Votyoger (Vot-yo-ger)

Votyoger is defined by the elegant, and sometimes overly benal, simplicity to which it functions. Fearing that draconic grandeur would paralyze the Forum from doing anything, the soon-to-be Head Administrator Bloodwing ordained 'function over form' to the utmost degree. In doing so, there would be no confusion as the roles by which Votyoger functions, and no one arguing about titles, embellishments, or other inanities.    

Forum Administrators

The bureaucrats, legalization staff, judges, and politicians of Votyoger, they are the ones directly charged with the responsibility of overseeing the Draconic Forum. Their exact roles vary, but each administrator is a living archive of Votyoger's laws, cultural and political goals, and the means by which they can be realized. As such, their positions are intensely scrutinized by the lineages, and each one is carefully vetted to fulfill their role with minimal bias or subterfuge.   They're subdivided into three tiers, respectively: Head Administrator, Senior Administrators, and then the regular Administrators.   The Head Administrator is the dragon responsible for Votyoger's decision making, the final voice and vote on matters of worldly importance. To date, only one Head Administrator has existed, Bloodwing, who has served in her role with massive approval by the lineages for many centuries. It's unclear of what potential successor, if any, she may ever actually have.   Senior Administrators are near equivalents to the Head Administrator, entrusted with the most serious matters and secrets. They undergo special rites and promises, forbidding them from ever using their gained knowledge for any purpose that is not in direct service to Votyoger itself. As such, they're guardians of highly forbidden knowledge, and are trusted by the lineages to be the mediators they need in the most sensitive of matters.   The regular Administrators form the bulk of the workers who handle the matters of Votyoger and its draconic constituents. They manage lineage trials and legal cases, handle communication to and from the central Forum, and largely exist to serve the interests of dragons who bring important matters to their attention.    

Forum Moderators

Moderators exist to mediate the interactions between the lineages, acting as legal oversight and figure of authority during matters of conflict. For the most part, moderators are the claw-and-scale muscle of Votyoger's legal handling, and are what most dragons start-and-finish their business with. They are, for the most part, trusted authorities on a variety of issues any dragon would need a third party to intervene on.   Generally speaking, being a moderator is the first step on the administrator track a dragon must take in order to prove themselves. It has a relatively high turn over as a result, as the impartiality demanded of such a position is extraordinarily difficult for dragons to achieve. Unlike administrators, they're also the ones who leave the city of Votyoger to travel Veltrona when the lineages summon a moderator for some reason.    

Forum Guards

The physical enforcement arm of Votyoger, responsible for protecting those who do business with the Forum, and enforcing its will. Each of them is chosen for their loyalty to the Forum's ideals first and foremost, then trained and equipped to carry out their formidable burdens. One of the few perks to the job is the access to their uniquely made Grand Armor and Power Staffs. Designed and engineered by the lineages who participate in Votyoger, they possess a combination of technology and magical arts not seen anywhere else on Veltrona.   Anonymity is important for the Forum Guards, as dragons are immortal, and grudges can last a very long time. Special consideration is given toward covering their notable characteristics, resulting in the distinctive modulated voices and particular mannerisms they're trained to use. While it's not a perfect means of protecting their identities, it ensures it is rather difficult to single out any of them for retaliation.   While the seriousness of their position is self-evident, many who become Forum Guards tend to also function as socialites amongst Votyoger. Their business takes them basically everywhere, and so many see the station as a means of justified interaction with other lineages. Given they must also accompany moderators on their journeys across Veltrona, it's also considered a form of paid vacation. It's a constant struggle by the administrators to remind the guard they aren't there to just have fun or argue with someone, and so the position has a rather high turnover rate.   That said, some of the most martially powerful dragons on Veltrona can be found in the Forum Guards, each of them capable of destroying small nations on their own. If there is nobody else, they alone can enforce the Draconic Forum's will as it demands.    

Investigators

Arguably the smallest of the offices of Votyoger, the Investigators are charged with the duty of finding out whatever the Draconic Forum wants to know. They're principally called upon in matters of grave importance, such as imperial crimes, where absolute evidence is required. Because their investigations mean they will often ram heads against other dragons, they're given additional authority to use Votyoger's military power as they see fit. There can be no mistaking that when an Investigator comes, the Forum demands to know are paramount, and they will smash anything in their way in order to find out.   In the times they're not pursuing extremely serious issues, they tend to spend more of their effort managing taxation and scouring for financial fraud. While Votyoger doesn't do 'large scale' business, it does oversee a fair number of them, and it will not tolerate being disrespected in any of its dealings.   The Investigation Office is overseen by the Head Investigator, Jahulmt-Zahm.    

