Eiyuu Kishi Den

I need some help! D: Moss's history is so scattered, I don't know what happened to prince Jester, very little about the civil wars and no clue how Shiris became queen.

Moss wrote:Founding: Unification in NRC 473
Capital: Dragon Breath
Major Cities and Towns: Dragon Scale, Dragon Eye, Dragon Claw
Sovereign: King Jester and Queen Shiris
Location: Southwestern Lodoss

Moss is a commonwealth of duchies in the southwestern quadrant of Lodoss. The nation has seen many civil wars as the dukes battle for power, but the main seat of power in Moss is in the region of Highlands. The Highlanders have tamed dragons for hundreds of years, and as the region is situated in the mountains, it has a tactical advantage, making it the location of power in the region.

Dragons are well respected in Moss, and it is the home of the dragon Mycen, the dragon of Falis. Wyverns are common, and the Dragon Knights have tamed these great creatures to ride. All sorts of other dragons roam the land and lurk in caverns, including many great dragons and countless thunder dragons. The people know, however, that not all dragons are of good alignment. Most of the dragons of Moss are good or indifferent, but wild dragons are highly unpredictable, and can act hostile. The thunder dragons which roam the old ruins of Kastuul are very protective of their domain and react bitterly to unwelcome guest.

In Moss the symbol of the Dragon is represents strength and prosperity. It is impossible to avoid this fact, as nearly everything seems connected to this idea. After the unification of Moss, many cities changed their name to fit this motif as well, and most taverns and inns use the word Dragon as well. Even the names given to children reflect this, with such names as "Drake", "Scale", or "Cave".

Moss was unified under King Mycen after the War of the Demon God. The Demon was released in Skard, a duchy of Moss, by it's own duke. From underground, the demons took the dwarven Kingdom of Stone in the south of Moss, and Skard fell under their control as well. Moss was slowly becoming overrun by demons. It was during this time that the Marfa priestess Neese broke the curse of the Kastuulian Governor on the golden dragon, freeing her from her duty to protect the Staff of Life. To honor those who freed her, the dragon took the name Mycen.

With the devastation caused by the War of the Demon God, Moss united under the Highlands. Under the rulership of King Mycen and the Dragon Knights, the people enjoyed a great deal of liberty and freedom, and their lands prospered. In time, other surrounding baronies joined with Mycen's domain, and soon the area became known as the Kingdom of Moss.

Another civil war began around NRC 511 or 512, and many dragon riders and their wyverns were sacrificed. To end the war, King Jester undertook a mission with the Free Knight Parn and his companions, including the mercenary Shiris. During the course of the quest, Jester and Shiris became close and were later married, thus making her queen. It took some time for the civil war to be quelled, but Moss is at peace again now.

Cities
Dragon Breath (Highland)
Dragon Breath is the "capital" of Moss, but only because it is the site of the Dragon Knights' Castle. Moss does not technically have a centralized ruling body as it operates as a commonwealth or confederation (each town and city ruling itself independently). Dragon Breath was once called Highland, a city which has always been fairly large and prosperous. The old Castle Highland still stands on the southern side of town, but has been abandoned. Instead, the city has slowly grown northward, and the newest districts surround castle wall of the Dragon Knights' Castle.

Mycen's Cave is in the mountains just twenty kilometers north, and the Ancient Golden Dragon can often be seen flying gracefully through the sky. The Dragon Knights' Castle is a large stone fortress, with courtyards to facilitate the lands of wyverns. Behind the castle is a large open field where Mycen may land, though she rarely does so.

• Port
  Dragon Breath is about a dozen kilometers from the sea but it is built near a river which leads down from the mountains and empties into the Western Sea. Smaller merchant vessels can navigate this river, but galleons are unable to do so. Dragon Breath has a small port, but most merchants trading with Moss use the larger ports in Dragon Scale or Dragon Eye.
• Commerce
  Dragon Breath is the headquarters for the wealthy and powerful Mossian Spice Mercantile. Merchants coming from Valis by way of Dragon Scale, or those entering Dragon Breath's small port, are the primary source of commerce. Merchants also come down from Raiden or Flaim, but most stop at Dragon Scale. The main market is in the center of town and is a constant hive of activity. Any manner of goods or produce may be purchased here, including many dragon related items. Joval's Weapon Shoppe sells many custom dragon style weapons and armor, with ornamental dragon claw hilts, dragon-scalemail armor, and even large dragon scale shields ( a single scale from a great dragon works as a large shield).
• Religion
  Myrii has a large temple in Dragon Breath, and there are shrines to Falis, Marfa, Rada, and Cha Za as well. Near the center of town stands an honorary shrine and large (though 1/20 scale) statue dedicated to Mycen.
• Services
  Dragon Breath has a wide variety of inns and taverns, though most are prefixed or postfixed by the word "Dragon". This is a little overwhelming to visitors, though it has become everyday to the local population. Several of the better known inns are the Golden Dragon Inn, the Wyvern's Stay, the Dragon's Lair, and Drake's Cove (the owner's name is Drake). Taverns follow in suit with such colorful names as the Dragon's Mug, the Dragon's Nest, the Dragon's Roost, the Griffin's Claw, and the Wyvern Tavern.
• Guilds
  Most of the guilds exist in Dragon Breath, including the Merchants' Guild, the Mages' Guild, the Mercenaries' Guild, and others.

