The village of Ibh-Kewar lies along the great trade route known as the Road of Wonders in the Satrapy of Almas, in the western reaches of the horizon-spanning Khvarenah Empire, in the world known as Tal-Talab.

Neighbouring Realms and Regions

Trikalithan Theocracy: West over the Four Deserts lies the Trikalithan Theocracy. The successor state of a more ancient, crumbling empire, the Trikalithans have been revitalised by the rise of a new religion and new technology. Their legions now march under the auspices of commandments inscribed on three white stones they claim come from heaven, wielding weapons of smoke and flame that can kill more surely than a crossbow bolt and shake city walls to rubble. The Theocrats gaze with jealousy and zeal across the wastes at Khvarenah.

Thundering Steppes: North of the Khvarenah Empire lies the vast, sprawling region of arid grasslands, wind-swept peaks and lonely lakes known as the Thundering Steppes. Amidst the open wilderness, civilisation clings to fortress-towns built along trade routes and watering holes, while much of the population is nomadic. Invading tribal kingdoms, mercenary warlords and the shifting patterns of herds mean that the political landscape changes with the season, while the plains remain unchanged.

Senpethi Empire: Past the Great Valley of the Blue Braid and countless miles of desert and badlands lies the ancient Empire of Senpet. Perhaps the oldest kingdom of mankind, it has a reputation as a melancholic and austere land, where pharoahs and commoners alike live in poverty, diverting the riches of their fertile floodplains and abundant mines and the efforts of the living to venerate their ancestors and prepare to join them with lavish funerals and tombs filled with grave goods and luxuries. In return for this dedication the ancestors intercede with their Thousand Gods on the descendants behalf, tempering divine wrath and earning favour.

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The Four Deserts

Khshyke Jaddha, the Red and Green Desert, the Parched Highway: Perhaps the least hostile desert, the Khskyke Jaddha is a region of badlands. Eroded red mesas, canyons and strange wind-sculpted spires of rock are divided by fields of rough gravel and hard dirt. In the rainy season flashfloods make the Parched Highways no less dangerous, but do bring wadis and ephemeral lakes back to life, allowing greenery to flourish amongst the red. This region is the most frequented by caravans and travellers, and is home to many outlaws, deserters, nomadic villages and isolated cults.

Khulmrew Sarb sa'Kerd, the Black Desert, the Realm of Ruin Framed by a bowl of mountain ridges, the Black Desert is named for the iron-rich sand that floods what was once a prosperous, forgotten kingdom around an inland sea. The tops of towers and lines of mortarless walls bespeaking inhabitants of great stature and craft break the black monotony, along with forests of petrified trees and strange relics.

Kewar Shash, the Silver Desert, the Desert of Mirrors A thousand years ago when the first Farridim empress united Khvarenah she warred with the cruel empire of Shatansurz. The wizard-priests of that realm, sensing defeat as the armies of the righteous drew about them called out to their bleak gods in spite, invoking a rain of falling stars to destroy themselves and their enemies. Shatansurz was hammered into nothing but a memory, the sands that covered it scorched and fused into an ocean of molten glass. Over time this cooled and cracked into a merciless wasteland where the sun burns overhead and reflects from below, and the slightest zephyr stirs razor-sharp shards to flay the skin.

• Shyr Tuhum, the City of Mirages: Hidden by mystical veils somewhere in the Silver Desert is rumoured to lie a city of magicians. Most people in the Khvarenah Empire think of this place as the very heart of deceit and black sorcery on Tal-Talab, and while it is true that some arcanists delve into the dark history of Shatansurz and bewitch the innocent for their amusement, just as many simply seek knowledge and isolation.

Shyn Khwadim, the Golden Desert, the Singing Sands Primordial and elemental forces run wild amongst the Singing Sands. The yellow-gold grains seem unusually light and are easily piled up into dunes as tall as mountains, over which skim the winged and bladed ships of Zebarbab desert fae lords and ladies and the mobile palaces of genie sovereigns. Oases of living water crawl between the dunes while storms of burning sand battle sentient statues. It is a place of myths come to life, and to say 'it happened in the Singing Sands' means as much as 'I saw it in a dream' to most people - but the wise know that anything may well be true.

