Qamenkas
The Qamenkas Desert is a sandy desert on the southeastern side of Tuatha. It is bordered by Arduli to the north, Ahagwuena to the west, Chikelu to the south, and the Coravian Sea to the east. Qamenkas is suffused with magic, making travel through the region strange and dangerous.
Geography
Throughout most of its history, Qamenkas was a region of lush jungles with small pockets of slowly encroaching desert. Despite this, the people of the region prospered on its natural wealth. This changed, however, when Zarmenos the Avaricious enacted the Great Charybdis on the region, turning it into a magically scarred desert and killing many. As a result of the cataclysmic Great Charybdis, Qamenkas is almost entirely a sandy desert. Lakes and small oases dotted throughout Qamenkas provide the only refuge from the expansive sandy region. Settlements spring up around many of these oases. Even before Tyfilion, Qamenkas was an area filled with the remains of once-great civilizations. Ruins that were once on the surface for all to see have now sunken beneath the sands, attracting adventurers and treasure hunters from throughout Diaghal to attempt to plunder their riches. Qamenkas contains ruins and dungeons from the civilizations of:- Tyfilion, the magocracy, and later empire, that preceded Arduli. A powerful nation, much of Tyfilion, especially during the Imperial era, was built on the backs of slaves.
- Mirkel, a gnomish civilization in the northwestern part of Qamenkas during the Dark Ages. A bastion of magitek marvels and research, it was conquered by the Tyfilian Magocracy soon after the state’s ascension.
- Turath, also known as Toreth and Belthage, was a magocratic civilization of the Era of Restoration and Arcane Age in eastern Qamenkas. The nation was ruled by a duumvirate of mages, and had a shamanistic religion based on the worship of demons and devils.
- Kemidesh, a nation ruled by a pharaoh that lasted during the Era of Restoration and Arcane Age. Ancient rivals to the nation of Turath to their north, it is known that they had good relations to the ancient Wusiph^djibundi to their south.
- Nimana, the ancient nation now known as Ahagwuena, had claims over parts of western Qamenkas during the reign of the aberrant Kashta Necherophara during the Invasion Era and during the reign of the dragon-empress Etharnabali during the Arcane Age.
Settlements and Inhabitants
While the desert is harsh, many people still chose Qamenkas as their home. Nomadic tribes wander the sandy wastes. In addition to the nomadic groups, settlements have sprung up around oases and lakes in Qamenkas. This includes independent towns such as Goldcross, Springwater, Dead Man’s Stand, and Ghost’s Hollow, and nations such as the Seraphine Republic, the Baokish Territories, Melshasulan, and Arduli. Various nomadic groups populate Qamenkas. The Anua elves, also known as the Desert Elves or Red Elves, have long wandered the region even before it became a desert. The arrival of orc tribes fleeing from Uxingier and the Niranist Inquisition in the north also co-mingled with the elves of the region, granting Qamenkas with a larger-than-average population of Uniya - half-elf, half-orc people. The Bhuka, or Desert Goblins, have traveled Qamenkas ever since their exile from Makutu centuries ago, and the Lost Wave tribe of Catfolk are well known within the region. Since the Thirty-Year Soveriegnization, the Geirraten, a culture group of nomadic Kane humans, have traveled through Qamenkas often. As a result of the Circles, many extraplanar and extraterrestrial species have made their home in the desert; the most famous of these is likely the Sandswimmers, humanoids of shark-like and skink-like appearance that swim through the sand of Qamenkas as easy as a fish does through water. First beginning during the reign of Shah Euphoria, the Arduli Dynasty has begun to claim territory within Qamenkas. The first Ardulese settlement to be constructed within the desert was the coastal outpost of Port Euphoria, which quickly grew to the size of a city. Named after the Shah who ordered its construction, Port Euphoria has quickly become a hub of both trading and crime, an economy supplemented by the many magical artifacts that pass through its gate. In 1362 MT, Shah Jezebeth also convinced the town of Hukyrix Dikmiza to join with the Arduli Dynasty. Shah Jezebeth has made it clear that she wishes for the expansion of the Arduli Dynasty into Qamenkas to be through peaceful means, and not conquest. Goldcross, in western Qamenkas, is a prosperous mining town. One of its nicknames is “the Anthill”, based on the settlement’s structure - Goldcross is built entirely into a large vertical butte at the settlement’s centre. Throughout its entire history, the town has been ruled by Sheikh Reza, an enigmatic but kind figure who protects Goldcross with their army of gargoyles and earth elementals. Despite offers from both Arduli and Ahagwuena to join with their nations, Goldcross remains fiercely independent. Within the centre of Qamenkas exists the Seraphine Republic, an alliance of the two towns of Fortune and Haven. Originally a theocracy based on the worship of the local deity Mesemkau, the two towns transitioned their government to a republic after the death of their prophet, Olviel Seraphine. The republic has an uneasy tension with Arduli - the town of Haven rests upon the ruins of Castrava, the birthplace and peerage of Hadyanos Arduli, the first Spahbad. As such, the land is seen as one of the holiest sites to the Court of Niran, and one of the most desired parts of Qamenkas that Arduli wishes to control. Recently, the republic has begun to build a massive protective barrier known as the Encompassing Wall that surrounds both towns. Springwater, in central Qamenkas, is a town existing partially on the surface and partially underground, around the geyser known as the Great Vectallan Spring. When the Great Charybdis came, the residents of Vectallan fled underground, safe from the magical storm above. As such, much of Springwater’s culture is still ardently Tyfilian - however, once contact from Arduli came, the residents of Springwater fervently adopted Niranism as their religion. The town is known as a resort town, and has a large population of firenewts that protect the settlement. Ghost's Hollow is a trading town in southwestern Qamenkas. It is well known for the haunted ruins it stands on, with ghosts and spirits wandering the streets a common sight. While theoretically independent, it is practically part of Ahagwuena, with many of its residents and government from the nation, as well as Ahagwuena actively supporting it. Dead Man’s Stand is a mining town in southern Qamenkas. Once an elvish settlement, the leaders of the town were overthrown in a coup. Now, the town is ruled by a despotic oligarchy lead by a shady individual known as the Elder. All of the town’s resources go into mining the Abysium deposits underneath. The town is named after a petrified giant within the nearby oasis’ centre. On the southeastern side of Qamenkas is the nation of the Baokish Territories. Founded by the Zhao Ru of the Yeojin Families, the settlements of the Territories are devoted entirely to the casinos and resorts of the de facto capital, Fu Baoki. Suetane Zhao Ru, the half-elf son of the Zhao Ru patriarch, rules over the city with an iron fist. Despite its immensely shady underbelly, the Baokish Territories are known to contain some of the most beautiful areas of Qamenkas.Maps
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Map of Arduli
Type
Desert
Included Locations