The Thirty-Six Lineages

While Votyoger allows all dragons and lineages to participate in the Forum, there is a particular allowance made for the largest and/or most powerful of lineages. These lineages participate in the Primary Forum itself, serving as the representatives of dragonkind as a whole. It essentially means that the decisions they make will affect their lineages the most, and by proxy, everyone else. After all, when a onpa walks, those smaller than her must react to her presence whether they want to or not.   That principle is the reason behind the Primary Forum's creation, and the recognition of the most significant lineages on Veltrona. The Secondary Forums are where all other concerns are handled, and the two will often vote up or down issues to one another.   In an alphabetical order, the Thirty-Six Lineages recognized by Votyoger are:   Aer, Ahba, Dar, Dot, Fau, Geht, Gon, Hak, Iao, Ion, Kar, Kel, Lin, Loph, Nal, Nox, Nor, Pal, Pom, Oo, Oru, Qer, Ra, Rom, Ron, Saer, Ses, Su, Tala, Ton, Tur, Vahn, Wae, Wan, Yol, Zeg   There are notable exceptions since not all of the most populous lineages participate in Votyoger. One example is the Unn, who rule over Unneyria, and operate the older forum Unntyoger. Since the Unn only care about what happens on their polar continent, they don't readily exercise their influence across the oceans. Others, like the Nem lineage, share similar thinking or prefer isolation over cooperation.    

Lineage Representatives

The Lineage Representatives form the main voices of the Draconic Forum, and are the living embodiments of their respective lineage. Officially, they act on behalf of the lineage's matriarch, and so speak with her authority in the Forum. Practically, most representatives are the 'successor-in-waiting' typical of dragon lineages: the number two who would, in the event of the matriarch's death or abdication, become the new matriarch.   Given their political importance, they're treated with the highest regard by the Forum and given special treatment. That said, they do not have individual authority to overrule Votyoger's decisions, as that must be done by consensus. It's a delicate balance as they're usually some of the most prideful dragons on Veltrona, and their demands can be inflexible and unreasonable sometimes.

Dragons

Wokma

Lindwurm

Wyvern

Puppetkin (minority)

Ilansu (minority)

Onpa (minority)

Petrakin (minority)

Votyoger was built for dragons by dragons, and so anyone who would do business with them must do so on their terms. Rather than any idea of xenophobia, it's more akin to an exclusive club, but membership comes with two requirements: being vouched for by an existing lineage, and the strength to live among dragons.   While the first is self-explanatory, the means to live among dragons by their standards is not always clear. They are powerful beings whose mere presence can affect the world around them. Those who are too weak to endure that much can succumb to manaesia if exposed to them for too long. Many more, frankly, might get caught up in draconic bouts and easily overpowered with lethal consequences. Unwilling to deal with these problems, dragons simply demand others to meet their standards or stay out.

It's difficult to measure Votyoger's military prowess in a traditional sense. Individual dragons are fearsome, but modern inventions (e.g, mana-steel) have given a leg up to many other species. Groups of dragons are much more problematic, as they can utilize immense amounts of firepower. A dragon 'army' is unheard of, but a frightening thought that keeps many rulers and strategists awake at night. However, as Votyoger is a forum, it ultimately depends where on Veltrona the conflict is happening and who is involved.   In draconic terms, the military power of Votyoger is significant but limited. Assuming complete and unquestioning loyalty of its Forum Guards, Votyoger could conceivably confront one, possibly two, of the Thirty-Six Lineages on its own. However, doing so without permission by the others would mean the Thirty-Six Lineages in their entirety would assault and swiftly dismantle Votyoger from existence.   This very specific arrangement ensures the Draconic Forum has bite to its laws and means, but without truly endangering dragonkind at large. It allows for Votyoger to enforce penalties on otherwise unwilling lineages, and to strongarm rebellious ones back into line.   Practically, one must consider that Votyoger exists at the permission of the draconic lineages at large. They have a vested interest in its laws–which they support and uphold–being maintained and respected. As such, their resources are Votyoger's in times of need. The on-paper value of the Forum may appear small initially, but its potential access to support is truly astronomical in scope.