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Magic and Religion

The predominant faith of the empire is Shayl Zidaq, the Flame of Truth. This non-theistic religion prizes honesty, reason, generosity and cleanliness. While it acknowledges and respects the gods of other faiths it does not venerate them, instead focusing on the Flame of Truth that empowers the deities and brings the light of law and warmth of community to the whole universe.

• Suitable Domains for keepers of the flame are Fire (see the House Rules thread) Knowledge, Life, Light and Order.

There are many other religions practised within the empire and many more beyond, so clerics of any Domain are possible as minority or foreign faiths.

Sorcerers, those who are touched by inherent magic, are generally well-regarded in the empire, seen as being kindled by the Flame of Truth. Unless they twist their powers to ill ends they are often seen as living good luck charms, blessed by the Flame or even as saintly.

Other arcane practitioners are regarded based on the sort of magic they employ. Arcane power that unveils truths, channels magnificent energies or transforms physical reality is valued and respected. Spells that deceive the senses or ensnare the mind are considered unsavoury at best, evil and against the Flame of Truth at worst. Necromancy that communicates with the spirits of the dead and traffics in pure lifeforce is honourable, but that which deals with dead bodies and decay is unclean.

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Languages
The many races and cultures of the empire speak many tongues, but Sharzban serves as the common tongue, official language of state and widespread trade argot from one end of the realm to the other.

Sharzban draws from Persian/Farsi sounds and names. Turkish, Arabic and Greek sounds and names can also fit the tone of the setting.

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Common Races

Dwarves: Dwarves have lived in these lands as long as humans, often in rugged and inhospitable areas where less hardy folk could not thrive. They can be often be found in mining villages in the hills and badlands, living in great homes and halls carved into cliff walls, while others live alongside other races in towns and cities as artisans, farmers, traders and every other profession.

Elves and Half-Elves: Elves were - and many still are - the 'vassals' of the beautiful and pitiless Zebarbab. That is to say, servants, soldiers, playthings and even food. Those that escape often find refuge in Khvarenah, and while few in number their long lives allow them to find esteem as master crafters, scholars, courtly advisors and living historians. Enough time has passed for a generation or two of elves to have been born free of bondage while the elders still recall it, and some have intermarried with humans.

• Druu: The druu, also known as the drow or the Zealots of Morgu'th, where the first elves to escape servitude. They fled into caverns and passages below the desert, where they came under protection of the scorpion goddess Morgu'th. Under her tutelage they mastered poison and blade, becoming deadly assassins and spies, and learned the deep magics of shadow and subtlety. The druu are a cult, a network, a nation without land beyond the isolated subterranean holdfasts. They work to further Morgu'th's will, liberate their kin from enslavement by the Zebarbab and defend elves from all oppressors.
• Sea Elves: In the Ink Sea to the south of Khvarenah live the sea elves in the Myrwarad Paeshaha - the Pearl Kingdoms. Different clans are acclimated to different depths; some spend their lives on the shore or paddling in the sunny surface waters; some in the vast middle depths amongst the shoals and schools; and some on the seabed or deep chasms, never seeing light unless conjured by magic or bioluminescence. Generally, the deeper one dwells, the closer to the queen's court and power the clan has. The Myrwarad Paeshaha trade with the imperial satrapies and free cities of the coast, sometimes skirmishing with them over control of sealanes and fishing grounds.

Halflings: The first halflings lived in the desert, dwelling in communal, matriarchal, semi-eusocial burrows resembling colonies of meerkats or molerats. Halflings queens rule, served by their daughters with the few males are traded to other burrows for breeding, exiled or slain in infancy. While some still maintain this ancient lifeway, others have departed to make a living as caravaneers and nomads or intermixed with human settlements and have adopted more diverse and familiar gender roles and governance.

Half-Orcs: 250 years ago a great horde of orcs descended on the empire from the Thundering Steppes. The Emperor Ardash Farridim XIX met them in battle, resulting in a bloody stalemate. Unexpectedly, he brokered peace with the orcs, offering them instead of conquest or vanquishment esteemed positions, rank and rewards. The majority of the orcs agreed and joined the emperor to drive off their unwilling fellows, and became the new core of the imperial army: the Jawadun-Khun, the 100,000 strong Immortal Cohort. Since then, orcs and their half-orc offspring have formed the unbreakable heart of the empire's heavy infantry and cavalry. They have also spread out through all ranks of society, becoming satraps and strategists, physicians and priests, farmers and merchants alike.