Dragon Scale (Gyenon)
Dragon Scale is the major port city for Moss. It sits on the eastern side on Moss, on the cost of the Great Bay. Ships from Valis and Alania often stop here, and before the Marmo invasion, many merchants from Kanon as well. Traders from Raiden stop at Dragon Claw or Dragon Eye.

Dragon Scale was once called Gyenon, capital of the old Barony of Gyenon, which is now part of Moss. The sage Wort is said to have been born in Gyenon.

• Port
  The Port of Dragon Scale, known by mariners as the Dragon's Port, serves as the major port for most of Moss. Moss is handicapped in that it is an extremely mountainous region, and coastal cities are uncommon. Moss has a small navy, seeing little need to maintain a presence at sea. The Dragon Rider Knights are quite mobile and can make far better time flying across land and sea than any caravan or ship. Moss's limited navy is stationed at a fort just a few kilometers out of Dragon Scale and is constantly on alert for pirates.
• Commerce
  Commerce between Valis and Moss is booming. Merchants and caravans regularly travel the main road from Roid, and the armies of both nations take great pains to keep this road free of bandits. The main market in Dragon Scale is located on the northern side of town, and as in Dragon Breath, many dragon related items may be purchased here.
• Religion
  Falis has a glorious temple in Dragon Scale, as does Cha Za. There are also a smaller shrine for Marfa and Rada.
• Services
  Inns are available for travelers throughout Dragon Scale. The best bed and breakfast in Dragon Scale is Slumbering Dragon Inn. Travelers may also find Fair Night Inn and Dragon Port Inn quite a comfortable stay as well. For taverns and pubs, drop by the Dragon's Den, the Jackal's Pub, or the Witch's Brew.
• Guilds
  The Merchants' Guild and Mages' Guild both have large facilities in Dragon Scale. The Mercenaries' Guild, Traders' Guild, and a few other guilds also have guildhouses in Dragon Scale.

Other Cities and Villages

• Dragon Claw - This city is the furthest northern city of Moss and sits at the border. It is a military outpost, and the first stop for travelers coming from the north.
• Dragon Eye - Dragon Eye is a day's walk from Dragon Claw and a bustling city with good trade. Dragon Eye has a small port that larger ships dock at if they cannot make the trip up Dragon Breath's river.

Other Locales
Mountains: Albora Range
Bodies of Water: Highland River, unmarked lake south of Dragon Breath, source of Highland River, unmarked river south of Dragon Eye
Forests: Glassy Woods, most of Moss is forested

Glassy Woods
See the Glassy Woods under Elven Forests.

Kingdom of Stone
The ruins of the Kingdom of Stone lay to the south of Dragon Breath and Dragon Scale.

Just a few edits, the capital of Moss is called Highlands. Yes, they actually used english terms and then translate it back into Japanese! You probably know already, that this is a common method in Japan.

It's called Highlands because it's sitatied on a highland, with the back of the city being an extremely stiff cliff. It was implied that this reflected how war-oriented Moss used to be before unification, because the city's location were chosen based on warfare concerns rather than economical or agricultural ones. More over, dragons seem to only live in mountains and highlands (except for water dragons of course), which is why among all the city-states in Moss, only the ancesters of Highland could communicate and capture dragons (in the Lordos Legend novel, a chapter was entirely about capturing dragons, and it was mentioned that those who live like dragons are more capable of taming wild with dragons... so living in mountains/highlands sorta fulfils "part" of the criteria I guess? Also, like all other tribes, Highland's ancestors started off as barbarians, which was probably why they could capture dragons back then and not now when they're civilized.)

Also, while its official name is called Highlands, people often refer to it by "Dragon Eye", "Dragon Breath" is another major city-state, along with "Dragon Scale" these 3 were the most powerful city-states before Moss's unification. I don't remember much about the other 2 city states, or should I say, I got them mixed up and forgot which one is which lol... but anyway, they were in constant cilvil war and were united towards the end of the Demons and the 6 hero incident because back then a joint force was needed.

