[Necropolis]Khemit's Neighbors.

[mythusmage]

If you have a copy of the Necropolis adventure from Necromancer Games, take a look on page 247. There you'll find a map of the land of Khemit. Around the land of Pharaoh you'll note the names of a number of other lands. In this thread I will be providing information about those lands for your amusement and edification. The first is the kingdom of Shamash.

Shamash lies to the northeast of Khemit, bordering the land of Philistia (a Khemit domain and border march). With Phoenecia and Hasur to the north, Babylonia to the east, and Yarbay to the south. Shamash is a rough, near mountainous land with a coastal plain in the west, falling off to an semi-arid plain in the east. It has been inhabited for millennia, and some of her towns and cities date back 8,000 years or more.

Once a client state of Babylonia, in recent years she has asserted some degree of independence, and has come to take a leading role in the ongoing struggle between the Sumerian (Babylonian) and Khemitic pantheons. Shamash hopes to take advantage of the coming chaos caused by Rahotep's attempt to take the Khemit throne to conquer the Triple Kingdom and so expand the power of the Babylonian pantheon.

At present Shamash sponsors raids into Philistia and stands guard against punitive expeditions from that quarter. At present it appears that war with Hasur is possible, a war some suspect is being funded by Khemit. Babylon is urging restraint on the part of Shamash where Hasur is concerned, but there are those of Shamash who consider this an attempt by Babylon at regaining control over the kingdom. It could be that the Khemites are seeking to cause a rift between Shamash and Babylon, thus effectively ending the threat posed by the two in alliance.

Shamash is a fruitful land, with bountiful crops of grain, vegetable, and fruit. The official language is Sumerian, which was revived but a few hundred years ago, after having died out over a thousand years before. The common folk more often speak one of a number of West Semitic languages, with Trade Phoenecian and a "Creole" known as Aramaic acting as Lingua Franca of sorts. The kingdom's goal is to have everyone using Sumerian in a few generations, but not everyone wishes to give up the language their ancestors spoke.

Should Shamash actually conquer Khemit they will likely seek a new arrangement with Babylon. One that would place Shamash in the dominant position. Thus, Babylon is seeking a way to maintain the status quo after the conquest is done. As noted before, relations with the kingdom of Hasur are tense, and war is near. Phoenecia remains on (relatively) good terms with her southern neighbor. Yarbay by contrast is wary, but seeks to maintain good relations in case they can gain some advantage from future events.

Overall, Shamash is on a cusp, and could either rise to great power, or collapse into barbarity and possibly even subjugation.
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Tomorrow we'll take a look at the land of Yarbay.

 

[Limper]

I do want a copy of this..... and Nyambe to.

 

[mythusmage]

Back again, with another installment of the series.

The land of Yarbay lies east of Khemit, across the Mare Rubine. It is an arid land, inhabited mostly along the coast with nomads wandering the interior desert.

To the east is the Sea of Yarbay, to west is the aforementioned Mare Rubine. She is bordered elsewise by Babylonia to the norths-east, Nejd to the south, Philistia to the north-west, Shamash to the west, and Hasur to the north.

At present she is allied with Shamash and Babylonia, and engaged in low level conflicts with Khemit, Hasur, Nejd, Farz (across the Sea of Yarbay), and Ophir and Sheba on the southern edge of the Yarbay Penninsula. At present, should there be a break between Babylon and Shamash, Yarbay is most likely to side with the former. But Shamash's growing power may change that, and sooner than many expect.

Yarbay lives mostly off trade and piracy. She is the midway point for many trade routes from East Afrika and Azir to North Afrika and Æropa. Besides the sea lanes, there are a number of caravan routes through her territory from the lands of Ophir and Sheba. As noted before, the bulk of the population dwells along the more fertile coast.

Recently pools of mineral oil have been found underground along her Sea of Yarbay coast. Once thought useless at best (and a positive menace to life and limb at worst) this naptha (as it has come to be known) has come to be a major export of Yarbay, being used (with the proper preparation) for lighting lamps and lanterns, greasing axles, and as materia for numerous spells. Grease being a popular one. The highest grades of purified naptha have become famous for the great heat of their fires, thus making it popular for the production of cast iron and steel.

Very recently the Kingdom started experimenting with the use of waste "tar". After some experimentation they have devised a substance they are now using to pave roads along the east coast. This black "asphalt" is proving to be cheaper than stone or concrete, and very durable. Also very smooth, nearly eliminating the wear and tear caused by irregularities in the ground. Thanks to the paving travel times between cities has decreased by as much as 20%

Currently Yarbay has faced an increase in both Khemite and Farzian punitive raids. In addition, the land of Axxum in the Horn of Africa has joined with Sheba to stage anti piracy patrols. The growing tension between Shamash and Babylon isn't helping matters much.

On the other hand, Yarbay is cooperating more with Shamash in staging raids on Hasur. Rumors of talks with Shamash for a joint military expedition against Hasur are gaining credence in some circles. The stumbling block to such is the possibility that Shamash might be after more than just the conquest of Hasur.

Her relationship with Nejd is problematical. While trade between the two countries is profitable, both Yarbay and Nejd have long standing animosities. There is also the fact both feel they are the rightful rulers of the Yarbay Penninsula. While both have restrained their bellicosity to raids, both are confident war is not far away.
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That is our look at the desert kingdom of Yarbay. Tomorrow we'll be taking a look at the first of Khemit's Afrikan neighbors, the mountain kingdom of Axxum.

