Khapesh, formally the Kingdom of Khapesh, is an ancient land full of mysteries and remnants of the distant past. Old ruins are frequently only a short distance from major cities, and the remains of a prehistoric civilization hide beneath the sands. One of the most densely populated regions of the world, the Aur River provides the lifeblood of Khapesh within the inhospitable deserts of the Red Lands.
Geography, flora, and fauna
Khapesh is centered around the Aur River, its lifeblood in the otherwise hot and inhospitable Sangora Desolation. Aside from small settlements around oases within the Red Lands, the Khapeshan term for the Desolation, almost the entire population of Khapesh lives along the river. The Aur River provides the means of transportation that ties the kingdom together by trade, and the river’s regular yearly cycles of flooding ensures agricultural plenty in the middle of the desert. Farmlands, mostly growing wheat and other grains, cling close to the river. Reeds and other tall grasses grow along the riverbank in places where it is not cultivated.
To the north the Aur reaches the Chaska Sea - most international travel and trade from Khapesh comes and goes by this route. To the east is the Salt Coast of the Kilche Sea. Far less kind than the northern coast to most living creatures, there is little here beyond beaches of salt and outposts established to collect it. Some small fortresses exist here as well, in an attempt to deter pirates along the trade routes between Avaris, Rudamun, and Tarkuus.
Sandstorms are a periodic concern to the inhabitants of Khapesh. Sometimes taking days to pass, these storms inhibit travel, damage crops, pose health concerns, and cover settlements with a thick layer of sand once they pass.
The Red Lands are a barren wasteland of rocky sand and dunes. Small shrubs and cacti, well adapted to live in these dry conditions, are the only vegetation to be seen. Most vegetation in the Red Lands is inedible to people, save for sparse prickly pair cacti, black persimmon, and a handful of other species. Few choose to travel through these harsh conditions, much less live in it.
Along with a handful of smaller oases, the Turquoise and Diwah oases are the major sites away from the Aur River. These refuges from the desert remain sparsely inhabited, though ancient ruins are common sights near both. Rumors abound of strange phenomena surrounding both oases. However, there is little to entice adventurers, and most stay away.
The fauna of Khapesh is separated based on proximity to water. Along the river, northern coast, and oases, one can find crocodiles, hippopotami, and large flocks of birds. Within the Red Lands, there are few animals besides scorpions, snakes, small rodents and reptiles, jackals, and foxes. Magical creatures are also relatively commonplace within Khapesh. While most native magical creatures live only in remote parts of the river or in the desert away from civilization, non-native magical creatures can be found with relative ease near the cities, whether they moved there by choice or were inadvertently set free.
The Red Lands are home to a number of sphinx, generally in remote locations where they can avoid those that wish to seek their advice.
Some bagiennik live in the reeds along the Aur River. While their pranks can be an annoyance to farmers and those traveling the river, many towns accept or even welcome their presence due to their healing abilities and their enthusiasm to use them.
History
The Kingdom of Khapesh is an ancient kingdom built on the ruins of civilizations even older. Founded somewhere around Y300 by the quasi-mythical Narmer the Conqueror, Khapesh has been ruled since by monarchs of thirty-one dynasties. This has not all been a time of peace, with many wars, both external and within, breaking up long periods of fairly high degrees of stability. At times the lands of Khapesh have been temporarily divided among multiple states and later reunified again.
Prehistory
Relics and ruins of civilizations even older than Khapesh can be found by adventurers, provided they are willing to go deep enough or far enough out into the Red Lands. Architecturally these ruins look utterly alien to Khapesh: circular structures carved deep into the earth, with impenetrable walls of perfectly smooth metals and green lights embedded within. Surviving relics are treated with great scholarly curiosity, though their purposes are rarely understood. The Incident at Faiyan, in which a legion of constructed creations terrorized the region around its namesake city, was by far the largest “discovery” of relics of this civilization. Very little is known about the creators of these artifacts, save that they were vaguely humanoid and had a grasp of magic and technology extremely rare within the world now.
Unification - Y300 (approx)
Though historical records are inexact, sometime around Y300 Khapesh was founded by Narmer the Conqueror, bringing the separate small kingdoms and city states along the Aur River into a unified nation. Contrary to the name given to him by later historians, evidence points to the unification as a mostly diplomatic effort, not borne of conflict.