Humans: You know these. You've met humans. You may even be one.

Gnolls: Most gnolls live in nomadic bands in the desert, but some have found a place in society, often doing jobs that Khvarenah culture finds unsavoury: handling dead bodies, butchery, barbering, tanning and waste disposal. They find no shame in these tasks which are valued in gnollish culture, and they are proud and independent enough that they do not tolerate being treated as 'second class' or 'untouchable'. Subraces amongst gnolls include the matriarchal, competitive kroca; resourceful and inquisitive hna; and the hardy, insect-taming aarish.

Uncommon Races

Some places are so suffused with otherworldly energies that those who live there or even pass through can end up becoming... changed in ways that can linger in their bloodlines. Those that make deals with the genies or stray to near the Singing Sands (and their children) can be transformed into genasi, while some elves and humans are changed into eladrin for the entertainment of the Zebarbab. Aasimar and tieflings are often the descendants of unnatural breeding experiments an perverse rites with otherworldly beings in the wicked fallen empire of Shatansurz. Dragonborn arise spontaneously when the blood of heroes mixes with that of the sand dragons they hunt. Tabaxi dwell on jungle islands to the south and east of the empire, but bands of them can be found throughout the four deserts as well. The faculty of illusion possessed by forest gnomes is seen as a mark of evil in the empire and they are one of the few races that find a cold welcome; they seek refuge amongst magicians and in remote glades and oases, while their rock gnome cousins found sanctuary in the Trikalithan Theocracy's nascent industrial revolution.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:24, Fri 20 Jan 2023.

Perched on a weathered cliff overlooking the vast wastes of the Four Deserts, Ibh-Kewar is the first outpost of call for caravans from the west, and the last point of departure for those eastbound from the Khvarenah Empire. Ancient walls and crumbling guard towers watch for raiders and beasts from the waste, but the gates stand open to welcome visitors and prosperity has made the villagers lax in their vigilance.

Population & Economy
Home to about 500 people, Ibh-Kewar's population can as much as double temporarily when caravans, pilgrimages or legations pass through. The population is majority human, but there are several families of halfling, dwarves, half-orcs and a few elvish residents. Because of the village's position on the Road of Wonders, it is not uncommon to see folk of rarer races from far and wide across the continent passing through.

Most of the people make their living from one of the two things that flow abundantly through Ibh-Kewar: trade and water. Porters, quartermasters, provisioners, moneychangers, wheel-wrights, wagonmakers, cupbearers, translators, muleskinners, and stablemasters service the frequent caravans, strings of camels and horses, religious travellers, messengers, explorers and diplomatic parties that brave the deserts.

The steady flow of water from the Khanaq-Aba provides ample water for refreshing travellers, performing cleansing rites, filling bellies and waterskins and irrigation. Ibh-Kewar is a garden on the edge of the desert, with fields full of thirsty crops like wheat, rice, tomatoes, dates, figs, cherries, saffron and tea.

Government
Ibh-Kewar is loosely governed by a council of elders, the most senior and prosperous residents.

• Elder Elahey: Too young to warrant the title of Elder on her own merits, Elahey sits on the council thanks to her position as keeper of the flame for the House of the Prismatic Flame.
• Elder Lalenah: An elven scholar exiled from the imperial capital to the very edge of the empire for her unorthodox work, Lalenah is the village's secular teacher and has a contrarian, anti-authority streak.
• Elder Marjjam: The proprietor of the Shadow of the Cedars caravanserai, Marjjam is a halfling matriarch who considers trade the lifeblood of the village.
• Elder Rhusz: The town's chief blacksmith, Rhusz is a half-orc with a gravelly rasp of a voice thanks to a life inhaling smoke and fumes.