 

[mythusmage]

The Heck with It.

Rather than wait until tomorrow, I'm presenting the third in our series on Khemit's neighbors.

Axxum is a mountainous land in the Ætheopian Plateau. She is bordered by Khemit to the north, the Mare Rubine to the East, Adar to the south, and to the west by Ætheope and Meroe.

Once a part of Ætheope, she recently gained her independence, adopting the Babylonian pantheon in the process. Being a wild, tribal nation, she has but recently begun building a proper military, with emphasis being given to her navy.

Her current conflicts involve raids with Khemit, Adar and Ætheope, and anti piracy raids against Yarbay (ostensibly an ally, but apparently that message has yet to reach the Yarbayan buccaneers).

Axxum is a harsh, rugged land, with tall mountains and deep valleys. Her people (of the Ætheope race, possibly the oldest in the world) dwell in the valleys and along the coast, leaving the mountains to the gelada baboon. They are a fierce, proud people, determined to forge an Axxumite empire that will spread the word of the gods of Babylon, and possibly become the leading power in the alliance that binds followers of that pantheon together.

Yet, once you get to know them, the Axxumites are friendly, helpful, and courteous.

At present her greatest troubles are with Adar to the south. Relations with Ætheope and Meroe are mostly peaceful. While relations with Khemit are tense, with occasional border "incidents". Since Khemit is preoccupied with her troubles with Lybbos and Shamash, the Khemite response has been restrained.

Rumor has it that once the unmortal fiend Rahotep rises from his tomb Axxum will use the opportunity to invade and "liberate" the Nubian Oversight (Khemit's unofficial "Fourth Kingdom"). With Nubia in her grasp Axxum will have the resources to invade and conquer Ætheope and Meroe, then turn on and subdue Adar.

With all this done Axxum proposes to expand along the East Afrikan coast as far south as the island of Zanzibar, and west into Central Afrika and the fabled city of Opar. With this power base she will then march north on a now weaken Khemit. With the resources gained thereby, she will turn east and establish her rule over her former allies.

(As you may have noted by now, those nations following the Babylonian pantheon are not what one would call reliable allies. As the leader of a rogues' guild once said, "Honor among thieves? What a romantic notion.")
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There you have part three. Since I'm feeling creative right now, expect the entry on Ætheope fairly soon.

 

[mythusmage]

A Bit Later Than I Thought

The next neighbor of Khemit is Ætheope. Ætheope is bordered on the east by Axxum and Adal, to the south-east by Punt, the south by various Central Afrikan tribes, to the west by Meroe, and to the north by Khemit. Next to the last Ætheope is the oldest of the Afrikan nations, with a history extending back millennia.

Ætheope is primarily inhabited by members of the Ætheopic race, with some Afrikan Blacks in the south, and people of mixed raced in the far north. The people are settled for the most part, with nomads in the arid north.

In physical geography she is mountainous in the east, leveling out to savannah and scrub in the center and west. In the far north there is arid grassland, while in the south the bush gives way to forest.

Ætheope's government is organized in the Khemit fashion, with a pharoah and lesser officials. She is a firm adherent of the Khemitian pantheon.

Relations with Khemit and Adal are good. Currently Ætheope is cooperating with both against raids from Axxum. Relations with Meroe to the west are tense, however, but progress is being made regarding cooperation against the bandits that plague both kingdoms.

Recent news from the Ætheope/Punt border has revealed a growing friendship between the two. The Puntish navy has joined the anti Yarbayan pirate effort, going so far as to allow Ætheopic soldiers to sail with them in preparation for the day when Axxum is brought back into the Ætheope fold and Ætheope has a coast line again.

Matters are more sanguine (in a bad way) in the south. The tribes there are opposed to Ætheope extending its control and influence over them. There is evidence Palu Ea has sent agents provacateur to the area to stir up trouble.. For this reason Ætheope is forced to keep substantial forces along her southern border, to guard against raids and to mount punitive expeditions.

To counter Palu Ea proselytizing efforts both Ætheope and Punt have mounted missionary efforts in an attempt to merge the Khemit and Voudoun pantheons together. This, it is hoped, would give the two allies friendly neighbors to the south. It would also substantially expand the Khemitite pantheon. The sticking point lies in the respective pantheons gods of the dead. Or, rather, the sticking point lies in Osiris. Being a proud, stubborn deity, he is not eager to share his portfolio with another. But progress is being made, since the Voudoun view of death is substantially different from the Khemit.

Set, on the other hand, is proving to be quite open to the idea. which isn't all that surprising when you consider the fact that he is the god of the stranger and the foreigner.

At present Ætheope is facing the prospect of war with Axxum, troubled by threats from the south, and investigating a plot to install the Babylonian Pantheon as her official religion. Her secret service has also joined with the Khemitic to investigate rumors of the imminent return of an old menace. Stories in Ætheope's bazaars speak of shadowy strangers looking for stalwart adventuring types to check out certain locations.

Ætheope stands poised for either a great future, or on the brink of conquest and slavery. She can either become the dominant power in Afrika, or thrall to tyrants.
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When next I post we will be looking at the Kingdom of Meroe.

 

[mythusmage]

It got hot the last couple of days, which put me out of action. When I've recovered we'll get back to our series.

 

[optimizer]

Howdy!

Nice postings -- I can't wait to see some more.

Thanks!!

Mike