First Dynastic Period - Y300 (approx) to Y1087
Not much can be conclusively dated from this time, and few records exist. Settlements began to be founded in Upper Khapesh, away from the early unification in the delta. Worship of the Osiron pantheon became well established in this period, as temples began to be established around these local deities.
The lands outside the river are known to have been more habitable in this period - mostly arid grasslands instead of barren desert. Most of the ancient ruins away from the river originate from this period in Khapesh’s history.
The Stoics of Iteru were formed during the First Dynastic Period. While they have varied in size and influence since, the order of living monoliths remains active to the present day.
First Intermediate Period - Y1087 to Y1292
The Scouring, a massive centuries-long magical sandstorm, forced drastic changes in Khapesh, causing a near total societal collapse. Those that survived were forced into a pattern of yearly or sometimes seasonal migrations along the river, moving to avoid the worst of the storm. Most settlements are abandoned during this time. It is unknown what caused this storm.
Second Dynastic Period - Y1292 to Y4030
During the later part of this period, the kingdom reached its greatest extent, stretching east up to the Tela River and the Lakes of False Promises, and south to Lake Nulukkhaz.
King Khentimeresh the Evil reigned from Y1756 to Y2001. A despotic tyrant, Khentimeresh is best remembered for his attempts to attain immortality via lichdom. Legends hold that magical countermeasures of some type were put in place so that this could not happen again, though there is much dispute as to what form this would take.
Second Intermediate Period - Y4030 to Y4955
Internal wars caused by droughts and famines brought upon the separation of Khapesh into shifting alliances of city states. Control of Khapesh’s outer territories collapsed, helped by scavenging bandits and raider lords.
Third Dynastic Period - Y4955 to present
The Third Dynastic Period has been an n almost two millennia long era with a high degree of stability
In Y5940, the mages and scholars that would later found the Citadel of Yhidothrus within the Arnkelvik Magocracy were expelled from Khapesh.
During the Incident at Faiyan in Y6975, ancient automatons under the control of Zamanth, one of the vizers of Faiyan, terrorized the area around the city before they were defeated and contained.
Clearsilence Noir, also known as Chephren the Learned, took the throne of Khapesh in Y6976 after the disappearance of Menes II.
Demographics
The population of Khapesh is mostly Common-speaking humans, though especially within the northern cities there are large populations of other races as well. There are sizable gnomish, tengu, and catfolk communities, especially in Lower Khapesh. Khapeshan cities are quite cosmopolitan, and individuals of most races can be sighted without much searching.
Away from the river, bands of kasatha live within the Red Lands. Not large in number and to a significant degree separate from the rest of Khapeshan society, these kasatha live as nomadic hunters within the desert. It is rare for a kasatha to live in a river-dwelling community, though some find work as guards and guides.
Culture
Religion
Although other pantheons and deities are followed in Khapesh, the local Osirion gods are worshipped in particular. The veneration of these gods began millenia ago, in the First Dynastic Period, and has continued largely uninterrupted since. Each major city within Khapesh has a patron deity - in most cases, the patron deity has a particularly large temple and following within the city’s surroundings. However, the reverence towards the entire pantheon stretches across all of Khapesh - a city with a grand temple to Ra, for example, will still have smaller temples dedicated to Anubis, Sobek, and so on.
Traditions
Many of the cultural traditions of Khapesh are as similarly ancient as their religious beliefs. The yearly flooding of the Aur River serves as the beginning of a series of festivals and rituals, both a celebration and an offering to their gods to ensure an orderly and prosperous year. These festivities vary by city, but typically include the giving of alms and offerings to the major temples, elaborate reenactments of particular stories of their pantheon, feasts, and the consultation of oracles.
The Khapeshan calendar is divided into three seasons - Akhet (inundation), Peret (growth), and Shemu (harvest). As the Aur river floods with great regularity, these seasons end up starting at very nearly the same times every year. Irregularities tend to be viewed with superstition or fear, usually prompting more and greater offerings to the Osirion deities. The start of the year is considered to be the end of Akhet, when the river’s flooding ceases.
