Magotho
General
The Magotho [mago:tɔ], or Magothians [mægəʊθjənz], were the ruling family in the Old Empire (Imperii Draconi), for a long time.
They began as a pure Dragon clan in the region of Dracomayor but - over time - developed into a multi-species clan. The House of Magotho in the Old Empire then included both Dragons and Old Ones, as well as Humans and, rarely, Kehdei. The Dragons in the clan, however, were the continuity-ensuring side, often recognizable by the famous and the ever more widely inherited black scales or fur coloring.
At the height of their power, the Magotho had collected a number of titles. They were collectively called "The Black Wyrms, the Keepers of Old Aerznia, the Masons of Dracominor and Rulers of Dracomayor, the Guardians of the Thorntoll, and Unifiers of the Realm."
Historic Origin
The Magotho became present for the first time in 345 B.I.D., as one of the first Dragon clans in Áváhé, which emerged with the consolidation of the Dragon population after the Dragons had fled their original universe due to a catastrophic event there. The first Magotho to give himself the name was the Dragon Noras, of whom nothing other than his black-scaled form has been handed down.
Noras probably gathered other Dragons around him and went out with them to secure a safe habitat. It is unlikely that all members of the group were relatives of each other. The Magotho relatively quickly secured the barren Dracomayor as their territory. They marked their domain by placing boulders on the ground to form large stone formations, which should be recognizable from the air as boundary markers for foreign Dragons. This is how the Magotho acquired their future emblem.
Consolidation
Dracomayor served for several hundred years as the unifying element among the Dragons who counted themselves among the Magotho. The clan was led - as was common among most other clans - by the Dragon or Dragons who could physically and intellectually prevail over the others.
History of the Magotho
The First Dragon Wars
Around 300 to 400 B.I.D., several Dragons organized themselves into groups and clans and the presence of a few successful clans triggered a wave of clan foundations in western Aerznia, of which the Magotho were a result. At first, the Magotho could not be considered particularly important in the generally confusing situation. The territory they claimed was large and perhaps even larger than they could defend, but the landscape was barren and offered little of note. It was also for this reason that the neighboring Clan Irdani to the north found that they could take territory from the Magotho.
In 338 B.I.D., the Irdani attacked the Magotho, triggering the first Dragon Wars, as other clans were quickly drawn into the conflict or, for their part, saw the time had come to attack neighbors. The Irdani - who did not intend a major conflict, but expected a rather ordinary territorial fight between Dragons - were met with fierce resistance from the Magotho. By 332 B.I.D., however, the Magotho gained the upper hand in the skirmishes. Until the end of the war, they stood by the clan of the Thorntollers in their own fight against the clan Quaräa, until the fighting ceased in 228 B.I.D., also due to the influence of the Old Ones. Who led the Magotho at this time is unknown.
The influence of the Old Ones brought about the fighting eventually ending. As proverbial natives of Áváhé, the local Old Ones wanted to prevent their homeland from being destabilized by wars in general.
Supremacy in Western Aerznia
Formally, the Dragons were reunited by amendments to the so-called Old Law - which became really relevant for the first time as an instrument for settling the wars - and no Dragon was to be entitled to more land than they could defend and occupy on their own from then on. However, the Magotho de facto retained their new supremacy in Western Aerznia, unwilling to let go of their - in fact too big - territory.
Yet, this balance of power remained untouched until 189 B.I.D., before the Dragon clans in general resurged. This reinvigoration was also conditioned by the fact that the Magotho were increasingly acting imperious in their region. Even if this claim was mainly expressed by the strong presence of Dragons belonging to the Magotho and less by aggressive actions, it provoked other Dragons and also Old Ones.
The Second Dragon Wars
Insidiously resurgent rivalries finally culminated in a major attack by the Jerowårga on the Magotho and the Irdani at Dracomayor around 189 B.I.D.. The Throntollers also took advantage of the chaos to fight the Clan Quaräa. Thus broke out the Second Dragon Wars, in which this time even Old Ones were to fight on both emerging sides.
From then on, the events overflowed. The Magotho and Thorntollers allied to form the Grand Clan Magotho-Thorntoll, whereas the Jerowårga were able to win over most of the Dragons north of the The Scarlet Heights, especially with reference to the Magotho and their demeanor. In contrast, the Magotho-Thorntollers rallied many Dragons south of the Scarlet Heights, accusing the Jerowårga of trying to break the Old Law and divide the Dragons.
In 181 A.I.D., the wars ended, again at the urging of the Old Ones, pacifist Dragons, and Free Wanderers, who - unusually for them - banded together in large numbers and rose up for peace. The leader of the Magotho at the time - whose name has not been recorded - was eventually killed by Noras the Younger - a descendant of Noras, the founder of the Magotho. Noras thereby caused the war-mongering leadership of the Magotho to be overthrown and made peace possible. Because of Noras - a dragoness - the name Noras eventually became a neutral gender name.
