A Brief History of the Dragon Kings of Incendium

Dragon shifters were (and remain) a minority on Incendium but originally were considered inferior by the humanoid rulers of the planet. They were kept as slaves (usually as bodyguards) and as pets, denied education and food, and executed if they shifted shape without permission. Though they were stronger than their overlords, they were kept in check by control of their children and partners. (The dragon shifters of Incendium tend to take human partners, so their affection gives them a vulnerability.) Scintillon, a dragon shifter and bodyguard, seethed at this injustice as well as the corruption of the regime. When he witnessed the execution of a dragon who had shifted shape when provoked and the slaughter of that dragon’s entire family to make a point, he organized a rebellion.

Scintillon was 256 years old when he triumphed over the established regime on Incendium and made himself king. He exiled those humans who protested his rulership to Regalia, a previously uninhabited planet in the same system, and in so doing, established the dispute between those two kingdoms. He reset the Incendium calendar, calling the first year of his reign Year One. He became known as Scintillon the Bold, or the Spark of Incendium.

(As a point of reference, an Incendium solar year is slightly shorter than a Terran solar year. It takes more days for Incendium to rotate around their sun, 375 days in all, but those days are shorter, since the planet is smaller than Terra and spins faster. An Incendium day is comparable to twenty-three Terran hours, which makes an Incendium year the equivalent of 8625 Terran hours, while a Terran year is 8760 hours.)

Scintillon had three wives over the course of his lifetime. His first marriage was arranged by his overlord to ensure Scintillon’s dependence. Primula was human. Their match became affectionate but they had no children. Scintillon often said that Primula’s death gave him the opportunity to rise in rebellion.

Scintillon took his second wife, Hetta, after becoming king. This was a diplomatic alliance. Hetta of Lucrum was the oldest daughter of the king of the closest developed society to Incendium. She brought technology as her dowry, and subsequently established both a university on Incendium and an exchange program with Lucrum. Incendium became vastly more advanced with her contributions. She wasn’t the Carrier of the Seed and though her partnership with Scintillon was affectionate, they had no children. Hetta died in Year 99, after a ninety-eight year marriage with Scintillon.

Scintillon married again in Year 122. His third wife, Fructa, was the daughter of a knight and defender of the realm, and a warrior of considerable skill herself. Her father brought her to the palace to show her skills, but Scintillon recognized her immediately as the Carrier of the Seed. The palace was attacked by Regalians while Fructa was there. Her father died in defense of the king, and she stepped into her father’s place. She and Scintillon fought together and the rebels were defeated. Scintillon then married Fructa, who subsequently proved to be his HeartKeeper.

Fructa bore Scintillon five sons. Torris was born in 124 but died shortly after his hatching from the natal egg. Rubeo was born in 127 and ultimately became the second King of Incendium in Scintillon’s line. Diligo was born in 129. In 199, after the uprisings of 198, he retired to study the stars. Two younger sons, called the strongest by Scintillon, were born in 132 and 136. Both died in the android rebellions of 198.

After the android rebellions of 198, Scintillon established Scintillon’s Law to ensure that there could be no repetitions. Scintillon died in 206 and Fructa became regent since Rubeo wasn’t yet of age. In 208, Rubeo turned eighty-one and was crowned King of Incendium.

Rubeo met his HeartKeeper, Bellica, in 303 and married her in 304, making her queen. In 307, she bore a son to him, Flammos, ensuring the succession. In 310, she bore a daughter, and in 314, another daughter. In 317, she delivered twin boys. Both daughters died before reaching their legal age of eight-one. In 325, Fructa died and was deeply mourned.

Rubeo’s reign was marked by a slow re-establishment of trust with Regalia. In 516, a formal truce and alliance was signed by the two kingdoms, resulting in their shared custody of Sylvawyld, a planet kept wild as a game reserve for hunting by the royal families. There was new trade between the kingdoms in this era.

Rubeo died in 577, during an attempted coup which many believed to have been instigated by Regalians. Though this was never proven, the two kingdoms entered a period of greater tensions, exacerbated by the crowning of Flammos as King of Incendium in 577. Flammos (styled the Tyrant) was deeply suspicious of his siblings and his advisors, and that perspective colored events of his reign. It is known as the period of darkness. Flammos struck the names of his dead sisters from the historical record a move which rekindled old suspicions that he had been at least partly responsible for their deaths. He introduced many laws to limit the legal authority and agency of female citizens, regardless whether they were shifters or not. Though not a young dragon when he became king, he had no partner. It was his inclination to sample women once and discard them—Flammos established the houses of the sirens in Incendium city. His reign was a time in which women survived by allying themselves with powerful men and exchanging sexual favors for their own needs, instead of having legal rights themselves. He made it illegal for any female dragon shifter to hold the crown ever.