Places of Note

• Shadow of the Cedars Caravanserai: The largest caravanserai in Ibh-Kewar, the Shadow is built around a ring of cedar trees that gives them impression of a glade in the woods, providing all the comforts of a well-staffed and tended inn with the feeling of camping amidst sweet-scented timber. For those without the stomach for the enormous pot of goat stew that has been hanging over the fire for decades, the spiced roasted chickpeas and honeyed pistachios make for delicious snacks, and they keep a wide cellar of wines, beers, meads and spirits from foreign lands to remind visitors of home.
• House of the Prismatic Flame: A circular building with a dome of beaten copper, the eternal flame at this shrine of the Shahyl Zidaq is set behind a screen of beautiful coloured glass, casting flickering rainbow light about the sanctum. It is said that one offers a sacrifice to the flame it may grant them a vision of things to come.
• Khanaq-Aba: The Khanaq-Aba is the name of the qanat that feeds a small oasis-pond at the heart of the village, from where its seemingly endless cool, fresh waters are diverted to spouts for the locals to collect drinking and cleaning water and to the channels that irrigate the crop fields. The qanat is a round tunnel cut into the stone that rises with a very gentle slope towards the mountains, with shafts descending into it at regular intervals for several miles. For centuries the flow from the Khanaq-Aba has been pure and uninterrupted, causing the villagers to take it for granted. None truly know how far the qanat extends, or what the ultimate source it springs from is.
• Watermarket: A small marketplace gathered around the Khanaq-Aba, the Watermarket is where the locals do their shopping and trading for food and other necessities.
• Bazaar of the Banners: The larger and more bustling marketplace in Ibh-Kewar, the Bazaar of the Banners is where merchants passing through the village stop to display their wares and exchange news of supply and demand before venturing out into the desert or towards the imperial heartland. They set up stalls on the large cobbled square, proudly displaying all sorts of goods along with flags of their homelands, heraldry of their trade houses or the colours of their caravan company. Business here is always boisterous, with merchants promoting their particular commodities at the tops of their lungs.

People of Note

• Lh'hent the Accursed: Once a ranger of the Kewar Tukhaur, Lh'hent was struck by a curse while exploring (others might say looting) a ruin deep in the desert. Suffering from an incurable, disfiguring disease he desperately searches for a way to break the curse. His knowledge of the desert's ways and skills as a guide are valuable if he thinks one might help him in his quest.
• Zalif of the Cups: A friendly barkeep at the Shadow of the Cedars, Zalif talks much and pours generously. What few suspect is that he is a spy for the infamous bandits known as the Sinister Ones, keeping his eyes and ears open for plump caravans passing through the village.
• Qallo of the Many Strong Backs: The master of porters, if you want a wagon loaded or unloaded, a space in a warehouse or a stall at the Bazaar of the Banners, you will have to deal with this greedy man. A dwarf of enormous stature and girth, Qallo employs his sons, grandsons, nephews and many orphans and urchins he has 'adopted' to do the hard work of shifting cargo, and isn't afraid to use threats and force to maintain his monopoly.
• Mardamakh Wagbeard: An old sailor who retired as far from the sea as he could get, Mardamakh spends his time in the markets, caravanserais and tea houses gossiping and swapping tales. He has a knack for languages, and can communicate in a dozen or so tongues. His age would qualify him as a village Elder, but he has no interest in being in charge of anything.

This message was last edited by the GM at 21:11, Tue 17 Jan 2023.

Westernmost satrapy of the Khvarenah Empire.

Capital: Hayandasht.
Ruler: Satrap Nura-Mehir.

Places of Note

Tarshik Khatanaq: The ceremonial capital of the Akolian Empire that preceded the Farridim dynasty, Tarshik Khatanaq lies in overgrown ruins. Once ruled by botanist-magicians called the Emerald Tyrants, the fields still burgeon with arcane crops they engineered, and living plant-monsters stalk the hollow streets and abandoned halls alongside ghosts re-waging old battles and ghouls grazing on the remains.

House of Black Ice: A splendid temple of the Shayl Zidaq once stood amongst forlorn hills, but generations ago its eternal flame guttered and went out. In its place is rumoured to stand a shard of unmelting ebon ice, gradually spreading bleak frost through the surrounding countryside.

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Hayandrasht, City of the Truthspeaker, Guardian of the Sunset Way



The westernmost large city in the empire, Hayandrasht is the customs office, warehouse and bazaar where goods passing along the Road of Wonders are accounted for and divided up to destinations across the Khvarenah. It is also a place of pilgrimage, the site of the tomb of an esteemed evangelist of the Flame of Truth and an important military fortification for securing the western borders.

