King Jevaninada II led the Xorian people both as their monarch and as the avatar of Blendegad‘s divine might. Jevaaninada II grew up under the feminist regency of his mother, Queen Anajakaze. Blendegad attacked and turned Jev into a dragovinian on the same night that he became King. Jevaninada spent twenty years undoing his mother’s reforms and spreading his condition to those he deemed worthy within Xoria. Once his hold over the Empire was secure King Jevaninada led an invasion into Eastern Cimmeria against the Second Alliance.
Childhood
King Jevaninada II was conceived by King Jevaninada I with Queen Anajakaze near the start of the First Alliance War. Jevaninada I died during the war and the vassals of Xoria threatened to switch sides to Princess Tarigananata. The announcement of Anajakaze’s pregnancy put a stop to such talk. Anajakaze was able to win the war “for her son” with aid from her father, Zeus, and due to the frayed ties of companionship within the First Alliance. Additionally, the Queen was able to add Sheerzen, Gazeara, Crafterton, and Danar’s Marsh to the Xorian dominion.
During her regency Queen Anajakaze enacted many feminist reforms. Lords were deposed and replaced by their wives or by newly titled women who were loyal to Anajakaze. Women were nominally given equal rights to inheritance and representation within any group or organization, but many citizens kept to their familiar patriarchal ways. Anajakaze honored her own people, the Amazons, by elevating them to the highest position within the Xorian military.
Anajakaze’s feminist agenda caused quite a stir among the Xorians, but her most controversial action was installing the vampiric Rage, Havoc, as Lord of Jeutontic. Havoc created a number of vampire lieutenants to maintain order. They used their power to enslave many of the local Underdark residents, exporting these Dark Elves, Duergar, and Sverfniblin to the rest of the Empire. The everyday citizens of Jeutontic lived in fear of slave revolts or worse, becoming a tasty blood meal for the vampiric nobles.
Jevaninada II grew up in Nox watched over by his constant companion, Wrath, the only other remaining Rage. Wrath sheltered Jev from none of the events of his mother’s rule. The kingling saw women gaining political power over men, he saw vampires and darkness consume one of Xoria’s greatest cities, he saw the revolts and rebellions, and he saw the strength of the the Amazons and his mother’s own formidable power in battle. In addition to this comprehensive education on current events, Wrath taught Jev history, diplomacy, and the art of moving unseen. “There are some places even kings cannot go, but you will see them all the same,” said Wrath.
Perhaps the most important lesson that Wrath taught his disciple was religion. Wrath followed an ancient and now hidden sect that still kept faith with the Titans. He practiced forgotten arts and foul sorcery. These dark teachings were passed on in secret to Jevaninada. He absorbed whatever Wrath had to teach him and reveled in the clandestine nature of what he learned. What could be more useful than that which others did not know?
Jevaninada came of age, but he seethed with fury when Queen Mother Anajakaze did not surrender the regency. Jevaninada plotted with Wrath to take the throne by force if necessary. They brought Havoc into their schemes as he was the only other male lord with a modicum of power. The would-be king approached his mother once more. She denied him, so he attacked along with Wrath and Havoc. The initial stages of the combat were even. The Queen’s divine prowess and Amazonian training allowed her to fend off multiple enemies at once. However the victor of son and mother would never be discovered as a new combatant entered the battlefield.
Transformation
Blendegad the Reaper had bided his time after the First Alliance War but he emerged once more, attacking both Queen Anajakaze and King Jevaninada II alike. A single bite of the red dragon‘s fangs ripped open the Queen’s throat, ending her life. Havoc and Wrath followed soon after, losing limbs and organs both. Blendegad advanced upon the fear-filled Jevaninada. Instead of eviscerating him as he did the others, the dragon bit into the King’s neck. Jevaninada died and became anew as his divine essence mixed with the vampiric and draconic elements of Blendegad’s soul. A new creature was born, the first dragovinian.
