Kingdom of Driylow

[aikiwarrior]

Driylow The Nation Nation Name: Driylow Race makeup: Although one race is clearly the dominant population, their are many races that inhabit the lands of Driylow. First and foremost, the warlike Lizardfolk who founded the Driylow nation comprise the largest percentage of the population. However, the Driylow kinsman have extremely aggressive tendencies, launching border raids at every available opportunity on every available target, one of their main priorities being taking as many slaves as possible. Had the Driylow been simply limited to the nations just outside their borders, the vast collection of races to be found in their humble nation might be more limited, however the Driylow pride themselves on their seaworthiness and quick-striking sea vessels, allowing their reach for raids to span far larger than should be normally expected for their empire. This allows one to find someone of almost any race in Driylow, even if they number only but a few. Racial %: Lizardfolk - 76% Humans - 14% Other - 10% Homeland terrain: The Driylow are men of the sea, and though most of their territory lies on the continent, all of it lies close to water of some sort, be it a river, lake, or the vast, open ocean. So Driylow is a coastal nation. It's been said the Lizardfolk of Driylow came from the sea, but because the races that inhabited the land were unworthy of it, the Lizardfolk were sent to claim the land by the god of the sea. And so it was only natural that the god of the oceans first placed them on a compromise between the earth and water. The Lizardfolk od Driylow originated on the vast marshland of Essthei, from where they expanded their nation. Driylow is located on the southern coast of the continent, and has expanded along the coast from the marshlands. The marsh of Essthei is bordered by a dense, ancient forest to the east, its tall trees spanning many miles, thick with vegetation and wildlife, and dotted with small Driylow hunting and timbering villages. A river flows from the swamplands, flowing into the great plains northwest of the marsh. These plains surround much of the northern and western borders of the marsh, and the majority of Driylows territory can be found on these plains between the river and the ocean. The largest of Driylows few cities and forts are found in these plains, using the river water for irrigation and the river itself and ocean as transportation for trade and military conquest. Driylow territory ends upon a mountain range to the west from which the river flows into. National mindset: The overall driving force of Driylow is and always has been war. Dominance over their enemies, neighbours, and even one another. They are a very brutal society that has adapted to live in harsh times. Constant combat against predators, enemy civilizations, and harsh environments has honed them into a very strong, warrior minded society. The Lizard clans have always fought and conquered their enemies, and when there were none, they would turn on each other. Peace is fragile in Driylow, where strength is the ruling factor. The various clans of the Driylow have many common goals. They all have great national and racial pride, they all want power, strength, disposition, domination, wealth. Many clans of the Driylow have "common" goals. Unfortunately more often than not these "common" goals put the clans in conflict with one another. Each clan wishes to be the controlling force in their nation, and civil war for that control is a commonplace. Do not however mistake their culture - honour is extremely highly valued. Strength of arms is honourable. Connection to nature and to the gods is honourable. Powerful magic is honourable. Fathering many hatchlings is honourable. Slaughtering your enemies is honourable. Honour has a somewhat different definition inside of Driylow society. Perhaps there is so much war because it is in Driylow society, honourable. Assassinations and underhanded political ploys are seen with great distaste, viewed with such dishonour that they almost never happen. This makes for a very straightforward political system that involves little intrigue, as all disputes are open, and often lead to war. Indeed, Driylow culture favours honesty and forthrightness. When one kinsman has a qualm with another, they often fight it out, and seldom take stabs at each others backs over whatever qualms them. In addition, Driylow has a very high slave population, with slaves of conquered enemies of all races, and the Lizardfolk of Diylow are not abashed to take other conquered Lizardfolk as slaves. This high slave ratio sometimes leads to authoritative disputes, as slaves seldom enjoy slavery, and try to revolt or escape. These revolts are generally put down mercilessly and decisively, and don't often lead to full out civil war, as most are relatively local and clan orientated, but the clans of the Driylow have never refuted this possibility. As far as other races go, only the pureblooded kinsman, or Lizardfolk, are capable of being fully free citizens. All other races are either slaves or are put into a caste system below that of freemen, and have their rights limited to varying digrees based on how long their bloodline had been with the Lizardfolk, how closely related their blood is to the Lizardfolk, and their individual or family accomplishments. Outside races can have position in society, and can be advisors to the Pureblood clans, heroes in