The Dragon Kingdom of Allaria

The Dragon Kingdom of Allaria is one of the mightiest Realms in Valerna, ruled by an ancestral dynasty of half-elven kings that base their power on a rigid system of laws, castes and hierarchies. Allarian culture was built around the assumption that half-elves, which they call Al lai (honor elves), were wiser to either elves or humans. Allarians have begun to challenge this dogma only recently, leading to a violent overhaul of their society.

Overview
The kingdom proper was born from an alliance between small, post-Altanesi human states, and the Ellari Kingdoms of the Westerlands. Tradition records that they joined forces to defeat a legendary hydra, which became the national coat of arms. After the alliance, the Champion of the human hunters married the Ellari King, which started the half-elven line that ruled the kingdom from that moment on. This started both the uninterrupted ruling house of Allaria and its gradually established bias toward half-elves; by restricting the rule to themselves, they kept both the Ellari kingdoms and the human warlords at bay. It gave Allarians their own culture, but also a growing, gradual discrimination against silver elves, more so after the Dreambleed that destroyed the Ellari kingdoms, causing most of the survivors to seek refuge in Allarian lands.

For centuries, the Dragon Kingdom’s credo had been that half-elves were the natural stewards of order in Valerna, that perfection was an achievable ideal, and that silver elves had to pay their debt to the world for the Null by being second-class citizens. But the recently-crowned Dragon Queen, Elyse I, finally overturned the ancient law, giving equal rights to elves and half-elves - and to any citizen of Allaria regardless of species.

Despite the many social changes of Elyse’s reign, Allaria remains a lawful and proud realm, with ancestral institutions and deeply ingrained traditions. Its half-elves still behave like noble elites, and its recently freed castes are seeking a new place in the old structure. It’s still a kingdom of honored tradition, virtuous nobility, strict rules, proud righteousness and ancestral philosophy.

Culture
Allarians are among the most traditionalistic, yet creative people of Valerna; while the Realm contains the greatest spellcasters, artists and inventors of the continent, rich and poor alike are taught to respect the hierarchy of the Eliadu, the Sacred Law of the Realm, and their appointed place in the caste structure. According to the Eliadu, social order is the cornerstone of Allaria’s endurance, vital for the Realm to function and for everyone to prosper. Although class differences are still obvious and pronounced, particularly in the largest cities, honor and law are so ingrained in Allarian culture that their society remains stable overall, and what a foreigner may perceive as injustice remains an Allarian’s worthy order and most virtuous goal, even after Elyse’s equality reforms - or more so thanks to them.

Philosophy
As reflected in the old state motto, Allarian culture revolves around honor and duty; and for Allarians, both are mainly social concepts. Honor means one’s prestige and reliability, that is, the trust one deserves; a true Allarian citizen aspires to be trusted and well-regarded by others. Duty represents one’s place in the natural order, and how it falls on every Allarian to uphold the law.

The Rule
Allaria is a hereditary monarchy, with an uninterrupted dynasty of kings and queens that lasted through the Scarred Era, from Dragon King Zai Qan to the current Dragon Queen.

While the monarch’s power is supreme, all Allarian rulers have maintained a Senate to argue and decide the laws, which the sovereign may then approve or reject. Throughout the history of Allaria, the Senate has functioned mostly as a think tank, a diverse collection of advisors on every subject, to guide the monarch with wisdom and knowledge.

The kingdom is made up of several cities throughout Western Valerna, all of which pay taxes and fealty to Allaria City, the capital and site of the royal family. City governors are not nobility, but chosen by meritocratic appointment; still, they are almost exclusively Allai, like the ruling elite.

Social structure
Allaria is the most stratified nation of Valerna, with a caste system that’s as strict as the Realm’s rigid philosophy. Queen Elyse efforts to reform this stratification continue.

From the beginning, Allaria was founded by Allai ‘honor elves’, who placed themselves as rulers by right, and have remained the realm’s privileged nobility for two thousand years. By the laws of the Eliadu, castes are immobile, and for centuries Allaria built itself on the toil and oppression of ‘Null-eyed’ silver elves, with humans only slightly higher in the social order, all with extensively debated and documented moral justifications.

Population
Allaria is more a federation of vassal cities than anything else, with thousands of peoples, regions and towns adopting Allai culture, laws and customs. Despite its strict Allai caste system, Allaria is a very diverse, cosmopolitan Realm.

Allarian Cities
Despite Allaria’s great power and prominence in Valerna, it doesn’t have that many cities. Most of the Realm’s territory is either untamed wilderness or dangerous fey wood, and only a handful of large settlements, with some roads and military outposts between them, mark the long dominion of civilization over the Westerlands. However, each of Allaria’s few cities is an inexpugnable citadel; well protected by dreamshaping magic, mighty walls and a host of qirin riders.

Allies and enemies
Allaria is a civilized, diplomatic realm, and has managed to keep, at worst, a tense truce with every other Realm in Valerna.

Magic
Despite Allaria’s official and summary rejection of Dream magic, Fai powers are still very present in the Realm. Even after the centuries they lived under the restrictions against Fai magic of previous Kings, silver elves retain much of their Fai power, which they still use under government surveillance for the betterment of the Realm. Golden Gnomes use a form of Fai magic that fuels their inspiration and engineering creativity, and even Honor Elves of the ruling dynasties learn Dream magic from court mentors, and teach their soldiers and wardens to gain combat inspiration from Fai.

Then of course there are the enchanted forests that appeared across the Westerlands during the Dreambleed. These vast, dangerous woods are brimming with Fai magic, and Allaria doesn’t have the means to fight such all-encompassing power. Thus, the Dragon Kings content themselves with sending Fai hunts to expel fey creatures from the forest borders, forcing them to keep to their woods and to let Allarians live peacefully in theirs. Meanwhile, the Fai Woods remain there, tempting the daring and trapping the unwary with their hidden ruins, Fell dominions and ancestral magic.

Tools and Trade
Allaria trades mostly in magic and arts, with its Grand Guild, which sells machines, inventions and weaponry of all kinds, being the most important trading coster in Valerna. In return, Allaria receives supplies it can’t easily access, such as salt, foodstuffs and metal ores. The Kingdom’s principal commodity, however, is not any of the goods it buys or sells, but what it can do with them.

Organizations
The strict political weave of Allaria makes room for a number of independent groups, sects and factions whose activities, while not directly involved with ruling the kingdom, have a deep effect in Allarian daily life, either openly or from the shadows, be it with or against the Crown.

Armies
The Allarian army is known for its elite training and unparalleled discipline. Allarian soldiers never break formation, and never lose against disordered armies. Allarian tactics focus on patience, on knowing when and where to strike, and on smaller armies of well-trained soldiers rather than a battlefield filled with untrained militia that cannot keep their cool in battle.