The Founding of the Dragon Realm
The Empire of Lóngyuán traces its origins to the earliest age of civilisation in Naplica. Zhuyang tradition holds that their people were shaped directly in the image of Hēiyào, who intended them to rule the continent beneath his shadow.
From the beginning, Zhuyang society was organised around this belief. Their earliest kings ruled not simply as monarchs but as earthly stewards of the Dragon’s will. Temples and palaces rose together in the first cities, and law was often proclaimed as a reflection of divine command.
The Zhuyang were not alone in this early world. Alongside them existed the Asaharu, the Crane People, who were created by Hēiyào to serve the Zhuyang. In their original form, the Asaharu possessed wings and could fly, allowing them to act as messengers, scouts, and wardens of the empire’s growing domain.
With Zhuyang rulers and Asaharu servants, the foundations of Lóngyuán were laid.
Imperial Expansion
Over the centuries, the Zhuyang city-states gradually unified into a single imperial authority. The rulers who achieved this union established what later chronicles would call the Empire of Lóngyuán, declaring their rule as the rightful dominion of Hēiyào over the world.
From its earliest days, the Empire expanded aggressively across Naplica. New cities were founded along fertile river valleys, fortresses guarded mountain passes, and the cult of the Dragon God became the central pillar of imperial ideology. The Emperor ruled as Hēiyào’s chosen voice, while priesthoods ensured that imperial authority remained bound to the Dragon’s divine mandate.
The Asaharu served as the practical machinery of this expanding state. They staffed garrisons, carried messages across vast distances, and maintained the administrative order that allowed Lóngyuán to govern an ever-growing realm.
For generations, the empire expanded with little serious opposition.
During this period, the Asaharu attempted a revolt against Zhuyang's authority. The rebellion was crushed, and Hēiyào himself punished the Crane People by stripping away their ability to fly he had granted them. From that day forward, the Asaharu were bound permanently to the earth, a reminder throughout the Empire of the consequences of defying the Dragon’s order.
The revolt did little to weaken Lóngyuán itself, which continued to grow in power and influence.
The Height of the Empire
By the height of its power, Lóngyuán dominated much of Naplica. Its armies marched beneath dragon banners, and its imperial bureaucracy governed vast territories through networks of provincial governors and temple authorities.
Zhuyang culture spread across the continent as conquered regions were reorganised into imperial provinces. Dragon temples were constructed in nearly every major settlement, and imperial law reinforced the idea that the Empire itself existed as the worldly expression of Hēiyào’s dominion.
For many centuries, this system appeared unshakable.
Yet Lóngyuán’s expansion inevitably brought it into conflict with the children of Yánnì (Clērātas). The children, in resistance, encouraged the settlement of new people in Naplica, migrating Boryushka.
The growing presence of these rival cultures began to challenge the Empire’s authority.
The Great War of Naplica (1276 BF)
In 1276 BF, tensions finally erupted into open conflict.
The children of Yánnì and their new allies united against Lóngyuán in what became known as the Great War of Naplica. For the first time since its founding, the Empire faced a coalition capable of contesting its power across the continent.
The war was catastrophic. Imperial armies fought across plains, forests, and mountain ranges as rebellions broke out in several provinces. The authority of Hēiyào himself became central to the struggle, as Lóngyuán’s legitimacy rested upon his divine patronage.
The turning point came when the Children of Yánnì created the Godforged race of humanity and convinced the Asaharu to rebel against their overlords once again, albeit at great cost. This coalition succeeded in defeating and binding the Dragon God.
With Hēiyào chained, the ideological foundation of the Empire collapsed almost immediately. Provinces rebelled, armies fractured, and the imperial court was forced to confront the possibility of complete destruction.
The Imperial Repentance
To preserve what remained of their realm, the rulers of Lóngyuán made a decision that would permanently alter the Empire’s identity.
The court publicly renounced Hēiyào.
Dragon temples were dismantled, priesthoods dissolved, and proclamations were issued across the Empire declaring repentance for the centuries of devotion to the fallen god. This act secured peace with the victorious powers, but it also fractured Zhuyang society.
Many of Hēiyào’s most devoted followers refused to accept the decree. In time, these loyalists would free the Dragon from his chains and flee with him to a distant peninsula, where they established the isolated state of Hēishénjiào.
Within Lóngyuán itself, however, the age of the Dragon had come to an end.
The Empire Today
Although greatly weakened by the war, Lóngyuán survived.
Large territories once governed by the Empire broke away during the conflict, particularly regions settled by the Godforged human states. Even so, the Empire retained its historic heartlands and remained one of the largest political powers in Naplica.
Today, Lóngyuán is a far more cautious state than the empire that once marched beneath dragon banners. Official doctrine condemns the worship of Hēiyào and presents the Dragon Age as a dangerous deviation in imperial history.
Yet the legacy of those centuries remains visible everywhere, in the ancient cities first built by Zhuyang emperors, in the institutions that once served the Dragon’s cult, and in the stories still whispered about the time when Lóngyuán ruled nearly all of Naplica beneath the shadow of Hēiyào.