The beginning of the year is marked across Khapesh with a great week-long festival, celebrating another year passed and giving offerings to ensure the next is bountiful. Communal feasts and gifts of food between neighbors are traditional, and generally looked forward to with anticipation by Khapeshans. Most tavern and inn keepers will make their goods and services available for free during this time (though donations are, of course, appreciated). In most cities, a large parade is organized, typically featuring large numbers of musicians and dancers. Until recently, the king and his retinue would also travel from city to city during this time to take part in the parades as well.
Another week-long festival marks the end of Shemu, or the harvest season. This is a more muted affair, focusing more on rest and recuperation after the hard work put in during the last two seasons. Non-essential shops typically close, and those that remain open tend to only be available during the early part of the morning. Even less devout followers of the Osirion pantheon frequently spend long periods at the temples during this time in the year.
Arts
Khapeshan music, often performed by devotees of Hathor, usually centers around vocals accompanied by flutes, harps, clarinets, shells used as whistles, and a variety of percussion instruments, particularly cymbals. Most Khapeshan bards are not soloists, but rather train as part of a group or choir. Music is frequently involved in religious and magical rituals, especially but not exclusively in rituals to the gods Hathor and Bastet. Funerary rites also usually involve rituals of chanting, other instrumentation, and dancing.
Khapeshan art follows a tradition many thousands of years old. While artists have their own techniques and flairs, they follow guidelines and standards that have persisted across the ages. Khapeshan paintings, carvings, and reliefs commonly feature simple lines and shapes, flat areas of color, and flat projections of figures without spatial depth, in order to create highly ordered works. Temples, palaces, graves, stelae, and other structures of socio-religious importance are usually covered in reliefs and paintings that depict subjects closely related to the structure’s purpose. Art often depicts historical or religious events, and is a method to teach about these events to the common people. Stone is the most common medium, and paints are usually sourced from mineral ores.
Languages
Today, most citizens of Khapesh speak Common, though it is not unusual to hear the languages of other races and regions in the major cities. In the past, Khapesh had multiple languages of its own, though many of these died out thousands of years ago. Meritoic is the only remaining Khapeshan language in wide use, both as a scholarly language and as an everyday language by the common people. Those that use Meritoic as their primary tongue tend to live in upper Khapesh, away from the cosmopolitan delta, where there is less reason to learn Common to communicate with people of diverse backgrounds. Other older languages, for example Demotic, are completely extinct. In the northern coastal cities, Telan, Thadrian, and Hellean are also quite commonly spoken.
Architecture
Architecturally, most buildings in Khapesh are made of sandstone or mud brick, usually with flat roofs and many canopies to provide shade and cool the structure. Buildings, particularly homes, are frequently painted bright colors in either geometric designs or murals representing the lives of the inhabitants. Reeds are frequently used to construct awnings and other scaffolding, as well as for floor mats, but the use of wood is uncommon and mostly limited to temples, state buildings, and other structures of importance, owing to its rarity in the desert. The style of temples vary by the deity. Temples to a city’s patron deity are usually constructed as large centerpieces of their cities.
Khapeshan cities tend to be quite densely populated, though with larger than normal distances between them. Cities are exclusively located along the Aur River, as the waters of the river provide for the irrigation and means of travel that the cities require. Along the river between the cities are low-density, rural, agricultural landscapes. Each city relies on the food produced in a large area up and down the river from itself in order to support its high population. The majority of Khapeshan people live in these rural regions.
Occupations
A large percentage of the citizenry are farmers, supporting Khapesh’s relatively large population. Craftsmen of varying specialties are also very common, usually working in cottage industries. A smaller class of merchants trades wares between and within cities. Scribes hold a particularly respected occupation, usually requiring extensive training before being given the responsibility of tracking the calendar, administrative bookkeeping, and other tasks. Dockworking is also a very profitable trade, as river travel is key to transportation across the kingdom.
Food and cuisine
Most people in Khapesh eat fairly simple diets, largely centering around bread, rice, vegetables, legumes, olive oil, dates, beer, and fish. Simpler spices are commonly used, such as pepper, ginger, coriander, and garlic. Other spices are imported into Khapesh, mostly from Tarkuus, though these are priced out of the reach of most people. Wealthier individuals are more likely to eat a greater proportion of meat in their diet, as well as pricier foodstuffs like honey, fruits, and items imported from other lands.