war, or wealthy merchants with slaves, and though they can be respected, they are not pure blooded, and so can never be noble or held as truly free compared to the Lizardfolk. Magic also has a high value in Driylow culture, and always has. Their culture greatly values nature and her deities, and draws on, sometimes to the point of dependance, magic. Clerics and Shamans are highly valued, cherished members of society, and are viewed as being gifted by the gods for earning their favour and being blessed with their powers. As such divine magic is the commonplace among magic users, however arcane magic is also highly valued, and it is not uncommon to see arcane casters, especially within the other races. Since their birth, magic has been close to their society, and the people of Driylow use it frequently. Government type: Monarchy of city states. Many kings who own their own territories are ruled by the most powerful leader, who is named the High King Background: Legend holds that the Lizardfolk of Drilow came forth from the sea, blessed by it's god. The vessels of the land were clearly unworthy to claim the soil beneath their feet, and so a great flood swept forth, engulfing the land, and turning it I to a mix of earth and water, forging the swamp marshes is Essthei, and with it - the Lizardfolk of Driylow. This divine intervention and proof of birthright forced the Driylow Lizardfolk into a close connection with the gods, developing within them a close connection to magic. It was here that the tribal clans that would make up Driylow were created. Thus is the legend of their birth. Since birth, the clans of Lizardmen fought for the swamp, at first against the swamps other inhabitants, then against themselves. The clans would fight each other for dominance until one clan defeated all others and unified the swamp. This first unification was achieved by the Seykall clan, a clan which is still counted amongst the more powerful of the clans today. Upon this unification the nation of Essthei was born, named after the swamps from which they came. This new nation, created from the conflict of war, now had nobody within its marsh to fight, and so by divine right from the god of the sea, they emerged from the marsh and onto solid land. Essthei turned its attention no to the plains to their west, for they were not farmers, but instead to the forests at their east, for it was ripe with prey. More wars ensued against the tribes and predators of the forest, some resulting in victory, and some resulting in defeat. But despite any of their defeats, piece by piece they took territory, slicing their nation into the forest. The Lizardfolk of Essthei were well adapted to combat in their marshland homes, launching ambushes from below the surface of the water and fighting in close quarters on unstable, murky ground. Adapting to combat in the forest at first seemed different, but over time proved more similar than they assumed. They now hid in the trees and brush in stead of the murk and water, and launched ambushes from above in stead of below. New tactics were adapted and warfare evolved. Solid ground was also much easier to fight on than soft unstable mud, even of there were roots and reeds to trip over. So the Lizardfolk eventually took a great portion of the forest, Larger even than their marshland home. However, there were far more predators and competitive races and tribes inhabiting the forest, making it difficult to match the marshes population. However the forests we're rife with magical energies, and provided the Lizardfolk a new resource - timber, so it was deemed a more than worthy addition to home. Essthei had more than doubled its land before another civil war broke out, ending the reign of the Seykall clan. *This war was more brutal than the last. The population of Essthei's Lizardfolk was greater, and their wars in the forest had diversified their taste for bloodshed. Eventually the clans of the forest united against the clans of the marshes, calling this new forest land Sheethar. As both the marsh of Essthei and the forest of Sheethar proved difficult terrain to invade the war mounted a toll on the Lizardfolk tribes. Over time, the marshlands of *Essthei proved victorious, under the rule of the Kiish'fa clan.* Here the nation of Essthei took to developing arts other than war, like trade and better construction. Boats were developed and exploration parties sent through the sea. New cities were discovered outside of their lands in the plains of the east and up the northern river, and stone, metal, and other valuable resources came into the hands of the Lizardfolk through these routes. This was considered the golden age of their civilization, and was the longest time of relative peace. The population replenished itself into the point of overcrowding. Eventually there was not enough food or resources in the land they owned, so they took to their sea vessels and began raiding their neighboring cities. This resulted in war. A small invasion force from their neighboring city of Reefwind attacked the marsh. It is safe to say the invasion force, which was well adapted to fighting in the plains, was pitiful in the marsh. The already slow tight units and formations of the plains humans became even slower in the marsh, and humans lacked the Lizardfolk's affinity for water. They were quickly obliterated. However, so too were any counter invasions the Lizardfolk sent. The tight unit clusters of the humans