Drassai

"Brr it's very cold, lost me——oh shiiiiiit dragon" - people in Drassai, probably

Drassai is the north-most region of Cidir. A harsh land where the cold winds threaten the lives of many a traveller, where beasts only spoken of in legends roam the landscape in search of their next meal, and where bickering nobles dine on fine food while their citizens struggle to survive in a land filled with darkness, or worse.

Government
The governance of Drassai can be divided into two distinctive factions; The Revenmar Dynasty and the League of the Crimson Ice.

The Revenmar Dynasty
The north is being ruled by the Revenmar family, who are descended from a long line of aristocrats. The Revenmar are a family of silver Dragonborn, and pride themselves on being able to trace their lineage back to the great silver dragon Jayrsaynth, the Lord of Ice, who is rumoured to live somewhere in the Frozen Wastes. The current High Lord of Drassai is Delmirev Revenmar, seen to the right. The seat of the Revenmar family is called Revenmar Keep.

The League of the Crimson Ice
Ruling the southern part of Drassai is an order of Blood Hunters, called the League of the Crimson Ice, led by Gareth Silverwind, whose main goal is to exterminate the great dragon and all of its descendants, possibly because they see them as the reason the earth is so cold and useless. Although it is unclear what ignited the animosity between the great silver dragon Jayrsaynth of Drassai and the Blood Hunter Order hellbent on hunting it down, some historians speculate that Jayrsaynth had long ago refused the advances of the Order's founder, Sannica Crimice. Hell truly hath no fury like a woman scorned.

The League is structured along the lines of the First Order from Star Wars, both in terms of their structure and their modus operandi (except with significantly less tantrum-throwing power babies and more competent red-headed leaders). They govern the south, but their authority is derived from nothing except their own claim on it. They believe that the dragonborn royal family ruling the north isn't doing a good enough job, that they are cruel and unjust, and that they are driving the region into disarray and ruin, so the League has decided to slowly take over Drassai and do it themselves. The Revenmar family refutes the League's claim, saying that they are simply bitter because their advances got shot down in the past.

Over time, the goals of the League have shifted, and nowadays, a large part of the League of the Crimson Ice is focused on governing the parts of Drassai they have control over, as well as focused on establishing trust with their people via imports and exports. They use some taxes from citizens to fund their special forces unit. This special forces unit is made up of specially trained Blood Hunters whose goal is to eliminate the dragonspawn, with the belief that the dragons rule their section with an iron fist and need to be taken down. The League believes that they are doing the right thing by killing them. The Revenmar are actively working to hinder the task force quite aggressively. This reinforces the League's idea that the Revenmar are evil.

The northern part of Drassai ruled by the Revenmar is much more structured than the southern part ruled by the League, but are not as bad as the League says they are. They are powerful, but don't have any desire to specifically exterminate the First Order. Plus, the dragon is quite pleasant and helpful, and isn't too fond of violence.

Naturally, this leads to the two factions being in constant conflict with each other.

Law
As Drassai is divided into two regions, the Dragonborn-ruled North and the League-ruled South, the law varies throughout the region, and there are few rules which apply everywhere.

The Law of Surprise
The Law of Surprise is one of the few laws which applies throughout all of Drassai, and may be called in as payment for saving the life of another man. If the Law is called in, the man that had been saved is expected to offer to his savior a boon whose nature is unknown to one or both parties. In most cases, the boon takes the form of the saved man's firstborn child, conceived or born without the father's knowledge, although a variation of the Law may call for "the first thing that comes to greet you as you arrive home".

Northern Drassai

 * 1) Thou shalt swear fealty and show respect to the royal family. The authority of the ruler of Drassai is absolute.
 * 2) Thou shalt honour thy family.
 * 3) Thou shalt not kill.
 * 4) Thou shalt not steal.
 * 5) Thou shalt honour the Law of Surprise.
 * 6) Thou shalt not bear false witness against your fellow citizens.

History
When the peninsula was first discovered, it was described as 'extensively forested', with around 30% of the land covered in trees. Permanent sentient settlements greatly disturbed the isolated tundra ecosystem of limited species diversity. The forests were heavily exploited over the centuries for firewood and timber. Plant life consists mainly of grassland in the southernmost part, which is regularly grazed by livestock. The most common tree native to Drassai is the birch, followed by the aspen, and certain types of willows.