Besides typical subsistence fare, inn- and tavern-goers in Khapesh are likely to encounter some of the following well known dishes:
- Rice and barley with tomatoes, garlic, and onions
- Fried eel
- Baked carp or perch marinated in cider vinegar
- Gourds with brown sugar and sauteed vegetables
- Baked hedgehog
- Slow-cooked stew of lentils, lamb, and barley
- Fried spongy dough, often eaten with honey as a street food
- Deep-fried balls of ground fava beans, often eaten with vegetables and flatbread
- Date-filled pastries
On the Salt Coast, a popular method to prepare seafood involves creating a mixture of egg white, salt, and optionally extra spices for flavoring, completely encasing the whole but gutted and cleaned fish with the mixture, and slowly cooking it over a low fire.
Many domesticated animals are kept in Khapesh. Oxen and cattle are most commonly used as draft animals or for meat - in the past, native aurochs were kept for this purpose, though they have been functionally extinct for millenia. Domesticated waterfowl are kept for meat and eggs. Some hunters and scouts are known to train jackals to assist them in their treks across the desert.
Technology
While the technology of Khapesh is quite similar to the rest of the world, broadly speaking, the subterranean workshops of Serdab are renowned for their remarkable clockwork creations. Elsewhere in Khapesh, particularly around Faiyan, these clockworks are often seen with suspicion due to their similarities with the more advanced ancient automatons that have appeared on occasion. Khapeshan agriculture relies on quite advanced irrigation techniques and methods, a necessity when the river is the only consistent source of water. Paper in Khapesh is made from the plentiful papyrus that grows on the river bank, used for books and other written material.
Fashion
Linen is by far the most common textile and material used in Khapeshan clothing. Dyes derived from plants are sometimes used to add extra color, but more commonly the material is left in its natural color. Among the upper class, bleached and dyed clothes are more widespread, along with jewelry and other cosmetics (particularly eyeliner and other makeup). Sewn leather sandals are the most common footwear. All clothing is designed to be light and avoid excess material, in order to keep the wearer cool in the hot desert climate.
Education
Khapesh has a high literacy rate; the vast majority of city dwellers can read and write, at least at a basic level, and around half of the rural population can as well. The cities of lower Khapesh are widely known for their printing industries, as large numbers of books are published there, printed on sheets of papyrus paper and bound in leather covers. Books are inexpensive enough that an average commoner can afford to buy one or two a year without too much trouble. Broadside newspapers are also fixtures of many Khapeshan cities, though usually only published on a weekly basis.
Education and magical studies in Khapesh are closely tied to the temples. Even non-religious learning is usually conducted by priests and priestesses. While most Khapeshans receive their primary education as children, temple schools are open to the public and those of any age who wish to learn. Besides general studies, temples usually also teach classes that emphasize the domains of their deity. For example, temples to Ptah often teach metalworking and other forms of craftsmanship.
Magic
Khapeshan mages, while generally experienced and learned in the same types of magic as elsewhere, also know certain spells and techniques more specific to the kingdom. These include spells involved in the internment of the dead, manipulation of aging, and unique methods to raise and control undead.
Travel
Most travel within Khapesh is done via the Aur River. Most settlements are located directly beside the river and feature at least small docks, so the river provides a reliable method of transportation. Boats range from smaller vessels, able to carry a couple individuals, to larger river boats. Almost all are made of bundled reeds, sometimes coated in tar for waterproofing, and propelled by a combination setting poles, oars, and sails (on the larger vessels). In the cities, wooden carts are used by those that can afford them, though more commonly seen are sledges. Either can be pulled by draft animals but typically are not. Within the desert, most travellers wisely choose to travel light, as the effort required to move cargo over the rough terrain is rarely worth it.
Society
Khapeshans tend to be superstitious about the ancient ruins surrounding them. While adventurers might gladly enter such structures in search of treasures or mysteries within, ordinary citizens tend to associate these ruins with burial places of the long dead. While Khapeshan scribes and scholars recognize the wealth of knowledge and items that could be found, they tend to be focused more on the vast amounts of poorly understood material already in easy access to them, and do not usually venture forth themselves or hire others to explore and gain more.