made for poor battle tactics in the marshes and forests being no match for the hunting and raiding tactics of Lizardfolk, but in the plains these tactics decimated Lizardfolk armies, who were unaccustomed to this new type of war. This led the tribes to believe the current rule was weak, and another Civil war broke out, changing the leadership of Essthei several times before falling under the eventual rule of the Gull'Zak clan. But the invaders were still present. Charged with holding the humans back was the Thu clan of west Essthei. Although the Thu clan did not win the civil war, they fought off invading humans many times, taking many human soldiers as slaves in the process. They took this opportunity to learn how the humans fought on land. Learning powerful tactics like shield and spear-walls, and learning to fight in groups, the Thu took the lead on revolutionizing The way Essthei Lizardfolk waged war. No longer were they just bands of predators, hunters, raiders and guerrilla fighters. Now they too were soldiers. It didn't take long for the Lizardfolk nation of Essthei to turn human tactics against them, and the Lizardfolk proved far hardier and much more magically adept than the humans, taking the human City of Reefwind, and her vast surrounding countryside. Here, another civil war broke out between the plains Lizardfolk of the new city-state of Reefwind, led by the Thu clan, and the marsh and forest Lizardfolk of Essthei and Sheethar, led by he Gull'Zak clan. The Thu clan had combined the field tactics of the humans with the predatory guerilla and sea raiding tactics of their previous homes. This new deadly combination of warriors proved great enough to overcome the clans of both the Essthei and Sheethar lands, forging a new Lizardfolk empire under rulership of the Thu clan. Upon unification the Lizardfolk launched another invasion to another human city on the river to their northeast, * but soon after they took it, there was a small human rebellion. Most humans were slaves, claimed as prizes of victory, but many had earned freedom through heir deeds in battle and helping the Lizardfolk in other ways. Together They coalesced into a strong military force and invaded the marsh of Essthei via the river that went from their village to the swamp in an attempt to take the Lizardfolk's sacred homeland. Needless to say they failed, though they did cause a wake of destruction in their path, destroying many old artifacts and records to history. This lead to a mass extermination of humans in Lizardfolk territory, and forced the remainder of them into slavery under the noble Lizardfolk clans. The city from which the revolution came was destroyed, burned to the ground in order to set an example to any other slaves or races that would launch a revolt. The indecisiveness of the human's defeat caused civil war to break out, and the lands changed ruling clans many times for many years. Great Lizardfolk clans constantly fought with one another, changing the internal territory borders and ruling clans frequently, banning together as one nation only for brief periods before war once again *broke out. The greater clans often surpressed other lesser clans from achieving too much power in their land to prevent them from becoming threats. As a result some of the minor clans broke out of the wars and migrated north to establish a new city near where the old human city ruins lay, and attempt to claim that land for themselves. In doing so they created a the first solid monarchy *of Lizardfolk, the new city state of Sser'low. The lesser clans that left their homes knew that in order to survive the wrath of the greater clans they would have to ban together and stand as one, despite the origin of their clan. The strongest of clans of Sser'low, Driylow, was placed in kingship. This new city state prospered, with limited internal conflicts, choosing to in stead focus their efforts externally. This unity proved too difficult for the other Lizardfolk clans to conquer in their current state of internal conflict, so the new city state of Sser'low, stood and grew strong, forging a new nation under the name of their king, *Driylow. Most Lizardfolk travel and exploration happened through raiding parties over the oceans and rivers, and with the primary clans preoccupied with internal conflict, the Lizardfolk seldom sought to expand their borders until their clan had won over all the others, which only rarely happened. Driylow, being relatively peaceful internally, and with the river as their only source of water, explored it to the northeast. The river ran into a valley between a mountain range, the southernmost mountain closest to the river had a stone fortress of dwarves. Noticing the very high skill of craftsmanship the Lizardfolk began trade with them and hire them for construction projects, attempting to learn their methods of stone masonry. Yes it was true the Lizardfolk had stone for quite some time by this point, but their masonry skills were only capable of building housing foundations and dry fit walls. Never before had they experienced the level of stone craftsmanship the dwarves used to develop their fortress, even among the humans. So the Lizardfolk learned, and though they were never as gifted at construction as the dwarves, the Driylow people did learn how to make forts and castles of their own. This new trick served the Driylow well in the coming civil war. When the construction of Sser'low fortress