The only native land mammal when sentient beings arrived were the arctic fox, which came to the peninsula by walking over the frozen sea north of Drassai. No native or free-living amphibians can be found are on the peninsula, and the only reptile rumoured to have made its home in Drassai is the great silver dragon Jayrsaynth, see right, from whom the Revenmar royal family is said to be descended.

Every year, either Jayrsaynth or the silver dragon from Laevateinn leave their nest and flies to seek out its mate on the other side of Cidir. This aptly-named "Flight of the dragons" covers the otherwise leafy island of Laevateinn in snow and ice, which is also how Laevateinn distinguishes its winter.

Local Lore and Culture
Yule is widely celebrated each winter in Drassai. It typically begins during the shortest day of the year, and continues for another three days. It symbolizes the return of the light as the days get longer again, and is thus a holiday of hope. During the celebrations surrounding Yule, and especially the Yule Ball thrown to honour the spirits of winter, all hostilities are to cease, and it's considered sacrilege to commit violence against another being. The alcohol flows freely and the food is aplenty. This offers an opportunity each year for the Revenmar royal family and the League of the Crimson Ice to meet without hostilities, and improve relations between the two factions.

Guest rights are very much enforced in Drassai. When a guest, be he commonborn or noble, eats the food and drinks the drink off a host's table beneath the host's roof, guest right is invoked. Bread and salt are traditional provisions. When invoked, neither the guest nor the host can harm the other for the length of the guest's stay. Therefore, people are careful not to sup at the table of a stranger, should the meeting turn south.

In the north, there's a wizarding college by the name of Academy For The Magickally Gifted.

The Arboretum
A grand structure dedicated to the life on Cidir. Samples of flora and fauna from all over were brought, and entire sections were magically enchanted to allow them to thrive. To protect surrounding areas from both the magics used within and the beasts within, it was built in the Frozen Wastes of Drassai.

It’s fate remains shrouded in history - though legend says the guardians of The Arboretum were foolishly slain during the later days of the Purge - resulting in consequences most unforeseen. Still others claim it stands still - buried now in ice as a method of keeping the ravages of war from damaging the structure, and still it lies, buried...

The Cult of The Great Destroyer
A sect of kobolds on the Southern border of Drassai make up the majority of the cult of "the Great Destroyer", whom they worship as a deity of destruction, nature, and family. In reality, "the Great Destroyer" is merely an oddly-coloured horse that was awakened by a burst of wild magic from its former rider. The mare has become something of a local oddity of some of the southern towns, as well as a practitioner of alchemy.

The cult has made the kobolds more amenable to trade and communications with local towns, and seeing them in town is a more common sight than it would be in many other places in Cidir.

Blood Hunter Tattoos
Tattoos are an important part of the life in the League of the Crimson Ice. For more, see Tattoos of the League of Crimson Ice.

Biome
With the harsh winds of the north tempered only somewhat by the warmer climate of the south, Drassai is far from the ideal holiday destination. While there are settlements in the south that draw the attention of wanderers and merchants alike, few dare venture out into the unforgiving tundra of the the Frozen Wastelands up north, and fewer yet decide to settle there. The temperatures range from -10°C to -60°C.

Drassai is geologically active, with hot springs being a common occurrence around the region. Its high latitude and marine influence keep summers chilly, with most of the region having a tundra climate. Only the southernmost quarter of the region, bordering Akra Kuden as well as the Bay of Mists, has a climate that approaches temperate, and it is where the majority of the region's agriculture is based.

The entirely of the region consists of a plateau characterised by tundra and barren forests, mountains, and glaciers, as well as some glacial rivers flowing to the Merciless Sea. Around two-thirds of the peninsula are barren of vegetation, as it is affected by either permafrost or soil erosion, serious enough to make the land useless.

The southern third of the region is usable as farmland, whereas the northern two-thirds are used for timber and mining of various metals. Most of the population lives in the southern part, but there's a fair chunk of creatures who can survive the cold that have made the north their home.Fauna on Drassai includes sheep, cattle, chickens, goats, sturdy horse races, and the Drassai sheepdog, all descendants of animals imported by the people who immigrated to the peninsula.

Many species of fish live in the waters surrounding Drassai, and the fishing industry is a major part of Drassai's economy, accounting for roughly half of the region's total exports. Birds, especially seabirds, are an important part of Drassai's animal life. The native skuas, kittiwakes, and porgs nest on its sea cliffs.

There are few insect species in Drassai, due to the cold temperatures, and the region is essentially free of mosquitoes.

There's primarily beasts, giants, and monstrosities in Drassai. A lot of monstrosities, which make it a habit of bothering the local townsfolk.