her crimes. Instead the artifact claimed her right to rule as a Dragon Queen. All previous rulers were men and women were seen only to birth and rear children. The city split by this “blasphemy” or “divine rule” and soon broke out into a civil war. This war spread throughout the empire and resulted in the downfall of Lycene.

Historical accounts do not say much of the woman chosen as the first Dragon Queen. What is known is that she was a woman of foreign blood with many of the statues displaying her with wings and exaggerated ears and a child-like body. It is very possible that the woman was not human at all, but instead one of the jundari from the Abjurer Mountains.

These men were appointed by the Dragon King to oversee their territory. Each dracori would be given a measure of land and rule “in the name of the Dragon.” They could take from this land what they needed to live while the rest went to their king. Any dracori caught taking too much would find themselves on the dinner plate before the Dragon King - still alive.

In daily life it was the dracori that ruled Lycene. The Dragon Kings would sit in their palace and hold court among the dracori, but rarely spoke or even acknowledged the peasants and slaves that worked the land and crafting halls. A Dragon King was an autocratic ruler above dealing with such petty matters. This made alliances between the dracori the true political power. A wise Dragon King would occasionally kill a dracori from a leading alliance and replace them someone favorable to a weaker alliance. This ensured that no alliance could grow strong enough to turn him into a puppet.

The Dragon Kings did not settle too far inland, preferring to stay near the shoreline of the Serpente Sea. These fertile lands have favorable seasons, access to plentiful fishing, and enough mineral wealth to sustain a growing empire. Lycene did not expand to the eastern shore of the Maritic Ocean as the Abjurer Mountains are considered sacred to the Dragon Kings and no lesser man should trod upon them.

This is the capitol city in which the First Dragon ruled. On its highest point sits the First Palace and by law no building may every sit higher than its walls. This allows the people of the city of gaze upon the glory that if the First Dragon. This city is where the artifact that selected the Dragon Kings lay unless the First Dragon was visiting the other Dragon Kings. This city was utterly razed during the civil war and the artifact lost.

The Dragon Kings were antagonistic to all of their neighbors. Those smaller than them were conquered or turned into vassal states, while they warred with their equals. As each territory was ruled independently there was some variation, but in practice a slave collar or being conquered is much the same thing.

Main Article: Zentirovan

Main Article: Sithara