Calorien

This is a description of Calorien, a province on Ulthain, as written by Ceridwen and Galroth, both from that province.

Geography

Calorien is a roughly half-moon shaped province comprising of the ‘wastelands’ of the Earth-Spine mountains of Ulthain. The vastness of geography belies the sparse population, for the land is incapable of supporting many souls, and few are brave enough to make their living there. Be that as it may, ‘wasteland’ is a misnomer, for the regular volcanic activity does produce a few excellent wine-growing districts, their vintages famous for their spicy savor. The hillsides are covered in thick grass pastured by cows and other herd animals, the economy geared toward supporting the Draconic population. The range is still very geologically active, so habitation is limited to the extinct mountains, above the flow-paths of the active eruptions. Elven keeps are built onto the tops of extinct volcanoes adjacent to the Dragon aeries, easily defensible by air, and convenient for the landing of winged mounts. The dragons are, of course, reptiles, and require a good deal of heat as well as the chemicals produced from the sulfuric gasses of the volcanoes, with which they fuel their fire-breath. To this end, they tunnel out their dwellings deep in the mountains, close enough to the lava pockets to provide heat year-round. In modern times, much of the tunneling and upkeep is done by the elves.

The climate shifts seasonally between torrential rains and heavy snows. Summers are chill and humid, and winters bitter cold. Living as they do on windy mountaintops, Caloriens tend towards many layers of clothing, favoring furs and quilted silks over the airy garments of their lowland neighbors.

The Northern Fire-spines are the heartland, sloping to the Blasted Desert edged by broken cliffs looming over the outer sea. There is little economy in grain since the climate is so damp, but mulberry groves support a thriving silk trade and what cannot be grown on the steep mountainsides can be bought with the wealth of gems and meat provided by the land.

History

It has been said by many that the Calorien is an elf-shaped dragon. They certainly have the ego for it. However, this draconic mien is a result of years of conflict and compromise, shaping the landscape of modern-day Calorien.

The first elves to settle in the harsh, volcanic mountains of Calorien found themselves at the mercy of the native population – dragons. The Calorien dragon is one of the most intelligent yet known, their loose-knit society as ancient (if not more) than that of elfkind. For years, the elven settlers fought a losing battle against the dragons, who saw their new neighbors as a strange kind of two-legged cow. It was with the rise of Dracomancy, or the magical art of communicating with and defending against the dragon, that the Dragons first became aware of the intelligence of elfkind.

The Dragons’ High Council, a loose confederation of the older dragons, sent for Calor, Later called Calorien Dragontamer by outsiders, who tend to think of the dragon as a beast to be tamed. After this first conference a truce was called, and at the Great Council of Firetop the Parallel Kingdoms were founded.

The terms of the treaty allowed for Dragons and Elves to develop a symbiotic relationship. The dragons provided guards for the mining of the mineral-rich mountains of the Fire-spines and defense of the borders from the frequent incursions by sea and from the North. In return, the elves tended herds, keeping a large supply of healthy meat for the dragons’ diets. Half of all mining went to the dragons as tribute (who knows what they do with it), and it was found that when elves fought dragon-mounted, casualties for both rider and dragon were significantly reduced.

Not everyone had the gift of Dracomancy, however. Draconic communication has both a vocal and a telepathic component, requiring innate talent in the elf who wishes to communicate with dragons. Thus, the nobility of Calorien became such because their bloodlines contain this ability to receive the telepathic component of Draconic speech. About half of the population has some ability in this area. Only one in ten can communicate effectively enough to accompany a dragon into battle, and only one in a hundred can master the art enough to negotiate with any degree of facility. Most dragons can understand Elven speech well enough, but one-sided communication only serves to keep the culling of the herds civil.

After the inauguration of the Kingdoms, Calorien was impervious to the great invasions, and became a place of refuge for many. After the second High King was killed at the battle of Garlorn Plains, Calorien Deamonslayer became Calorien I, and the Calorien dynasty began. Calorien was the seat of power during the Expulsion of the Havoc Lords and the Revolt of the Pleasure Cultists, later to become the Dravii. However, a plague struck the dragon holds in the fifth century after the Diaspora of the Wyrm, decimating the draconic population and causing the subsequent abdication of Calorien XI so that he could concentrate his efforts on preserving his homeland. For this, he is known today as ‘Calorien Dragonkin’.