Aftermath
It was now hardly possible to abolish the Dragon clans, as had been attempted after the first Dragon Wars. Noras the Younger contributed to this by pursuing an intransigent policy of territorial self-defense. On the one hand, she herself did not see why - from her point of view - enemy clans should be rewarded for their aggression by others losing their territories. On the other hand, a relinquishment of Dracomayor would hardly have been accepted among the Magotho.
Therefore, she insisted that her clan should keep the region. To avoid new conflicts, the Old Law was amended again through an assembly of both Dragons and Old Ones. It was decreed that the Dragon clans were to retain their existing territories and were not to go beyond them to the detriment of any other Dragon.
Ascent Through the Imperii Draconi
Opportunism as a strategy for success
Around 180 B.I.D., Human settlers increasingly appeared in eastern Aerznia. The Dragons in general, however, felt no desire for new conflicts where the last one had just been resolved, and although their close friends - the Old Ones - still harbored a deep distrust of them, Dragons and Humans increasingly came into contact.
Some settlers moved further and further into the Aerznian Desert after tentative agreements were made to respect the integrity of both sides. Some Humans even carefully settled Quaräa. With more frequent and friendly encounters, eventually, hunting and protection communities based on Thôsco's example eventually developed. While the Old Ones shunned Humans, Dragons, and Humans began to discover the potential of cooperation.
The better these communities functioned and the more profitable they became, the more attractive they became as a general way of life. Dragons benefited from the skill of humans and received food and also entertainment through them. Humans, in turn, profited from the enormous physical strength of Dragons, and their hunting skills and began to learn magic from them. Soon, settlers moved to Aerznia in droves and founded settlements that would later develop into major cities such as Ádron, Áterôn, and especially Quanar.
Traveling Magotho were particularly impressed with the abilities of the Humans. Some of them traveled with Human nomads or stayed with settlers out of curiosity.
Confidence in Power as an Integrating Factor
Since there was general peace between Dragons and battles were fought mainly between individual Dragons, the clans competed with each other in their abilities and possessions. These 'battles' also affected how attractive the clans were viewed by the Humans, for example, in terms of their ability to provide protection. However, the Magotho were the first to specifically bring Humans to Dracomayor and provide them shelter and food in exchange for buildings. In this way, the Magotho obtained the first representative secular buildings, which were scaled to the size of Dragons. Around 100 B.I.D., Dracominor emerged as a planned city in this way.
This policy was enforced in particular by a nephew of Nora the Younger - Númar the Black One - originally against her will.
Other clans soon copied this behavior. Living with Humans - despite the misgivings of some Old Ones - became a kind of fashion. In Quanar, even before Dracominor, architecture had been created to serve all the species involved, but progress in Dracomayor soon outstripped Quanar and attracted more and more Humans, Dragons, and Old Ones, so that the project took on a life of its own until the Magotho measured their splendor against the size and beauty of Dracominor. This is probably one of the reasons why Noras the Younger changed her mind and actively supported her nephew.
Foundation of the Empire
The idea of strengthening and expanding interspecies cooperation was developed in several places at the same time, from Tammeren to Thôsco. Above all - inspired by the unexpected success of Dracominor - Noras the Younger swore the Magotho to the goal of integrating as many communities as possible into a larger system of interdependencies. She supposedly now saw this project as a way to prevent future wars like the last two, since no one could live outside the developing structures.
Influenced by the benefits and well-connected with other communities, the three different species grew together more and finally founded the Imperii Draconi on Dýrrách, an act in which many Magotho actively participated. At this time, the Kehdei also began to visit Aerznia in greater numbers.
Noras had canvassed other clans and the Old Ones for a large number of participants in the assembly. Shortly after the founding act, she died of old age. Later, it was said about her death that she had not been able to die out of stubbornness before she had reached her goal.
Her nephew Númar then rose to power as her successor.
Exarchism
Around 2650 A.I.D. a feudalized system of power concentration began to emerge among the western clans - first and foremost the Magotho - that was called exarchism.
Kaiser Raecar I.
With the rise of the Old Empire, the Magotho also became more powerful. They invested massively in the common infrastructure and promoted integration until Dracomayor could be considered one of the cultural centers of the Empire, despite the barren landscape.
The Magotho made the leap to the political top of the empire around 3050 A.I.D., in the war against Flarrock. After the last elected emperor died in battle, the Magotho Raecar seized the opportunity and declared himself the new Kaiser. Since no one wanted to see a succession dispute in the middle of a war, the majority of the troops on the ground accepted the emperor. Raecar thus became Reacer the first.
Raecar himself intervened in the fighting and asserted himself as a motivating element. That the war was therefore won relatively quickly was also to his credit. Until then, the Magotho had been rather restrained in their political ambitions. Raecar, however, continued to build on his new position. He propagated - with the support of the army on the ground - a policy of calculated revenge against Flarrock, so that vassals and imperial estates were simply awarded the conquered territories as he saw fit. The Reichstag was thus presented with a fait accompli, which Raecar justified by declaring that only by acting quickly could new territorial conflicts between the ambitious dragon clans and other communities have been avoided.
