Order of the Dragon Warriors

Dragon Warrior is a historic title given to a Dramer, generally post-humously, after transforming into a Dragon. The Order of the Dragon Warriors is a militaristic faction of the College of Rekkan, founded in Red 56 .

History

The First Dragon Warrior was Rekkan Remor, who led the Dramer people to Rekkan during The Red War. After the Dragon War ended, the men he had led into battle founded the Dragon Warriors, and were they themselves named Dragon Warriors.

When the College of Rekkan was founded, the Dragon Warriors founded the Warrior Branch. However, the Dragon Warriors themselves were divided on how to act. Many of the Dragon Warriors wanted war with the Jarvah, revenge, for what they had done. Others recognized that Rekkan wanted the war to end at any cost. These warriors left the order, and founded The Order of the Dragon Monks in Red 56.

The Dragon Warriors waned in popularity in the years following the Red War. The Nokanian Invasion of the Kvurian Isles brought painful memories, and fear of further bloodshed. The conditional surrender to the Nokana Empire during Red 76 brought shame to the order, and their numbers dwindled. During the Kvurian Revolution their numbers increased slightly, but due to the relatively fair treatment Rekkan had endured over their brief annexation, no official action was ever taken.

Since the Red Era, the Dragon Warriors have failed to regain most popular support. Their members are typically idealists, but even so, have very little desire to go back to war with the Jarvah. Instead, their values are simply the preservation of pure Dramer society, shunning outside influences, sometimes aggressively. Their actions, while usually inside the letter of the law, could be perceived as racial prejudice.

Training

Dragon Warriors are trained by the Warriors Branch, and so have an almost identical training to the Dragon Monks prior to actually joining the Order. They are trained in the art of shapeshifting, Kinetic Magic, and acrobatics, as well as strategy, negotiation and how to survive in the remotest regions of the world.

After joining the order, their training begins to branch from their rivals, focusing on shapeshifting into larger and more radical forms. Their combat training is more varied and fractured than their Dragon Monk counterparts, experiencing a wide variety of different martial techniques. Their training is certainly harsher, with less focus on tactical theory. Dragon Warriors are instead taught to fight by instinct, and act more as lone operatives than a fighting force, due to the low likelihood that they will find themselves fighting alongside other Dragon Warriors. As becoming a Dragon Warrior, in the style of Rekkan Remor, is not something done consciously, but instead in times of great stress or anger, Dragon Warriors are taught to allow their emotions complete control over them on the battlefield. This, again, lends itself to a solitary or extremely small, focused fighting force, rather than an organised army.

At the end of their training, a Dragon Warrior is given a suit of armor - overlapping, black, ebony scales, like a Ren, and highly decorated with gold, mithril or deonite. This suit of armor is forcefully embedded into the skin of the recruit, after which their induction into the order is complete. This suit of armor obscures permanently most of the recruits body, regardless of what form they choose to shapeshift into.

Politics

The Dragon Warriors are both more aggressive, and xenophobic than the traditional Dramer mindset. For the most part, they fear outsiders, especially the jarvah. Apart from the Dragon Monks, they are the main political faction in Rekkan. While respected, their aggressive view of the world is mostly ignored, except in times of war.

Dragon Warriors, as law enforcement, are a common sight on the streets of Rekkan, far more common than Dragon Monks. Their policing efforts are harsher than the Dragon Monks, but the security they offer drug bars and the Merchant Square ensures they receive little complaints. They are colder in their demeanor towards outsiders, especially Jarvah, and many in the order turn a blind eye to racial prejudice against their ancestral enemies. Dunaan, on the other hand, receive far better treatment. On the whole, Aq'Ryss who are not part of the College of Rekkan are treated poorly.