The Guardians of the Great Drake

The Guardians of the Great Drake, the GOTG, or simply The Guardians are a nation of Dwarves that split off from the Birdriding Dwarves in the year 176, after the eruption of the Great Drake to settle on the Island now known as Drakun. It is ruled by king Sathka-Nann

History
The Guardians of the Great drake were a religious sect within the society of the Birdriding Dwarves that worshipped a being called "The Great Drake" which resided far below the surface of The World. Eventually, in the year 176, a volcano would erupt, and the entire religion would leave their homeland to migrate to the land their god had chosen for them. The first expedition was lead by a dwarf named Sathka-Nann, who would be the first to land on the island, establishing the colony of Thaka-Zul. Later, four more cities would be established on the island, Ralashad, Reiidi, Azrazsh, and Makk-Tukk.

They would establish colonies along the southern islands and the south of Thazdia as a whole, starting in 179 with the colonies of Iuvash and An-Kandor. With the invention of the Vazda ship, they would quickly reach far to the east and expand onto the mainland. They would make contact with the Anehe in 180, and the Mallardmen in 196. (Main article: War of the Waters) From 199-202, they and the Catrus Tribes would wage a brutal war of domination over the southern birdriding Dwarf tribes. This war would see the end of the Birdriding dwarves as a people, their land divided between the Guardians to the south, and the Catrus tribes to the north. It would also see a non-agression pact signed between the Catrus and the Guardians.

Society
The Supreme god of all of the guardians is The Great Drake, a dragon that once resided deep within the earth, but has now emerged on the island of Drakun. The dwarves see lava as holy and will often gather around magical rock that always glows to hear the whispering of the drake, telling them what to do to advance his chosen people. Occasionally, a prophet of the drake will ascend to the plain of gods to converse with the Drake directly. Whether they come back is entirely up to chance.

Cities
All Guardians live in massive fortress complexes of 2000 dwarves or more and up to 150 feet tall, made of Ash-concrete, these structures are incredibly resilient to damage and designed to defend whatever is inside. Farms and defensive works cover the ground outside of the fortresses; layed out in patterns to delay any would-be attacker's troops, and provide no escape should an army come to relieve the siege.

Farmers leave the city to tend to their fields, then when harvest time comes, they donate a quarter of their crop to the fortresses' stores, to prevent poverty from festering within the levels of the fortresses.

Technology
The Guardians have access to multiple types of technology including Fire Constructs, Gunpowder, Steel, the Vazda (their version of a Caravel), the Galleon, and the Flameburster.