Sezeril

Sezeril the Draconic Empire

Sezeril is an old Empire of the North ruled by dragons founded in 4013. This old Empire has been ruled by the same Dual Dragon since its founding for over two-thousand five hundred years and is home to a variety of races. Dwarves, Kobolds, Gnomes and Dragonborn are the primary populace of Sezeril making up approximately twenty, fifteen, twenty and forty percent respectively of the census when it was last taken. But a mixture of all races can be found in the larger cities. As one of the oldest remaining civilizations in the Northern Hemisphere Sezeril holds a large sway culturally and linguistically over the surrounding areas with Draglonian becoming the Lingua Franca of the region.

Cities in Sezeril

The largest cities in Sezeril are metropolises housing countless citizens.

• Ka'al Dratzine the Capital of Sezeril is an enormous ancient Dwarven Hold and is where the concord signed by the Dwarves and the Dragons is housed. It has expanded significantly over the thousands of years it has enjoyed under the draconic rule and now inhabits most of the mountain range it was founded in.
• Krazul Drungi is the primary port of Sezeril and the home of their navy. The port located at the northern mouth of Heaven's Bay is a military bastion carved into the massive cliffs. While not as large as its contemporaries it is still a sprawling city with a focus on maritime and military industry.
• Ivangi is an incredibly wealthy mining city founded in the peaks of Mount Rilthallow (Blessed Metal) as it was prospected by ancient dwarves and said to be so rich in metals that the mountain itself was rumored to be metal. Despite the harsh climate of living so high up in the mountains Ivangi rapidly grew to be the second most populous city in all of Sezeril. Although it is slowly beginning to see the shallow metals dry up and its growth slowing, its title is now being potentially contested by Solstice.
• Tradesdown is a unique city in Sezeril that sprung up with little planning on a major trade route between Ivangi, Krazul Drungi, and Ka'al Dratzine. It's governance is entirely democratic as no Dragon Lord lays direct claim or ownership of it beyond the Regional Lord. The populace is also heavily mixed with a large amount of immigrants trying to earn their way into a better life by peddling wares or offering protection for the various merchants passing through.
• Solstice is the last major city founded by Sezeril during its age of expansion and is nestled on the border at Aurora's Rest. This city has seen much conflict over the ages as it bordered the ancient, and now destroyed, Nembian Empire. Due to clever trade and political intrigue as well as being home to a variety of famous figures within Sezeril, Solstice has enjoyed fairly sustained growth and a thriving magical industry with enchanted wares rivaling the ancient dwarven smiths.
• Zom is a city.

Smaller cities in Sezeril are fairly populous and often founded in important strategic or economic areas.

• Even's Worth is another trade town founded on the road between Tradesdown and Ka'al Dratzine with some economic ties to Heaven's Bay. A more recent town, it functions primarily as a rest stop on the long journey.
• Heaven's Bay is a busy harbor town named after the bay it was founded on. While it does not see as much military traffic as Krazul Drungi, it has an expansive dock for mercantile vessels and often is regarded as the better destination for more shrewd or miserly merchants due to having cheaper docking fees and being closer to the capital.
• Burningheart is a far northern town founded and ruled by a smattering old dwarven clans primarily around the strange meteor at its core giving it its name. It is famous for its university as well as its burning heart, the meteor.
• Footsmunth is a town founded at the base of Mount Rilthallow and serves primarily as a trade hub for the large city of Ivangi. While its independence from Ivangi has become more strained over the recent years, the catastrophe of Hillock's Revenge has eased some of the pressure on the trade town.
• Icemunth Port is a seasonal port town in Solstice that primarily exists as a way for the empire to lay claim to the northern wastes between Solstice and Sezeril proper. A harsh climate forces only the hardiest races or those with magical resistances to live there. Adopting a very unique and, to the rest of the empire, strange culture based around fighting various sea creatures in cold, dark waters.

Fortress Towns or Forts are scattered across Sezeril to function as both a military garrison and a way to guard their borders. Primarily populated by the defenders and their families, some small towns spring up near them.