Khapeshan sports tend to center around displays of practical skills, including rowing, javelin-throwing, archery, weightlifting, and other physical feats. Sporting activities are generally unorganized - unlike in Hellea, there are no central guilds to govern the rules of sportsmanship. Board games are quite popular among all people in Khapeshan society, from farmers to viziers. Games often emphasize strategy or random chance, and betting is widespread.
Kasatha
Society
Kasatha culture is centered around each extended family, or clan. Clans tend to be very close knit and led by a matriarch, who is usually the oldest capable female member of the family. The kasatha clans move seasonally, travelling to follow the most favorable conditions in the desert. While kasatha camps typically appear plain from the outside, merely a collection of hide tents, inside each dwelling is usually brightly decorated with colorful fabrics and items valuable to its inhabitants. Kasatha normally eschew entering the ruins they occasionally live beside, viewing their abandonment as the result of ancient curses.
Religion
Kasatha religion involves an eclectic mixture of faiths. Some worship the gods of the Osirion pantheon, like their settled neighbors by the river. Others favor the Eldest, particularly Shyka, Magdh, and Ng. Most, however, follow their own variant of the Green Faith. Kasatha do not have permanent temples, but do have particular sites in the Red Lands they regularly return to for worship.
Languages
Most kasatha speak their racial tongue, Kasatha, as their primary language. Many are also fluent in Common, useful when interacting with blacklanders, but it is not uncommon to encounter Kasatha who only know their racial language. Most kasatha clans can speak Meritoic as well. and there are rumors that a small number of Kasatha who live deep in the Sangora still speak Demotic.
Occupations
While most kasatha remain in the Red Lands near their clans, some seek out work elsewhere. For Khapeshans who wish to travel across the desert for some reason, it is widely understood that kasatha guides provide the best chance for a safe and speedy journey. Others find jobs in river towns and cities. Kasatha adventurers are less common, as they generally prioritize remaining somewhere near their clans, but some do choose to set off and see the broader world.
Food and cuisine
The Khapeshan kasatha are not agriculturalists, but rather are hunter-gatherers. Most food is sourced through what can be found in the local environment, sparse as that sometimes may be. The kasatha are masters of these environments, often able to acquire food in places others would quickly starve. Foraged foods are supplemented by milk and dairy products, mostly from camels, as well as occasional supplies brought back by those who found work by the river. While ingredients can often be highly variable, depending on what can be acquired at the time, kasatha cuisine is not simple, and often involves complex mixes of flavors and seasonings. Teas are the drinks of choice for most kasatha.
Travel
Kasatha travel through the Red Lands almost entirely on foot, carrying their possessions with them. Some use camels or dogs as pack animals as well. It is often quite difficult to track even large clans as they move through the desert, as they have become experts in hiding their movements.
Magic
Among the kasatha there are many who are knowledgeable about magic. Kasatha casters are disproportionately druids who closely tie together their magical understanding of the world and their desert survival abilities. These druids almost always have lizards, jackals, or other desert-adapted animals as their companions.
Fashion
Kasatha clothing consists of loose robes and layers of fabric that cover the entire body and most of the face. These serve a practical purpose, as they keep the sun and sand away. Clothing is usually the color of the desert sand and rocks, in order to help blend in and remain unseen. Sometimes spells are infused into the clothing to assist with this as well.
Society
Kasatha archers are renowned for their ability to use two bows at once, as well as use their arrows to disarm, trip, and otherwise incapacitate foes. Other kasatha martial experts often use a unique style of sword that is covered in bony spines and used to better poison their targets. Both these techniques are passed down by clan elders to younger members beginning their training.
At one point during the early part of the Second Intermediate Period, kasatha monarchs ruled most of Khapesh. Only one of the clans descended from these monarchs still survives. While the kasatha acknowledge this history, they do not view themselves as having a close connection to the Black Lands and have no desire to return to ruling the desert kingdom. The Second Intermediate Period was a time of great political instability, and Khapeshan scholars and historians still debate the causes that led these normally reclusive desert dwellers to gain political control of the major population centers.
Government
Prior to Y6976, Khapesh was nominally ruled by King Menes II. Even prior to his disappearance in Y6975 he was rarely seen outside of his traditional role in pageantry and parades. Few had even seen the king directly, as he would almost never appear in public as anything more than a shadowy figure in a carriage, and all royal communication was handled by his retinue of scribes. Most of the primarily human population of Khapesh never knew another monarch, as Menes II had been the ruler for almost three hundred years - supernaturally long for a human.
