Republic of Piasa

The Republic of Piasa was a nation that formed following the discovery of the fossilized remains of the ancient dragon Piasa. Prior to this time, the Taulan Tribe of Sand Elves lived in relative isolation, leading a monastic lifestyle centered around traditions and rituals performed on Mt. Piasa to maintain the sacred grounds. In response to the numerous neighboring nations vying for control over Piasa, an influential, charismatic Sand Elf named Chadar deemed it necessary to discard the old traditions of isolation and to reach out and establish economic relations. He believed that Piasa's remains were a parting gift for the Sand Elves to use. This sounded well-intentioned on paper, but Chadar's methods were extreme.

Very soon, Chadar seized control of Mt. Piasa as a dictator by monopolizing the sources of Piasite - the term used for the magical fossil remains of Piasa. He horded much of the Piasite for himself to amass numerous magical powers leaving most of the Republic in poverty - corrupted by the paradox of plenty. External nations such as Polvora grew impatient with Chadar's lack of diplomatic efforts and chose to seize land for themselves, invading the nation by establishing their own set of perimeters that they could mine. Chadar retaliated by declaring war on Polvora.

The few Taulans that remained in the ways of old began a search for the soul of Piasa - a group called Last Convent. Even though Piasa's body had decayed, these monks believed that by searching for Piasa's soul somewhere in the earth, they could consult the dragon himself and perhaps have him denounce Chadar as an illegitimate leader. That way, a new leader from Last Convent could replace Chadar and rule through divine right. But assuming Piasa's soul could even be found, it would not be known what his opinions on the Taulans would be.