• Fort Green is a Fortress founded in the plains to the east of Ka'al Dratzine and serves primarily to guard any incursion planned to head through the druidic forests or coastline. It is the most recent Fortress founded as a replacement after the loss of Fort Fardun and as such does not feature an extensive fortress town.
• Fort Bridgedun is a Fortress founded along the Seltine river to the northwest of Ka'al Dratzine and exists on the primary trade road between Oskenvaast and Ka'al Dratzine to serve as a checkpoint and trade protection garrison. It has a fairly expansive fishing community town built alongside it and may apply to full town status in the coming years.
• Fort Riversdale is a Fortress founded along splitting of the Seltine river to the southwest of Ka'al Dratzine serving as a powerful bastion against any vessels that try to sail up the major river as well as protecting trade in the region into the Oskos Sovereign States.
• Fort Newgate is a Fortress founded in the mountain pass that leads through the World Spine at Aurora's Rest and served as the maximal extent of the Sezeril Empire until the founding of Solstice. As such it houses a number of features that are generally not found in fortress towns such as a fully equipped and functioning teleportation circle and a small guild of mages to maintain it. In its heyday it was one of the largest bastions constructed in Sezeril to guard its greedily expanded borders. Now it primarily serves as a reserve garrison for Solstice and a last stop for curious travelers and adventurers seeking to explore the various ruins in the region. Fort Newgate is also the headquarters of the Knightly Order of Draconis.
• Fort Fardun was a Fortress founded to the far south of Ka'al Dratzine in what is now part of the Oskos Soverign States. During the calamitous war between the Sezeril Empire and the Nembian Empire Fort Fardun was completely destroyed and Sezeril never moved to reclaim the area.
• Fort Pass is a Fortress founded to the north of Ka'al Dratzine in the valley between two large mountain ranges. It is the largest fortress in all of Sezeril and is more a fortress city than a fortress on its own. It is the primary garrison of Sezeril's professional army and a secondary garrison of Ka'al Dratzine. It features a multiple mile long fortress wall between the mountain ranges with lookout towers staffed entirely by winged dragonborn soldiers. It has a heavily militarized populace and is considered to be the most honorable and desired posting in all of Sezeril's forts. Fort Pass also guards the main trade and travel road from Ka'al Dratzine to the rest of the empire.
• Fort Shiver is a Fortress founded to the far north of Sezeril located near Burningheart. It is a frigid, icy climate with almost no habitability to speak of outside of artificial warmth provided to the garrison. Founded during a short lived reconstruction era of slight paranoia post the second Sezeril-Nembian war, this posting is often considered, and used, as a punishment. The only noteworthy feature of this fortress is due to its extreme northern latitude it features long clear night skies which attracted a series of astrologers and mages interested in the skies beyond creating a magical observatory which was partially funded by the state.

Former holdings of Sezeril lost to time, war, or politics are few but noteworthy.

• Urkanskial was a Dwarven Fortress and port town founded on the opposite shore of the entrance to Heaven's Bay from Krazul Drungi and for a time was part of the Sezeril Empire. During the early empire political factions began to form that ultimately favored Krazul Drungi at the expense of lucrative military and naval contracts for Urkanskial upsetting the local dwarves. This eventually came to a head during the buildup prior to the Sezeril and Nembian war with Urkanskial declaring independence from the empire and not supporting them during the conflict. Post conflict Urkanskial was given a rare opportunity to meet with the emperor to negotiate a new fairer deal. While Urkanskial never formally rejoined the empire it is currently receiving payments to allow Sezeril to continue to station its military in the port to protect Heaven's Bay.

Languages of Sezeril

Sezeril being a large and diverse Empire has a variety of languages spoken by its people, but the official state language is Draglonian a mixture of Dwarven, Draconic, and a few borrowed elven words.

Draglonian

Draglonian is the official state language of the Sezeril Empire and it is taught in the schools alongside any regional dialects or languages. This language was established early on in the Empire's history to facilitate trade and managing the long distance the empire spanned. Primarily formed from Draconic lettering and words it adopted the Dwarven grammatical structure and some hybridization of words and phrases occurred.

Religions of Sezeril

The Pantheons of Sezeril are a diverse and culturally significant aspect of the empire. Each holding sway over a large portion of the populous and influencing political affairs from their sway.