The Battle of the Tombs

Thousands of years ago, Dracavyr was founded by a council of good-aligned dragons in order to foster their younger cousins, the dragonborn, who were born from the spilled blood of the dragon god, Io. The dragons gathered the dragonborn together in one place and helped them prosper. Eventually, the dragons passed away or left their wards to their own devices.

Eventually, Dracavyr evolved into a magocracy composed of spellcasters who ruled as an oligarchy. Dracavyr was divided into provinces under their control. The Draconis Prime was the figurehead of this government. Clutches of kobolds were conquered and brought to Dracavyr to serve the dragonborn as slaves.

Tenebraxus was a sacred city in Dracavyr, a necropolis built to house the honored dead. It was filled with vast mausoleums and towering tombs to hold the bones of past rulers and great figures throughout dragonborn history. There were streets and towers and grand staircases and gardens and statues. Each tomb was unique and told the story of the one buried there. Individual tombs often led down to labyrinthine passageways, discouraging looters and raiders. Many magical wards and traps were laid in these underground tunnels. The remains of famous heroes and some actual dragons could be found here in this sacred city of the dead.

Over time and under the influence of the Black Powder Prince - a charismatic human - rumor grew that the dragonborn were hoarding magics that could benefit the rest of the world. The rumors centered on the tombs of Tenebraxus and whispers abounded of what treasures might be found underneath. During this time, was great disparity between Dracavyr and the other countries. Dracavyr was seen as the height and pinnacle of civilization in Vanea. Magic users reigned and prospered while the rest were left to struggle and scratch out an existence amidst drought and war.

A plan was concocted for the Black Powder Prince’s army to infiltrate Tenebraxus and sack the city, storming the tombs and stealing the ancestral magical artifacts of the dragonborn. A small strike force was sent in, consisting of Marcus Montaire and his platoon. Alastor followed shortly after. On the twelfth night of what was an awful siege, the dragonborn inexplicably began to self-immolate. All that was left were ashes - and a city full of arcane treasure that would bolster and strengthen the Black Powder Prince’s armies for another three years, not to mention unleash numerous dangerous artifacts and forces into the world. This incident is referred to as The Battle of the Tombs, and is infamous in its story and mystery. This is also where Alastor received the nickname “The Lion of the Tombs” from the Black Powder Prince, and was made into “The Demon of the Tombs” by the people of Dracavyr.

A plan was concocted for the Black Powder Prince’s army to infiltrate Tenebraxus and sack the city, storming the tombs and stealing the ancestral magical artifacts of the dragonborn. A small strike force was sent in, consisting of REDACTED. REDACTED followed shortly after. On the twelfth night of what was an awful siege, the dragonborn inexplicably began to self-immolate. All that was left were ashes - and a city full of arcane treasure that would bolster and strengthen the Black Powder Prince’s armies for another three years, not to mention unleash numerous dangerous artifacts and forces into the world. This incident is referred to as The Battle of the Tombs, and is infamous in its story and mystery.

A young dragonborn sorceress named Emati Ephos rose up and, with her ragtag army of kobolds and other companions - and no small amount of intervention from the Platinum Dragon himself - managed to corner the Black Powder Prince and lay him low. He was defeated, and his armies scattered. Emati sustained grievous magical injuries that she carried with her for the rest of her days, which scholars say contributed to her shortened life.

Despite the victory, Dracavyr was in shambles. Emati and her adventuring group helped re-establish a council of government. This was a golden era of healing and rebuilding. Emeti worked to free the kobolds from their slavery - no more would they serve the dragonborn of Dracavyr but instead stand by them as equal citizens. The senate was established, paving the way for a new republic. 

Sadly, just twenty years after the end of the Black Powder War, Emati passed away. Devastated by the loss of her leadership, her people looked to those of her bloodline to take over. In her memory, the people of Dracavyr voted to rename the country Ephos. Thus, the Ephosian Empire began. Prosperous and fair, at first, then slowly political corruption and infighting began to take root. The Titansfall Arena was built from the ribcage of the Black Powder Prince’s war machine, to sate the growing unrest and bloodlust of the country, where straggling sympathizers of the Black Powder Prince’s conquest were hunted and brutally slaughtered in a public displays. Kobolds, once free from the slavery of pre-war Dracavyr, became the lowest members of the caste system. Emati’s vision for the future of Dracavyr was all but a memory as her children and grandchildren fell from magnanimity into power-hungry depravity.

Three hundred years later came the Convergence. The country of Ephos was bombarded by the forces of the elemental planes. The continent itself fractured. These broken, smaller islands rose into the air and stayed there, the land itself infused with the gifts of the elemental Plane of Air. The sea below churned and swallowed much of what was left behind. 

On the now-floating isles, certain trees began to take on lightweight, buoyant properties. These were later propagated into what are known today as soarwood trees, a key component to the crafting of airships. It is estimated that ⅔ of the population of Ephos drowned, were crushed, or fell to their deaths in a matter of minutes as this elemental chaos raged. Ephos once again had to count its dead and salvage what was left. 

The Empress during this time was young, and wiser than most of her predecessors. She worked tirelessly with her council and senators to make the best use of what little land they now had. She herself traveled to the Plane of Air and brought back zephyrfish to help feed her people while her mate sought out druids to help develop a new hybrid vegetable, the blavat. These initiatives help keep the populace from starvation as they worked to lay the foundation for today’s Ephosian Empire.

The dragonborn of today’s Ephos are a hardy, resilient, proud people who have endured tragedy after tragedy. They live fiercely and with purpose. Honoring their history and holding onto their ancestral heritage and culture is important to them, even as Nuvanea itself faces rapid change in the face of new magics and technologies. There are still a few dragonborn living today who remember the Convergence.