Perhaps most notoriously, in 578, believing his younger twin brothers to be conspiring against him, Flammos had them jettisoned into space with minimal provisions. In this way, he avoided the charge of having murdered two sons of the royal family, although their deaths were a foregone conclusion. This act instilled a great dread of the king in his citizens and advisors, a situation which Flammos undoubtedly enjoyed. He liked to play practical jokes of a cruel kind, launching fire at the unwary, pretending to have evidence against his most trusted advisors, and generally provoking everyone in his household and kingdom. He was both despised and feared.

In 812, Flammos married Educta, the Carrier of the Seed, but a completely unsympathetic match. The only thing the pair had in common was their hatred of each other. They did their duty, though. In 817, Educta delivered twin boys, Ardeo and Incandos. The boys disliked their father, partly with the encouragement of their mother, and grew up to challenge him on every front. Educta died in 862, estranged from her husband and living in seclusion.

In 899, Flammos died under suspicious circumstances which no one chose to investigate. Ardeo took the throne, ushering in a period of peace, prosperity and outward expansion. He rescinded most of his father’s laws against females. Incendium effectively had two kings, since the twin brothers were so close and worked together. Incandos went to Regalia, to make peace and build a future. He found his Carrier of the Seed there, Preciosa, shortly after Ardeo found his Carrier of the Seed, Aethera of Carrera, while on a diplomatic mission to her kingdom. Both brothers were married in a lavish ceremony in 946.

In 952, Dracon was born to Ardeo and Aethera. This joyous event was marred by the murder of Incandos. While Aethera had proven to be Ardeo’s HeartKeeper as well as Carrier of the Seed, Preciosa had not. Preciosa was found guilty of Incando’s murder, and her execution caused rebellion in Regalia again. The planet was sequestered and left to fester by command of Ardeo. Ardeo and Aethera had three other children: a son in 956, a daughter in 961 and another daughter in 964.

While Incendium’s reach expanded in the galaxy and its influence increased, Dracon trained for his ultimate role as king. When he was two hundred years of age, he went to Advocia for legal training and remained there for advanced study. He met his HeartKeeper, Captiva, there, and they married in 1182. Their son Torris was born in 1189 followed by two daughters, one in 1193 and one in 1198.

In 1269, Ardeo died and Dracon became fifth King of Incendium. His reign was characterized as an era of reason and prosperity, and he was styled Dracon the Just.

In 1313, Dracon’s son Torris married his HeartKeeper, Serena. They had a son, Ouros, in 1314, followed by another son, Diligo, in 1317. In 1320, Serena delivered a girl prematurely and both she and the baby died. Torris never recovered from the devastation of the loss.

In 1409, Dracon died and Torris was crowned sixth King of Incendium. His short reign was characterized by poor decisions, such as the dispatch of an envoy to Regalia who was insufficiently defended (due to a failure to read the mood of Regalians at the time) and publically executed upon arrival. This led to harsh reprisals against Regalia, which only fostered more unrest. Torris died in 1411, leaving a kingdom in chaos.

In 1411, Ouros was crowned the seventh King of Incendium in direct succession.

He was tireless in his efforts to rebuild Incendium and re-establish peace in Fiero-Four. In 1499, he met his HeartKeeper, Ignita, while on a diplomatic mission to Excandesco and they married almost immediately. They then had three daughters: Drakina in 1500, Gemma in 1502 and Thalina in 1505. A son died after premature delivery—he was named Dracon—then they had nine more daughters: Enigma in 1508, Percipia in 1511, Bellatora in 1515, Anguissa in 1520, Callida in 1521, Tempera in 1524, Splendea in 1526, Flammara in 1529 and Pericula in 1532. At this point, Ignita declined to bear more children and Ouros began to formulate his scheme of creating alliances with the marriages of his daughters.

The royal family made annual hunting excursions on Sylvawyld, as King Ouros had a preference for the wild verran found there. In 1602, despite improved relations with Regalia and an improved standard of living there, a group of dissidents from Regalia hunted the verran to extinction. Although they were believed to have connections with the family rising to prominence on Regalia, no link was ever proven. Subsequently, that family crowned themselves Kings of Regalia, and established a greater stability than had existed on the planet yet.

It was with some reservation (and a great deal of optimism) that King Ouros agreed to marry his oldest daughter Drakina to Cantos, the crown prince of Regalia, in 1890. That story is told in Nero’s Dream.

Drakina journeyed to Terra where she met her HeartKeeper, Troy the MindBender, in the Incendium year of 1915. Their story is told in Wyvern’s Mate.

Gemma was betrothed to Urbanus, the crown prince of Regalia, immediately after Cantos’ demise. The wedding took place early in the Incendium year 1916 and Gemma became Queen of Regalia that same year. Gemma’s story is told in Wyvern’s Prince.

The story of Gemma’s friend, Arista, is told in Arista’s Legacy. Arista’s visit to Regalia occurred around Incendium year 1909 or 1910.

Acion arrived on Incendium in 1916 and intrigued Thalina. Their story is told in Wyvern’s Warrior.