Theske
Time is like the sand that surrounds us. Over time it swallows everything. Our lives. Our home. Our great works. All will disappear beneath the dunes. But that means you just have to dig a little.
-Common Thesken saying, often shortened to 'dig a little'
Structure
The Pharoah is meant to be the absolute final word. However, the last decade has been earmarked by the decentralization of power away from the Pharoah with the rise of several pretenders to the throne. Not only that, but a regency council has been put in place until the current Pharoah comes of age.
Assets
- The Red Pyramids
- The White Pyramids
- The Royal Citadel.
- The Perfumed River
- 670,000 Katra-Fehas
- 125,000 Makhtattrer, The Royal Battalion
- 120,000 Anenkhon, the Dune Drinkers
- 60,000 Arcane and Divine Constructs
- 35,000 Arcane Personell
History
There was once a time when the Thesken desert had no name. It was merely a vast wasteland of sand and wind that only the most specialized of creatures could survive in. The only ones that live there, were a few scattered tribes and bands of nomads (who are theorized to be distant ancestors to the people of Al'Ashir). In the Age of the Dragon, a woman was born who would change the face of the desert. Born Tegtaya of the River Bend, into a town of carvers, she was just as unassuming as any other child of her time. She quickly developed a voracious appetite for learning and her parents spent all the money they could spare to provide her with the books she consumed at a shocking pace. One book, however, caught and held her attention. Scholars argue about the exact content of that book to this day. Some say that it was a book on Evocation, perhaps on illusion, or enchantment. A pedantic argument from the outside, but those who join that argument aren't truly arguing about the content of the book, but the very nature of Tegtaya herself.
In any case, a spark was lit within Tegtaya. An interest in magic. Reading it from cover to cover repeatedly, she started her own experiments. Carving hieroglyphs into her toys, she coxed them into motion. selling the toys, she bought every book on magical theory that came within her reach. Reading each one at an astonishing rate, she continued her business of creating magical toys to fund the purchase of yet more texts and using the leftover to help her family. Then she started making magical tools for her village, enchanted scythes that never dulled and barrels of infinite water. Finally, she graduated to commissioning some of her town's statues, full-bodied marble figures of Hethirka; the god of the underworld, and animating them to defend the town. by the time she had turned 16, she had transformed her home from a simple village to a hub of trade. All that gold brought people from all over the desert, but not all looked to do honest business. One night, a tribe of desert raiders thundered over the dunes, intending to take the riches Tegtaya had built. They would be denied their shining gold by the cold stone of her Ushabti (as her village had taken to calling them).
While Tegtaya had animated the Ushabti to practice her magic, and the villagers had accepted it more to humor the young girl than anything, both parties were astonished at just how effective the statues were in combat. Blades bounced off and spears broke on their stone hide, their own blades meeting very little resistance as they passed through the cloth clad forms of the bandits. Word quickly spread about the town of Thesai's stone guardians and within a year, towns were pledging themselves to Tegtaya the Carver (as people now called her) to get the protection of her Ushabti when she wouldn't sell the statues to them. By the time she turned twenty, Tegtaya was considered queen of a small kingdom. By the time she turned twenty-five half of Kemri lay under her banner. By the time she turned thirty, only one last enemy stood between her and the Snake Skin mountains. Soctef the Honorable. A man who, while not magical in any sense, had amassed his own nation through his charm and might. Their conflict raged across the desert, Tegaya's constructs and mages versus Soctef's legions. In the end, Soctef was the one brought before Tegaya. The smile that had built him an army, lighting up upon his first look on her face. On her thirty-second birthday, with the charming Soctef bending the knee and asking for her hand, Tegaya held all of Theske in her hand. Soctef, ever the people person, operated the diplomacy and military of the new nation. Leading the legions of Theske against the Djinn Sultanate and the tribes that would eventually make up the Anisi Bloc. Tegtaya, now regarded as holy and blessed by the gods, built the infrastructure of Theske with her magic. Growing her court magicians, they built irrigated farmlands, paved roads, the famous pyramids, and countless other innovations that the desert of Theske had never seen before. For 300 years, she ruled. Never marrying after the death of Soctef the Honorable. While the Pharaohs after her were powerful and innovative in their own rights, not one could match their progenitor, who started as Tegaya the Carver and ended as Tegaya of One Thousand Titles.
In the modern era, Theske has lost much of its royal splendor. It is still there, but now it is shattered between a dozen or so pretenders and usurpers. Each one attempting to seize the throne from
Demography and Population
96% Thesken
3% Ashir
1% Assorted Foreign
Territories
Theske used to have holdings in the modern-day Djinn Sultanate, but they have been forced to concede them in the last century, With the rise of the Djinn Sultanate after the Realmshatter, and the current political instability of Theske has further degraded the countries ability to enforce any claims that it might have.
Military
The Katra-Fehas: Often considered a levy force, the Katra-Fehas are equipped in a bare-bones fashion. This is not done because they are neglected, but to be loaded down with anything but the essentials would hinder their effectiveness in the dessert.
The Makhtattrer, The Royal Battalion: Now the Makhtattrer are the heavily armed counterparts to the Katra-Fehas, and find their origin in the royal guard of ancient times. Drilled rigorously, they patrol the cities and borders of Theske. Their weight can work against them, however, as they are unable to adventure far from supply lines or risk starvation and dehydration.
Founding Date
112, Age of Dragons
Type
Geopolitical, Country
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Market economy
Currency
Thesken Geb: A tope colored note, with a stylized depiction of one of the White Pyramids on one side and an Ushabti with crossed arms (in the burial position) and an eagle-shaped head.
Legislative Body
As one might guess, the Pharoah is the one that presents most laws. The Hands of Nezak , an organization dedicated to the bureaucratic goings-on of the nation at the direction of their god, is responsible for everything that would be considered out of the purview of the Pharoah. Of course, that just means anything that the king doesn't want to deal with falls into their lap.
Judicial Body
The interpretation of laws falls to the Pharoah, and whatever whims might strike them that day. When the law is not under the direct view of the Pharoah the Hands of Nezak also oversee the interpretation of the law.
Neighboring Nations
Related Ethnicities
Comments