The Empire of Khandarai is a Monarchy presided over by an Empress whose decisions are final and binding upon her people. She is advised by an appointed council drawn from the various Houses that make up the upper class of the Empire. Should the Empress die, a Magical rite is cast that calls upon an ancient spirit, the Khandarai believe it is the spirit of the Prophetess herself, who then travels the Empire and selects a minimum of five young women who are then put through a gruelling set of tasks and tests of their skill. The survivor is crowned Empress of Khandarai.



The Empire of Khandarai is a nation that has found its way in the harsh central desert of Askor. Bordered on East and West by massive Mountain ranges that serve to deflect most moisture away, it is a hard and foreboding place. Even the desert itself is broken in many places by violent movements in the earth. There is however one large river, the Kafadan River, that actually pours forth from the desert, welling up from deep beneath the surface of the earth, winding its way north to the coast where the Empires only seaport, Basul, resides.

All along that river is a green belt of lush fertile land that supports much of the Empire. There are other oasis, hidden away in the deeper portions of the desert and they are known almost exclusively to the Salakan themselves. These are reached by ancient camel roads and, in some cases, by travelling through the great ravines and canyons that cut across the sun baked surface.

Most Khandarai towns and villages are located in the same canyons and ravines, built into places where some shelter can be found from the ever present sun. The Capital itself, Shasa, is located at the head of the great river where it pours from the earth, the river providing both defence and life for the city. Though not the largest city in the Empire, that title goes to Basul, it is certainly the most impressive for its



Life is tough in Khandarai, made even more difficult by the dangerous creatures that lurk in places even the sun never reaches. Wyverns are not unknown in Salakan and while the majority are hostile, some Khandarai have managed to tame the beasts and use them in battle, though never outside of Khandarai as leaving the desert often leads to them becoming sick and, eventually, to death.


The Empire of Khandarai is unique in the world for its class system in which females rule the Empire, provide the skilled fighting force, and males are used for breeding or menial labour tasks. The Khandarai believe they are made in the image of the Prophetess who freed them when she walked the earth, or so the story goes.

The Empire is relatively young in the grand scheme of things, no older than the legends of the Prophetess who freed the first Empress from the servitude of men and guided her to the desert where she, along with other freed slaves, settled their first village and intermingled with the local population.

Fuelled by her freedom and the burning desire to never agin let men control her destiny, the first Empress led her comrades and the women of the Desert to overthrow and slaughter the patriarchy that ruled the sands. In a cruel twist of irony that the Khandarai see as but a small vengeance for the tribulations they suffered, men are now taken in raids, or purchased through a lively slave economy, and used for the purposes of breeding. Male offspring are killed and female offspring raised in the fighting spirit of their mothers.



The Khandarai conduct trade through Basul but also engage in lively raiding against their neighbours, and even amongst themselves if there is no one else to fight. Broken up in Houses, Khandarai boasts seven Great Houses, and a dozen lesser houses, all of whom control various portions of the region. The power and wealth of each House has risen and fallen over the years, none truly holding any real power, all beholden to the Empress in the end.

The Khandarai are a Humanoid race, though they have an increased ability to see in the dark and are hardier than their neighbours. Their skin is darker than their neighbours as well, ranging from a soft brown to black as night.


The Empire of Khandarai is best described as an army with an Empire. So dangerous is the desert that all Khandarai are taught to fight and survive from a very young age. One of the great tests of their full rise to womanhood is a week spent in the desert with nothing but a small blade, a bow, and a single canteen of water.

The Khandarai excel in small unit operations. They are far to isolated and spread apart to be able to form large armies and in Khandarai, big armies starve and small armies are defeated. Like many other nations they have their share of archers, sword masters, cavalry, and the like. Their cavalry tends to be far from traditional horses and camels, and beasts found in the desert are tamed wherever possible.

Magic is a powerful tool of the Khandarai, spells that allow assist them in vanishing in to, and surviving, the great desert. The Khandarai themselves are far from the most dangerous thing to be found in the desert and any Khandarai worth their salt has learned how to hide from the predators that inhabit their home.

Enchantments are common amongst the fighting forces as well in the form of fire, lightening, or even poisoned weapons. Priestesses of the Prophetess are the only true magic users of the Empire, either as Healers, Spell Casters, or Spellswords. The Spellswords are a unique melee class of warrior that use magic to augment their fighting ability.