Calorien is still recovering from the days of the plague. Even now, the dragon population has been slow to revive, despite the best efforts of Calorien Dracomancers. The older dragons who survived the illness were damaged, inflicted with chronic fatigue causing them to spend most of their time sleeping on their hordes. This, as one may imagine, does little to help in the repopulating of the species. The younger dragons, however, are immune to the disease and do not suffer from the fatigue of their parents. Perhaps, in time, Calorien will again rise to its place of prominence in the political landscape of Ularion.

Goverment

The parallel kingdoms of Calorien are just that – the simultaneous existence of Draconic and Elven government. The dragons are organized under a council of elders (who can be of either gender), under whom is a complex and loosely knit strata of nobility and sub-nobility that can, at times, even puzzle a Calorien.

The Elves in turn are governed by the Council of Princes, embodied by the senior members of the five largest noble families. The current roster is made up of the Lords of Houses Varden, Terriden, Elthrador, Urgean, and Corvass. Each has a certain stereotype, as powerful families are wont to acquire, not necessarily a rule, but definitely a trend.

The Varden are the radicals, at least by Calorien standards. They are known to give in to trends and thoughts current in other parts of Ulthain, and the policies they propose are considered dangerously new-fangled and disgustingly trendy. In the latest ‘scandal’ a Varden actually ordered a dragon saddle made from wyvern hide imported from Elyrrhain with Chavorian fur lining, rather than using the traditional wyrm-hide from the spine mountains.

The Terriden and Varden tend to be at constant loggerheads, for the Terriden are fanatically traditional, even for a Calorien family. Nothing can be changed from the Times of Calorien Dragontamer, for they claim to be his direct descendents (a fact much debated in the more heated sessions of the Council of Five). Even floating mage lights are taboo – wall sconces were good for Calorien, and no Terriden would dream of doing him one better.

The Elthrador are a breed apart, a family of eccentric individuals, forever conflicting over who gets his own way until they need to present a united front to outsiders – and then they’re a force to be reckoned with. Stubborn, contrary, and fiercely independent, they are nevertheless devoted to their country in their own way, their willful unpredictability is as useful in battle as it is annoying in daily life. Conservative when it suits their purpose, but not afraid of new endeavors, as long as it was their idea and they get to be in charge.

The Urgean are a notably grim lot, obsessed with the destruction of Dravii after a large number of their kin were captured and tortured to death over five millennia ago. The head of the house swore at that time that each generation of his house would pay pack three-fold the deaths of their kindred, and they’ve proved true to their word. In council, their hawkish influence drives much of Calorien’s independent military campaigns.

Finally, the Corvass are the diplomats, silver-tongued politicians with a reputation for fair-dealing and moderation, as well as their numerous connections to the current High King’s court. Affable and gregarious, they are well-liked, even if they sometimes have a reputation for being a trifle obsessed with their fashionable clothing. In Council, they tend to be the tie that binds, keeping the Vardens and Terridens from each other’s throats while calming the Urgeans and preventing the Elthradors from storming off in a huff.

Under these five are the Dragon Lords, each presiding over one of the ancestral keeps dotting the mountaintops. It bears mentioning that “Dragon Lord” here is not the same as the Dragon Lord military unit. Though the same word, the intricate elven language clearly distinguishes between them with different tonal pronunciations that does not translate into any other language. Each keeps his fief, maintaining relations with the local Dragons and seeing to the management of his estate and those who live on it. There is no feudal system as such; non-nobles are free to move from one Household to another. It is, however, considered a grave breach of courtesy to do so, loyalty being a key feature of Calorien Etiquette. Similarly, a Dragon Lord must be in residence for the winter of each year, unless he or she is called away on campaign.

The whole functions under a complex code of loyalty, with even more complex measures in place to counter breaches in a superior’s conduct. Even a member of the Council of Princes is vulnerable to an honorable deposition, should he be found wanting in his performance of duty.

Relations with other provinces

Caloriens relations with the rest of the land are, as one might imagine, a bit distant as the country as a whole moves towards a more liberal society. Sarepha tends to be the closest, much as Calorien dislikes their ‘loose’ ways, due to the movement of mages from one province to the other. Calorien has more than its share of magic users, many of whom consider the final polish on a good education a decade or so at the Ivory Tower. The Caloriens tend to be fascinated by the (to them) whimsical ways of their less strict cousins, and it’s not uncommon for the noble houses to form alliances by marriage.

