User:Vanguard/Fanfiction/Durian

= Durian and the Dragon Knights = Durian is a relatively new kingdom, provided you do not count the constant renaming, after so many wars have hardened the ground is rests upon. Durian has always been imperialistic, and equally as corrupt. The rich stay rich and the poor constantly get shoved deeper into the social hole. That is not the primary source of corruption but it's the most obvious. Many say the lands of Durian were doomed from the beginning, but Voran took the throne and proved them both right and wrong, in a way. In a private duel unknown to either of their bodyguards, Voran defeated and killed it's last king and dubbed himself "King Durial". It is unnecessary to explain the previous king and how they were able to sneak this, as it is not relevant to this particular section of history. The conditions of his victory were debatable because this previously unknown man was extremely paranoid for his own life and was promptly surrounded by many bodyguards and killed many civilians who came too close. However, nobody questioned him because the last king was a great knight himself and however Voran overcame him, he must have done it well. It was this extreme paranoia that he led many different investigations to extend his life such as immortality or any kind of other empowerment.

Shortly into one of his caravan travels he met a seemingly old man. He was deformed, but not in the way one would think the traditional deformed human. He was a hybrid of some-sort. His skin was a darkly tinted red, his eyes were bright yellow. His hands formed what looked more like claws than fingers. King Durial could have sworn he saw a tail as well. Frightened but curious, King Durial inquired on this man's condition. (Behind a line of guards, of course). It came to a surprise that the man identified himself as a Dragonoid, a type of dragon that stands and walks like a man. He has the convenience of a human with the power of a dragon. This, obviously, intrigued the King and asked if he could spread this, "enchantment". The man grinned wickedly and offered his power to transform a sector of the King's army into "Dragon Knights". Greedy for this mystical power, the King was the first to be enchanted. He ordered that the same was done for all the current guards to his Caravan. The King's power grew but his paranoia remained intact, and a rather large sector of his army was transformed into these Dragonoids, and their appearance shook the core of even the most renown of warriors.

All was well for approximately two years, but the mental differences took their toll and corruption began to grow in the minds of the Dragon Knights. Two-Thirds of them broke away from Durian's army and they were phrased under "The Corrupt". They delved into arts that were restricted by the kingdom of Durian that included stealth tactics, assassination, and dark magic. They changed out of their normal yellow, blue and gold Durianesque garb and blackened most of their uniforms. Those who remained loyal, either to themselves, the King, or just the Kingdom were called the "Pure", which sounds complimentary but was born to be derogatory. King Durial in a fear-fueled rage fled to his castle and ordered the enchanter killed. It is not currently known if that order was successful.

The few years that followed was basically a Civil War between the Pure and the Corrupt. Durian's all-human archer division led by Khel, attempted to aid but many of them were easily slaughtered. The Pure themselves were being rightfully stomped as well until the very end. Only a small band of each side remained. The final battle consisted of the Dragon Knight leaders named Talrog the Pure and Nagmar the Corrupt. Talrog triumphed (barely) and the war was considered over. Oddly, this was a personal civil war and very little of Durian's major cities were harmed, or even touched. That's not to say it would have stayed that way if the Corrupt succeeded.

These events did not last long enough to become renown or famous. The stories diverted into Myth, a myth that many still feared. In lands where a normal Dragon population was dead or dwindling, the concept of humans being transformed into dragon hybrids was an idea many cringed at.

Each of their lifespans have been effectively tripled so it will take a long time before they die off. The few dragon Knight survivors there are, hide their appearance with robes or magic and act as Vagabonds and travellers throughout their lands.

Trivia
Durial was previously "Duriel", but was renamed recently for obvious reasons.

= Khel's Keep = Khel, an unsung hero in his own right, was the archer division General under King Durial. Being about a third elf (a generation was skipped), the only drop of elven blood he seems to have is skillfull bow-using. Elven blood aside, he was a very kind man. He treated his soldiers like human beings instead of cannon fodder. He stopped to help civilians with mundane tasks when he could, and orchestrated many victories across the entire Kingdom againt bandits, Corrupt, and many other enemies.

Other than those few highlights, the reasoning behind him being relatively unknown is that he's quite a simple man. A little heartbroken that many of his best men were butchered during the Dragon Knight Wars, but he seeks to move past it.

Eventually Khel could not put up with King Durial's corruption and paranoia-induced ruthlessness. Under false pretenses, Khel claimed he needed a sector of land in a vital location within the kingdom of Durian to retrain soldiers and archers. King Durial begrudgingly accepted, knowing that Khel had no intention of assassinating him.  While that much is true, Khel's true goal was to form a formidable army and keep his sights on the King during his long reign. Khel wasn't happy with how the King lead but was in no position to coerce him into submission.

Instead, he created a fort to himself which is effectively a Military Town. While there are many civilians that are not soldiers, they are better funded and thus, everyone in Khel's Keep are treated better than most other cities in the Kingdom.