Chaos within the Olympian realm allowed the dragovinian condition and the new religion of Dragovinysm to spread. The tenets of Dragovinysm are simple, excel in all things, serve the King, pay homage to Blendegad, and you will be rewarded with the immortality of dragovinian status as a draconic vampire. This immortality came at the price of innocent Xorian citizens’ blood. The religion spread like wildfire among some while others resisted the change with all their might. It helped the dragovinian cause that Jevaninada also promised a return to traditional patriarchal values. Revolts were swiftly dealt with and Jevaninada became the head of Cimmeria’s fastest growing religion.
King Jevaninada II’s public goals were simple. He wished to spread Dragovinysm across Cimmeria so that the best and brightest mortals could be given the greatest reward, immortality. The religion valued the three virtues; ability, unity, and immortality. If your deeds carry great value and help the community in a lasting way, why shouldn’t you be allowed to continue working for eternity instead of cast into Erebos under the Olympian religion? Few knew that he and Blendegad sought the complete overthrow of the Olympian Pantheon. Blendegad would become the head god with Jevaninada and his immediate subordinates claiming positions as the chief deities in this new hierarchy.
Jevaninada ruled over his new patriarchy peacefully for almost two decades before the Olympians interrupted him. Hera finally relented and granted Ares the regency while Zeus remained incapacitated. Ares used his new power over the air and sky to create a massive hurricane in the Western Caspian. The hurricane threatened the lives of over a million Xorian citizens that lived along the coast. At Jevaninada’s pleading, Blendegad extended his divine presence to dragovinians everywhere. All of them grew wings and were able to fly before the hurricane struck to save countless lives. The image of dragovinians and Dragovinysm improved greatly during this time.
War and Death
Infuriated that the Olympians attacked Xoria, Jev and Blendegad prepared for war. If the gods would destroy Xorian cities then dragovinians would conquer the gods’ cities in Eastern Cimmeria. The goodwill earned for the dragovinians’ actions during the hurricane was quickly expended on conscripting soldiers and requisitioning food and supplies for the front. The Rebel faction within Xoria gained many followers as the army’s needs grew.
The target of this military aggression was the Second Alliance consisting of the city-states of Shalerton, Bradel Fields, Dalleer, Shalemstead, Restnor’s Point, Jipangu, Jord, and Dorrowsan. The Dwaven Kingdoms in and under the Terror Mountains and the Aractrashan Kingdom have also pledged their aid to the Alliance that opposed Jevaninada’s expansion. The Xorians conquered the city-state of Phoenix near the final stages of the war.
Jevaninada personally participated in many of the battles in the Second Alliance War. He led the attack against Phoenix himself, slaying a few of the Alliance’s heroes with the Crystal Sword of Xoria. The King fought with the Alliance Exiles a number of times and remained the victor on the field more than once. His martial style worked in perfect symmetry with his bodyguard, Darudanano, and his supreme general, Barejando. When they worked together they could not be defeated.
The Battle of Demeter’s Ford and the Hecatonchires’ destruction of Nox placed a heavy burden on Jevaninada’s shoulders. He became concerned that the best and brightest could not continue to rise to the top in a war so devastating to both sides. A truce was called and Jevaninada proposed a duel to decide the war’s outcome. The Alliance accepted. The final battle took place at Nox Castle. Jevaninada fought bravely, slaying many of the Alliance combatants, but he died in the end due to the cursed power of the Ring of Impervious artifact he wore for protection. His body and soul were erased from existence and Blendegad followed soon after.
The death of Jevaninada signaled the end of Dragovinysm and the Xorian Empire. Eathirilu‘s use of the Touch of Nature turned all vampires and dragovinians descended from Blendegad’s line back into mortals. People rose up all throughout the Xorian Empire to attack and murder the previously immortal nobility. Riots swept the nation. The overly stressed military broke as they tried to maintain order. The entire office corps had been staffed by dragovinians who were executed as soon as they were identified. Thousands of soldiers deserted. The Amazons immediately seceded from the Empire as well, taking their much needed martial might with them. Tarigananata stepped in to rule as Queen, but she was slain soon afterward leading to a wild period in Western Cimmerian history.
GoCorral 