Population & Economy
Government
People of Note
Places of Note

• Gates of Winged Beasts: Four ornate gates piece the city walls, each flanked by a different pair of winged beasts. The Griffin Gate stands open for merchants, caravans and general traffic; the Manticore Gate for 'unclean' business such as funeral processions, waste bound for the fields and animals for slaughter; the Sphinx Gate welcomes pilgrims and scholars; and the Lamassu Gate is barred except for military processions and royal dignitaries.
• Amber Mausoleum: Sharamadh M'ema was one of the first truthspeakers of the Shayl Zidaq, who brought the light of truth and reason to the scurrilous settlement that would one day be Hayandrasht long ago. For her wisdom and virtue it is said she ascended from human form into that of a winged lioness upon her death. Whether or not it truly holds any form of mortal remains, a magnificent mausoleum stands in her honour, with an airy shrine of white marble and carved ivory panels and a sarcophagous made from an enormous crystal of amber.
• Arag Dhuwst: Meaning 'Fortress Friend', this fortress is so named for the way it looms protectively over the city. Many find its towering walls and grim facade more intimidating than comforting, however. Arag Dhuwst's barracks and armouries can house and equip thousands of soldiers, but only a small garrison of a few hundred occupies it presently.
• Ban-i-Nadrast: In the midst of Hayandrasht's pairadaiza gardens calm pools and sparkling fountains, with its avenues of orange and pomegranate trees, roses and lotuses stands a hideous statue that seems at odds with the serene beauty all around. A mishapen, demonic creature stands twisted and melted, almost unrecognisable, on a bloodstone plinth. This is the Ban-i-Nadrast, the False Foundation, the remains of a daeva that corruptly ruled the city in ancient times. It was petrified and blasted with holy flames by the force of the truthspeaker's arguments.
• Mineral Baths: Although fed by several qanats from aquifers in the hills, Hayandrasht also possesses mineral springs. These filled its bathhouses which were renounced for their rejuvenating qualities, attracting the infirm from far and wide, but a few years ago the waters became fouled and the satrap ordered them closed for public safety.
• House of Dancing Smoke: There are several shrines throughout the city, but the least visited yet most storied is the House of the Dancing Smoke. The eternal flame here is fed by a gas seep from deep underground, an the fumes of its burning fill the shrine with heady vapours. The priests and priestesses that tend the flame are skilled in interpreting its visions for pilgrims and seekers.

This message was last edited by the GM at 23:44, Wed 18 Jan 2023.

Founded by Padishah Qarkhemran Farid on the ruins of the Akolian Empire and battling the depredations of nomadic raiders and foreign powers, the Khvarenah Empire has grown in strength and glory for a thousand years under the Firebird Banner. It holds itself up as a realm of excellence in artistry, learning and faith; many peoples united by the light of the Flame of Truth and a single tongue but tolerant of diverse religions and cultures; a preeminent military power and beacon of righteousness and justice for all of Tal-Talab.

But scratch the gilded surface, and the truth may not shine so brightly. The edges of the empire tatter as they press against intractable wilderness and fearsome foes, while a rival power thought vanquished waxes to the west. Satraps plot to entrench their power and wealth at the expense of royal authority and the very people they govern, while corrupt cults practice evil rites and arcane treachery brews in the night.

Capital: Ishahrmiada.
Ruler: The Padisah Emperor Behzad Fariddim XXVII the Imperishable, the Unconsumed, the Flawlessly Purified. The Farridim dynasty has ruled the empire in an unbroken line since its inception, with each emperor passing through the Burning Doors to be reborn at the end of their reign, keeping the majesty, virtue and wisdom of the first emperor intact.

Organisations

Kewar Tukhaur: Originally a warlike tribe absorbed by the empire, the Kewar Tukhaur have become a military order that scouts and patrols the wastes, guards royal highways, serving as rangers, police and messengers.

Jawadun-Khun: The elite core of the imperial army, the Immortal Cohort is meticulously maintained at a strength of 100,000 heavy infantry and cataphracts, many the orc or half-orc descendants of the original horde that was persuaded to serve rather than conquer. The Jawadun-Khun acts as the palace guard and anchor of the empire's military, supported by city militias, tribal irregulars, levies and mercenaries. It also includes the Pelka Cheshm, a secret police wing.

Zangu-Majusa: The imperial battlemages provide magical protection and artillery support for the armies. Consisting mostly of abjurers, evokers and war wizards, they are trained at the Dhansha Academy in Ishahrmiada.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:14, Thu 19 Jan 2023.