was complete, the Driylow city state had established its strategic foothold on the plain lands, and knew their position was defensively superior to the other great plains Lizardfolk city of Reefwind, which was constantly fighting with the clans controlling the villages in the plains around it, as well as the marshland clans. So Driylow mimicked the tactics of the human revolt and launched an invasion into the conflicted marshlands of Essthei by boat. The fighting was brutal, but *the city state of Sser'low ended victoriously, incorporating Essthei into the kingdom of Driylow. Here they shared their new government ideals, and severely crippled most of the major clans of Essthei, giving their power to a coalition of lesser clans to earn their loyalty. This established the second monarchy in the Lizardfolk kingdom of Driylow, a kingdom that kept the name of Essthei, but bent their knee to "High King" Driylow. The ruling clan that entered royalty and king hood was the original unifying clan of Seykall, now King Seykall of Ethsei. In retaliation the city of Reefwind made its own attempt at unification, the greater clan of Thu made alliances with the greater clans around it. They mimicked the new nation of Driylow in how they approached their government, the clan of Thu taking kingship, and Reefwind and the surrounding areas made a smaller kingdom of Kiyssar. Kiyssar invaded the plains of Driylow, and though they found victory in some of the smaller field battles, the forts of Driylow repelled the armies of Kiyssar with their superior defensive positioning, from which they launched a counterattack, and conquered Kiyssar. The clans of Kiyssar were allowed to keep their positions in exchange for unity and following high king Driylow. So king Thu and the kingdom of Kiyssar entered the kingdom of Driylow. It was only a matter of time before the forest Lizardfolk clans of Sheethar befell the same fate. The forest kingdom of Sheehar was then forged inside of the greater kingdom of Dreelow. From here there was but one additional step. Conquer the dwarves. For the Lizardfolk saw the efficiency in which their forts repelled the Kiyssar forces, and feared the same fate would befall them. In addition the dwarves had direct access to both the river and the plains. High King Driylow knew he would not be able to take the city through conventional methods, so he sent a fleet of trading ships armed to the teeth with soldiers into the city by ports, where they launched a rather unexpected invasion. Taking the dwarves city by surprise, and using their quick raiding tactics, they were able to dethrone the dwarven king relatively quickly, and throw the stationed garrison into confusion, taking the city from the inside out. Fearing the dwarves would eventually follow the same paths as the conquered humans, King Driylow ordered the greater majority put to death, keeping only most useful alive. However they would not destroy the craftsmanship of the city, despite much of it being damaged in the battle for its *control. Driylow incorporated a new kingdom into their territories, the Dwarven city fortress of Greystone and it's territories were added into Driylow as the kingdom of Kur'abbon. The Dritlow nation had peace for a small period of time, rebuilding its population and repairing and developing its cities and magic. The majority of its conflicts happened over raids sent from the Driylow boats to other coastal nations. But if history proves one thing, it is that it repeats itself. Soon enough, civil war broke out in Driylow once again. This time the battles were not between clans of Lizardfolk, but kingdoms. The monarchy system implemented served to unify the various kingdoms, but the 5 kingdoms of Driylow would now wage war with each other for the title of High King. The wars were brutal on the Driylow clan, which was all but exterminated so others could take the title of high king, but even though the Driylow clan and king was destroyed, the kingdom retained the name. The*Reksha clan took the Driylow clans place of rulers of Sser'low, but more often than not failed to reclaim the title of High King. Different unifiers took the title of high king for different periods of time, and peace was now more common among the Lizardfolk, but it was usually short lived. The forest kingdom of Sheethar commonly warred with bordering forest tribes. Occasional naval invasions were launched, though aside from raids few proved to be of any real profit for any length of time. And civil war consistently interrupted peace. So the kingdoms of Driylow fought amongst themselves for the nations control. Eventually a new threat loomed on the horizon, a threat powerful enough to solidify the unity of the Driylow nation under the current High King Thu in an attempt to repel it. More and more raiding parties sent to the Easter coastlines returned in defeat, with no plunder, mo slaves, and overwhelming shame. They all shared similar stories. Powerful warriors of a vast and exponentially growing nation had defeated them. The Alvari. This drove the Lizardfolk nation of Driylow to unify once more under the current High King Thu in order to combat this dire threat. Soon after, the coalition was formed, and the nation of Driylow joined the coalition, fighting on the front lines with their fierce warriors, cunning tactics, and powerful magics. Now, the war has reached the Alvari's doorstep. The only question is, what happens next? Other:

