Crimson Sands
The Crimson Sands are the desert that span across the bottom of the Triamic Empire. Although the Sands currently exist in relative docility as an Imperial province, they have a tumultuous history of war and fallen empires.
Geography
The Crimson Sands is the historical name of the arid desert that takes up most of its area. The sand is considered "crimson" not for any particular physical feature, but rather because of the bloodshed of the warlords that have occupied the area since before recorded history.
The southern edge of the Crimson Sands butts up against The Wilds. Wilders are generally peaceful... but the gigantic animals known to inhabit the jungles of the Wilds are not.
Structure
The Crimson Sands are officially overseen by House Mekulet. The ruling body of House Mekulet, the Circle of Clans, has direct dominion over the Sands. However, the land itself is largely divided among individual clans, each of which is responsible for governing their own citizens.
History
The first great clans began gathering in the Sands many tens of thousands of years ago. They began as disparate tribes. Then, the Awakening happened.
The Awakening - 1593 BEC
During the Awakening, the Mukala developed the ability to channel the elements, and were summarily able to overpower their non-magical neighbors.
The Dominion - 1500s-410s BEC
Over the next centuries, the Mukala began expanding across the Sands, eventually coalescing into a nation-state.
See Mukala Dominion
The Crimson Sands were the heart and cultural center of the Dominion. The northern areas were devastated by the Great Plague, though the southern areas were largely unaffected--one of the few locations in the Empire that wasn't hit too badly by the Plague.
Fall of the Dominion - 410s BEC
When the Dominion broke apart, there was a large exodus of Mukala back to the "homeland" of the Crimson Sands. There, Clan Ashkam continued to rule the area as "The Land of the Crimson Sands."
The Sands kept to traditional Dominion ways, Clan Ashkam becoming even more iron-fisted in their rule so as to avoid revolts from other clans... which, naturally, only helped engender them. For this reason, the Sands had a shaky relationship with its two northern break-outs (the West Territories and Mekulet Kingdom), which had largely broken off in the first place due to the Ashkams' rule.
More, Et'cha, which during this time period had control of the neighboring land of Sol'cha, put pressure on the Sands' western border.
When the Triamic Empire sprung into existence over the course of the 1st century EC, the Sands largely kept them at diplomatic distance, in large part due to the Triamics' ties to Lumina (the one enemy they were never able to defeat). Instead, the Sands turned their attention west, regaining Sol'cha in 55 EC.
Crimson Sands Invasion - 97 EC
Finally, between the pressure coming from their northern border and the "corruption of their kin" (e.g., the general tendency for northern Mukala to take up Kaelic cultural practices) relations between the Triamic Empire and the Sands degraded to the point where the Sands declared war.
They lost. The Crimson Sands were annexed in 111 EC. Sands clans were absorbed into the existing structure of House Mekulet, provided they granted Clan Ashkam a permanent seat on the Triamic Council.
The remaining Mukala clans were eventually absorbed by House Mekulet when the Crimson Sands were annexed into the Triamic Empire in 111 EC.
Demography and Population
The Sands are home primarily populated by Desert Imperials. Population centers are generally congregated around waterways and oases, with 60% of the population congregated in the northwestern quarter of the province, where the climate is milder near the Heartland border. The rest of the province is characterized by pockets of human activity separated by dry, empty stretches of sand.
The religion generally practiced in the Sands is based on nature spirits. Kaelic Temples are rare and have a tendency to be vandalized by locals; the Order of the Horn considers the Crimson Sands one of their highest priority mission areas.
The official language of the region is Imperial Common, but the cultural language is Sands Trade.
Education
Education there is on a case-by-case basis, with no organization. Professional tutors and scholars-for-hire are available for those who can afford them, but the quality varies.
Type
Geopolitical, Province
Alternative Names
The Sands
Demonym
Sands
Parent Organization
Location
Related Ethnicities
The Triamic Empire
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