[Universe] - Drakonic Knights

>Universe Summary

    The world is ruled by The Kyne Empire, a large and powerful Monarchy with a number of Oligarch branches controlling most of the civilized world. Manna is the driving force of the Kyne Empire, allowing for the imbuement of complex metal beasts with abilities such as movement, thought, and function. The world itself is a asymmetrical mix of brick-and-mud villages and technologically advanced Cityscapes pulsating with the ethereal Blue Manna through the metallic slabs of its buildings.

At the forefront of the Kyne Empire’s Military Forces are the Drakonic Knights, a specialized militia faction that focuses on the integration of Dragons and Humans as a viable combat tactic. Long have Dragons been the only looming threat to Humankind, but with new advances in Manna Rigs and the discovery of The Soul Shards, the Kyne Empire has learned to bend these scaled beasts of apocalyptic power to its will.

Current Day, the Drakonic Knights face the newest Threat to the Kyne Empire: The Brotherhood of the Broken Claw. These cultists have also, independently, discovered a nefarious way to control the Dragons and weaponize them. While their motives are unclear, The Broken Claw has members globally and networks that are impossible to track. Their intent seems to be dismantling the Kyne Throne for one reason or another by any means necessary, regardless of how many lives it takes.


>Drakonic Knights

Knights are chosen anywhere from ages 7-15 for Training based on certain Criteria. Routine ‘Scopes’ from the Kyne Empire are made on its townships and cities where children of-age are scanned and registered based on their attunement to Aethos, a Psionic form of Manna Energy that Dragons use to form Packs and Bonds. While some Humans have absolutely zero Aethos attunement, others can be born with the inherent ability to tap into the Aethos and, with training, use it to manipulate Dragons via Kyne tech.

Once a Child is found to be suitable, they are seized by the Empire and hauled off to Training Encampments where they are re-named and forbidden to return home. There, they undergo strict Militia Training and Soul Shard Augmentation to allow their natural attunement to Override the Aethos of Dragons. The average Knight is capable of being an active part of the Militia and not just a recruit at around the age of 18-25 where they are expected to serve until they are physically incapable of serving any longer.

The Knighting Ritual is performed by Master Knights and a troupe of Squires. It involves going to a Draconic Keep and utilizing the Kyne ‘Manna Tether’, a kind of Rifle with specialty Ammo, a kind of Crystlline Nanotech that needs to be shot into a Dragon’s Body to help keep it Compliant during the Aethos Hijacking and to bond it to its Tamer. Once a Dragon has been Tethered, the Squire is responsible for Taming and Rigging the Dragon and escaping the Keep with it alive. If a Squire is able to do this, they successfully become a Drakonic Knight.


>Dragons

Dragons are Reptilian Creatures that vary in size and shape almost as vastly as Birds or Dogs. Some are as small as a Housecat and wingless, some are as large as a dirigible with 6 wings and 3 heads. Where Dragons came from is a mystery, though Legend speaks of a Rift between Worlds that the first Dragons crawled from to infect the realm of Fellfar.

Dragons lack the ability to communicate with other Beings (Humans, Animals, etc) but can communicate Psionically with one another. They often form ‘Keeps’, which are a conglomerate Hive of thousands of variations of Draconic Sub-Species that fight as one and hunt as a pack to feed the weak, old, feeble, and young. Sometimes a Keep will have a Monarch, an incredibly Powerful and Ancient Dragon who is able to act as the Central Brain for the Hivemind of the Keep, but not always.

Dragons often find themselves hunting in Human-controlled settlements and lashing out at Townships and Cities due to the hostility of Man. Rarely Dragons go out of their way to engage a fight, though about 30 years ago something changed and the Dragons and a species seemed to grow more aggressive and violent towards Mankind. The cause of this is currently unknown.


>Humans and other Races

At one point Fellfar had the Three Families of Elves (Dawn, Dusk, and Twilight), the Northern and Southern Dwarves, The Fellen Humans, The Underfar Daemons, and the High Celestials. During the Five Trials, a set of World Wars caused by the discovery of Manna as a mineable resource and the subsequent need to control said resource, all but the High Celestials and the Humans were hunted to extinction. After the Long Peace was established between the Fellen and the High Celestials, the Celestials seemingly Vanished from the face of Farfell as a whole. While some Half-Elves still exist due to their extended age, the Cultures and Crafts of the Fallen Races have all but been lost to the sands of time.

