Azhkar
Geography
The steppes of Azhkar stretch from the majestic Messial Mountains in the west, which carve through the heart of the continent like a spine, to the distant Gulf of Nemedia in the east, where the fearsome Qulvir prowl. In the south, the scattered peaks of the Bai’ling Mountains mark its transition into the lands beyond, while to the north, it gradually fades into the icy, unforgiving Frost Wastes. It is a land of endless horizons, where the wind howls unchallenged, and the sky looms vast and boundless, making it near inhospitable to outsiders.
The expanse of Azhkar is a land of raw, untamed beauty, a world of rolling golden grasslands, shallow winding rivers, and rugged outcroppings of stone that rise like islands in a sea of grass. Here, water is scarce, and shade even rarer, with only clusters of hardy trees standing as lone sentinels against the ceaseless winds. Dust storms sweep across the open steppe, obscuring all but the silhouettes of distant riders. There are no cities in this land, only the ever-moving heart of its people, carried in the hooves of their steeds and the banners of their clans.
This is the domain of the Kassari, fiercely independent folk who have learned to hold their own in this harsh environment, to squeeze water from the dry rock that is their home, and to survive where others would perish. Their closest ally is the horse, an extension of their very being, with whom they not only endure but rule the steppe with speed and precision. And so, it is their realm, Kassaria, that holds sovereignty over most of Azhkar, with only its northernmost reaches inhabited by scattered Nemedi remnants - nomadic tribes from a bygone age, clinging to the last vestiges of their ancient ways, disconnected from the march of civilization. Meanwhile, in the south-western most corner, Azhkar gives way to the parched dry lands of Sahadra, where the grasses of the steppe surrender to the creeping embrace of the desert.
Amidst the vastness of Azhkar, one feature stands alone against the endless horizon - the solitary peak of Orzhvol, rising defiantly from the southern steppe like the last tooth of a long-buried titan. At its base lies Atarin, the heart of Kassaria, where the Kassari have repurposed the ruins of an ancient Elven palace into a grand temple of the Divine Flame.
Cutting a winding path through the heart of the steppe is the great river Yshkar, a lifeline in this otherwise parched land. Wide yet shallow, its slow-moving waters meander from the Messial Mountains in the west to the distant Gulf of Nemedia in the east, sustaining the fragile balance of life upon the plains. Its many twisting tributaries vanish and reappear with the changing seasons, feeding the nomadic tabor sites of the Kassari before spilling into the distant waters of the sea.
History
Azhkar was never a land of great civilizations. Its vast, windswept steppe, though hauntingly beautiful, was too open and inhospitable for permanent settlement. In the days of the Second World, only scattered Elven enclaves dwelled along its fringes, their presence fleeting against the immensity of the land. But when the Cataclysm shattered the old world and ushered in an age of upheaval, Azhkar became a thoroughfare for displaced peoples caught in the tides of the Great Migrations.
The first to arrive were the Nemedi, nomadic wanderers from the far north, who had long been accustomed to a life of movement. However, as the Ice Age drove the cold ever further south, most of their number pressed on, seeking the warmth of Sahadra, leaving only scattered bands to remain on the steppe. Then came the Slaya, crossing the treacherous Messial Mountains from the west. Their numbers were greater, and in time, they melded with the remaining Nemedi, forging a new and distinct people - the Kassari.
With the Slaya came their faith, the Divine Flame, a doctrine of survival and defiance that resonated deeply with the hardy steppe-folk. Over time, many Nemedi converted, binding the two peoples together in an unbreakable brotherhood of fire and steel. Their nomadic warbands rode as one against the perils of the steppe, mastering the land and ensuring their dominance over its untamed expanse.
What became of Azhkar's original Elven inhabitants remains a mystery. With the fall of the Kleriel Imperium and the catastrophic ruin of Sahadra - the epicenter of the Cataclysm - chaos reigned. In the ashes of Elvendom, a new horror arose: the Lich Lords, necromancers who took dominion over Sahadra's devastated wastes, raising vast hosts of undead to wage war upon one another in an endless cycle of conquest and ruin. It is unknown whether Azhkar’s Elves fled before the coming of Humans, seeking refuge in the east or west, fleeing south to become slaves to darkness, or whether they perished under the advancing tide of migration, their fate lost to time.
It was during this time of upheaval that Kazir, a Nemedi warlord, led his people across Azhkar on their fateful journey south. According to legend, an Elven maiden of Azhkar aided his passage, guiding him through treacherous lands and offering her wisdom and magical boons as he led his people beyond into Sahadra. With her aid, Kazir's people overcame the Lich Lords and carved a new home from the shattered realm, with the oath to never let it fall to darkness again. His passage through Azhkar was brief, but it remains one of the last recorded mentions of the Elves of the steppe.
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