The Kingdom of Rivian originated from the city state of Rivium and Ricarum, which spread its empire across the continent, before shrinking down to its present, still formidable, size.

It is said that the twin cities of Rivium and Ricarum were founded by two young dragon children who were set afloat on the Ryven River, alone and by a desperate mother, and washed up on the banks at the confluence of the Ryven and Arkon. However, there was most likely already a settlement where modern Day Rivium already was. Suffice to say, whether Rivian and Ricarin, the dragon brothers, washed up and founded the city, or arrived to the settlement by some other means, as they grew they very quicky gained control of the city state, and the cities were named in their names.

Late in the Age of Steel was when Rivium and Ricarum really established itself as a emerging power on the subcontinent, and began to expand its influence outwards. Neighbouring small kingdoms sensed the risk, and tried from all sides to stop and subjugate the young growing kingdom, however the dual monarchs of Rivian and Ricarin were able to lead effective two-front wars, cementing their hegemony over much of the modern day centre of the subcontinent, that being the modern provinces of the Crownlands, Majorium and some of Seawyrde.

This was around when the kingdom started organising provinces, to be given to loyal lords, whilst keeping the area of the Crownlands as the sole demesne of the monarchs.

The fortunes of the dual monarchs took a turn for the worse, however, when Rivium and Ricarum inevitably clashed with the Old Kingdom, a draconic domain in the mountains of Lavonia. The war between the two powers was brutal, and many on both sides were felled, including, most tragically of all, Ricarin, Rivian's younger brother. The Kingdom had taken over the Lavonian range, but it was a pyrrhic victory, as Rivian now ruled alone.

The Kingdom became known to the peoples of Dacrame as the Kingdom of Rivian, and its inexorable rise and expansion became feared, yet as more time passed, it became more inevitable. As Rivian passed, his son ascended to the throne, and his son after that, as the Rivenian dynasty slowly conquered the entire subcontinent, similar to the modern borders of Rivian today.

Later dynasties carried on the tradition of Rivenian expansionism, and towards the mid-late second age of Dragonkind reached its height, spanning from the western seas of the Friese to the Jugalvisk range, the mountains-on-the-steppe in the east.

As the Asarakh line, the last dynasty of Draconic ancestry to rule over Rivian, ascended to the throne, the now Empire was at its height, however over decades and centuries of decadence and prosperity, the ruling family grew content, greedy, perhaps because of their innate red dragon blood, perhaps because they were corrupted by being at the head of the most powerful empire on the face of the world, but nonetheless, the empire slowly crumbled under their administration. In the time of the last Emperor, Mirmos of Asarakh, several border states had broken away, and many of the inner dominions, Frisia, Mauentyr, Velyria, had started causing unrest.

It was inevitable, in the end, that the empire, after so long, would fall. Mirmos, considered the "good king" of asarakh, abdicated the throne, marking the end of the Age of Dragonkind, and the inner states broke away in fiery revolution. Rivian was plunged into civil war, draconic lords were overthrown, and the Kingdom became a human-dominated state, with a human monarch on the throne in Rivium.

Human dynasties however were inherently more unstable, with humans having much shorter lifespans, and Rivian succumbed to civil war twice more, before the current House of Andolyn destroyed the old ruling House of Harynton, and declared a Holy Kingdom.

The current king is the third ruler of the dynasty, and Rivian is again experiencing the beginning of a renewal, a renaissance.

Rivian is a feudal kingdom ruled as an ecclesiocratic papal monarchy. This means, that in Rivian, the church and state are one, and the secular King of Rivian is one and the same with the Pope of the Rivenian Church, that being James Augustin Andolyn, who rules as both Pope Augustin III, and Caesar (Emperor/King) James Augustin Andolyn.

Worship of the Seven Gods of Man is enforced across the Kingdom, and whilst certain other deities are tolerated and accepted (notably Estia) dissenting religion is mostly supressed and heavily discouraged.

The kingdom is split into provinces and marches, provinces being part of the Rivenian "heartland", and marches being part of the "exterior", lands retained by Rivian after most of the empire broke apart., whether as Rivenian parts of other larger countries (Alvycia and Leonparte), or ancient countries in their own right (Teucania). Each of these are ruled by a Lord, who have their own lands and titles, and rules these provinces on behalf of the central Rivenian crown.

Provinces are generally subdivided, however this is much less strict. Lords appoint barons, mayors, or lesser lords to the cities and large townships in their province, and they in turn appoint administrators to smaller townships and villages, and so on. Whilst there do exist rough demarcation of counties, they are not codified in local or national legislation.

The Pope-King rules with the final absolute say, however there is a advisory council, the Council of Lords, from which he takes advice. One noble is sent from each province, march and dominion to the capital to sit on the council, chosen by the provincial administrators themselves. These sit on the left side of the council, called the Left Wing. The Pope then chooses one religious figure (an ecclesiocrat) from each province, march and dominion to sit also on the council on the right hand as the Right Wing. Then, in the middle sit the Centre Wing, made up of highly important, but not necessarily land owning, figures in Rivenian society. These include the Keepers of the Citadel and Library in Majoria (giving the House of St. Avaryn two seats on the council), and a member of the House of Astron from the Fire Mountain.