It’s not unusual for a Modern-day Fellen to have any number of Races mixed into their background and the bloodlines for some of the Fallen Races still carry on in Mongrelfolk (Mixed-race as recognized by the Kyne Empire), it holds no real social hierarchy unless there are Throwback Characteristics born into a person (such as a Fellen having pointed ears, or elongated fangs, or growing a beard by age 7). Throwback Mongrelfolk are often seen as ‘unsightly’ and given to the Kyne Empire as servants and farmhands from a young age due to a successful campaign by the Kyne Empire to paint the Fallen Races as barbaric and simple.


>Waystones and Farslates

Utilizing Manna and Kynian Tech, the Drakonic Knights have access to a network of ‘Waystones’. These Waystones act as portals that can transport anything in the circles below them great distances in mere minutes. While the Waystones have a range of 200 Miles, the Waystone Network has been established across most of Kyne-Controlled Fellfar and is only accessible to those with ‘Farslates’.

Farslates are small, rectangular obsidian tablets etched with Manna markings that glow faintly in a range of different colors depending on the User and the Purpose it’s being used for. While they were originally nothing more than ‘keycards’ to access the Waystones, Farslates were eventually found to allow for Long-Distance Communication between individuals in both Spoken and Written Word.

Due to their many uses, it’s not unheard of for Farslates to be pillaged from fallen Drakonic Knights or stolen from Knights resting at Inns and sold at high-price in the Blackmarkets across Farfell. Powerful Manna Users are required to break the Soulbinding on a Farslate before it can be used by anyone but the Knight it was assigned to, something buyers often learn after paying High Price for something virtually useless.


>Appearance of Elves

Dawn Elves
Average Height: (5'8-6'6)
Dawn Elves are so-called due to their Golden appearance. From their skin to their hair, Dawn Elves come in various shades of yellow to orange, with the most 'common' colors being a more Yellow-Gold. While color variations may occur (Silver hair or very fair skin), they were few and far between.

Eye Colors: Earth tones, black-brown-green-stone

Dusk Elves
Average Height: (5'2-5'10)
Dusk Elves are much more Cool-Toned than their Dawn Elf Counterparts, but more within the 'Human' range with forays into greys and slight blues. Their hair tends to be black or deep, midnight blue, but some variances are a gunmetal grey or a snow white.

Eye Colors: Muted/desaturated tones, black-brown-green-grey-blue

Twilight Elves
Average Height: (4'7-6'10)
Twilight Elves are by far the most visually diverse of the Elf Families. At one time, their Skintones were restricted to Grey, Black, Blue, and Purple, but through generations of interbreeding with Dawn and Dusk Elves, a wide array of colors were produced in varying intensities. Most Twilight Elves were still  varying hades of Black, Blue, and Purple, but towards the end of their reign colors such as Crimson or Magenta, or even Chartreuse were being seen amongst the Elves of Twilight.

Eye Colors: Unlike all other elves, Twilight Elves had Black Sclera to their eyes instead of the typical White. Their eyes were typically Bright, almost Neon colors with the most common being an Icy Cyan or a Sunshine Yellow, but after interbreeding  wide array of Natural and Unnatural Colors became the norm.


>Universe Timeline

1220 - The Discovery of Manna

1236 - The Beginning of The First Trial (Fellen v South Dwarves v Dusk Elves)

1282 - Southern Dwarf Extinction, Dusk Retreat. End of First War

1290-1340 - [The Great Fellen Expansion, Humans spread through most of Southern Farfell.]

1342 - The Second Trial (Fellen v Dusk Elves v Dawn Elves)

1445 - Extinction of Dusk Elves

1473 - Extinction of Dawn Elves, end of The Second Trial

1475 - The Third Trial (Fellen v Daemons)

1550 - Daemons flee/surrender into exile, end of The Third Trial.

1555-1610 - [The Northern Fellen Crawl, Humans begin to spread to the North]

1625 - The Kyne Empire is Established in Southern Farfell

1640 - The Fourth Trial (Fellen v Northern Dwarves v Twilight Elves v Celestials)

1674 - Extinction of Northern Dwarves

1712 - Extinction of Twilight Elves

1740 - Daemons begin to attack once more, beginning of The Fifth Trial

1760 - Daemons take more than 60% of Southern Farfell, begin to take over Northern Farfell

1767 - Fellen and Celestials form a truce to take out the Daemons

1773 - Extinction of Daemons

1775 - The Peace Treaty is established between Fellen and Celestials

1833- Celestials vanish from Farfell after The Long Peace, leaving only Fellen and Mongrelfolk

1850 - Current Day