The city of Votyoger itself has a generally 'minimal' agricultural, manufacturing, and processing capability. What it does possess goes entirely to the maintenance of the city itself, with scarcely any excess available. While this arrangement was deemed suitable initially, the city's constant growth made it a curious problem. Its denizens demanded more for their own uses, rather than strictly for maintenance and civil upkeep.   Since the Draconic Forum itself has become a platform for multiple lineages to intermingle, its productive capabilities have grown to mirror that. Much like its districting methods, the city of Votyoger rents out such facilities so the lineages can do their work. Where issues arise is when the Forum itself is demanded to be the intermediary of these businesses; e.g, being given access to lineage proprietary secrets so the Forum can do such work without giving the secrets away.   It's a complicating matter that has been handled on a case-by-case basis. As the Forum lives to handle the demands of the lineages, their demands for such services means there must be an answer. While speculation does run rampant on what this means for future growth, it hasn't astronomically changed the playing field. For the most part, the city's increasing capabilities are becoming a source of premium wealth the Forum can extract for itself.   This arrangement means that the dragon artisans and the sokral in Votyoger end up with materials handled by the best claws on Veltrona, from the best locations possible. Combined with many of them having a near timeless, and often peerless skill, their creations are marvels of magic and technology unseen anywhere else.   From these venerable workshops are they shipped out to order for dragons across the world, spreading these incredible creations far and wide. Great is the envy of those who wish to possess them, for any item of Votyoger can command its own prices. Foolish are those who think to rob them, for dragons have more than enough time on their hands for the most petty of thieves.   It should be said that Votyoger possesses a lot of magical technology in all kinds of forms, from mundane needs like food warming to impossibly moving constructs. However, as these creations are often the work of specialized shops rather than 'common scientific grounds', they easily become weird, specific, and overly specialized in a way a bored mistress of arts might fancy.   This has put Votyoger's technological capability in a rather weird position–the dragons are insanely ingenious with their crafts, but often refuse to create anything less than the best of the best. As such, dragon craftswomen are highly prized and valuable, but supporting them meaningfully is another matter entirely. Were they to make-up for this fault, they might possess one of the greatest industrial powerhouses on Veltrona.   Quite a number of service industries have arisen within and around Votyoger, principally from other peoples trying to work with (or for) the dragons. The most prized of these workers are rachtoh and mussuba, each providing unique and valued talents.   The rachtoh with their silk and weaving techniques are often the ones who make the clothing and fancy wears of the dragons themselves. Mussuba, although their venom is useful for stuff like heartfire potions, actually function more like romantic counselors than anything. Their talent for understanding other people is invaluable for dragons who, generally, struggle to cross cultural divides.

Dragons have long since hoarded knowledge, for its value can be worth less than the thing its written on, to something timelessly precious. Often, it can radically change from year to year, rising and falling like tides. Thus, while material goods are great and everything, dragons set value by knowledge far, far more.   It would ultimately result in the creation of the torzei, and its venerable capacity to hoard all knowable things dragons would want to record. In time, the perception of this value changed as knowledge spread, and 'common' forms of it started to emerge.   Eventually, the emergence of Votyoger brought the issue into a better perspective. Through the Forum, dragons could share torzei that contain all sorts of useful but not necessarily 'valuable' knowledge. The different lineages making available their proprietary knowledge has led to a 'playing field leveling' effect.   One such instance is the Kar, a veltron-aspected lineage, making their 'common construction techniques and methods with veltron magic' available. While not inherently revolutionary, the Kar's much more intimate comprehension and ability nonetheless led to improvements for all the other lineages. What lineages already had that knowledge suddenly lost their 'advantage', while others gained it, and hence leveled the playing field.   Notably, the shared innovation and thinking has led to new branches of development. This intellectual growth has stomped over every other concern, and even the normally secretive lineages have become intrigued by it. Votyoger, ever beholden to their interests, has tried to respond to their demands. To that end, the creation of new libraries, schools, and academies has sprouted up.   A very observable wave rippled through draconic cultures for several centuries as these common foundations formed, an oddity otherwise not seen in their histories. Votyoger became a vehicle for cultural exchange in the form of stories, poems, artwork, music, performances, and many more forms of recreational wonders.   Another, more ridiculous schism formed in that the Forum then handled matters of worldly importance as much as the latest in savy cultural trends. That more than anything else drew more and more dragons to participate, as they loved to gossip, share their favorites, and form critique groups over one artform or another. The Forum's active membership exploded, and it became a central, polarizing identity from there on out.