Dragon Faithful

Dragon Faithful (竜を祀る民) is the name for those who worship the dragon Milim Nava, the Dragon Princess.

Background
Strictly speaking, members of Dragon Faithful are not Milim's subordinate. They chose to worship and obey her command by their own will. Milim's domain, which didn’t really have an official name, featured a population of under a hundred thousand, mostly people living off the land in harmony with nature.

The Dragon Faithful that resided in the City of the Forgotten Dragon, numbered less than a hundred thousand in total. They all worked together in their daily lives, there being no central government to speak of. As a result, none were particularly gifted in battle—they relied on Milim’s protection to keep the peace.

That, at least, was how it appeared to outside observers. But this was only half right.

Yes, there was no government. All the crops and other goods produced were collected at the Central Temple, where it was distributed equally by the head priest. It might seem like this system would fail, encouraging people to grow unproductive and lazy, but that wasn’t the case. Everyone, workers and nonworkers, was guaranteed at least a certain amount of the wealth—and the more hardworking would also be provided with additional supplies.

This was similar to the “universal basic income” idea that had gained traction around modern Japan. The main issue was who got to decide how much of a contribution each individual made to society…and that was Middray’s job, granted exclusively to him by Milim.

That right afforded Middray all but absolute power in this city, but he never abused that power. Why? Simple: Because the other priests who served him had the right to dismiss him from office. If he got too selfish with his decisions, he’d lose his post. That understanding was what kept Middray from becoming a tyrant. Thus, these tens of thousands of people were far better led and organized than one would expect at first. While some may think the city was lacking in military strength, that was completely untrue.

Abilities
The Dragon Faithful, thanks to certain local conditions, all had very strong physical skills. In addition to their organizational acumen, each adult was strong enough to almost reach C rank. Their pacifism didn’t make it clear at first, but this was actually quite a formidable group of warriors.

The priests, in particular, were in a class of their own. There were only a hundred or so of these guys, handpicked from the best the region had to offer, and they could definitely mess you up. Their daily “prayer sessions” to Milim (i.e. battle training) gave them superior combat skills, and once you got up to the level of Middray or Hermes, they were even strong enough to give Milim a run for her money.

The priests are actually Dragonewts that look like humans. The difference is that instead of evolving from lizardmen, they are the descendants of dragons that ‘humanized’ themselves and mated with the human race. But in essence, they are the same.

Almost none of them can bring themselves back to their original shape. Many priests don’t have any skills like Dragon Change or Dragon Body. There is hardly any difference between them and human beings.

Notable Members

 * Middray
 * Hermes