Kordillus Drakon I

Kordillus Drakon I
Title	Emperor of Orlais
Race	Human
Gender	Male
Family	Vanderin Drakon (grandfather) Septimus Drakon (father) Castana (mother) Empress Area Montlaures (wife) Kordillus II (son)
Appearances	Historical

Kordillus Drakon I was the founder and first emperor of the Orlesian Empire.

Background

Kordillus Drakon was born to Septimus Drakon, youngest son of Lord Vanderin Drakon of Tevinter, and Castana, daughter of a prominent Ciriane chieftain. Septimus lacked magical ability, charisma and military prowess, but he had experience surviving the cutthroat politics of Tevinter nobility and with his help, Castana was named queen by the clans of Ciriane and Alamarri in -36 Ancient. Their son was born soon after.

Drakon was a fervent believer in the Maker and often claimed that the Maker had personally charged him with spreading the Chant of Light. He was instrumental in turning the cult of the Maker (which had no central leadership at the time) into the Chantry. Because of his actions, he was declared "Anointed" by the Chantry and is revered as much as Andraste by many of its members. Drakon was also a brilliant general, leading the newly founded empire to rapid expansion.

Rule

Prince Drakon believed that Andraste had appeared to him in a dream when he was a child, and had tasked him with redeeming the world in the eyes of the Maker. Worship of the Maker was fragmented at the time, with each clan having its own variety of the cult of Andraste, with different rituals and traditions. Drakon started unifying their belief of the Maker at the age of sixteen, by taking to the battlefield. The Daughters of Song, a peaceful cult of the Maker numbering in the thousands, were wiped out by Drakon's forces; they refused to arm themselves when Drakon's forces sacked their village and were all either killed or captured.

When he reached the age of majority, he courted and married Area Montlaures. She was an unequaled archer and a shrewd tactician, and together they conquered well into modern-day Ferelden and Nevarra, stamping out lingering worship of the Old Gods and other Alamarri and Ciriane deities.

Their campaign of expansion stalled due to heavier resistance in the North and constant pressures from the Dales to the east. Fearing that his cause was failing because the Maker questioned his devotion, Drakon refocused his attention on glorifying his god. In the year -15 Ancient, he began construction of a great temple dedicated to the Maker on the foundations of an ancient Ciriane fortress which had been home to Jeshavis herself, declaring that by its completion he would have brought Andrastian belief to the world. In -12 Ancient he wrote the Canticle of Exaltations describing his visions of the Maker's return. In -11 he began a series of attacks in the Heartlands aimed at uniting the warring city-states of the south.

The temple was completed in -3 Ancient and Drakon was crowned emperor in Val Royeaux, having conquered several neighboring city-states and forcing the submission of others. His first act as emperor was to declare the Chantry as the established religion of the Empire. He created the holy office of the Divine, and after protracted elections Olessa of Montsimmard was proclaimed the first Divine three years later, taking the name Justinia. The event marked the beginning of the Chantry calendar at 1:1 Divine.

Drakon believed that the Grand Game was tearing the nation apart, so he abolished all titles besides emperor, empress, lord and lady.

Many hoped the Divine Age would be the dawning of a peaceful and prosperous era, hopes which were shattered when the Second Blight began in 1:5 in the Anderfels. Drakon quickly rallied every able-bodied warrior to march north against the Archdemon. He knew this would not be enough and, in a controversial move, he enlisted the help of the mages, permitting them to use their full power against the darkspawn. They proved themselves to be effective allies in battle, and the Orlesian army under Drakon's command won a series of significant victories against the horde including the hard-fought Battle of Cumberland in 1:16. This led to the signing of the Nevarran Accord in 1:20, which established the Seekers of Truth, Circle of Magi and Templar Order. Drakon is credited as having created the Circle of Magi and the Order of Templars. Drakon personally endorsed Lothaire Hardouin, a veteran of the Second Blight, for the position of Grand Enchanter. He was also a close personal friend of Ameridan, who was Inquisitor at the time.

Tensions with the Dales increased as the elves focused on protecting their own borders and did nothing while the nearby city of Montsimmard was nearly destroyed by darkspawn in 1:25.

In 1:33 Orlesian armies marched northwards to the Grey Warden fortress of Weisshaupt, relieving it from the siege. The Wardens were so impressed with Drakon that they converted to the Chantry. The united forces moved further north to salvage what was left of the Anderfels, leading to its conversion to the Chantry and annexation by the Orlesian Empire later that year.

Drakon's battles against the darkspawn did more to spread the Chant than his earlier campaigns of conversion and expansion. As the battles moved south and east across the continent, he won much of the Free Marches and parts of modern-day Nevarra, both spiritually and politically.

Drakon died of old age in 1:45 Divine and was succeeded by his son Kordillus II. At the time of his death, he had created the most powerful empire in Thedas, united most of the continent under the belief of the Maker, and laid the groundwork to stop the Second Blight.

His tomb in Val Royeaux was plundered in 2:14 Glory after the city was sacked by the elven armies. His arms and armor were taken to Halamshiral. When Halamshiral itself was later sacked, the artifacts were lost.

Marriage

Empress Area was the third of Lord Montlaures of Val Chevin's famously unmarriageable six daughters. When she met young Prince Kordillus, she was the captain of her father's archers and led the defense of Laures Castle. According to the legend, she was not the fairest, nor the most elegant or charming, but when the prince – who was no charmer himself – witnessed Area shooting the wings off a bumblebee at one hundred paces, he was instantly smitten.

It is said that on their wedding day, Drakon presented his bride with a golden bow crafted by the mages of Val Royeaux, so that they could ride into battle and spread the Light of the Maker together.

Trivia

• Kordillus is incorrectly spelled Kordilius in Codex entry: The Bow of the Golden Sun.
• Fort Drakon in Denerim is named after him.
• The Pearl of the Anointed and the Shield of the Emperor once belonged to Kordillus Drakon I.
• King Tylus Van Markham of Nevarra claimed descent from him.