Tayon (The North-Western Continent)

Tayon is all that remains from a truly ancient forest of trees that are like skyscrapers. The giant trees are primarily found in the southern half of the continent. Ther are mountains in the central area. The northern part is what looks to be grasslands and desert with occasional normal forests. Ruins dot the northern and western areas of the continent.

The culture of the people here is something of heroic resolve. to transition from a child to adulthood socially, one must walk the pigrims path, which is a mostly patrolled road that travels most places in the content. Woven with some magics that may be ancient themselves.

Part I: The "Thousand-Year" Republic (Y2 - Y82)

The origin of Tayon is a paradox. When its people (Elves, Humans, and Dwarves) "awoke" in the first years of the Fifth World, they did not awaken as refugees. They awoke with the complete, detailed, and shared memories of a "thousand-year" civilization.

From their perspective, their Heroic Republic and its magnificent capital, Aerthos-Draconis , had always existed. They awoke in their homes, their markets, and their council chambers, their ancient traditions and rivalries already intact. The government—a Grand Council of 30 Nobles (Dukes and Counts from old Elven families) and 30 Meritocrats (from guilds and common heroes), all led by a single elected Praetor (the Chairman)—was simply... there.

But this ancient, proud Republic lived in the shadow of a single, unsolvable problem.

In the southeastern mountains of the continent, a monster from a previous creation had survived: the Ancient Brown Dragon. This creature, so old it had forgotten its name, was insane with grief and obsessed with hoarding. For 80 years, he was the Republic's boogeyman. He raided their lands, terrorized their people, and (as the Kakarau Dragonborn knew) demanded tribute. The Republic's armies and heroes had tried—and failed, for decades—to defeat him. He was an unkillable, force-of-nature threat.

Part II: The Slaying of the Dragon (The True Story) (Year 83)

For 82 years, the "thousand-year" Republic of Tayon had been terrorized by the Ancient Brown Dragon of the southeastern mountains. The Republic saw him as a monster, an insane, fiery, force-of-nature threat.

In Year 83, the "Party of Arwon" (Arwon, Eran, Taliaan, etc.), fresh from the Illithid War and seeking to claim the greatest hoard in the world, set their sights on this dragon.

To Arwon, this was the ultimate challenge—a high-level, big-game hunt against a legendary monster. He was an adventurer, and this was the ultimate adventure.

They descended on the dragon's city-sized lair. The battle was a thing of legend. The party, at the peak of their power, faced the ancient dragon in his own hoard.

But something strange happened. The dragon, for all his madness, seemed to recognize Arwon.

This was not a battle of "good vs. evil." It was a tragic, one-sided reunion. The Dragon, a relic of a previous creation, remembered his old friend, Arwon, from that long-dead world. But this new, reincarnated Arwon did not remember him.

The dragon, weary, immortal, and driven mad by eons of loneliness, saw his old friend—the one person in the new world who was his true equal—and understood. This was not a fight for survival; this was his release.

On some level, the Ancient Brown Dragon let his friend win. He allowed himself to be put to rest.

As the ancient dragon died, his soul, finally free from its insane, immortal prison, exploded. A massive, uncontrolled wave of "released draconic magic" erupted from his corpse, washing over the entire region and transforming a few hundred locals into the first Brown Dragonborn.

The "Party of Arwon," unaware of the profound personal tragedy that had just unfolded, claimed the legendary hoard (the one that would fund Arwonia and Solaris) and left, having liberated the Kakarau and Tayon.

The dragon's soul, now sane, ascended. He now dwells in the court of Anushirvan, an advisor to the Supreme God, as he is truly older than the Supreme God himself.

Part III: The Integration of the Dragonborn (Y83 - Y182)

The "Tayon Metamorphosis" of Year 83 solved the Republic's 80-year-old "dragon problem," but it created a new, immediate social and political crisis.

A few hundred Elves, Humans, and Half-Elves had been magically and permanently transformed into a new, powerful race: the Brown Dragonborn. They were not immigrants; they were citizens—some of them from respected families—who had been reborn by the dragon's death-magic.

This event became the ultimate test of Tayon's "Heroic Republic" ideal.

• The Aristocracy: The old, noble Elven houses, like those in the Starseeker Duchy, were horrified. They saw the Dragonborn not as heroes, but as a "corruption"—a monstrous, magical taint on their "pure" Elven bloodlines. They argued for isolation, segregation, or even exile.

• The Meritocrats: The "Merit" half of the Grand Council—the guilds, the common heroes, and the non-Elven leaders—saw something completely different. They saw a new, native-born race, blessed with draconic strength and resilience. They saw an asset.

The debate that raged in the Grand Council Summit defined the next century of Tayon's history. The Meritocrats won. The "Heroic Resolve" and "Chaotic Good" nature of the Republic's ideals triumphed over aristocratic prejudice. The new Dragonborn were declared full citizens, their transformation seen as a "heroic blessing," not a curse.

This decision permanently shifted the balance of power in Tayon. The Dragonborn, eager to prove their worth, integrated quickly into the "merit" side of the Republic. They became the nation's new elite shock troops, aerial combatants (at the Citadel of the High Path), and guardians.

By the Present Day (Y182), the integration is complete. The tension between the old Elven Aristocracy and the Meritocrats is sharper than ever, as the Merit bloc is now championed by the powerful, respected Dragonborn clans. The success of this integration is best proven by the current Praetor: not an Elf, but Valerius Ironhand, a Mountain Dwarf, elected by a council that now truly values merit over blood.