Due to Karla however, civil war broke out once again. Karla thought... either Dragon Scale or Dragon Breath (sorry...) the way to release the Giant of Flame, which is immune to dragon's fire and were mighty enough to tear dragons into pieces. Many dragon knites were sacrificed and so price Jester went to seek the ancient ruin with the blade "Giant Slayer" in it (but it's a sword-shaped magical device that can summon a powerful ice magic... once...). Parn and company were on their way travelling all over Lodoss at that time to meet rulers of each place, and at that time they just happened to be at Moss. Shris was the first to meet Jester, at first Shiris thought Jester is a merchanry, and after Orson's death she thought it's probably not a bad idea to find a new partner, but of course, as a merchanary she won't help Jester out for free. Hmm... I need to double check to see whether Jester gave the offer or Shris requested it herself, but anyway, the agreement was that at completion of the task, Jester would pay Shris half of what he has, seeing how important the task is. He also gave Shris his royal ring (of course Shris thought it's just gold...) as deposit, which I think might have implied something like "engagement ring" (not that Jester implied it, but the author I mean). When the giat was slayed Jester kept his promise but said the only way to give half of his kingdom out would be to marry Shris... I skipped their romantic interaction during the task but there were some, so Shris accepted and blah blah blah they lived happily ever after

In the anime dragon knites rode wyverns, but in novel wyvern were not ridden, partly because they're not considered as dragons (just semi-dragon beasts), and partly because they're not intelligent enough to communicate with human dragon knites and be tamed.

Woops, missed out an important point... unlike other fantasy novels e.g. Dragon Lance, Lodoss's dragons never ruled the land. Mycen didn't interact with humans at all and mostly hibernated in his cave. The only interactions were (1) when he was cursed by Anciant Magical Empire to guard the treasures, (2) when he reluctantly killed those occasianal treasure hunters, and (3) when Neese, Wort, and Mycen came to release its curse to get the treasure cause they needed it to pay the 100 Heroes and fund their military campaign against the demons. Neese lifted the curse but Mycen's bravery (he allowed the mighty dragon to attack him which would alleviate its pain from the curse because it's abiding to the curse) impressed the nameless ancient dragon, and so the antient dragon suggested to bear the name Mycen so that with its eternal existence, Mycen's bravery would always be remembered.

P.S. sorry for the typos in the previous post (e.g. Karla "tought" not "thought" but hope you still understood what i wrote).

Fixed the overview of the nation. Dragon Breath seems to be the seat of power, as it's the one that's marked on every map. The only city that isn't consistent is the one furthest north; I've seen it called Dragon Teeth, Dragon Claw, and Dragon Wing...so I dunno.

Queen Shiris wrote:Moss is a commonwealth of duchies in the southwestern quadrant of Lodoss. The nation has seen many civil wars as the dukes battle for power, but the main seat of power in Moss is in the region of Highlands. The Highlanders have tamed dragons for hundreds of years, and as the region is situated in the mountains, it has a tactical advantage, making it the location of power in the region.

Dragons are well respected in Moss, and it is the home of the dragon Mycen, the dragon of Falis. Wyverns are common, and the Dragon Knights have tamed these great creatures to ride. All sorts of other dragons roam the land and lurk in caverns, including many great dragons and countless thunder dragons. The people know, however, that not all dragons are of good alignment. Most of the dragons of Moss are good or indifferent, but wild dragons are highly unpredictable, and can act hostile. The thunder dragons which roam the old ruins of Kastuul are very protective of their domain and react bitterly to unwelcome guest.

In Moss the symbol of the Dragon is represents strength and prosperity. It is impossible to avoid this fact, as nearly everything seems connected to this idea. After the unification of Moss, many cities changed their name to fit this motif as well, and most taverns and inns use the word Dragon as well. Even the names given to children reflect this, with such names as "Drake", "Scale", or "Cave".

Moss was unified under King Mycen after the War of the Demon God. The Demon was released in Skard, a duchy of Moss, by it's own duke. From underground, the demons took the dwarven Kingdom of Stone in the south of Moss, and Skard fell under their control as well. Moss was slowly becoming overrun by demons. It was during this time that the Marfa priestess Neese broke the curse of the Kastuulian Governor on the golden dragon, freeing her from her duty to protect the Staff of Life. To honor those who freed her, the dragon took the name Mycen.

With the devastation caused by the War of the Demon God, Moss united under the Highlands. Under the rulership of King Mycen and the Dragon Knights, the people enjoyed a great deal of liberty and freedom, and their lands prospered. In time, other surrounding baronies joined with Mycen's domain, and soon the area became known as the Kingdom of Moss.

Another civil war began around NRC 511 or 512, and many dragon riders and their wyverns were sacrificed. To end the war, King Jester undertook a mission with the Free Knight Parn and his companions, including the mercenary Shiris. During the course of the quest, Jester and Shiris became close and were later married, thus making her queen. It took some time for the civil war to be quelled, but Moss is at peace again now.