Tazzurath

The Falmathion Union, Realm of the Twelve

The Falmathion Union

The Falmathion Union is a magnificent contradiction: a realm founded by dragons to become a perfect draconic civilization, yet trapped in near-constant disorder by the pride of its creators. Its volcanic plateaus, steaming jungles, bright coasts, and levitating capital are among the great wonders of Tazzurath. So too are its feuds, inequalities, and wars.

Falmathion is governed by the Council of Twelve, a hereditary assembly of ancient dragons divided equally among the Metallic, Chromatic, and Gem factions. These rulers possess tremendous individual power but rarely agree on lasting reform. Three patient councilors—the Sapphire, Silver, and Black Dragon Lords—perform much of the quiet work that keeps the Union from collapsing, while the Gold, Red, and Sapphire Lords publicly lead their respective factions.

Quick Facts

  • Official Name: The Falmathion Union
  • People: Falmathians
  • Capital: Oxyhold, the Chained City
  • Anchor-City: Wittnausen, built in the crater beneath Oxyhold
  • Population: Approximately 2.5 million
  • Capital Population: Approximately 20,000 within Oxyhold proper
  • Government: Hereditary draconic oligarchy ruled by the Council of Twelve
  • Council Factions: Metallic, Chromatic, and Gem
  • Primary Gods: Nazzurath, Syllanaxen, and Grandal
  • Common Languages: Falmathian and Draconic
  • National Colors: Purple and gold, accompanied ceremonially by the colors of the Twelve
  • Current Conflict: The War of the Forgotten Bones against Balthimore
  • Defining Contradiction: Its cities can appear utopian while much of its countryside survives under draconic domination

Geography

Falmathion lies across a warm and violently active region of Tazzurath. Its coastlines and forests have a lush, oceanic character, while chains of volcanoes rise into high plateaus of black stone and mineral-rich earth. Some regions resemble tropical islands writ upon a continental scale: bright water, dense vegetation, frequent rain, and mountains capable of setting the horizon aflame.

Volcanic Plateaus

The interior is dominated by layered volcanic uplands. Ancient eruptions created defensible mesas, fertile valleys, obsidian fields, and vast deposits of unusual ore. Dragonfire has reshaped many slopes into glassy roads, walls, and terraces. Active calderas remain both a source of wealth and a persistent danger.

Jungles and Coasts

Dense forests flourish in the warm rains. Many plants have adapted to the ambient magic of so many dragons, producing luminous fruit, alchemical sap, spell-reactive timber, and medicinal flowers found nowhere else. Coastal settlements depend upon fishing, reef gathering, and trade, although sea monsters and sudden ashfall make every voyage uncertain.

Dragonscar Deposits

Falmathion's most coveted resources are called dragon parts, though the term includes far more than remains taken from living dragons. Naturally shed scales, fragments of horn, fragments of teeth, eggshell, blood-crystal, fossilized bone, and magically saturated soil are all valuable components. The greatest deposits lie in ancient nesting grounds and battlefields where generations of dragons shed their power into the land.

Peoples of the Union

Dragons and draconic peoples occupy the highest place in Falmathian society. Humans, dwarves, and gnomes are also strikingly common, particularly among miners, artisans, engineers, cooks, recordkeepers, and scholars. Other peoples can be found throughout the ports and rural estates, but their treatment depends heavily upon the temperament of the dragon who claims authority over the region.

Metallic lands tend toward civic equality, Gem territories favor practical accommodation, and Chromatic domains frequently impose fear, forced labor, or outright slavery. These tendencies are cultural rather than absolute, but they shape nearly every Falmathian's expectations.

The Chained Capital

Oxyhold is a chain of floating islands suspended above an immense mining crater. Vast enchanted chains descend from the city and disappear into the rock below. They do not truly hold Oxyhold aloft; they stabilize its movement, carry supplies and magical power, and provide physical routes between the city and the ground.

The settlement beneath the islands is Wittnausen, often called the Anchor-City. Foreign maps sometimes label Wittnausen as the capital because it contains the roads, mines, warehouses, and groundside bureaucracy through which most travelers reach Oxyhold. Falmathians consider that an outsider's mistake: Wittnausen serves the capital, but Oxyhold rules the Union.

The Union's Character

Falmathion is beautiful, wild, draconic, and profoundly unbalanced. A traveler may encounter an immaculate city of heated baths and effortless magical light, then walk a day's journey into an estate where non-draconic laborers possess few rights. Grand libraries preserve discoveries unavailable anywhere else, while competing Dragon Lords prevent those discoveries from becoming coherent national policy.

Every part of the country bears the mark of immense power. Very little bears the mark of restraint.

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