Dragonrise and the Name of the Era

The beginning of the current era is marked by the actions of the dragons. Eldra's actions in her time and the legacy they left were so impactful to world history that it is used as the common moniker for tracking the beginning of this frame of time, separating old times from what is considered modern ones.

“Dragonrise” is the moniker used to refer to the period of time before and after Eldra, the first true Queen of dragonkind, would declare the intent of a clandestine mission of conquest and unity. Her target is the rest of dragonkind. Some call the moniker "dragon-centric” and meant only to stroke the egos of the dragons. Whilst pride is undoubtedly a part of it, dragons and their influences have historically had some objectively strong parts to play in almost every region’s national or geographical history. Mostly thanks to their overwhelming presence in ancient times. Drekaya’s strong collection of global social capital led to this system of time documentation becoming the standard across the civilized world.

Dragonrise is used worldwide because the event that inspired it marked the start of one of the most influential periods in the realm's history.

Starting in their home of Astana, Eldra was the most powerful and ambitious of her horde and arguably of dragonkind. Long had she dreamed of seeing an end to dragons being a scattered diaspora of clans and, instead, wished to show the world that dragons could stand together. They could stand at the top, as she knew dragonkind was destined to do, not fighting each other on and off the same throne. Her black dragon horde began a migration of fighting all dragons who refused to acknowledge her ideals and diplomacy with those who came to share them. She became legendary for declaring to all other dragon hordes native to the other regions to either “fly with her or lay crushed underneath her.”

This migratory conflict started in Eldra’s homeland of Astana, led downwards across Azmith and Zul, flew over Waytos Sea to Eren, and ended only due to the Great Burning within the Great Forest (Now the Vale). It would never be known if the dragons would have eventually broken through Yorn’s natural defenses and secretive swamps or what it would have looked like to see the dragons if they took on old Suna or Lindin. How history could have changed....

Dates marked with “DR” happened after Eldra was believed to officially declare the start of her campaign of conquest. Historians and people alike typically document the transition into DR as the time when the world switched into the true first steps to becoming the version it eventually became today.   Dates marked with “BDR” happened while Eldra’s Black Dragonhorde was still simply coexisting with and competing with beings in Astana. Humanoid societies ranged in prosperity, from some early kingdoms set amidst a fresh world to groups of hunter-gatherer families or mobile nomadic tribes.   Many of the features that define the world's civilizations started before Eldra and transformed after her reign began, for better or worse.