Raecar now did everything he could to stay in power. He traveled almost all over the empire, making promises and forging alliances to stay in office. Finally, he also visited Kehda to secure its support. This did not go unnoticed by the moderates and pragmatists, and even the ancients voiced criticism of this goings-on. However, since Raecar had made himself extremely popular, the calls to keep him as emperor grew louder. In a deft move, Raecar, in an unorthodox move, had himself confirmed by the Reichstag for a second term, knowing full well that he had a razor-thin majority on his side.
To prove himself, Raecar personally traveled to the frontier areas of the empire to support the expansion. He spent a large portion of his allotted funds on this activity and otherwise distinguished himself as a benefactor. However, it was clear to him that he would not be able to hold the office forever. Therefore, he went about supporting new applicants for the office. He himself was too short and lanky to be a serious contender in the League of Dragons. Among the competing Dragons, however, he carefully selected one he considered promising and, in a rather unusual move, accepted her into his clan. Thus Ira I.. became the next empress and the office remained in the family.
In this way, Raecar also succeeded a second time in retaining the office among the Magotho. This time he and Ira officially supported the corresponding candidate and made him a Magotho even earlier. Quickly, other influential clans and estates copied this approach and tried to recruit candidates for themselves. The next winner was the Quaräan Drace. Raecar and Ira - who in the meantime had become a couple independent of politics - therefore unceremoniously united their clan with the Quaräa in 3080 A.I.D..
This step could not remain without consequences, because other human communities, dragon and Kehdei clans now felt excluded. The Magotho were accused of playing fast and loose with imperial dignity. For a short time, fighting broke out between the communities.
Out of calculation, Ira and Raecar then launched a campaign to have the emperor elected directly by the people. The proposal found support among the Old Ones, but not in the entire Reichstag, whereupon they simply bypassed the institution and organized an election at great expense. Since the Magotho-friendly cities and imperial estates, as well as hoards, joined in, the Reichstag was de facto suspended. Although an imperial execution against the Magotho was considered, it was not enforceable due to the numerous supporters, especially since they were perceived as benefactors.
It is unclear how free and representative the election really was, but in any case, Raecar again emerged victorious. In order to stay in power longer this time, he proposed reforms for the empire that would allow for dynastic inheritance of the office. When this failed, he proposed that the office be inherited dynastically until the Reichstag decided otherwise, and made confirmation of the emperor by a majority of the imperial estates mandatory. If confirmation did not come about, new olympiads had to be held to elect the emperor.
As foreign policy issues became more prominent, the Reichstag finally agreed.
Expansion of Power
Raecar abolished the exarchism among the Magotho and opened all positions in his clan to all levels of society, also introducing limited terms of office to defeudalize the administration.
In the tradition of Raecar I., the Magotho cultivated their power for a long time. It happened occasionally that another family or group received the office of the Kaiser, but for most of the time, it lay with the Magotho, until at some point the empire was almost permanently ruled by this clan.
Dracominor thus became first the de facto and later the official imperial capital and remained so until the fall of the Empire.
Around the end of the empire, the Magotho were at the height of their power. Countless stories were told about them, they were treated with respect and their relatives were celebrated. This was also helped by the fact that the empire was generally developing positively and expanding more and more. The success of the empire was associated with the Magotho and the family was perceived as a guarantor of prosperity and peace.
Fall of the Dynasty
The abrupt end of the dynasty shocked the entire empire and the known world.
After numerous crises that had shaken the empire, in 5900 A.I.D. - under circumstances that remain unexplained to this day - the capital Dracominor was completely destroyed in the so-called Scarlet Night. The city burned down and with it the political center of the empire. Most of the Magotho were in the city at the time and perished, as did most of the population. The only known Magotho to survive the inferno were Emrag and Jumai; the ancestors of Mero Yereno Firo, Len and Lourem, a fairly young Dragon couple at the time.
They were taken to safety and did not reappear until 5903 A.I.D. in Quanar, which they made their new capital. In Quanar, the two also convened the last Reichstag, but the empire had already destabilized so much in the Magotho's absence that they could no longer get it under control. Attempts to recapture the former imperial estates through campaigns failed, and in their violence broke with the humanist tradition of the empire. De facto, the two inexperienced Magotho thus only further destabilized the remnants of the empire and triggered the Imperial Cleavage Wars.
Around 5909 A.I.D., when it became obvious that the empire had disintegrated, the two Magotho abruptly left Quanar one day and retreated into exile on the Thorntoll. This event is celebrated in Quanar to this day as a day of mourning, commemorating the Old Empire.
Remnants
Emrag and Jumai raised their two children - Raecar and Ceñua - in the seclusion of the Scarlet Heights, instilling in them that it would eventually be up to them to restore the empire of their ancestors.
Eventually, centuries later - in 8988 A.I.D. - Len and Lourem were born to the daughter and her partner, while the son begat Mero with his partner. The two siblings dispersed their respective offspring throughout the world in favorable locations and still plan to continue the mission of both their parents, which they were tasked with in order to restore Imperii Draconi after a millennium.
Legacy
Just as the Old Empire fell into oblivion, the Magotho is hardly remembered, if at all. At most, the memory is still present in Quanar, Thôsco, Dracoš and Gesoria.