[aikiwarrior]

Stats:
Size: 3
Military: 5
Economy: 2
Magic: 4
Science: 3
Cohesion: 1

Current Treasury: 250,000
Resources: Lumber, Stone

Expenditures Navy: Relic (longship)- 110,000 Longships (3) - 30,000 Sextons (4): 2000 Army: Wagons (medium), giant gecko (combat, riding) x 10: 4,750 Shieldman overcost: 46,306.40

[aikiwarrior]

Kingdom Of Driylow Army

Kiyssar 1 General High King Kel'iylliss 1 Captain Frost Drake (CR 7, Captain, Serves as mount)   Captains - 1 Sir Knight Keelok Thu - Advanced Lizardfolk (Magus 4/Fighter 2 -Dragoon-) Sergeants - 5 5 - Advanced Lizardfolk (Magus 4/Fighter 1 -Dragoon-) Privates - 6 6 - Flame Drake (mounts, CR 5)   Captains - 1 Sir Lizz'iyl (Cavalier 5 (Order of the Lion)-Inspiring Commander-/Fighter 1 -Dragoon-) Sergeants -3 3 - Advanced Lizardfolk (Cleric 5) Privates - 30 30 - Advanced Lizardfolk (Fighter 4 -Phalynx Fighter-)   Captains: 1 1 - Sir Shu'iylar - Advanced Lizardfolk, (Ranger 6) Sergeants: 30 30 - Advanced Lizardfolk (Ranger 5) 30 - Shocker Lizard animal companions Privates: 36 Sergeants: 38 Captains: 4 Majors: 0 General: 1 / Casters: 8 Half Casters: 31

Essthei Majors: 1 King Seykall Sergeant: 1 1 - Sea Drake (CR 6, Serves as mount for Major)   Captains: 1 1 - Sir Kiish'fa (Cavalier 5 (Order of the Lion)-Inspiring Commander-/Fighter 1 -Dragoon- Sergeants: 3 3 - Advanced Lizardfolk (Druid 5 -Dragon Shaman-) Privates: 30 30 - Advanced Lizardfolk (Barbarian -Seareaver-)   Captains: 1 1 - Sir T'elisiy (Cavalier 5 (Order of the Lion)-Inspiring Commander-/Fighter 1 -Dragoon-) Sergeant: 3 3 - Advanced Lizardfolk (Druid 5 -dragon shaman-) Giant Chamelion Animal Companion Privates: 30 30 - Advanced Lizardfolk (Cavalier 4 -Beast Rider-) Giant chameleon mount Privates: 60. Sergeants: 7. Captains: 2. Major: 1 Casters: 6

Sheethar Majors: 1 King Gull'Zak Sergeants: 1 Sea drake   Captains: 2 2 - advanced Lizardfolk (ranger 5 -falconer-/cavalier 1 (order of the lion)) Sir Deraith Sir Giylaw Sergeants: 5 5 advanced Lizardfolk (ranger 5 -falconer-) Privates: 50 50 - advanced Lizardfolk (ranger 4 -falconer-) Privates: 50. Sergeants: 6. Captains: 2 Half casters: 57

Sser'low Major: 1 King Reksha Sergeant: 1 Sea drake   Captains: 1 1 - Sir Iysslar (Cavalier 5 (Order of the Lion)-Inspiring Commander-/Fighter 1 -Dragoon-) Sergeant: 3 3 - Advanced Lizardfolk (Druid 5 -dragon shaman-) Giant Chamelion Animal Companion Privates: 30 30 - Advanced Lizardfolk (Cavalier 4 -Beast Rider-) Giant chameleon mount   Captains - 1 (Cavalier 5 (Order of the Lion)-Inspiring Commander-/Fighter 1 -Dragoon-) Sir Sshar Sergeants - 3 3 - Advanced Lizardfolk (Druid 5 -Dragon Shaman-) Privates - 30 30 - Advanced Lizardfolk (barbarian -seareaver-) Privates: 60. Sergeants: 7. Captains: 2. Majors: 1 Casters: 6

Kur'abbon Majors: 1 King Del'Kur Sergeants: 1 Sea drake   Captains: 2* 2 - Advanced Lizardfolk (cavalier 5 (order of the lion) -inspiring commander-/Dragoon 1 Sergeants: 5 5 - Advanced Lizardfolk (paladin 5 -hosplitar-) Privates: 50 50 - Advanced Lizardfolk (fighter 4 -phalynx fighter-) Privates: 50. Sergeants: 6. Captains: 2. Majors: 1 Half casters: 5

Misc Captains: 4 Unclassed Captains of 4 longships 4 Longships (1 Relic) 10 Medium Wagons (Giant Gecko (Riding) pull)

Totals:
Privates: 256
80 fighters -phalynx fighters-
60 barbarians -sea reavers-
50 rangers -falconers-
60 cavaliers -beast riders-
6 flame drakes

Sergeants: 64
30 rangers
12 Druid -dragon shamans-
5 magus/fighter -dragoons-
5 paladin -hosplitars-
5 ranger -falconers-
3 clerics
4 sea drakes

Captains: 16
7 cavalier (order of the lion) -Inspiring commanders-
4 unclassed (captains of the 4 longships)
2 ranger -falconer-/cavaliers
1 ranger
1 magus/fighter -dragoon-*
1 frost drake

Majors: 4
King Seykall
King Gull'Zak
King Reksha
King Del'Kur