Pherox¶
Pherox is the ancestral homeland of the Draconians in the north of Numenia, once the heart of a slave-empire that reached "from the gates of Duer'allen … in the West to the Kingdom of Sulai in the East, and from Jungles of Pictia in the north to Central Dalmar in the South" (S372). In the Fifth Age it is a shrunken land: after their defeat in the Faewild Wars and "subsequent effects of the Hollowing, the Draconians have come together back into their ancestral homeland of Pherox, though their numbers are small and their legacy of Mithis magic use weighs heavily on the land. Most of northern and central Pherox have been overrun with Hollows" (S324).
Also called: Pharox (S372, S429); the Draconian Empire of Pherox, the Empire of Pherox (S372).
Overview¶
In the Sancturi reckoning of 704 SM, some 180,000 draconians live in Pherox, essentially all of the race that survives, with a further 5,000 in the kingdoms of the Broken Sea and none at all within the Sancturi Imperium (S326). Rhovun to the south "is again a land which is consistently raided by them, though not in force enough to deter Rovers, scattered tribes and a handful of small city-states from making their homes here" (S324). The wild province of Moarte lies to the east on the road to Sulai.
Gap
No Fifth Age source names Pherox's cities, rulers or government, or says how the draconians live among the Hollows. The capital, "the gates of the Draconian capitol" at which a Dalmarian king died, is never named.
History¶
The Age of Magic¶
After the Shattering, "Pherox was initially scattered with Human and Dwarven kingdoms, with some Orcish clans and Elvish holdings. As the Draconians were being hunted and exterminated across the remnants of Astia, rumors surfaced of the strong Draconian kingdom in Pherox and Draconian refugees began making their way to Pherox. They were initially ruled by a council of 12, 2 of each color" (S372, S429). "By 212 MA, Pherox had conquered all of the region today known as Pherox and re-enslaved the inhabitants. In 647 MA, Pherox easily conquered the neighboring Human kingdom of Rhovun. By 690 MA, they pushed into northern Dalmar and Arne-Athosia" (S372).
The second millennium of the Age of Magic was "considered the golden age of the Empire", though "the Draconian population was simply not large enough to maintain order. Slaves outnumbered the Draconians at ratios in some places of over 30 to 1. Civil conflict and slave revolts were endemic" (S372). Pictia "turned out to be especially difficult to govern, with the advantage of flight being largely negated by the dense jungle", and after plundering the Pictish kingdoms the draconians abandoned it, returning only for "highly organized and oversized slave raids" (S372). "Almost every generation, a war would erupt between Dalmar and the empire", and by the millennium's end Pherox had lost central Dalmar and been "pushed entirely out of the Blue Mountains by the Dwarves" (S372). Rhovun's slaves fed the imperial armies "in the North (with the Picts), the East (with Sulai), and the South" (S372).
"In 2016-2017 MA, King Rodruk II of Dalmar launched a successful campaign into the Pherox Empire. After liberating Northern Dalmar and most of Rhovun, his army faltered outside the gates of the capitol city. King Rodruk II was killed and his army routed. However, the Draconians had suffered very high casualties and had insufficient forces to continue to maintain order in the empire. Slave revolts across the empire led to its collapse. Only parts of northern Rhovun and Southern Sulai remained as provinces of the empire outside Pherox itself" (S372). Rodruk is among the minor figures of the Earlier Ages.
In the compendium's present, 3221 MA, Pherox was "ruled by an Emperor and a 11 High Consuls. Each High Consul governs a district of the empire. When the emperor dies, his replacement is selected by the Consuls. However, the past 3 emperors have managed to arrange a son as their replacement. Current Emperor is Ptoko Tholovassus, a Blue Draconian" (S372). The empire no longer occupied new territory, "most of its neighbors are not worth occupying anyway", but launched campaigns "aimed entirely at keeping these areas wild, reducing the probability that a large force will ever again be able to mount an attack on Pherox" (S372).
The Faewild Wars¶
In the 400s SM of the Fifth Age "large scale conflict is driven by two large Draconian forces. One operates from Pherox and strikes south into Rhovun and Angorath. The other operates from Turas and strikes into Myrkan" (S326). "Pherox expands to take control of Rhovun and Angorath in 451 SM" (S326). The tide turned when the Sancturi rose: "In 524 SM, the last dragon seen west of the Cloudwall mountains is defeated by Sancturi forces … the Draconian forces crumble quickly to the superior numbers of the Sancturi without their dragons in support. In 527 SM, the draconians have completely abandoned the Broken Sea and survivors have returned to Pherox. By 535 SM, the Northern Kingdoms have reasserted control in Dalmar, Angorath and Faragond. The draconians retreat to Pherox" (S326). The war is told on the Faewild Wars page.
Society of the old empire¶
"Draconian society is very regimented, and draconians which rebel against this regimen are enslaved. Also, draconian criminals are also often enslaved." Three castes: "Slave caste: captured slaves of all races and dishonored draconians (they will have had their horns removed, males will also have had their wings removed). Worker caste: flightless males and females who have produced flightless children. Nobility caste: males capable of flight and their female relations" (S372). Slaves "outnumber the draconian population approximately 12 to 1", bred in captivity, their children "sold off by law at an early age to break up familial ties between slaves". Draconians "have a very strong racial hatred of Elves (and will not take them as slaves, though they will often use them as fodder in gladiatorial arenas)"; orcs, humans and dwarves "are prized slaves"; gnomes and goblins are kept "for the novelty or for less laborious tasks like cooking and housekeeping" (S372). Revolts "are always put down brutally, followed by several years of intensified raiding to replace lost slaves" (S372). Draconians build "large terraced cities and towns" with many towers (S372, S498).
Sulai¶
The Kingdom of Sulai marked the eastern limit of the empire at the end of the first millennium MA (S372). "Southern Sulai remained" an imperial province after the collapse (S372), and "the long-lasting mainland kingdoms of Thrace and Sulati are formed during" the Age of Kings, 1315 to 1763 MA (S429, S372). The southern road through Moarte "connects Pherox with Sulai" (S372).
Also called: Sulati (S372, S429).
Gap
The compendium lists Sulai among the regional histories to be written and leaves it empty. Nothing describes its people, its cities or its fate after the Age of Magic.