The High Sylvan Empire

The elves had learned much from the dragons about craftsmanship and magic. They carved the crystal into an ornate structure, with temples and throne rooms stacked on top of one another, and at the top was an observatory. The city of Chai-syl was built around the tower over the decades that followed.

Yang-hui stayed with the elves for a long time, and even married. He had a son named Tso, and taught the elves many rituals and ceremonies.

Tribes of humans began raiding the elven settlements. The elves knew fighting, and quickly subjugated those lands to prevent the raids. They forced the humans, and eventually the Halflings as well, into their empire. The benefits were numerous, as there were physical, economic, and legal protections granted for those who became citizens, but those whose lands the elves claimed weren’t given a choice.

Eventually, Yang-hui died, and his son Tso-hui claimed that, though he was not a divine avatar, he should inherit the throne. There was some disagreement, but before the year ended he was crowned the first Sylvan Emperor. He took the dragon as a symbol for his crest.

The Sylvan Empire benefitted from the ancient roads of Myrne, so their borders quickly grew. They stretched as far north as the lands around Karm Lema, with whom they traded regularly, and as far south as the Monai River. The empire spanned across the continent from the Ostrian Sea in the west to the Pyrmaian Ocean on the east coast of Myrnia.

It was a time of plenty. Great advances in magic and art were made, and the people in the empire generally found prosperity as the raids and conquests of petty warlords had come to an end.