Close relations has also been established with the three neighboring provinces:

Separated by be the Earth-spine mountains, the day to day business with Taeyrn is small, and with the little use for Taeyrns largest export article, their famous chariots, trade is minimal, but through their great hatred for the Dravii, the Urgeans have always sought to Taeyrn for support, and found it in the land almost destroyed by the Dravii. To this day, most Urgean Noble families have small estates in Taeyrn, and spend a lot of time there fighting alongside the natives. The other families also hold the Taeyrn in high regards, for guarding Caloriens back from invasions, and for their unquestionable resilience.

To the south of Calorien lies Eiarane.
Caloriens relationship with Eiarane is the complete opposite. Almost all of Calorien trade is done with Eiarane, or more precisely the city of Lanthai, Capital of Ulthain. The Calorien silk is highly treasured there, and is just as easy to bargain with as gold. Yet the conservative Caloriens frown upon the frivolous lifestyle in the metropolis, and considers the way of its inhabitants a sign weakness. Hardly any Calorien has made Lanthai a permanent residence, and most only visit for short amounts of time to do their business.

The only Large scale trading Calorien do outside of Eiarane is with Elyrrhain, and that means Horses. Calorien has their own fine breed of Horses, but when it comes to the battle stallions of the Dragon Lords, and the personal stables of the Lords and Ladies, there are no substitute for the genuine thing, and nowhere in Ulthain - and thus the entire world - can there be found better Horses than in Elyrrhain. These magnificent animals do not come cheap though, and Caloriens spend almost as much gold and silk to obtain them as they do obtaining everything else they need from Lanthai.

Military

The dragon riders, of course, make up the most visible element of the Calorien units, but they do not comprise the majority of the troops. This is the case for two reasons; in part because there are so few Dragons due to the plague, but mainly because so few master Dracomancy well enough to fight on dragonback. Those nobles who do not ride a dragon into combat usually ride on horseback in the Dragon Lord units, usually between 6 and 15 strong. These units stand out almost as much as the dragons on a battlefield, for no Noble wishes to be outdone, and the stallions carry barding covered in dragon scales and other requisites showing the proud heritage of the unit. The Dragon Riders and Dragon Lord units are unique in that they alone do not bow their standards to the Elvenking. They believe that their devotion to Ulthain has won them this honor, having saved the island from five Dravii invasions, each time decimating the enemy with fiery death from the air. The other units doubtless take it as hubris.

But not all of Caloriens military is mounted. Only high ranking Nobles are allowed to ride as a Dragon Lord, and even they usually serve in the elven militia when young. It is considered a valuable part of any elf’s education to learn the basics of the spear and bow in this way. It is not uncommon, however, for an elf to specialize in archery. This occupation is highly honored all over Ulthain, but in Calorien, the large scale use of flight in combat has generated a special need. Ever since the Great Council of Fire-Top in ancient times, the foot soldiers were the ground support, masters of archery who could aim for a dragon’s heart and hit true. Today these ‘Dragon Archers’ provide cover for the aerial attacks of the Dragon Riders. They wear light armor and soft-soled shoes, and their longbows made from the tough dragon horn shed during the winter molt are quite difficult to handle. These elves train all their lives, and are deadly accurate and devastatingly powerful. Each unit is assigned to protect a specific dragon, usually several units for each, and great shame falls upon the members of a unit whose dragon or dragonrider is lost. And should a unit perform exceptionally well, the Dragon sometimes grants the unit the right to use its name. Most famous of these are the “Guardians of Argonthrax,” whose champion shot down a wyvern with his last arrow, just as it was about to descend on Argonthrax while he was distracted in battling another creature. The champion has long since retired, and Argonthrax has not left his mountain in more than a century, but the unit still fights on, and only the most talented and dedicated are accepted. Many are the Nobles who have tried to buy a place in the unit or others like it for a son or daughter, but just as many have been turned down.

Culture

Calorien society is designed to mesh with draconic, and is therefore the most conservative of all Ularion. Manners are highly formalized, with strict codes of who can speak to whom in exactly what mode. This careful way of speaking often carries over into conversations with outsiders, giving the impression of stuffy formality. Their accent is rolling and pleasant, one of the most audibly tonal in Ulthain. The three pillars of Calorien conduct are Loyalty, Duty, and Honesty. From these stem the formal codes of behavior and also the psychology of the people, to whom a story of loyalty tested and upheld is more moving than one of consuming passion. The highest compliment a Calorien can pay is an oath of loyalty, and the greatest endearment translates as ‘my precious duty.’