In practice, each city and surrounding area within Khapesh is administered by one or more viziers, entrusted by the king with near complete autonomy to oversee the day to day governance. Viziers are granted a great deal of discretion over their territory, and are essentially given a lifetime position as long as they perform in line with the king’s expectations. However, it is not unknown for a vizier to be recalled and replaced if the king judges them incompetent.
After the disappearance of Menes II in Y6975, most viziers turned their cities into their own personal fiefdoms. The rulers of Faiyan, Sakha, Arthribis, and Akmis, in Upper Khapesh, formed an alliance but the others became de facto independent, at least for a time. With the ascension of the new king Chephren the Learned to the throne, this situation was soon righted.
Economy
Khapesh’s economy is primarily agricultural - at most times, the kingdom is able to produce an amount of food well in excess of what its inhabitants require. Much of this agricultural output is exported to other lands, in exchange for spices and precious metals. A thriving gray market deals in antiquities, selling relics of Khapesh’s ancient past to wealthy collectors and scholars overseas. Some cities within the kingdom have more specialized economies - for example, the workshops of Serdab prosper through selling their mechanical contraptions. The coastal cities benefit through trade passing through as well, supporting the large number of merchant vessels within the Chaska Sea.
Relations
Khapesh has generally good relations with its neighbors, and has not been involved in an external war in many centuries. Instead it prefers diplomacy by trade, exchanging its agricultural surplus, magical expertise, and ancient relics for resources that cannot be found in the desert or along the river. Despite past wars over mutual ambitions along the Asyut Coast, relations with the city states of Tirione are today quite close. In addition to commerce, Khapesh has at times also provided military support in defense of Tirione’s western colonies. This has mutual benefits, as Khapesh has become increasingly reliant on the mineral wealth extracted from Nionegrast in particular.
Aside from trade and diplomatic formalities, Khapesh has little relations with its other neighbors across the Chaska Sea. Khapeshan monarchs and viziers generally view the tensions between the many states of Hellea and surrounding islands as petty squabbles, unworthy of getting involved in. Similarly, Khapeshan interest in Thadria remains low, though ties with the the cities of Ishtar have been solidifying more recently.
Khapesh has very close ties with the city state of Avaris. Nearly all Khapeshan trade within the Kilche Sea passes through the ports of Avaris, and Khapesh maintains something of a client state relationship with the city. Avaris is mostly left to continue its day to day operations under its own terms, but trade and diplomacy is dictated by Khapesh.
Prior to the collapse of Akhom, Khapesh had cordial but not close relations. After the Deluge, Khapesh assisted in the rescue and transport of the survivors to Rudamun. Khapeshan merchants frequently travel the Kilche Sea to Rudamun, though there remain no official relations.
The Arnkelvik Magocracy is openly antagonistic to Khapesh, and Khapesh returns the favor, short of ushering in war. Privateers hired by Arnkelvik mages search the trade routes within the Kilche for easy targets, looking for ships to raid and capture. All Khapeshan travellers are told to remain well clear of the Archipelago of Alabras, and Khapeshan ships attempt to intercept the privateers. The Citadel of Yhidothrus is particularly hostile to Khapesh, and will sometimes contract privateers to outright sink any Khapeshan vessels they encounter.
Khapesh has no diplomatic relations with the Blacksand League, and both are content to keep it that way. Pirates based in the Blacksand Archipelago frequently target Khapeshan ships and face reprisals in kind.
In spite of some past conflicts, relations between Tarkuus and Khapesh are quite good. Both are now mutually dependent on their trade, and have an agreement to stay out of each other's affairs, even when it may lead to conflicting interests.
Khapeshan relations with the Dawnflower Refuge are complicated. On one hand, Khapesh wishes to maintain a good standing with the crusader state, to avoid provoking the ire of Sarenrae’s followers both inside and outside of Khapesh. On the other hand, Khapesh’s ties to Tarkuus greatly complicates this. The official stance, then, has become an odd arrangement of both providing occasional gifts and tributes to the Dawnflower Refuge while at all other times pretending it doesn’t exist.