The Dramer are a race of elves native to the eastern island of Rekkan, the second largest of the Kvurian Isles. The Dramer are considered a race of scholars, scientists, and inventors by much of the outside world, however this is simply a result of the unique political situation in their homeland: the University of Rekkan holds supreme political and religious authority within Dramer society, causing a large societal focus on technocracy and rationalism.
The Dramer have traditionally held an isolationist stance on the world stage, however they maintain positive relations with many countries due to their status as one of the most advanced nations on Atheryin. The Dramer have a historically hostile relationship with the Jarvah, who they have fought with several times throughout the ages.
| Dramer | ||
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Height |
5' 5" - 5'8" | |
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Weight |
110-140 pounds pounds | |
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Form |
Elf | |
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Lifespan |
80 - 100 years | |
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Physiology
The Dramer, unlike many other races of elves, cannot easily be mistaken for men (or, indeed, other elves). They are outliers among their kind, much like the Jarvah are among men, and share little in the way of common features with other elves.
The average Dramer typically has greyish-blue skin, and bright golden eyes, although a significant minority of the Dramer population have pale blue eyes, similar to those of the Aednun. They have sharp, angular facial features, and teeth designed solely for tearing and ripping, something that presents a continual problem to the Dramer, due to their primarily vegetarian diet. These strange physical features, which pose more problems to the Dramer than they provide benefits are the result of their mutation within the Faelands from their original Admáen bodies.
Personality
The average Dramer is compulsive, obsessive, and soak in everything about their environment. Their people skills are usually lacking, making them a target of prejudice outside of their homeland. Often regarded as cold, and emotionless, they find it difficult to connect on a personal level, and struggle to see the grey area in law and order. Young Dramer without having had contact with the outside world are often worse at this, but like anything else, the Dramer have sought to learn more about how and why people respond to different things, making a trained Dramer spokesman or merchant as good, if not better than those of other races.
That being said, a Dramer keeps his or her word - and believes firmly all others should do the same. A Dramer means every word that comes out of their mouth, and will fight to the death if it means standing by it. While honor and privilege have little place in Dramer society, it is regarded as extremely shameful to go back on one's word.
Culture
The Dramer traditionally practice [INSERT ELVEN RELIGION HERE WHEN WE DO THAT]. In their homeland, the religion is directed and controlled by the University of Rekkan. They practice the martial art of Rolkakan, which they believe will allow them to eventually achieve Transcendence and physical divinity. Transcendence, as understood by [INSERT ELVEN RELIGION HERE WHEN WE DO THAT] occurs when an individual achieves vast amounts of power and enlightenment, and becomes a physical god on Kyros. While the Aednun have not reported this kind of transcendence occurring since the Kudes Era, and the Admáen only recorded one instance of it, the Dramer claim that multiple individuals from Rekkan have transcended, and worship these individuals as ancestor gods. This has never been observed by an outsider, and institutions throughout eastern Atheryin have cast doubt on the validity of these claims.
Dramer societies are close knit, but few and far between. Many Dramer experience a large degree of homesickness after leaving their homeland, due to the hostility they experience from other races, and the lack of individuals of their own kind. Dramer societies outside of their homeland are usual trading or teaching outposts, and many have grown up into towns or cities in their own right. However, Dramer populations outside of Rekkan are small.
Dramer value song, dance, poetry and the fine arts, as a way of recording history, rather than for it's own merits. Historical paintings, especially from the time of The Red War are extremely valuable. Dramer Keepers are the primary painters, musicians and poets of Rekkan, whereas the Craftsmen tend to be more involved in physical art forms such as sculpting and architecture.
History, Legends, Folklore
The Dramer were initially Admáeni elves, living within the Heavenly Kingdom Of Admáen as members of their race had done for centuries, and continued to do until their destruction at the hands of the Himara Empire in the middle of the Brave Era. The specific origins of the Dramer lie in the Eight Years' War from Brave 150 - 158 between the Admáen and various Dunaan states led by the Rón for control of The Fissure. Following a string of victories against the Ronnan forces, the Admáen army under Valsen of Zaruqos sacked the city of Galihhas, capturing several valuble Dunaan cultural artefacts, including the the death-mask of Ronár Ronnan. The army vanished while returning to their homelands "without leaving so-much as a trace" according to the official investigation into the disappearance. Border-towns reported that the army had passed through them, however no signs of the host were ever discovered by the Admáen. A decade later, a great force riding out of the former Trynra city of Lycorynth crossed the Fissure and were stopped by a rival army several hundred miles from Amzaire. Relan Delson, a doctor with the army, describes the encounter: "We met the unidentified army under the shadow of the Kira - imagine our surprise when it was Valsen, and his missing twenty-thousand? The General remained unchanged - as I must assume, having never before met him - but his soldiers, who he claimed Admáeni, were scarcely as close to being of our noble blood as a dog is to being a Lyrian. Mutated, stunted, skin turned blue with some Fae taint. He would not answer our questions, and made clear his intent to take the City. We impressed upon him the changes that had taken place in the last decade, and made clear that The Divinity would destroy him, no-matter the fantastical sweven that had compelled him to march on us. In the morning, he headed east, not south".
