Aviandrian Geography–Draconland

Each country is special in its own way and will have unique customs and identity, but that doesn’t mean that a country can stay perfectly uninfluenced from the countries around it. I have written a lot about Aviandria, so I thought for a little while it would be fun to focus on some of Aviandria’s neighbors. In this post, I will talk about Draconland. Draconland has the closest relations to Aviandria, and I know the most about Draconland of all the countries surrounding Aviandria. *Note: All information I have on Draconland or any of the people from Draconland has been provided by my friend who is the authority on Draconland and graciously allowed me to include it in the books. I cannot take any credit for Draconland or any of this information about it.

What Would You Find In Draconland?

Draconland shares Aviandria’s northern border. The Anamer River divides the two countries. (Fast Fact: Anamer is the ancient Elven for “Friendship”.) It is a beautiful country with both mountains and lowlands. Many of the mountains are volcanic, and although the mountain regions are known to be cold and snowy, hot springs help to warm things up. The lowlands are temperate, and though there are forests, the climate is ideal for growing wheat, corn, sugar beets, alfalfa, and a good variety of vegetables. They have some very enviable natural resources, including gold, diamonds, and other valuable gems. Of course, the one thing Draconland is most famous for is its dragons.

Government in Draconland

The form of government in Draconland is a constitutional monarchy. The position of monarch is shared between a queen (always a queen) and her bonded dragon companion. There is also a large council made up of dragons, their riders, and other humans who are not bonded to dragons. The center of government is located in the capital city, Draconia.

How Draconland Came to Be

Draconland used to be part of Aviandria. Aviandria is a very old country and has had its high points and low points during its history. Draconland broke off during one of Aviandria’s not-so-great parts. At that time, those in a position of influence looked down on those in the northern province of Aviandria (the part that is now Draconland). Those from that area were greatly marginalized and were not allowed many of the opportunities those from the more “favorable” parts of the country were permitted. They eventually got fed up with this and, after a nasty war, seceded from Aviandria to become their own country.

How Draconland Got the Dragons

It was within the first couple of decades after the secession that the Dragons appeared in Draconlad. The dragons of Draconland aren’t like animals. They are at least as intelligent as humans. The Dragons had stayed hidden, watching for a group of people they could bond themselves to. This bond would be a symbiotic relationship because while dragons have long memories, they struggle to look toward the future and progress. They observed that humans have the opposite difficulty. Humans are good at moving forward and progressing, but they tend to forget the past quickly and tend to make the same mistakes over and over. The dragons felt that by combining their strengths, they could balance out their weaknesses. The Dragons recognized an opportunity in the fledgling country and judged the people there to be a good match. The dragons approached Charisa, the leader of the new country, and presented their offer. Charisa gladly accepted and bonded with the dragon Mirith. The country was named Draconland and has been ruled by a queen and her dragon companion ever since.

Draconland’s Relationship with Aviandria

Draconland and Aviandria have not always been as close as they are now. Since Draconland was formed, there aren’t many records of open hostility, but Aviandria didn’t seem to pay very close attention to Draconland in general. Even though things had changed for the better in Aviandria, hundreds of years passed before there was an official alliance between the two countries. The alliance came about when a usurper murdered his way to the throne of Draconland. A girl named Cassandra led an underground resistance but had made little progress in ten years. At last, she approached the king of Aviandria for assistance. The king had a hard time believing her story at first, but she was able to convince him of the truth of it and they worked together to right things in Draconland. Since then, Draconland and Aviandria have maintained a close relationship.

What else would you like to know about Draconland?