From childhood, the Calorien elfling is trained in the polite formalisms that make life in the company of huge, meat-eating fire breathers possible. It is common for even the poorest families to hire a tutor when the infant has not yet learned to speak, lest he learn to do so improperly. For the dragon lords, the elfling often learn to sit a horse before he can walk, graduating to dragonback as soon as possible. Swordsmanship is less important than skill with a spear or lance, supplemented by projectile weapons suited for aerial attack. Added to this the study of Calorien history and genealogy keeps the youngster occupied until he reaches legal adulthood.

This strict and formal upbringing leaves little or no time for many of the creative arts such as painting and music. It is not that Caloriens do not enjoy the arts as much as the other elves; they do. And just about any elf can handle an instrument or two with skill, but there are very few in this province who devote themselves to it, and Calorien has bred extremely few elves went on to make a name for themselves outside of Calorien as artists or musicians. Most of the artwork that covers the great halls all over Calorien have been made by elves hired in from other parts of Ulthain. The art of the needle is the only one given any particular approval, as it’s considered a useful occupation for those young ladies who do not care to do a great deal of military training beyond the basics of flight. The Calorien love of excessive embroidery on their clothing perhaps accounts for this exception.

The age of majority comes earlier than in other parts of Ularion, as one becomes a legal adult at the age of fifty. It is at this point that the youngster is allowed to first leave the province, the idea being to guard the impressionable from the softening influences of the world outside. At this age he is considered marriageable, but it’s uncommon for any such unions to take place until after the first century is reached. This formalism and almost fanatical adherence to tradition gives the Caloriens a reputation for arrogance and elitism, even among their own kind. ‘Dragon Lord’ has entered the language as a byword for noble snobbery.

The average Calorien tends to be muscular as elves go, especially about their long legs so as to better stay on their huge mounts. Here the blonde-hair and blue eyes of the other provinces give way to darker colors, hair ranging from deep ruddy brown to raven black and eyes tending towards brilliant jewel tones and the rarer browns. There are even a few red-heads, thought to be favored of the smith god. Features tend to be slightly more pronounced than elsewhere, especially the characteristic hawk-nose.

The large-scale production of silk makes that the cheapest fabric to obtain, and it’s worn by nearly everyone. Cotton, which requires a drier climate, is considered by many to be a luxury fabric, as is wool. Clothing tends to be thick, colorful, and heavily embroidered, layers of padded brocades and velvets in the chill winters and damp summers. For the coldest days, there’s the distinctive fur-lined surcoats, often done in ermine or snow-fox. Social status is indicated by the quality rather than quantity of jewelry, and by the complexity, amount, and workmanship of the embroidery and dyes. The nobility by necessity dress for function – it would be hard to tend a dragon whilst wearing trailing skirts and looped sleeves. Only court dress includes these fripperies. It is all, of course, imbued with the most impressive anti-flame and heat spells ever invented. The ultimate result of these advances is the Dragon Armors, highly treasured for its ability to protect their wearer from any type of fire.

A first-born’s life is encompassed by preparation for his or her duties as Head of House and Dragon Lord. After the age of majority, however, he is allowed to go abroad to widen his education, until such time as his predecessor should pass away, at which point he must return to his land, there to live out his days in service to his people.

The head of the family exerts a great influence over his children, and has a good deal of say in the choices open to them in life. Though marriages and careers are not arranged as such, it is considered a breach of loyalty to override his wishes in most circumstances. Daughters in particular are subject to such strictures, though in modern times their opinion is given more weight than in times past, usually allowing them to have extensive contact with their future spouse before the betrothal is sealed. In marriages in particular, the right to refuse is sacrosanct, an exception to the codes of duty and loyalty since honesty is thought to win in personal matters. A bride’s worth is summed up in her bride price, an exorbitant figure made astronomical when the potential husband is from outside Calorien. To refuse to pay is a grave insult to the bride and her family, and to marry without paying is to effectively renounce your family and disown yourself. The resulting breech can only end with the death of the offending husband, and it is not unheard of in the distant past for angry fathers to arrange for the untimely demise of the unlucky groom. These customs seem barbaric and outmoded to many elves outside Calorien, but the Caloriens maintain that such thinking is soft-headed and will encourage loose morals.

Women are as likely to ride dragons to battle as men, but only when they have produced a child. The Caloriens thus preserve their bloodlines. Apart from this restriction, however, Calorien women experience a good deal more freedom than do their human counterparts. They are educated alongside their brothers, have the same rights for inheritance, and are equally encouraged to go abroad when they become old enough, training for whatever career their aptitude dictates so long as it doesn’t bring disgrace to the family. They do, however, have the option of declining extensive military training if they haven’t the strength to keep up with their larger and stronger male comrades.