Khawla al-Mir, a legend in her time. She is the greatest Khandarai Spellsword of the latest hundred years. Fighting with little to no armour, she wields two scimitars with deadly skill and precision. Her warlike nature often brings her to the fore of raids against enemy settlements and ferociously hunts the strange and wonderful beasts of the desert. She is a master of small unit operation and often works with a picked band of fighters that she considers worthy of her company.



Naaila al-Arshad is the most skilled Beast Master in the Empire. She excels in the taming of various monsters found in the desert and using them to great effect against each other, or against her enemies. She is the only known living Khandarai to have ridden on a Wyvern though it is not something she tries on a regular basis as her hold on a creature is not permanent.


WIP. Waiting to see details on Western neighbours.


Khandarai enjoys a wild roller coaster of relations with pretty much everyone. They are not against raiding their neighbours one day, and trading with them the next. The desert holds many precious and incredibly rare stones, spices, and the skins from any number of desert beasts can fetch a small fortune.

Khandarai does not have great fortresses built at her borders, in fact, it is easy enough for anyone to enter the desert, leaving it is another adventure altogether. A single major road, known as the Spice Road, transits from East to West, leapfrogging from oasis to oasis. Trade caravans regularly pass along this route and it is the only place a foreigner can be assured they are safe from Khandarai raiders, if they come in peace.


WIP

Yngvar is the homeland of dwarves, bordering multiple nations and close to the major trade routes. They are known for their unique culture, skilled craftsmanship and mercenaries. The nation is generally referred as Yngvar but alternatives include: Yngvarseidgenossenschaft (semi-official), Eidgenossenschaft, Zwölfberge, Yngvarsland, Free Cities, Dwarvish Hills, etc...

Yngvar is both the name of the land and the unique chain of mountains populating it. There are twelve major mountains with a large city-state each. Due to their government structure Yngvarians don't have a capital, in theory all 12 cities are equal.

Yngvar in archaic dwarvish means "protected by Yngvi" and this is more than just a name for the inhabitants. Yngvar mountains are considered sacred to dwarves and while they are open to visitors they are far less willing to let them stay. As such Yngvar's population is predominantly dwarvish. Yngvi itself is an entity considered the creator of the dwarves, some consider it a Primordial others as something else. Some even connect Yngvi with the Serene One. Yngvi is the great ancestor and teacher of dwarves, universally respected by them. Dwarvish relationship with other faiths is somewhat strange, while they don't belong to either Argenism or the Serene Church they can respect them. In return dwarves are left alone with their faith which can be best described as ancestor worship while mixing elements from other faiths. What elements? It depends on the dwarf you ask, they tend to shape their beliefs to whichever large religion they're the closest. This does not harm dwarvish faith and also allow them to easily integrate with other cultures. Aside from religion dwarves are also well-known for their work moral and practical thinking. They are diligent craftsmen famous for their skills. They are also somewhat distant with other races, always keeping them at arms length. Another weird custom and show of their craftsmanship is that they wear armor. Every adult dwarf, be male or female are mandated to wear at least a maile shirt outside. Some cities' customs even mandate helmets or a full hauberk. Due to their robust build this does not bother a walk during their daily life and keeps reminding outsiders to tread carefully with them. This also gave dwarves an interesting nickname: Ironskins.


Yngvar is ruled by twelve clans centered around a mountain each. These mountain city states are completely autonomous and at best can be only considered to be in alliance with each other, though some likes to call it a non-aggression pact. All leaders are tied by blood oath to not turn their arms against each other. They regularly hold the Twelve Chairs council, where the 12 Dwarven Lords sit at round table and discuss matters that involve entire Yngvar. Number of laws are laid down in the past that apply to all clans equally and they have certain obligations to defend each other. Aside from that all Clans are free to do whatever they want.


Dwarves beleive in individual powers and that no self-respective adult member should be unable to defend themselves. All dwarves above a certain age know how to fight while wearing armor and weapons, often their own craftsmanship or family heirloom. For this reason other nations often dub the dwarves as Ironskins because they nearly always coat themselves in metal armors. In times of need citizens band together to defend their home. In addition to that there are dwarves who dedicated themselves to military service, either as watchmen and police force known as the Shieldbearers or to become full-blown mercenary. The latter often become travelers going from country-to-country until they return and settle down in their Clan as combat instructors and military leaders. As such dwarvish military are often a mix of eager volunteer militia, town watch and professional mercenaries.



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