The army, which had been mutated by the Faelands, marched into the Rón and cut a bloody swathe through the Dunaan kingdoms, which were recovering from their defeat in the Eight Years' War a decade beforehand, and were entirely unprepared for a warfare. Valsen's force sacked the city of Hón, which was the capital of the Dunaan High King Dúra Honnan, and captured his fleet, before sailing to Dram, the home of the Draman house. The rogue Admáeni army, which had "provoked no small amount of scandal, tension, and fingernail-biting in its flagrant violations of hard-won peace treaties" then defeated the Draman in the Elven Conquest of Dram, establishing the Kingdom of Dram, a state which achieved little recognition the Dunaan, who attempted to reconquer the island in Brave 171, however their defeat once again at the hands of the occupiers, who had by now come to be known as the Dramer Admáen, or simply Dramer, secured recognition for the state.
In the early Red Era, the Kingdom of Dram, under the leadership of Rekkan Remor, fought against Usareik in the the Red War, a largely naval war initially started over Dramer colonies on the southern coast of Kvuria. Although the Dramer fleet won initial skirmishes against the Jarvah, their homeland was eventually invaded and conquered in a brutal three-year island campaign, pitting Remor against Korhan, one of the great Jarvah warlords. Although Remor slew Korhan during the sack of Haven, it was not enough to deny the Jarvah victory. With their homeland conquered, many Dramer fled to the colony island of Rekkan (Named not after Rekkan Remor, but after his father, a prominent fishmonger who financed the colonisation of the island). With all other organs of state destroyed during the war, the University of Rekkan, led by Relan Matan, assumed control of Dramer society and negotiated an end to the Red War.
Military and Magic
Dramer Warriors are broken up into two main factions - the Dragon Warriors and the Dragon Monks. These two factions differ in one main way. The Dragon Warriors see combat as a means to an end, whereas Dragon Monks practice it as an art-form, which they call Rolkakan. The Dragon Warriors tend to be the more aggressive faction.
Among one of the many oddities of the Dramer is their specific breed of magicks - namely, Kinetic Magic. Combining physical force with magic, it's usually simply a form of advanced telekinesism. While telekinesis generally applies just to lift, Dramer tend to exploit many different directions in which to apply this force. The results range from striking metal without a hammer, to crumbling metal armor with people still inside. However, Kinetic Magic is also used directly, harnessed into something physical in a mechanism that is likely similar to their shapeshifting. This can be described as pure energy, brought into physical being, and is used mostly as a fuel, though can be used to devastating effect in warfare.
Like in everything else, the Dramer utilize their shapeshifting ability in warfare, turning parts of their body into weapons, and armor. It takes great training to sustain massive changes to their bodies, and therefore, conventional weaponry and armor are used to supplement their abilities.
Dramer augment their armies with Ren , mechanical, autonomous machines. A well designed Ren can best the most skilled opponents - because they were designed to. While some Ren are designed to mimic their creators, others are designed to swarm the enemy, with more being used to spread fear.
Both Dramer military and magic is taught at the College of Rekkan, where the Warrior Branch trains prospective warriors. In order to become a member of the Warrior Branch, the student typically must become a member of either the Dragon Monks, or the Dragon Warriors, as Professors will refuse to train individuals outside of their respective fashion.
However, the Dramer are, for the most part, a race of pacifists. In the past, they may have been more militaristic, but they practice shapeshifting, kinetic magic, and combat mostly as an art-form, and while ferocious in defense, are often extremely adverse to offensive action.
Economics and Politics
Crucial to the Dramer's place in the world is as traders. Dramer exports are usually luxury goods or advanced technology, as Rekkan is not large or flat enough for large exports of food, or for manufacturing on a large scale.
Dramer are famous for turning the volcanic ash of their homeland into a shining black material called ebony. It is embedded deep into their culture, and is used in everything from jewellery, to fuel, to weaponry. Ironically, this material, so deeply engrained in their culture, is only found on Rekkan, and would not have been discovered if they had stayed in their ancestral homeland of Dram.
Dramer export Eder Wood, from the Eder Tree, which has an almost metal like strength to it. The Eder tree also produces flowers, and fruit, which in turn can be turned into Ambrosia, a drug which is popular both at home and abroad.
The Dramer have a close political relationship with the Nokana Empire, who use Rekkan as a personal drug lab. Dramer will deal with anyone so long as it benefits their race, the aristocrats of Nokana buy thousands of pounds of Ambrosia, Kvurian Nightshade, War Bloom and Nokanian Summer each month. The Nokana are also extremely fond of the ebony crafts the Dramer are so experienced at making, especially ebony jewellery, and account for most of the exports of ebony out of Rekkan.
During the Nokanian Invasion of the Kvurian Isles , and subsequent centuries, the Dramer were part of the Nokana Empire - though mostly only in name. While Rekkan eventually became independent once again, close political ties remained, and the Nokanian Telo remained the trading currency of the Dramer, cementing it's widespread use across the Kvurian Isles.
Technology
The Dramer are arguably the most technological advanced race still in the world. While after The Red War, they lost many of their technological wonders, many have been rebuilt. Dramer value technology for technologies sake, and often encorporate beautiful art into it. It is their primary art-form, and they excell at it.
The most common of the Dramer technologies seen around the world are Dramer watercraft - called Vakir. These are hollow ebony shards, hurled through the water using Kinetic Magic.
Perhaps the most famous of Dramer inventions are the Ren, and are completely mechanical, autonomous, beings. Made from sharp shards and plates of ebony, they are molded into many different forms and for many different purposes.
Perhaps the most radical, and controversial to other races, of Dramer technologies however, is the augmentation of their bodies by their technology. Dramer Armor, in particular, is considered grotesque to foreign scholars who know how it's done. Made of similar scales put on Ren (though more highly decorated, often with gold), each piece of armor is added to the skin, forced into it, through a mixture of shapeshifting and sheer force.